Hildegard of Bingen

Podcast Transcript

Over a thousand years ago, a wealthy family in Germany gave birth to their tenth child, a daughter.

They gave their child to the church, as was the custom in those days. She eventually grew up to become the leader of her monastic community.

More than that, she became one of the leading thinkers of her era. She composed music, wrote about medicine and theology, revolutionized brewing, and corresponded with kings and emperors.

Learn more about Hildegard of Bingen, the most influential woman of the Middle Ages, on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.

If you’ve never heard of Hildegard of Bingen, also known as Hildegard von Bingen, you probably aren’t alone, and she is also someone you should be aware of.

Hildegard of Bingen has been called the most influential woman of the Middle Ages, and by the end of this episode, you’ll understand why.

She was a true polymath who excelled in multiple fields. Some of the fields she influenced include music, medicine, brewing, ecology, and theology. Some of her work can still be seen in the world today, over a thousand years after her birth.

So, who was Hildegard of Bingen?

Born in 1098 in Bockelheim, Germany, to a noble family, she was the tenth child and was dedicated to the church from a very young age.

This notion of giving a child to the church to enter the clergy was not uncommon, especially with ten children. It was considered a form of tithing.

From childhood, Hildegard experienced profound mystical visions, which would later become a defining characteristic of her spiritual and intellectual life.

At the age of eight, she was sent to a Benedictine monastery to be educated by Jutta of Sponheim, an anchoress who became her mentor.

I should briefly explain who Jutta of Sponheim was and what an anchoress is.

Jutta of Sponheim was a German noblewoman who became a Benedictine and is known primarily as the spiritual mentor of Hildegard of Bingen.

Jutta was known for her ascetic lifestyle and deep piety, serving as a model of religious discipline. Her guidance had a profound impact on Hildegard’s early spiritual development and education, helping to shape the future visionary and leader.

An anchoress was a woman in the medieval Christian tradition who chose to withdraw from the world to live a life of prayer, solitude, and religious devotion, usually in a small cell or room called an anchorhold attached to a church. Once enclosed, the anchoress would remain in that space for the rest of her life, often receiving food and necessities through a small window and offering spiritual counsel to visitors through another.

Despite suffering from what many historians now believe were debilitating migraines that contributed to her visionary experiences, Hildegard developed a remarkable intellectual curiosity and spiritual depth that would define her entire life.

After Jutta’s death in 1136, Hildegard succeeded her as the head of her Benedictine community.

By this time, she had accomplished quite a bit, having ascended to the leadership of her convent.

In 1141, at the age of 42, Hildegard of Bingen experienced a powerful and transformative vision that she described as a divine command to record the revelations she had been receiving since childhood.

This particular vision was more intense and distinct than any before. She claimed it filled her with both light and understanding, which she interpreted as coming directly from God.

She described seeing a great “light from heaven” that ignited her inner senses, giving her clarity and the ability to interpret Scripture and divine mysteries.

When she received her vision, she felt as if God had told her to write…..and write she did.

This vision marked the beginning of her first major work, Scivias, short for “Scito vias Domini,” or “Know the Ways of the Lord.” The experience was so overwhelming that Hildegard initially hesitated to act on it, feeling unworthy. But after falling physically ill from resisting the divine call, she finally began to write, with the help of a monk named Volmar and her secretary Richardis of Stade.

The visions in Scivias are deeply symbolic and theological. They are filled with vivid imagery—such as cosmic wheels, towers, rivers of fire, and luminous figures—depicting the structure of the universe, the relationship between God and humanity, and the path of salvation. These visions were eventually reviewed and approved by Church authorities, including Pope Eugenius III, which gave Hildegard recognition and legitimacy as a true visionary.

As an abbess, Hildegard founded two monasteries: first at Disibodenberg and later at Rupertsberg near Bingen. She was revolutionary in her approach to monastic life, advocating for intellectual and spiritual development alongside religious devotion. Her leadership was characterized by a profound understanding of community, compassion, and intellectual growth.

She later wrote two more visionary works: Liber Vitae Meritorum, or “Book of Life’s Merits,” and Liber Divinorum Operum, or the “Book of Divine Works.”

Her religious visions were a big part of her fame at the time. However, if that was it, I probably wouldn’t be doing an episode about her.

There is a lot that she wrote and did. The first topic I’ll cover are her musical compositions.

Hildegard of Bingen made remarkable contributions to the field of music, distinguishing herself as one of the earliest known female composers in Western history.

She composed a large body of sacred music—over 70 liturgical songs—which were collected in a volume called Symphonia armonie celestium revelationum or “Symphony of the Harmony of Celestial Revelations”.

Her compositions are unique for their expressive melodies, rich poetic imagery, and wide vocal range, which set them apart from the more restrained plainchant typical of her time.

Her most notable musical work is the morality play Ordo Virtutum or “The Play of the Virtues,” a sung allegorical drama that features personified virtues battling the devil for the soul of a human being. It is considered one of the earliest known examples of liturgical drama and the oldest surviving morality play with original music.

If you want to hear her music for yourself, she is an artist on Spotify with millions of listens. The music is very medieval, so expect something similar to Gregorian chant.

Nonetheless, the fact that her music has had millions of listens over 1000 years after her birth is a testament to the timeliness of her music.

