Hildegard of Bingen, also known as Saint Hildegard and the Sibyl of the Rhine, was a German Benedictine abbess and polymath active as a writer, composer, philosopher, mystic, visionary, and as a medical writer and practitioner during the High Middle Ages.

What age did Hildegard die?

Hildegard was born in 1098 to a noble family in Rhineland in Western Germany. From a young age she experienced visions and was offered to the Church around the age of eight. She lived her entire life as a nun, becoming a powerful Benedictine Abbess. She died on 17 September 1179 at the age of 81.

What happened to Hildegard von Bingen?

On 17 September 1179, when Hildegard died, her sisters claimed they saw two streams of light appear in the skies and cross over the room where she was dying.

Why is Hildegard still popular today?

Hildegard's soaring music is still popular today. The first composer for whom we have a biography, she composed 77 sacred songs and Ordo Virtutum, a liturgical drama set to music. ... Her lyrics, as well as her melodies, were highly original and she was the only 12th century writer to compose in free verse.

What is Hildegard von Bingen known for?

Hildegard of Bingen (also known as Hildegarde von Bingen, l. ... Along with her impressive body of work and ethereal musical compositions, Hildegard is best known for her spiritual concept of Viriditas – “greenness” - the cosmic life force infusing the natural world.

Die Deutschen: Hildegard von Bingen | Ganze Folge Terra X

Who is Hildegard von Bingen What are her contributions in music?

Hildegard is one of the first identifiable composers in Western music. She collected 77 of her lyric poems along with their musical setting, which she also composed, in Symphonia armonie celestium revelationum (Symphony of the Harmony of Celestial Revelations).

What era did Hildegard von Bingen live in?

Hildegard was a Benedictine abbess, writer, poet, and composer who lived in 12th-century Germany.

When was Hildegard given to the church?

Hildegard was given to the church at age 8. She was born at Bockelheim on the Nahe, the tenth child of a German count who historians believe was a military man in the service of Meginhard of Spanheim.

Which work by Hildegard von Bingen is an example of one of the earliest known surviving morality plays?

One of her works as a composer, the Ordo Virtutum, is an early example of liturgical drama and arguably the oldest surviving morality play.

Where did Hildegard von Bingen spend most of her life?

12th-century composer, theologian, writer and visionary Hildegard von Bingen spent most of her life in an isolated, hilltop monastery. She didn't start writing music until she was 38, and she set her own beautiful verses to music, the only 12th-century composer to do so.

Was Hildegard of Bingen an anchoress?

Hildegard of Bingen stands out as a visionary and strong intellectual power of the Middle Ages. ... It may be because of her ill health her parents decided to dedicate Hildegard to the church. At the age of eight, Hildegard was brought to an anchoress' cell at the Benedictine monastery of Disibodenberg.

What music did Hildegard von Bingen write?

Most of Hildegard's music is monophonic, meaning a single line of music without accompaniment. Listen to how the singers all sing the same music in Hildegard's Ave Generosa. This is consistent with the Church chant of the Medieval Period, often referred to as plainchant.

Why is Hildegard Bingen important to music?

Hildegard of Bingen taught us that creativity is both an expression and form of prayer. Hildegard was one of the most important composers of the Medieval Period. Her morality play and opera, Ordo Virtutum, is the only Medieval composition surviving today with text and music.

Why was Hildegard bedridden?

In Scivias, her first book of visionary theology, she describes being bedridden when she received the divine command to write and speak about her visions that she had kept secret since earliest childhood.

What contributions did Hildegard of Bingen make to knowledge and the arts?

During her 81 years of life, she wrote nine books addressing theology, medicine, science and diet. She is credited with writing the first book on gynecology. She wrote 70 poems, chants and songs, and many consider her play "Ordo Virtutum" (Play of Virtues) to be a distant ancestor of opera.

What is the meaning of Hildegarde?

noun. a female given name: from Germanic words meaning “battle” and “protector.”

Did Hildegard von Bingen claim to have mystical powers?

She was controversial during her lifetime. She claimed to have mysti cal powers, but not everyone believed her. In 1165 she moved her order of nun to Bingen, Germany. After her death at age 81, there were several efforts to cat onize her, but all the efforts failed.

How did Hildegard von Bingen become a composer?

Hildegard the composer

When Jutta died in 1136, Hildegard was appointed prioress and it was then that she started writing music for the first time, for her nuns to sing as part of the Divine Office. The only music teaching Hildegard had received from Jutta was instruction in singing and the duties of a choir nun.

What did Hildegard of Bingen wear?

The nuns at Rupertsberg under Hildegard of Bingen's leadership wore long, white, silk veils and golden crowns adorned with crosses on both sides and the back, with a figure of the Lamb on the front.

How many pieces of music did Hildegard von Bingen have?

Hildegard of Bingen music for the Medieval Period

She composed 77 unique works of music, including one of her better-known works, Ordo Virtutum (Play of the Virtues), a musical play on morality.