Illuminations of Hildegard of Bingen

by Matthew Fox

An introduction to the life and work of Hildegard.

• Reveals the life and teachings of one of the greatest female artists and intellectuals of the Western Mystical Tradition.

• Contains 24 full-color illustrations by Hildegard of Bingen.

• Includes commentary by Matthew Fox, author of Original Blessing (250,000 sold).

Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179) was an extraordinary woman living in the Rhineland valley during most of the twelfth century. Besides being the abbess of a large and influential Benedictine abbey, she was a prominent preacher, healer, scientist, and artist. She also was a composer and theologian, writing nine books on theology, medicine, science, and physiology, as well as 70 poems and an opera. At the age of 42, she began to have visions; these were captured as 36 illuminations--24 of which are recorded in this book along with her commentaries on them. She also wrote a text describing these visions entitled Scivias (Know the Ways), now published as Hildegard of Bingen's Mystical Visions .

Author Matthew Fox has stated, "If Hildegard had been a man, she would be well known as one of the greatest artists and intellectuals the world has ever seen." It is a credit to the power of the women's movement and our times that this towering genius of Western thought is being rediscovered in her full grandeur and autonomy.

Virtually unknown for more than 800 years in Western history, Hildegard was featured as one of the women in Judy Chicago's Dinner Party in the early 1980s and published for the first time in English by Bear & Company in 1982. In addition to her mystical teachings, Hildegard's music has been performed and recorded for a new and growing audience.

Genres: Spirituality, Art, Nonfiction, Religion, Christianity, History, Medieval

216 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1985

About the author

Timothy James "Matthew " Fox is an American priest and theologian. Formerly a member of the Dominican Order within the Catholic Church, he became a member of the Episcopal Church following his expulsion from the order in 1993.
Fox has written 35 books that have been translated into 68 languages and have sold millions of copies and by the mid-1990s had attracted a "huge and diverse following"

Reviews

[Whitney · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wasn't aware that this sort, or much of any, Christian mysticism existed. Also, not often do we hear of such a highly intelligent and talented woman of the middle ages. With that said, I am giving this book only two stars because I believe it to be poorly written. It appears it was published by the people of this same religious persuasion for other people of the sort. Readers unfamiliar with the terms and concepts might find them poorly explained. However, I'm sure it wasn't easy to translate this from 12th century German. I would rather read a secular book on this topic, but as far as I know there is not one in existence.

[Stacey (Egger) Eising · Rating 1 out of 5]

Finally, a man has done the work of revealing what Hildegard would really have said if she hadn't been so cowed by oppression—and spoilers, it's a bunch of heresy. "Hildegard did not know all that she was saying ... her writing and visioning were truer than her conscious awareness could articulate."

[vinnie · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF. Have never been so genuinely angry at a book before, not even with Camus. Absolutely abysmal, abysmal excuse for commentary. The prose, diction, and sentence structure you would expect from a middle schooler. I don’t even know where to begin. The quotes from colleagues who are not academics and just random people (often Jungians, which I will get to later) he has [seemingly imaginary] conversations with about Hildegard where they conveniently happen to speak in a way that argues exactly whatever horseshit he is trying to say. The constant belittling of Hildegard for being unclear while he mutilates her writings and her art. The fact there are about 10 actual words from Hildegard per chapter followed by mountains of hot air. The fact that the illuminations are themselves small and faded pictures jarringly put into the middle of one chapter, in matte. The fact that he accuses her of metaphysical antisemitism (even though ironically, she is one of the few mystics of her time who does not have this problem, though her thoughts on the Second Crusade are not exactly unproblematic) AND THEN QUOTES JUNG (and his own Jungian psychiatrist friends!!!) DOZENS OF TIMES PER CHAPTER! Haphazardly mentioning the Shekinah (as if he knows what that means!) like the spineless New Age charlatan he is. Nauseating misuse of countless terms from Eastern religions.

You should be put down like a dog. It is a cruel God that allowed you to write and publish this without reservations.

[Debbie Hoskins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sometimes I don't know how I end up finding and reading books. I'm majorly studying the Book of Kells. This has good ornamented first letters, borders, and the paintings that the nuns made from Hildegard's description of her visions.
I found a wonderful quote on p. 24.
" It is important that God be imaged essentially as curved and circular. This is an ancient tradition wherever women's religions are allowed their say: the Divinity as circle, or circle in motion, that is, spiral. "
I am a certified labyrinth facilitator. The labyrinth in Chartes Cathedral from around the 13th century is a circular path that may have been used by those who could not make pilgrimages to the holy land.

