Hildegard of Bingen is a very interesting historical figure, and her life story is fascinating to learn about.  Yes, she was an herbalist, but that is only a small part of who she was.  Hildegard wrote prolifically as a poet, a musician, a dramatist, a political moralist, and a prophet.  Hildegard was most well-known for her mystical tendencies.  Hildegard was probably born in 1098 or 1099 in the small German town of Böckelheim, which lies on a river close to Mainz.  Hildegard's father, Hildebert, was a knight.  As a young child, around the age of six, Hildegard began having visions.  When she was eight, she went to live at the Benedictine convent at Disibodenberg.  No one knows for sure why she was sent there, but it could have been related to the visions she had, as a way for protection, or even for economical reasons.  Hildegard's main teacher and caretaker at the convent was the Abbess Jutta.  Hildegard herself became a nun when she was fifteen.  When Jutta died in 1136, Hildegard stepped in as Abbess in the community.

    Hildegard's visions were mostly kept secret until she was forty-two years old.  Under the advisement of the archbishop of Mainz, Hildegard began to write about her visions in a book entitled Scivias, which roughly means "May you know."  She wrote the book between the years 1141 and 1151.  During these years, Hildegard's visions became very well-known, especially throughout the religious communities.  St. Bernard of Clairvaux became convinced that Hildegard's visions were truly sent by God, and that she was his prophetess.  Even Pope Eugenius III recognized this and supported her recording of the visions.  Hildegard's popularity for her visions caused her community at Disibodenberg to grow so much that she decided to move and set up a new convent at Rupertsberg, which was near Bingen. 

    Hildegard wrote a medical work, Subtilitatum Diversarum Naturarum Creaturarum (Of the Simplicities of Various Natural Creatures), between 1151 and 1158.  The entire original work either has not survived or has not yet been found.  However, two sections of the book have survived, one of which is Liber Simplicis Medicinae (The Book of Simple Medicine).  This book is more simply known as Physica (Medicine).  Physica, while only originally a smaller section of a much larger book, contains nine books itself: Plants, Elements, Trees, Stones, Fish, Birds, Animals, Reptiles, and Metals.  The "Plants" book consists of 230 sections on plants and their medicinal uses.  Hildegard's writing suggests that her knowledge came from several sources, including personal experience, knowledge gained by studying written authorities, and traditional lore.  Most of the plants included in her book are those which could have been found in the woods, fields, or gardens near her convent.  There were a few more exotic ingredients, like sugar, that she would have had to have purchased.

    Hildegard was a follower of the belief that created things consist of four elements: hot, cold, wet, and dry.  She believed that the balance of the elements and their humors were very important for good health, so Hildegard always included whether a plant was hot or cold in her descriptions of them.  In the 12th century, monks, nuns, convent workers, villagers in the parishes, and wayfarers all relied on the clergy for medical treatment.  This is probably why Hildegard had so much medical knowledge.  If she had not grown up in the convent and become an Abbess herself, Hildegard might have never gained all that knowledge.  Physica gives us a great idea today of how medicine was practiced in Hildegard's time. 

    There are a few facts about Physica that make it a very significant herbal work.  First of all, it was the first natural history book written in Germany.  Secondly, it is the first medical plant book attributed to a woman.  Hildegard's work influenced other German botanists, such as Brunfels, Fuchs, and Bock.  They are traditionally known as the "German fathers of botany."  As Frank J. Anderson has suggested, it seems that "Germany botany is more indebted to a 'mother'" (Anderson).  The third significant fact about Physica is that it is one of the oldest sources for the original names of many plants.  When Hildegard came upon a plant whose name couldn't be translated into Latin, she just used the original name.  These names are very important to those who study the development of the German language.

    The text of Physica is quite interesting, because while it definitely has a scientific and medicinal feeling to much of it, there is still an essence of the mystical in her writing.   It seems to me like Hildegard found a way to combine Medieval religious beliefs about good and evil spirits into her application of how and when to use certain herbs for medicinal purposes.  For instance, in the end of the preface of Physica, Hildegard writes, "Certain herbs have the virtue of very strong aromas, others the harshness of the most pungent aromas.  They can curb many evils, since evil spirits do not like them.  But there are also certain herbs that hold the foam of the elements.  People who try to seek their own fortunes are deceived by these.  The devil loves these herbs and mingles with them."

