Hildegard of Bingen: A visionary life

Sabina Flanagan's book provides a clear, coherent, and interesting account of Hildegard's life, without veering toward excessive speculation or sensationalism - always a temptation when dealing with topics like "vision" or "prophecy" or "faith healing." The book opens with a biographical overview of Hildegard's life, and of the context in which she lived. Succeeding chapters deal with the various dimensions of Hildegard's ministry. For the most part, the material is well-chosen; my only complaint would be the amount of attention given to her role as "healer." This chapter of the book has a certain arcane interest insofar as it reflects the culture and beliefs of the Middle Ages, but it is not an edifying or relevant discourse. For the most part, it is a somewhat belabored description of Hildegard's very non-scientific advice for healing various disorders. This was decidedly not her major contribution to human history. Other chapters deal with more significant and/or inspiring topics: Hildegard's role as administrator and pastoral theologian of sorts; her considerable contributions to the field of music; her writings and preaching; and her role as spiritual counselor. The book takes a bit of a downturn in the final chapter, when the author, albeit somewhat cautiously, hazards an interpretation of Hildegard's visionary experiences as being rooted in migraine headaches. Granted, the author admits that it is a major step from visionary to prophet, and that Hildegard's status as prophet cannot be reduced to neuro-physiological phenomena. Nevertheless, the thesis is forced, and highly speculative, since there is no objective evidence to indicate that Hildegard even suffered from migraines, much less that she confused them with divinely inspired visions. I personally suffer from migraines - and believe me, I'm in no danger of confusing them with divine revelations. Overall, it is a well-written book, although clearly intended for an educated audience. It is not an academic treatise, but neither does it fall into the genre of what we might call "popular biography." For motivated readers, it is a solid investment of time and energy - but read the last chapter with a few grains of salt.

This is a very insightful book written from the perspective of a historian. Each chapter breaks down Hildegard's legacy in several given areas: her music, writings, medicinal and healing abilities, art, etc. This book is very useful as a well thought out introduction to the life of this intriguing saint.

Hildegard certainly was a fascinating person, and this is a very informative book about her life and works. The book is written in a scholarly manner, and is very clear and readable. The author speculates a bit on why Hildegard was as she was, but never in an unreasonable way, and the argumentation is never gets absurd.