Despite being a prolific composer, she did much more.

Hildegard of Bingen’s work Causae et Curae (“Causes and Cures”) is a comprehensive medical and natural philosophy text that reflects her deep interest in the human body, health, and the spiritual causes of illness. Written in the 12th century, it explores the origins of disease (the “causes”) and offers a wide range of treatments and remedies (the “cures”), blending empirical observations with theological and spiritual insights.

The text begins with a cosmological and theological explanation of the human body, rooted in Hildegard’s belief in the interconnectedness of the universe, nature, and the divine. She describes how physical and mental health are influenced by natural elements, diet, temperament, and moral behavior.

Her medical theory integrates ideas from ancient Greek medicine, such as the four humors, but adds a uniquely spiritual dimension—arguing that sin, emotions, and spiritual imbalance can lead to physical illness.

In Causae et Curae, Hildegard gives practical advice on treating a wide range of ailments, from fevers and digestive issues to more obscure conditions, using herbal remedies, dietary recommendations, and lifestyle adjustments. While some treatments reflect the limited medical knowledge of her time, others are surprisingly detailed and show a sharp observational eye.

She also advocated many things that turned out just to be false, including a belief in using bleeding as a medical treatment.

She expanded her views in her book Physica, also known as Liber simplicis medicinae, or “The Book of Simple Medicine.” It is a natural history and medicinal text that catalogs the healing properties of various elements in nature. It is a companion work to Causae et Curae, but Physica is more focused on practical remedies drawn from plants, animals, stones, and metals.

Much of her writing in Physica doesn’t necessarily come from her religious views but rather from her experience working in the convent garden with herbs and reading medical books from her library.

Physica is organized into nine books, each devoted to a different category of natural substances: Plants, the Elements, Trees, Stones, Fishes, Birds, Animals, Reptiles, and Metals.

Each entry typically describes the nature or temperament of a substance—whether it is warm, cold, dry, moist, etc.—and details its medicinal uses. Hildegard often includes instructions on how to prepare and apply these substances to treat specific conditions, such as fevers, wounds, or digestive problems.

However, the biggest impact from Physica had nothing to do with medicinal herbs. It had to do with a couple of lines of text which changed the brewing of beer forever.

Hildegard of Bingen is often credited as the first known figure to describe and recommend the use of hops in beer for both its preservative and medicinal qualities. In Physica, she wrote about hops and noted that they had a bitter flavor that could help preserve beverages—making them particularly useful in beer brewing.

She noted, “It is warm and dry, and has a moderate moisture, and is not very useful in benefiting man, because it makes melancholy grow in man and makes the soul of man sad, and weighs down his inner organs. But yet as a result of its own bitterness it keeps some putrefactions from drinks, to which it may be added, so that they may last so much longer.”

Before hops became widespread, beer was typically flavored and preserved with a mix of herbs known as gruit, which included ingredients like yarrow, rosemary, or mugwort. These had varying effects and limited preservative power. Hildegard’s endorsement of hops helped draw attention to their antibacterial properties, which made beer last longer and taste cleaner.

Over the centuries, hops became a more important ingredient in beer both as a preservative as well as for taste. Today, the use of hops in beer is at an all-time high with the popularity of hop-heavy beers such as India Pale Ales.

All of these beers owe a debt of gratitude to Hildegard of Bingen who was the first person to suggest using hops.

Hildegard of Bingen also created a secret language called the Lingua Ignota or “Unknown Language”—a unique, invented language that she likely used for mystical or symbolic purposes. It consists of around 1,000 invented words, mostly nouns, along with an accompanying alphabet called the Litterae Ignotae.

Scholars believe Hildegard may have used this language as a private, spiritual code to express divine mysteries or to deepen the sacred nature of her writings. Though it’s not a full language with its own grammar, Lingua Ignota is one of the earliest known constructed languages in Europe and reflects Hildegard’s extraordinary creativity and mystical worldview.

Despite being a woman in a deeply male-dominated medieval society, Hildegard wielded considerable influence. She corresponded with powerful figures of her time, including emperors, popes, and prominent church leaders. She was not afraid to speak truth to power, writing critical letters to ecclesiastical and secular leaders when she felt moral or spiritual principles were at stake.

Her preaching tours across Germany were extraordinary for a woman of her time. She traveled and delivered public sermons, which was almost unheard of for women in the 12th century, challenging social norms and demonstrating remarkable personal courage.

Hildegard of Bingen passed away in 1179 at the age of 81.

It took a long time, but in 2012, Hildegard of Bingen was declared a saint in the Catholic church by Pope Benedict XVI, who also declared her a Doctor of the Church – a rare and significant honor and one of only four women to receive that title, recognizing her theological and spiritual significance.

The legacy of Hildegard of Bingen spans multiple disciplines: theology, music, medicine, natural sciences, and philosophy. She represents a remarkable example of intellectual and spiritual achievement during a period when women were typically marginalized.

Because of her many accomplishments across such a wide range of subjects, in my mind she has earned the title of the most influential woman of the middle ages.

The Executive Producer of Everything Everywhere Daily is Charles Daniel. The Associate Producers are Austin Oetken and Cameron Kieffer.

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