Hildegard of Bingen

Hildegard of Bingen was a Christian mystic, visionary, and composer who lived in the 12th century. She was born into a noble family and was offered as a child to the Benedictine monastery of Disibodenberg, where she became a nun at the age of 15. She later founded two convents at Rupertsberg and Eibingen. She was a prolific writer and produced many works on theology, cosmology, medicine, natural history, music, poetry, and morality. She also claimed to have visions from God since childhood, which she recorded in her most famous work, Scivias (Know the Ways). She was also a musical innovator and composed many songs and chants for liturgical use. She invented a secret language called Lingua ignota (Unknown Language) and a corresponding alphabet. She was also a leader and a reformer who corresponded with popes, emperors, bishops, abbots, and other influential figures of her time. She was also a healer and a herbalist who wrote about the properties and uses of various plants and minerals. She was a remarkable woman who transcended the limitations of her time and left a lasting legacy for posterity.¹