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Adelene LaiREL 224 – Elkins

29.09.12Written Comments – Hildegard’s Monasticism

The fact that the readings for this class are of different genres was especially

enriching and informative in a way different to the readings for the previous classes,

as I felt that I was gaining a more multi- faceted knowledge and sense of Hildegard’s

world around her, namely through the Documents of Rupertsberg and the Explanation

of the Rule of Benedict and her thought processes – her own world, so to speak -

through her letters.

With regard to the Documents , I am curious about the extent of Hildegard’s

autonomy and influence on the charters. For example, it was decided that a “free

election” by the sisters should take place upon the death of the monastery’s mother.

Did Hildegard advocate for this in any way as an initiative to separate Rupertsbergfrom Disibodenberg? Was Hildegard ever resentful about the fact that the Abbot of

Disibodenberg was to be attached to Rupertsberg? In the twelfth century, it was

known that women needed men but men did not need women to be able to perform

their religious duties. Is there any evidence to suggest that Hildegard questioned this

inequality? To what extent did Hildegard have a say and influence Rupertsberg’s day -

to- day operations as opposed to its operation being ‘outsourced’?

The recurring theme of Hildegard as a mother figure is another issue ofcuriousity. She was referred to as a mother because of her duties as abbess and

because she took many young women under the wing. Did those outside her

immediate contact/reach see her as a mother figure too, specifically, the community

of the convent of Ravengiensburg? Did Hildegard in turn ever consider Jutta as her

‘mother’ since Jutta essentially provided to her what Hildegard provided to the

women under her care?

Whether Hildegard has an absolute belief in Benedict’s teachings i s to be

questioned given her seemingly subjective interpretations of certain rules. For

example, she seems to place a higher value on the emotional and communal

repercussions of being excommunicated as punishment, and makes this aspect of

excommunication seem more severe than the actual act performed by the priest.

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Adelene LaiREL 224 – Elkins

29.09.12Hildegard’s view on boys is also intriguing given her own background. She

seems to insist that until the age of fifteen, the boys shoul d be “carefully disciplined

and supervised” and that until this age, their youth should be taken advantage of

because they are unlikely to resist authority. I wonder how this plays into her own

biography and whether this conclusion is in any way based on a perceived positive

personal experience; that maybe, because she felt that her having committed to

religious life at such a young age was good.

Lastly, I was very struck by Hildegard’s choice of persona depending on her

audience in her letters. When it concerns Richardis, she writes both as herself and as

the Living Light, but more so in the voice of the latter. Which one did Hildegard think

was more compelling and under what circumstances? Surely choosing when to

employ either persona depended on the degree of her intimacy with her

correspondent as well as Hildegard’s further political agenda, if any. The question is,

how can we begin to approach the question of whether Richardis’s moving really

God’s will or against it (as Hildegard claims)? What is the t rue nature of the

Hildegard-Richardis dynamic, and did it change significantly now that Richardis had

been promoted to a position higher than Hildegard’s?