A child of a wealthy and noble German family, Hildegard is handed over to a Benedictine Monastery from the age of 8. As a novice, she learns the art of herbal medicine and reading and writing from her mentor Jutta and quickly excels in all. When Jutta dies, Hildegard is horrified by the self-flagellation marks on her body. She vows to change the ways of the order, and progressively introduces logic and physics into metaphysics.
Hildegard becomes the abbess of the convent, successfully rebelling against mediocrity and innovating the laws from the highest level. She has powerful visions that she can apprehend and records. When she experiences these mystic perceptions, she mentions them to her superior, without fear of the obvious scepticism and suspicion of heresy from the Christian order. The Pope grants her his support and allows her to publish the written accounts of her revelations. With this, Hildegard’s life takes a new turn. Allowed to build her own convent, she invents a revolutionary and humanist approach to
devotion.
Composer, linguist, scientist, doctor, writer, poet, mystic, philosopher, politician, ecological activist… She is a rare example, a woman ahead of her time. Deserved of a sainthood that has never been granted, yet her popularity and teachings have spanned the ages. Hildegard’s musical, literary and philosophical works are still loved today and her influence in holistic medicine is growing. The first composer whose life we know about, she was also the first woman to write about female sexuality. Centuries later, masters such as Dante and Leonardo di Vinci were inspired by her works. Hildegard of Bingen was one the most important inspirational and visionary female leaders from Medieval times, responsible for bringing Europe out of the darkness and into the modern era of science and enlightenment.
