Hildegarda of Bingen: biography, list of essays

Hildergada was the German abbess-Benedictine, the chief nun of the monastery in the region of the River Rhine. Author of mystical works, church songs and music. Also famous for its works on healing and herbal collections.

Early life and young years

Hildegarda Bingen was born around 1098, although the exact date is unknown. Her parents were from the Germanic land of Hesse. They were representatives of the lower nobility, his father served Count Maginhard. Hilaya from birth, Hildegarda is traditionally considered the youngest of ten children, very often sick. Since the girl was painful, doctors and local monks were often invited. Hildegarda of Bingen, whose biography is not known in all details, lived in an era of terrible medieval affliction.

Chants

Hildegarda of Bingen - author of many church compositions and hymns. Her work is revered by the Lutheran flock. Hildegarde claimed: "I was not taught by anyone, because I never studied a musical notation or any song." She said that she composed and sang a chorale with a melody, wishing to glorify God and his saints.

The hymns that she composed were nothing more than Hildegard's, as a periodic epiphany or a physical sign of the presence of God. Every day she and her sisters sang at the hours of prayer and psalmody. They were based on the liturgical service to God, they participated in "symphonies of harmony and heavenly revelations." This is the name that Hildegarda gave to the collection of her writings.

For Hildegard, music rises almost to the level of the sacrament, directing the perfection of divine mercy from heavenly choirs to people, in moments when the blissful joy of the song sounds. The nun sees an intimate connection between the repetition of the "work of God" (Opus dei) in the monastic life under the statute of Saint Benedict and the eternal dynamic harmony of creating, maintaining and perfecting the world. A comprehensive history of salvation is the main theme of many of her works, stories in symbolic poetry. For when the Word of God says that God created the world at the beginning of time, the world was established in its beautiful field, and the evil intentions of the devil were brought to naught.

While it is impossible to accurately date all the musical compositions of Hildegard, it is possible to assume that most of them refer to around 1140-1160. Each was written for certain days and holidays in the church calendar. More than half of the composition is antiphons; These verses were sung before and after each of the psalms during the monastic prayer, while the longer ones, known as the vocal antiphons, can be performed separately during various liturgies, including processions.

There are also other musical forms, for example, a series of solo verses, alternating with choral singing. They are performed in vigil (in the morning). There are hymns that were performed at different times during the monastic mass; The musical sequences between which Hallelujah and the Gospel are sung; Masses, in which each stanza has its own common melodic motifs, divided between two verses.

Visions

Legend has it that the nun had visions and strange dreams from a very young age. Hildegarde said that she noticed the "shadows of living light" at the age of three and by the age of five began to understand that she was experiencing visions. She used the term "vision" and recognized that it was a gift she could not explain to others. Hildegard of Bingen explained that she perceived all things in the light of God through five senses: sight, hearing, taste, smell and touch. She hesitated to share her insights, telling only the older nun about them. Throughout her life she still had many signs. At the age of 42 Hildegarda received a vision, which she considered an indication from God, she decided to write down what you saw and heard.

Monastic life

Perhaps because of the visions of Hildegard or as a way of political influence, parents suggested sending her to the Benedictine monastery, which was located in the Palatinate Forest. The date of receipt of Hildegardi in the monastery is unknown. The chronicles say that she began to confess to an elderly woman, Jutta, the daughter of Count Stefan II of Sponheim, at the age of eight. In 1112, when Hildegarde was fourteen, she accepted a vow of service and began to live with other women from the monastery with the consent and blessing of the bishop.

After the death of Jutta, already in 1136, Hildegard was unanimously elected as a master of the community of her fellow nuns. Hildegarde says in her books that Jutta taught her to read and write, because she was uneducated and therefore not able to study biblical interpretations. In any case, Hildegard and Jutta worked together in the monastery and were the leaders of a growing community of women attached to him. Jutta was also a seer and thus attracted many followers.

Creativity of Mother Superior

The nun created her own language, the progenitor of Esperanto, and called him the lingua ignore, which translates as "an unknown language". She herself came up with the writing of specific letters, just for her development as the author of Hildegard of Bingen. Her books are mainly aimed at understanding the divine nature. For example, her work "On the inner essence of various natural creations" tells of the medieval concept of the world and the universe. Hildegarde of Bingen had thought a lot about these questions. Her work is permeated with love for God and people.

Doctorship

In addition to the musical gift, she had the talent of a healer and healer. Her books on healing helped many sufferers. Basically, these are recipes for herbal infusions and decoctions. In the work "Physics" describes herbs, minerals, trees, stones, fauna, metals with their characteristic therapeutic and non-healing features. The nun is famous for its recipes for healing herbal decoctions.

Many of Hildegard's medical recommendations have only historical significance, but there are information and advice that are relevant even now. Her melodious works are used by psychologists and psychotherapists and now for healing of spiritual wounds.

The end and the track in history

On September 17, 1179, on the day of her death, the nuns claimed that they saw two streams of light appear in the sky and cross the room where Hildegarda of Bingen died. The responses of the nuns spoke of her incredible kindness and self-denial. She left us with her musical compositions, collected works and medicinal books.

Her works:

• "Know the ways";
• "The Book of Righteous Life";
• "The Book of Divine Creations" and others and now bring people the light of faith.

Hildegard of Bingen is ranked among the saints by the Lutheran church and is revered by the Protestant flock. She lived eighty-two years.