It's time to return the book to the library I've had my nine weeks and I'm not ready to speed read. It's dense. Right now I have listed it as "probably-won-t-read" But I'm not ready to put it as "couldn-t-finish" I might take it out again...

[Molly Morris · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was one of the few books I could find about Hildegard von Bingen’s Illuminations in English. She’s a fascinating person and I wanted to dig more into this particular area of her creations. This book only gets 3 stars because it’s dense and contains a lot of terminology and concepts that are specific to Fox’s creation spirituality and Christian mysticism. The author spends about half of time talking about general aspects of mysticism and the other half actually explaining what’s going on in the art. I wish there was more explanation of the illuminations themselves.

[Youmna]

The author mixes his own thoughts with the Saint's and analyses her visions using shocking words like 'erotic' and New Age terminologies. I confess, I could not go through with reading this book.

[Patch · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked it! Good interpretations of her work, lots of references to other works I want to check out, and big beautiful full page pictures of her art. My only criticism is I think it might have hyped her up a bit too much. There were a lot of references to modern social issues with the implication that Hildegard would have had the most progressive stance. There's no real way to tell what her thoughts would have been, but I don't think channeling God excludes her entirely from the biases of her time and class. That's not to say she would have been a bigot or anything, I just think it could have been more clear where the author was being literal as opposed to extrapolating.

[John Damon Davis · Rating 2 out of 5]

Completely unfaithful to the source material and a terrible translation and analysis of Saint Hildegard's theology. (It's not just me who's saying that, the scholarly consensus is that Fox is an academically dishonest translator)

Good "full scale" color reproductions of the medieval illuminations though.

[D.R.O · Rating 5 out of 5]

im obsessed with her

[Margie Dorn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is not a "thick" book, but the prose was a bit "thick" for me in a lot of places. It took me a while to finish it. Others may have a different experience. One of my favorite bits of the book was seeing Plates 5 and 6, which were essentially a depiction of "Vitruvian Man" by a woman, this Hildegard of Bingen, living three centuries before Leonardo da Vinci and his cronies. I appreciated Fox's realization that the crucifixion on its own was simply not yet for Hildegard the central and isolated preoccupation it became for many Christians in later medieval times... she was focused on life and resurrection. I felt her vision of hell, as elucidated by Fox, bore similarities to that of C.S. Lewis, with the emphasis on the refusal of the individual to "see" the grace of God. And I was particularly pleased with the final chapter, which likens the communion of saints and the operation of the universe to a musical symphony.

[Treladon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting. This book has given me a hunger for more of St. Hildegard's writings.

Only problem with this book is that Fox keeps trying to insinuate that Hildegard was some sort of pagan. But that doesn't really jive with her having grown up in a Catholic convent, becoming the abbess of said convent, being canonized a saint in the Church, and being given the title of Doctor of the Church. They don't give those titles out willy-nilly.

But I still give it a 3/5, because I enjoyed reading most of it.

[Nathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fox explains the nuances of St. Hildegard's illustrations in an accessible way. I enjoy how he links her worldview to our current issues such as resource exploitation, injustice and over focus on fall/redemption theology. The book is a great primer for starting to investigate and learn about St. Hildegard. My favorite painting is the one that appears on the cover. It is a fantastic image with the blue image of a compassionate Christ, circled by the firey cords of the Holy Spirit, inside the circle of Father God. The mandala is one I will use and find comfort in.

[Daria · Rating 1 out of 5]

Kindle version lacks illustrations

Kindle version misrepresented. No color plates. Commentary by Fox not worth the read, would rather read original text. Kindle version not worth the money.

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent book and an amazing woman who lived over 900 years ago but is so relevant today with our division and lack of care for creation. Read Matthew Fox’s interpretation of her mandalas and learn her thoughts on compassion, good works and justice as well as her love of the earth.

[Joe Gibson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book by Matthew Fox.

Beautiful plates, and fantastic analysis.

If you like this, please visit http://www.hildegardchristianmystic.com

Thank you.

