Hildegard of Bingen: a Saint for Women, Creatives, and Nature-Lovers
“Woman may be made from man, but no man can be made without a woman.”- Hildegard of Bingen
St. Hildegard (1098-1179AD), a saint from the Middle Ages, made this statement about the creation story in Genesis. She had a way of capturing people’s attention with words and her perspective continues to apply to today’s modern context, especially regarding our environment. We don’t often hear about ecological defenders from the Middle Ages but we can be certain of one: Saint and Doctor of the Church, Hildegard of Bingen.
St. Hildegard is the most recent addition to the ranks of female Doctors of the Church, along with Saints Teresa of Avila, Therese of Lisieux, and Catherine of Sienna. What about this German abbess qualifies her to stand among such spiritual giants? Her talents ranged from composing, preaching, medicine, and ecology. She is most known for having mystical visions, which she described through a variety of forms including songs, essays, and artwork. Her accomplishments are all the more impressive given that she received very little education as a child.
One of 10 children, Hildegard was born into a German noble family and at the early age of three began having visions of the cosmos, revealing the deep connection between God and the natural world. When she was around 10 years old, her family put her under the care of Jutta of Spanheim, a religious noblewoman, with whom she lived in seclusion until she was old enough to enter into a convent. Hildegard became a nun at the age of 14.
She eventually became the abbess of the convent at Disibodenberg, Germany and later founded two other religious communities near Bingen. She began writing about her visions in her first work, Scivias, which received papal approval in 1151AD. She was a prolific writer whose deep love of the outdoors inspired several medicinal books, which natural healers still cite today. At the age of 60, she toured Germany to speak to men and women, clergy, and laity – something most unusual for a woman of that time.
Hildegard espoused the goodness of the natural world and had a creation-focused spirituality. She believed the care of the earth was part of our responsibility as followers of Christ. She wrote: “We shall awaken from our dullness and rise vigorously toward justice. If we fall in love with creation deeper and deeper, we will respond to its endangerment with passion.”
She experienced a midlife awakening “embracing a new life and spiritual path in her early 40s, resulting in the most prolific and creative period of her life that continued into her early 80s.”[2]
The following description of Hildegard’s ambition puts her personality in league with other female saints in the history of the Church: “She was a staunch defender of the groups she led, traveling far distances when she felt the interests of her abbey were being ignored or threatened. She stood up to the patriarchal leadership of the day, and when she didn’t get the answer she wanted from her male superior, she would go over his head until she got what she needed. One time, she even fell prey to a paralytic sickness until her wishes were honored, at which time God healed her of her illness.”
The Greening Power of Creation
While some saints focus on our inherent sinfulness as humans, St. Hildegard affirmed humankind’s inherent goodness. She wrote: “Every creature is a glittering, glistening mirror of Divinity.” This is not to say that Hildegard ignored evil or sin, but she believed that the spark of God within us was always greater than the temptation to do wrong. That’s why she could say: “Even in a world that’s being shipwrecked, remain brave and strong.”
One of Hildegard’s greatest contributions was her coining of the term viriditas. Although a difficult word to directly translate from Latin into English, it is most closely translated as a union between the two words: green and truth. The meaning is both literal (green and growth) and metaphorical (freshness and vitality). Viriditas is the creative power of life. Most of all, viriditas is God’s greening power, which “gives life to all things and inspires and revives our spiritual lives.”
Hildegard wrote the following poem to describe this creative power running through the natural world.
Viriditas
I am the one whose praise echoes on high.
I adorn all the earth.
I am the breeze that nurtures all things green.
I encourage blossoms to flourish with ripening fruits.
I am led by the spirit to feed the purest streams.
I am the rain coming from the dew that causes the grasses to laugh with the joy of life.
I call forth tears. I am the yearning for good.
Good people, Most royal greening verdancy, Rooted in the sun,
You shine with radiant light, in this circle of earthly existence.
You shine so finely, it surpasses understanding.
God hugs you. You are encircled by the arms of the mystery of God.
Amen.
Hildegard believed that God was the source of all viriditas. She viewed it as God’s greening power. But she also believed that we all have viriditas, this creative life power, within us. Healing comes when we figure out what is blocking our viriditas.
Speak!
Hildegard is known to have said: “Dare to declare who you are. It is not far from the shores of silence to the boundaries of speech. The path is not long, but the way is deep. You must not only walk there; you must be prepared to leap.” It feels safe to assume Hildegard gave these words to other women, at a time in history when few women spoke publicly, and fewer still were heard. Women endured unsanitary conditions, suffered inequality, and cared for themselves and their loved ones at a time when disease was rampant. How radical her message of self-proclamation must have seemed to her contemporaries!
It is said that during the darkest days of the Church, God takes special care to seed the population with saints who remind the people of their worth, who admonish sinners, and care for the helpless. The Middle Ages, also referred to as the Dark Ages, was a time of the Black Plague, the Inquisitions, and limited education for people. It was because of individuals like Hildegard that the Church found renewal and restoration.
Hildegard Catches the Papal Spotlight
Three Popes in the modern era have elevated Hildegard’s popularity by bringing attention to her contributions to the Church. In 1979, Pope Saint John Paul II described Hildegard as a "light for her people and her time" on the occasion of the 800th anniversary of her death. Both Hildegard and John Paul II shared a love for the natural world.
It was Pope Benedict XVI, in 2012, who proclaimed Hildegard a Doctor of the Church, emphasizing her "significant influence" and the lasting relevance of her writings about theology, liturgy, natural sciences, and music. He also highlighted her unique role as a female author in the Middle Ages.
Then in 2020, Pope Francis praised Hildegard as a "great" Doctor of the Church, recognizing her ability to connect scientific knowledge with spirituality and her teachings that benefited both men and women. He also mentioned her harmonious hymns.
May we all remember Hildegard for her creative expressions and love of the natural world. As time has shown, it is never a waste to remind the world that carrying the light of truth where there is darkness leaves a lasting impression that can span centuries.
Hildegard’s feast day is September 17. Learn more about this saint from her writings as translated by Mark Atherton called Hildegard of Bingen, Selected Writings.
Natalie Hanemann is the founder of Be/Wilder Writer, LLC, a company exploring the intersection of creativity, wilderness, and spirituality. Since 2000, Natalie has worked in book publishing as an acquisitions editor, developmental editor, and ghostwriter. In 2024, Natalie expanded her business to include her love of the outdoors through retreats and meditative adventures. Learn more at www.youbewilder.com.