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Hildegard of Bingen
Hildegard of Bingen
(born Bemersheim nr.
Alzey
in about
1098
; died
17 September
1179
) was a
German
writer
,
composer
and
mystic
. She was an
abbess
who is well known for her
literary
works and her songs. She also wrote about
medical
and
scientific
things, and wrote letters to many important
politicians
.
Hildegard was born into a
noble
family. Her parents sent her to a
monastery
because she was the tenth child of the family.
[1]
She took the
veil
(became a
nun
) at the age of 15. By the time she was 38 she had the title of “mother superior”. She founded (started) a monastery on the Rupertsberg in the
Rhine
valley near
Bingen
. Later she founded a daughter house on the other side of the river near
Rudesheim
.
[1]
She travelled a lot and talked to many important people. She later had the title of “abbess”. After she died several
popes
suggested she should be made a
saint
, but this never happened. She does, though, have a feast day on September 17, which is celebrated in some parts of Germany.
Known as the "Sybil of the Rhine", Hildegard had many
visions
, many of which she wrote down.
[1]
They were mostly about God and his relationship with humans, the church, redemption from God, and creation. She wrote
lyrical
poetry
which was very colourful and had lots of visionary ideas. Her
music
does not use
plainchant
like the music of many other
medieval
composers at the time. It mostly has small patterns of
melody
which are repeated many times in slightly different ways. Her music was also different because the chants she wrote were written for female voices, in a higher range than earlier chants. This made them easier for women's voices. She wrote a
morality play
in
verse
with 82 melodies.
Hildegard of Bingen is the first composer whose life we know about. She may possibly be the first woman to write about female sexuality and sex
.
[1]
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