The Life of the Holy Hildegard by the monks Gottfried and Theoderic Translated from Latin to German with commentary by Adelgundis Führkötter, O.S.B. Translated from German to English by James McGrath English text edited by Mary Palmquist, with the assistance of John Kulas, O.S.B. A Liturgical Press Book BThe Liturgical Press Collegeville, Minnesota Cover design by Greg Becker Published in 1980 by Otto Müller Verlag as Das Leben der heiligen Hilde­ gard von Bingen. Ein Bericht aus dem 12. Jahrhundert (third edition). ® 1980 Otto Müller Verlag, Salzburg, Austria. All rights reserved. English edition ® 1995 by The Order of St. Benedict, Inc., Collegeville, Minnesota. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photo­ copying, recording, taping, or any retrieval system, without the writ­ ten permission of The Liturgical Press, Collegeville, Minnesota 56321. Printed in the United States of America. 1________2_______3_______4_______5_______6_______7_______8 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Godefridus, monk, 12th cent. [Vita sanctae Hildegardis auctoribus Godefrido et Theodorico monachis. English] The life of the holy Hildegard / by the monks Gottfried and Theoderic ; translated from Latin to German with commentary by Adelgundis Führkötter, O.S.B. ; translated from German to English by James McGrath ; English text edited by Mary Palmquist, with the assistance of John Kulas, O.S.B. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-8146-2244-5 1. Hildegard, Saint, 1098-1179. 2. Christian saints—Germany- -Biography. I. Theodricus, 12th cent. II. Führkötter, Adelgundis. III. Palmquist, Mary, 1929- IV. Kulas, JohnS. (John Stanley), 1930- V. Title. BX4700.H5G613 1995 282'.092—dc20 [B] 94-23992 CIP Contents Foreword to the Second Edition.........................................ix Introduction ......................................................................... 1 Hildegard of Bingen: Personality and Achievements . . 1 Understanding the Vita.....................................................32 Retrospect and Outlook......................................................33 The Life of the Holy Hildegard As Told by the Monks Gottfried and Theoderic...................34 Foreword.............................................................................34 FIRST BOOK 1. Concerning the Birth, Presentation in the Monastery, and Education of the Holy Virgin and How She Was Called to Writing by Divine Enlightenment ... 35 2. How Hildegard, after Profession of Vows and Receipt of the Veil, Progressed in Her Life in the Cloister Despite Her PainfulI llnesses............................36 3. She Became 111 Because She Hesitated to Write Down What Was Revealed to Her by the Spirit, but She Recovered When, at the Insistence of the Abbot, She Began to Write..........................................37 4. Pope Eugene Sent Messages and Letters to Hildegard from Trier and Urged Her to Write Down the Things She Had Seen in Her Spiritual Visions .... 38 5. During an Illness, She Was Shown from Heaven the Place Where She Was to Settle with Her Sisters ... 40 iii 6. Whenever She Hesitated to Carry Out the Mani­ festations of the Heavenly Vision She Suffered a Severe Illness........................................................... 41 7. Through Purchase and Exchange with the Owners, She Acquired the Place for Her Residence; Chose the Archbishop of Mainz as Archbishop Protector; and, with Renewed Threat of Illness, Arose and Separated Her Cloister from the Church of Blessed Disibod...........................................................................42 8. She Submitted to the Drudgery of Daily Life, but Preferred the Contemplative Life. That Which She Had Written Concerning Her Vision to the Monk, Wibert of Gembloux.....................................................44 9. She Enjoyed a Wonderful and Rare Kind of Vision and Zealously Devoted Herself at Times to the Active, and at Times to the Contemplative Life. ... 45 SECOND BOOK Foreword.............................................................................46 1. What Hildegard Expressed in Her Writings, Songs, Letters, and Uncommon Speech, and Who Made the Grammatical Corrections......................................48 2. In the First Vision, She Writes about Her Fear Concerning the Blessing of the Pope and Permis­ sion for Her to Write.................................................49 3. On the Word Taken from the Canticle of Canticles: That She Was Frequently Moved by the Spirit ... 