    Before I began researching for this project, I had never even heard of Hildegard of Bingen.  I don't ever remember learning about herbals and their various authors at any point during all of my school years.  And after all the things I've learned during this project, I really think that is a shame.  Hildegard would have been a fascinating person to learn about in any history or science class.  I would have been happy to learn about her Physica, or any of the other multiple writings she did.  I wonder if it's possible that she is often not taken seriously in our time because of how much of her life is wrapped up in visions and other religious activities.  It could be argued in public schools that Hildegard shouldn't be discussed because learning about her life might bring up too many questions about prophecy and other mystical and religious things.  However, I think learning about Hildegard can really give us insight into what life was like in the Middle Ages.  Much of life revolved around the Church and religion.  Often, religion was the controlling factor that stopped many scientific minds from presenting the knowledge they had and the discoveries they had made.  And yet Hildegard was able to find a balance between religion and medicine and science, as is proven by her writing of Physica and her position as an Abbess in her own convent.

Excerpts from Physica:

"Millet [hirs] is cold and is somewhat warm.  It augments neither a person's blood nor flesh and does not contribute strength, but only fills up the stomach and diminishes great hunger because it does not have any nourishment.  It also makes the brain watery.  It makes the stomach lukewarm and sluggish.  It stirs up a storm in the humors that are in the person.  It is almost like a weed and is not healthy for a person to eat."

"Licorice [liquiricio] is moderately warm.  No matter how it is eaten, it gives a person a clear voice, makes his or her mind pleasant, and causes clear eyesight.  It soothes the stomach for digestion.  But it is also beneficial to an insane person if eaten because it extinguishes the furor in the person's head."

"Lily [lilium] is more cold than warm.  Therefore, take the bulb of the root of a lily and pound it strongly and mix it with old lard.  Melt it in a dish and put it in a small metal vessel.  Frequently anoint whoever has white leprosy with the ointment after warming it, and the person will be healed.  Whoever has red leprosy can be cured in a similar way. . . . The smell of the bud of the lily and the smell of the flowers themselves cheer the person's heart and make the person's thinking right."

"Lavender [lavendula] is warm and dry since it has just a little moisture.  It is not worth a person to eat it, but it does have a strong smell.  If a person has many lice, let the person smell lavender frequently; the lice will die.  And its smell clears the eyes since it contains the power of the strongest aromas and the usefulness of the bitterest one.  Therefore, it constrains many evil things, and evil spirits are driven out by it."

"Fern [farn] is very warm and dry, and it contains a little juice.  But it holds a lot of virtue, certainly such virtue that the devil flees from it.  It also holds certain energy that is similar to the energy of the sun, because just as the sun lights up what is dark, so also fern chases away apparitions; therefore evil spirits disdain it."

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Primary Source:
Hozeski, Bruce W.. Hildegard's Healing Plants. Boston: Beacon Press, 2001.

Secondary Source:
Anderson, Frank J.. An Illustrated History of the Herbals. New York: Columbia University Press, 1997.

Notes: My primary source gave me much of the basic information about Physica, as well as the excerpts from Physica.  It is a reliable source because it is a translation of the original Physica by Hozeski, who founded Hildegard studies in the U.S. and who teaches at a university in Indiana.  My secondary source supplied me with all the rest of my information on Hildegard and Physica.  It is a reliable source because Anderson has direct, firsthand knowledge of the primary source and is a professor of the history of science.  The book is also published by a prominent university publishing company.

Image Information:
Hildegard Von Bingen.
Website: History's Women
Weblink: http://www.historyswomen.com/womenoffaith/Hildegard.html

Hildegard of Bingen, Physicas (Argentorati, 1533)
Weblink: Exhibits Online. Courtesy History of Science Collections, OU Libraries.

Lavender.
Website: Moosey's Country Garden
Weblink: http://www.mooseyscountrygarden.com/foliage-plants/lavender.html

Web Project by Samantha Aaron
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