Hildegard was a german composer, poet, musician, natural historian, and playwright. She was recognized by the twelfth-century Church as a visionary. She possessed a divine gift for perceiving images and messages directly from God. Hildegard documented her ornate visions in numerous important works, including the Scivias (c. 1151) and the Liber divinorum operum (c. 1170). She is also well-known for her medical and scientific writings and musical compositions. Famed for her prophesies and wisdom, Hildegard's reputation as a source of advice led many people to seek her opinion on a variety of matters, a quality evidenced by her extensive surviving correspondence. Critics have even referred to Hildegard as the "Dear Abby" of the twelfth century.
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Composed in three parts, the Scivias records Hildegard's visionary account of the Creation through the Apocalypse. The first six visions of the work depict the composition of the universe and the evolution of the relationship of God to humanity, while the next seven visions illustrate the process of human redemption—the coming of the Savior, and the battle between the Church and Satan. The final book contains thirteen visions in which Hildegard describes an elaborate edifice containing the various divine virtues and concludes with her account of the final days of the apocalypse. In her 1985 essay "Hildegard of Bingen: Visions and Validation," Barbara Newman commented: "[In the Scivias], Hildegard ranged over the themes of divine majesty, the Trinity, creation, the fall of Lucifer and of Adam, the stages of salvation history, the Church and its sacraments, the Last Judgment and the world to come. She lingered long over he subjects of priesthood, the Eucharist, and marriage … and she returned time and again to two of her favorite themes, the centrality of the Incarnation and the necessity of spiritual combat." Often considered the most difficult of Hildegard's mystical writings, the visions recounted in Liber divinorum operum reveal Hildegard's scientific interest, depicting humanity's place in the scheme of the cosmos and emphasizing a sense of reason and harmony in nature. Also presenting Hildegard's visions is the Liber vitae meritorum (1163; The Book of Life's Rewards), in which she portrays dialogues between the various human vices and their corresponding virtues interspersed with Biblical glosses and theological
Composed in three parts, the Scivias records Hildegard's visionary account of the Creation through the Apocalypse. The first six visions of the work depict the composition of the universe and the evolution of the relationship of God to humanity, while the next seven visions illustrate the process of human redemption—the coming of the Savior, and the battle between the Church and Satan. The final book contains thirteen visions in which Hildegard describes an elaborate edifice containing the various divine virtues and concludes with her account of the final days of the apocalypse. In her 1985 essay "Hildegard of Bingen: Visions and Validation," Barbara Newman commented: "[In the Scivias], Hildegard ranged over the themes of divine majesty, the Trinity, creation, the fall of Lucifer and of Adam, the stages of salvation history, the Church and its sacraments, the Last Judgment and the world to come. She lingered long over he subjects of priesthood, the Eucharist, and marriage … and she returned time and again to two of her favorite themes, the centrality of the Incarnation and the necessity of spiritual combat." Often considered the most difficult of Hildegard's mystical writings, the visions recounted in Liber divinorum operum reveal Hildegard's scientific interest, depicting humanity's place in the scheme of the cosmos and emphasizing a sense of reason and harmony in nature. Also presenting Hildegard's visions is the Liber vitae meritorum (1163; The Book of Life's Rewards), in which she portrays dialogues between the various human vices and their corresponding virtues interspersed with Biblical glosses and theological