This would be Hildegard’s home, and mode of existence, for more than three decades. Wrenched from her family, she was enclosed as an anchoress with another well-born, older girl, Countess Jutta von Sponheim – they lived in a cell alongside, but segregated from, monks in the hillside abbey of Disibodenberg. The idea of anchorage was to be ‘buried’ from the world and rise again in immortality through sequestration and prayer. (In our own time, the British neurologist Oliver Sacks suggested these visions, which were accompanied by severe, debilitating physical symptoms, were akin to migraines.) What were Hildegard von Bingen ‘s visions about?Īt a young age, and throughout her life, she had visions, believed to be sent from God. These set her apart, in every sense. The habit of donating a child, a voluntary form of tax, was relatively common, but Hildegard had already proved herself an exception. Immediately, her childhood acquires fascination. Likely to have been the tenth child, she was given as a tithe to the church, either at eight or 14. Her parents were land owners, middle-ranking, but not grand. Hildegard was born in Alzey in the wine-growing region of Rheinhessen in 1098, though with an almost mystical respect for the harmony of round numbers, she herself recorded the date as 1100. When and where was Hildegard von Bingen born ?

However, frustratingly little is known about her musical interests or practice. The facts we know give us vital context to grasp how a barely educated woman could move so relatively freely in the highest echelons of medieval life.

In certain respects, her biography is well documented. Six of the best multi-talented composers.

Hildegard of bingen writings