52 4. She Encourages Those Who Are Prebendaries to Her and in Humility Discloses Her Secret Views and Rewards ...............................................................53 5. From the Second Vision Which She Kept Secret and Was Therefore Blinded and As a Result Had to Suffer Much Adversity...........................................55 6. Hildegard and the Location Designated for Her by God Is Likened to the Prophetess Debora and Her Judgment Seat.....................................................58 7. From the Third Vision Concerning the Division of Her Institution and How God Freed Her from the Painful Distress.....................................................59 8. God Often Strengthened Her When the Devil or People Beset Her.........................................................60 9. From the Fourth Vision in Which She Sees Good and Bad Angels...........................................................61 10. Hildegard Was Sick for Three Years and Saw a Cherub Who Drove the Bad Angels from Her with a Flaming Sword..................................................62 11. She Overcame Not Only Illness and the Tortures of the Devil, but Was Also Glorified by the Protection of an Angel................................................63 12. A Convert Philosopher Praised God in Her, and She Rebuked Her Nuns Who Were Tempted by the Snares of the Devil................................................65 13. She Did Not Put Stock in Luck nor Did She Lose Faith over Misfortune..................................................66 14. From the Fifth Vision Which Treats of the Battle between the Flesh and the Spirit and the Glorious Example of the Fathers................................................67 15. From the Sixth Vision in Which She Saw Towers with Various Rooms....................................................70 16. From the Seventh Vision in Which She Indicates How John Taught Her the Gospel............................71 17. From the Fountain of Wisdom, the Spirit Imbues Her with Special Grace ..............................................72 THIRD BOOK Foreword.............................................................................73 1. Healing of a Young Girl with Three Days of Fever.........................................................................74 2. Healing of a Monk with Similar Suffering............75 3. Cure of a Lady with a Tumor of the Neck............75 4. Healing of a Swabian of a Tumor.............................75 5. Healing of a Seven-week-old Child of Convulsions.................................................................76 6. Healing of a Throat Ailment......................................76 7. Healing of a Young Girl Who Could No Longer Speak by Means of Holy Water.................................. 76 8. Healing of a Deathly 111 Man with Holy Water ... 77 9. Healing from a Passion through Blessed Bread ... 77 10. Healing of a Lady with a Hemorrhage....................78 11. Help with Labor Pains through Application of Strands of Hair...........................................................78 12. A Similar Occurrence in Helping..............................79 13. Healing of Emotionally Sick Women........................79 14. Freeing a Young Man from a Danger......................79 15. Healing of a Deathly Sick Soldier..............................80 16. A Priest Discovered Handwriting on the Altar Cloth, Reformed Himself, and Became a Monk . . 80 17. Hildegard Proclaimed the Word of God in Many Cities and Cloisters.....................................................82 18. A Blind Boy Recovers His Lost Vision....................83 19. Healing of Epilepsy.....................................................83 20. About a Possessed Woman.........................................83 21. Exchange of Letters Concerning This Possessed Woman.........................................................................86 22. Through Hildegard’s Merit, the Woman Is Released from Possession............................................93 23. Hildegard’s Forty-day Illness......................................95 24. Vision and Quick Recovery........................................96 25. At the Request of the Abbot and the Brothers, Hildegard Wrote the Life of St. Disibod......................97 26. Hildegard Wrote the Buch der Gotteswerke [Book of God’s Works] and Many Other Writings. Healing of Five Possessed Persons............................................97 27. Hildegard’s Blissful Journey Home ..........................99 FOUR LETTERS Hildegard to Abbot Bernard of Clairvaux (1146-1147)..................................................................... 100 Abbot Bernard of Clairvaux to Hildegard (1147) .... 102 Hildegard to Pope Eugene III (1148)........................... 103 Pope Eugene III to Hildegard (1152)......................... 104 Chronology of the Life and Works of Hildegard............ 106 Annotations......................................................................... 114 Sources and Literature ..................................................... 125 Index.................................................................................... 129 Scripture References .......................................................... 133 vii