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Everything Everywhere Daily: History, Science, Geography & More
Hildegard of Bingen
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Learn about the most influential woman of the Middle Ages
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Gary
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, but 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. This episode is sponsored by Quince. You've heard me talk several times now about Quint's and how I've gotten some great items for my home like my Turkish bath towels and my fisherman's blanket. Quints has must haves like Mongolian cashmere sweaters from $50, iconic 100% leather jackets and comfortable pants for every occasion. With Quints, I can get high end versatile pieces at prices I can actually afford. 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Or if you just want to sit back and watch your money go to work, you can opt into their award winning expert managed portfolio that picks stocks for you. Stash has helped millions of Americans reach their financial goals and starts at just $3 per month. Don't let your savings sit around, make them work harder for you. Go to git.stash.com everything to see how you can receive $25 towards your first stock purchase and to view important disclosures. That's get.stash.com everything paid down. Client Endorsement not representative of all clients and not a guarantee Investment advisory services offered by Stash Investments LL Sec Registered Investment Advisor Investing involves risk offer is subject to T's and C's. 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 that you probably 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 will understand why. She was a true polymath who excelled in multiple fields. Some of the fields she influenced included 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 the year 1098 in Bockelheim, Germany, to a noble family, she was the 10th 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 10 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 Spahnheim, an anchoress who became her mentor. And I should briefly explain who Jutta of Spahnheim was and what an anchoress is. Jutta of Spahnheim was a German noblewoman who became a Benedictine and is primarily known 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. Now an anchoress is 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 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 Jeddah'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 convention 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 that she had been receiving since childhood. This particular vision was more intense and more 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 in her 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 so write she did. The vision marked the beginning of her first major work, Scyvias, 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, Richardus of Stade. The visions in Skiwitas 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. That gave Hildegard recognition and legitimacy as a true visionary. As an abbess, Hildegard founded two monasteries, first at D.C. bodenburg and later at Rupertsburg, 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 Meritorium, or Book of Life's Merits, and Liber Divinorum Operum, or Book of Book of Divine Works. Her religious visions were a big part of her fame at that time. However, if that was it, I probably wouldn't be doing an episode about her. There is a whole lot more 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 Armoni, Celestium Revelatorium, 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 plain chant typical of her time. Her most notable music work is the morality play Ordo Virtutum, or the Play of Virtues, a sung allegorical drama that features personified virtues battling the devil for the soul of a human being. It's considered one of the earliest known examples of liturgical drama and the oldest surviving morality play with original music. If you want to hear some of her music yourself, she is an artist on Spotify with millions of listens. The music is very medieval, so expect something kind of similar to Gregorian chant. Nonetheless, the fact that her music has millions of listens over a thousand 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 Cause et Cure Causes and Cures is a comprehensive medical and natural philosophy text that reflects her deep interest in the human body, health, and spiritual causes of illness. Written in the 12th century, it explores the origins of disease and offers a wide range of treatments and remedies. Blending empirical observations with theological and spiritual insights. The text begins with a cosmological and theological explanation of the human body, Ritterdine Hildegard's belief of 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. Hermetical theory integrates ideas from ancient Greek medicine, such as the four humors, but also adds a uniquely spiritual dimension, arguing that sin, emotions and spiritual imbalance can lead to physical illness. In Cause et Cere, 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 turn out to just be false, including a belief in using bleeding as a medical instrument. She later expanded her views in the book Physica, also known as Liber Simplicus Medicina or the Book of Simple Medicine. It's a natural history and medical text that catalogs the healing properties of various elements in nature. It's a companion work to Cause et Cure, 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 plants, the elements, trees, stones, fishes, birds, animals, reptiles, and metals. Each entry typically describes the nature or temperament of a substance, whether it's 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 medical herbs. It had to do with what was no more than a couple lines of text which changed the brewing of beer forever. Hildegard of Bingen is often credited with being the first known person 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 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 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. They had various 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. In addition to everything else I've mentioned so far, Hildegard of Bingen also created a secret language called the lingua ignata, or unknown language, a unique invented language that she likely used for mystical or symbolic purposes. It consists of around a thousand invented words, mostly nouns, along with an accompanying Alphabet called the literae ignote. 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. Although 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 only one of four women to receive the title. Recognizing her theological and spiritual significance, the legacy of Hildegard of Bingen spans multiple disciplines theology, music, medicine, natural science, 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 Okun and Cameron Kiefer. Today's review comes from listener JRP Rise up over on Apple Podcasts in the United States. They write finally, I did it. I listen to all the episodes and this podcast is a godsend. It's been with me during my workout journey. Gary has been my workout partner for 600 days in a row and has helped me lose over £100. I could not have done it without Gary's storytelling and dry humor. Some days I want to cut my five mile short, but I'm able to go the distance because I get sucked into some obscure moment in history and want to know more. Thank you Gary for always being with me and helping me better my health and my mind. By the way, I'm an Auburn University alum and they've had a historic basketball season which I hope ends in cutting down the nets. Please give me a War Eagle on the air. Well, thanks J.R.P. rise up and let me just say well done. Well done indeed. You have taken enormous steps not just to improve your body, but also to improve your mind. You have accomplished something that everyone should aspire to. 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