Hildegard of Bingen

At a time when few women wrote, Hildegard, known as "Sybil of the Rhine", produced major works of theology and visionary writings. When few women were accorded respect, she was consulted by and advised bishops, popes, and kings. She used the curative powers of natural objects for healing, and wrote treatises about natural history and medicinal uses of plants, animals, trees and stones. She is the first composer whose biography is known. She founded a vibrant convent, where her musical plays were performed. Revival of interest in this extraordinary woman of the middle ages was initiated by musicologists and historians of science and religion. Her story is important to all students of medieval history and culture and an inspirational account of an irresistible spirit and vibrant intellect overcoming social, physical, cultural, gender barriers to achieve timeless transcendence/

In 1141, Hildegard had a vision that changed the course of her life. A vision of God gave her instant understanding of the meaning of the religious texts, and commanded her to write down everything she would observe in her visions.

" And it came to pass ... when I was 42 years and 7 months old, that the heavens were opened and a blinding light of exceptional brilliance flowed through my entire brain. And so it kindled my whole heart and breast like a flame, not burning but warming... and suddenly I understood of the meaning of expositions of the books . . .

But although I heard and saw whese things, because of doubt and low opinion of myself and because of diverse sayings of men, I refused for a long time a call to write, not out of stubbornness but out of humility, until weighed down by a scourge of God, I fell onto a bed of sickness."

With papal imprimatur, Hildegard was able to finish her first visionary work Scivias Know the Ways of the Lord, and her fame began to spread through Germany and beyond.

It is now generally agreed that Hildegard suffered from migraine, and that her visions were a result of this condition. The way she describes her visions, precursors to visions, as well as debilitating aftereffects, point to classic symptoms of migraine sufferers. Migraine attacks are usually followed by sickness, paralysis, blindness-all reported by Hildegard, and when they pass, by a period of rebound and feeling better than before, a euphoria also described by her. Also, writes Oliver Sacks; "Among the strangest and most intense symptoms of migraine aura, and the most difficult of description and analysis, are the occurrences of feelings of sudden familiarity and certitude... or its opposite. Such states are experienced, momentarily and occasionally, by everyone; their occurrence in migraine auras is marked by their overwhelming intensity and relatively long duration."

It is a tribute to the remarkable spirit and the intellectual powers of this woman that she was able to turn a debilitating illness into the Word of God, and create so much with it.

• Hildegard of Bingen
• 900th anniversary of Hildegard's birth
• The Life and Works of Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179)

books to browse and buy online

Illuminations of Hildegard of Bingen

Hildegard Von Bingen's Mystical Visions

Hildegard of Bingen's Book of Divine Works

Hildegard Von Bingen's Physica :
The Complete English Translation of Her Classic Work on Health and Healing

Creation and Christ :
The Wisdom of Hildegard of Bingen