The Life of the Holy Hildegard. Dieser Artikel ist nicht verfügbar.The Life of the Holy Hildegard

The life of Hildegard of Bingen by two of her contemporaries brings this German mystic to life in excerpts from her own writings. This twelfth-century Benedictine abbess exorcized demons; healed the sick; warned sister convents and monasteries against the dangers of a "soft" life; preached to the laity on her journeys; incurred an interdict against her convent rather than obey an order she knew was wrong; founded a new convent, separated from her original monastery, and then successfully negotiated the transfer of her nuns' dowries from reluctant monks. When Hildegard needed answers or protection, she went to the top - to her archbishop, to Emperor Frederick Barbarossa, to Pope Eugene III, or to St. Bernard of Clairvaux. And then she dared to revile Barbarossa when he continued to back the antipopes, even though he was the protector of her convent.
Led to act by her visions, she tried, like Jonah, to ignore God's promptings. She stalled, resisted, and became deathly ill. Each time Hildegard recovered as soon as she obeyed God's hard orders. An authority on medicine, herbal remedies, natural science, music, and theology, Hildegard scolded, instructed, refused, and loved. She was a liberated woman.

In the middle of the twelfth century, we meet a woman, Hildegard of Bingen, who for three decades was like a magnet drawing people to herself. Once again in our day, we are rediscovering with amazement this holy woman. Although she belongs to her own historical period, the profundity of her thoughts, feelings, and viewpoints continue to astound us. Also, the herbal and other cures of this "woman doctor" are gaining renewed interest and appreciation in today's medical community. This first biography of Hildegard by the twelfth-century Benedictine monks Gottfried and Theoderic (Vita sanctae Hildegardis auctoribus Godefrido et Theodorico monachis) introduce us as contemporaries to this extraordinary theologian, philosopher, doctor, writer, and mystic. As the Vita was not originally conceived as a biography, a brief explanation of its origins and scope is provided. This present book also includes four letters (correspondence to and from Hildegard from Abbot Bernard of Clairvaux and Pope Eugene II), a chronology of the life and achievements of Hildegard, and a short bibliography of books by and about Hildegard. The Life of the Holy Hildegard is translated from Latin to German with commentary by Adelgundis F hrk tter, O.S.B. The German is translated by James McGrath; and the final text is edited by Mary Palmquist, with John Kulas, O.S.B.