Sister of Wisdom: St. Hildegard's Theology of the Feminine

330 Pages·1998·14.834 MB·English

by  Barbara Newman

SISTER OF WISDOM
ST. HILDEGARD'S THEOLOGY
OF THE FEMININE
BARBARA NEWMAN
With a New Preface, Bibliography,
and Discography
University of California Press
Berkeley . Los Angeles
SISTER OF WISDOM
Frontispiece. Caritas as "supreme and fiery force." Divine Love, hold-
ing the Lamb of God, tramples upon discord and the devil. Below,
Hildegard receives fire from heaven and transcribes her visions on
wax tablets; one of her nuns assists her and the monk Volmar copies
the text into a book. De operatione Dei 1.1, Lucca, Biblioteca Statale,
Cod. lat. 1942. Courtesy of Biblioteca Statale di Lucca.
SISTER OF WISDOM
ST. HILDEGARD'S THEOLOGY
OF THE FEMININE
BARBARA NEWMAN
With a New Preface, Bibliography,
and Discography
University of California Press
Berkeley . Los Angeles
University of Califomia Press
Berkeley and Los Angeles, Califomia
O 1987 by
The Regents of the University of California
New Preface, Bibliography, and Discography 1997
The Northwestern University Research Grants Committee
has provided partial support for the publication of this book.
The University of Califomia Press gratefully acknowledges
this assistance.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Newman, Barbara, 1953-
Sister of wisdom.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
I. Hildegard, Saint, 198-1179. 2. Woman
(Christian theology)-History of doctrines-Middle
Ages, 600-1503. I. Title.
BX47m.HgN48 1987 z301.2'924 86-16094
ISBN 978-0-520-21162-9 (pbk. : alk. paper)
Printed in the United States of America
The paper used in this publication is both acid-free and totally
chlorine-free (TCF). It meets the minimum requirements of
ANSI/NISO 239.48-1992 (R 1997) (Permanence of Pnper). @
Say to Wisdom, "You are my sister,"
and call insight your intimate friend.
Proverbs 7:4
0 form of woman, sister of Wisdom,
how great is your glory!
Hildegard of Bingen
on the Virgn Mary

Contents
Illustrations ix
Abbreviations xi
Preface (1997) xv
Preface (1987) xix
1. "A poor little female" 1
Biographical sketch 4
Survey of Hildegard's works 15
Theology and the problem
of feminine authority 34
2. The Feminine Divine 42
Theophany and the bride of God 46
The mirror of providence, the virgin spring,
and the tree of life 51
The eternal counsel jj
Wisdom as creatrix and anima mundi 64
Wisdom's vesture 71
The chastisements of charity 75
3. The Woman and the Serpent 89
Made in God's image 91
The garment and the mirror 94
The bright cloud and the shadow loo
Eve and Satan 107
4. Daughters of Eve 121
Women's sexuality and character 126
God, Satan, and fertility 133
viii Table of Contents
Gynecology 143
Healing and magic 148
5. The Mother of God 156
Mary and the ancient counsel 160
Eve and Mary 167
Atonement through the virgin birth 171
Mary as the feminine ideal 181
Mary, the Church, and the priesthood 188
6. The Bride of Christ 196
The Church eternal in heaven 198
Synagogue and Church 204
The wedding on Calvary 211
Christ's virgins and the virgin Church 218
Mother Church and the motherhood of God 228
"An effeminate age" 238
7. Sister of Wisdom 250
Theology and gender revisited 254
Sapiential thought through
the twentieth century 258
Feminism and the future of Sophia 265
Texts of Hildegard's Poetry 273
Bibliography 281
Discography 297
Index 299
List of Illustrations
Frontispiece. Caritas as "supreme and fiery force"
1. Sapientia and the eternal counsel
2. Eve overshadowed by the devil
3. Eve and Mary: "Firstborn before all creation"
4. Table of temperaments
5. The quickening of the child and the tribulations
of the soul
6. Wheel of Charity
7. Adam created, fallen, and redeemed
8. The womb of the Church as net of Christ
9. Synagoga as Mother of the Incarnation
lo. Ecclesia as Bride of Christ
11. Tower of the Church
12. Ecclesia with Virginitas and her companions
13. Virgin Ecclesia assaulted by Antichrist