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

I turned to this book after reading Matrix by Lauren Groff (a fictional account of a woman mystic) to renew my love for the Rhineland mystics of the twelfth century. Matthew Fox offers a wonderful discussion of Hildegard's illuminations. She, and her contemporary women mystics, possessed such a beautiful theology. Hildegard was simply extraordinary in all that she did but most importantly, to me, was how she pointed out and celebrated our common divinity - "we, too, are 'other Christs'" According to her, compassion is the seed within us that develops into God. Compassion floods the universe. (p. 37) She develops this further as she emphasizes our interdependence and points to the beauty of ecumenism. We need to pay attention - Hildegard has much to teach us!

[Nancy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was a bit disappointed with this book. The illustrations of her artwork are nice but the writing. Mathew Fox dominates this book with his viewpoint and only quotes small snippets of her writings. Most of the time he is not even quoting full sentences. I find this very annoying as it seems so much cherry picking you really are not sure this is about his views or if it really is covering her views because there is so little of her own words involved! Maybe it is, as others have stated, a good starter for a look into her writings. But with so little of her writings in it I find that a stretch. I am glad I have another book about her to read in my stash. Perhaps that will be more helpful.

[Frank · Rating 4 out of 5]

Matthew Fox offers this introduction to Hildegard von Bingen as one of the greatest artists, musicians, and intellectuals of not only her 12th century Germany, but the whole mystical tradition in the west. The heart of this book is Fox’s meditations on the artwork created to capture Hildegard’s visions. He leans heavily on not only Hildegard’s own words about the images, but also on Meister Eckhart (1260-1328) and Victoria Cirlot (born 1955). I enjoyed this book, but it left me longing to read Hildegard in her own words.

[Anna · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was looking for the translated works of Hildegard. This book is not that. This is pictures drawn by Hildegard with commentary by Matthew Fox. He quotes Hildegard, but also many other sources. It was informative about Hildegard, what was happening and how this affected art, religion, and philosophy.
If you want a book about Hildegard this is a good place to start. If you want a book by Hildegard this is not a book for you.

[Brezaja · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rating it 5 stars for the ideas, her art, and the divine timing this subject matter came into my life. HOWEVER, looking at the other reviews, I realize I have to read about her from a more credible scholar. Definitely some interesting patriarchal bs happening at some parts, interspersed through her visions and rumination over her life. But other than that I am very intrigued by Hildegard of Bingen and will be researching her and her life a bit more deeply.

[Ben · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pretty fuckin pagan for being so Christian. She affirms sexual love for its own sake, eternal becoming, Nature; she condemns entrenched unjust institutional power; she sometimes calls God She; she says we hear divinity in music. Love her.

"Be not lax in celebrating. Be not lazy in the festive service of God. Be ablaze with enthusiasm. Let us be an alive, burning offering before the altar of God!"

[Ali · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible life, incredible works. Someone that should be taught in our Medieval history courses

[Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read while on Germany trip and we went to Bingen!

[Maria Hrickova · Rating 2 out of 5]

illustrations 5; text 2

[WhiplashGirlchild · Rating 1 out of 5]

Horrible commentary. Do not reccomend.

[Bryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although this book sometimes strays a bit too far into over-intellectualized territory, it is pretty balanced overall, and seeing Hildegard's art along with some of what she herself had to say about it is great. Some of the other insights by the author that connects Hildegard's mysticism with the wider spiritual world are also interesting, but occasionally I think the author stretches a little far to make a point.

[Vicki · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hildegard of Bingen - extraordinary woman, visionary. This book was way above my paygrade! Very hard for me to comprehend and wore me out chapter by chapter - it took me a long time to read but I was very drawn to it and did not give up. It's one of those I'll definitely read again and again through the years. Two big thumbs up!

[Krk · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars for the picture quality. Truly a great book to have on hand when studying the illuminations describing her visions. 2 for the content which is rather too "New Age" in themes and explanations.

[Lulu]

1151/2

“she began to have visions; these were captured as 36 illuminations--24 of which are recorded in this book along with her commentaries on them. She also wrote a text describing these visions entitled Scivias”
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...

Also O Nobilissima Viriditas song

[Jodi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a most beautiful book and I use it for quiet reflection and for sharing with others. It continually refreshes me.