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1 results

  • Chapter 4 - Hildegard of Bingen’s Theology

  • from Part II - Writings and Reputation
  • Edited by Jennifer Bain, Dalhousie University, Nova Scotia
  • Book:
    The Cambridge Companion to Hildegard of Bingen
    Published online:
    28 October 2021
    Print publication:
    04 November 2021, pp 85-104

  • Summary

    Conceptualizing Hildegard of Bingen as a theologian has been impeded by a pervading focus on her visionary status. The author provides a fruitful reassessment of Hildegard’s theology by contextualizing her writings along three coordinates: the authoritative texts she cites, the institutional environment in which theological discussion takes place, and the audience to whom the theology is directed. Her responsibility as magistra of her community led her to construct her trilogy of visions – Scivias, Liber vitae meritorum, and Liber divinorum operum – not just as visionary writings for the broader church but as a structured theological system to aid her nuns pedagogically. Analysis of her writings reveals a systematic methodology of theological instruction, including her use of classical rhetoric; additionally, her concerns for her nuns’ spiritual welfare are reflected in a customized presentation of theological topics. Ultimately, understanding Hildegard’s theology as a direct response to her immediate community reframes it and highlights its similarities to twelfth-century methods of theological instruction.