The nine-hundredth anniversary of Hildegard of Bingen's death has triggered a virtual flood of academic and popular symposia and conferences, exhibitions, and scholarly publications. In 1998, for example, appeared in print, Hildegard of Bingen. A Book of Essays, ed. Maud Burnett McInerny (New York, 1998) and Hildegard von Bingen 1098-1179, ed. H.-J. Kotzur (Mainz, 1998), followed by Hildegard von Bingen in ihrem historischen Umfeld (Hildegard of Bingen in Her Historical Context), ed. by Alfred Haverkamp (Mainz, 2000), and now by "Im Angesicht Gottes suche der Mensch sich selbst" (In Face of God Every Person Ought to Search for Him/Herself). This volume contains the papers delivered at an international Hildegard of Bingen congress in Mainz (Erbacher Hof) from March 16 to 21, 1998, which were obviously expanded for publication, along with some additional papers by other non-participating scholars. Whereas the majority of papers are written in German, there are also papers in English (Gunilla Iversen, Hugh B. Feiss, Beverly Mayne Kienzle, Constant Mews, Arni Einarsson), French (two by Laurence Moulinier), and Spanish (José Carlos Santos Paz). The editor carefully prepared the volume establishing a separate bibliography for all titles only briefly referred to in the footnotes of all articles. Very impressively, we also find extensive indices with references to the Holy Scripture, the works by Hildegard, manuscripts, personal names, and topographical names.
The volume is divided into three parts. The first deals with Hildegard's lifestyle as a reflection of her theological thinking, focusing on various aspects pertaining to her biography and work. Franz J. Felten introduces this section with an extensive examination of the reform movement at Hildegard's time and a close study of her involvement in this reform at her own convent. Gunilla Iversen offers a detailed account of Hildegard's visionary texts on the celestial hierarchies and her use of lyric verse to project her images. Laurence Moulinier revisits the thorny issue whether Hildegard's Cause et cure can be considered an authentic work by her or whether it was written by later authors who used Hildegard's name to facilitate the text's dissemination. According to Moulinier the latter thesis seems to be the most likely because of the large number of interpolations and various clues in the text undermining Hildegard's authority. Eberhard J. Nikitisch offers new food for thought regarding the question of where the famous abbess really might have lived in her claustrum on the Disibodenberg before her move to the Rupertusberg, and he suggests that the old chapel in the cemetery might have served her as an abode, which future archeological research would have to confirm.
Many times the Cistercians have claimed that Hildegard turned to their order for spiritual enlightenment and might even have thought of transforming her convent into a Cistercian establishment. To explore this aspect, Franz Staab focuses on the strong influence which Bernard of Clairvaux exerted on Hildegard and especially considers the significant changes in the monastic lifestyle introduced under her rule. She was certainly not a Cistercian, as she also incorporated ideals from the Cluny and Hirsau tradition, but she realized, as Staab formulates, a well-organized, integrative and yet ascetic system for her convent.
Following, Paul Tombeur and Claire Pluygers introduce a computer-based thesaurus of Hildegard's work, realized at the Catholic University of Leuven in Louvain-la-Neuve. Finally, Ursula Vones-Liebenstein discusses Hildegard's interest in the ordo canonicus or order of canons and her attempts to regulate her convent according to mystical principles, transforming the sisters to brides of Christ. The connection between both areas, however, seems to be rather tenuous and would have needed further support to make full sense.
The second section emphasizes Hildegard's role as preacher and author of mystical texts, beginning with Joop van Banning, SJ's article on Hildegard as a theologian and her use of allegory in her sermons. He offers a careful analysis of the concept of medieval allegories and contrasts the standard approaches with Hildegard's individual position which sometimes led to new interpretations of important biblical passages. Hildegard's visionary theology is the topic of Rainer Berndt, SJ's article, focusing on her explanation of how an individual can witness the Godhead itself. Hugh B. Feiss discusses Hildegard's perception of Christ as illustrated in her Scivias. Beverly Mayne Kienzle follows with an investigation of Hildegard's exegesis of the Parable of the Prodigal Son, whereas Constant J. Mews introduces Hildegard's visions in light of the contemporary reform movements. Jochen Schroeder considers the extent to which the mystic incorporated the Book of Ezechiel in her visionary accounts.
The third part emphasizes Hildegard's impact on her contemporaries and on posterity. Arni Einarsson discusses the symbolic imagery used in the Icelandic Raudulfs thattr, or Icelandic Homily Book in comparison with the imagery favored by Hildegard. She was a highly influential writer and well known all over Europe, hence the usefulness of such a comparative approach seems quite obvious, though it would be too far fetched to argue for any sort of direct influence. Michael Embach traces the reception history of Hildegard's Scivias far into the sixteenth century.
Subsequently, Markus Enders examines Hildegard's concept of nature anew, even though he admits that a comprehensive summary cannot be achieved in the limited space of an article. His observations draw from the latest critical editions of Hildegard's texts, but they do not essentially lead to a significantly new understanding. Nevertheless, Enders provides a solid overview that will be very useful in future studies on this topic.
Hildegard's reliquies and reliquaries enjoyed a tremendous popularity from the Middle Ages until the present, as Werner Lauter illustrates in his article, in which he systematically introduces the most important reliquaries in Germany and abroad (such as Nassau, Bahamas, and Tokyo). Similar to Enders's article, Laurence Moulinier investigates the role of magic and medicine in Hildegard's teachings, whereas José Carlos Santos Paz traces her canonization process during the Middle Ages and the deliberate, almost propagandistic attempts to support her case. Finally, Elisabeth Stein introduces the important florilegium of Hildegard's texts by Gebeno of Eberbach from ca. 1220 as an influential medium for the dissemination of her texts throughout the following centuries.
The volume is introduced by several short speeches given by dignitaries at the conference, followed by Annette Schavan's keynote address dealing with Hildegard's concept of human life. This is a heavy tome with well-researched articles on many different aspects in Hildegard's life and work. Two slight problems, however, are noticeable. Since the authors do not seem to have had any space limitations, their articles often develop into virtually exhaustive studies that occasionally lack in focus and lose track of the original thesis. Secondly, all footnotes contain only names, dates, and page numbers, forcing the reader constantly to flip back to the cumulative bibliography. Otherwise, this volume nicely contributes to current Hildegard research and deserves to receive full attention by international scholarship.