When Hildegard was eight, her mother gave her to a church to
be bricked into a chamber in a monastery wall as involuntary handmaiden and
student to an ascetic teenaged girl of noble birth, Jutta von Sponheim.
Hildegard had visions, and was thus unmarriageable. Giving her daughter over to
this purpose not only disposed of her honorably, but bought the favor of
Jutta’s rich mother, enabling Hildegard’s sisters to meet wealthy mates. As
Jutta slowly killed herself with anorexia and self punishment, Hildegard and
the two other girls that joined them in their dark hell longed for sunlight and
freedom for over thirty years before Jutta finally died and Hildegard demanded
their freedom. Her time in that dark prison wasn’t wasted, though; a kindly
monk brought her books from the monastery library and plants for her to grow in
the tiny courtyard. By the time Jutta died, Hildegard was very educated, an
able healer and a brilliant composer. She went on to found her own abbey and
criticize the corruption of the church. She was an incredibly accomplished
woman in a time when women were thought of as little more than breeding
machines or servants.
‘Illuminations’ is the prefect title for this novel;
illumination fills the story. The great illuminated texts that Hildegard learns
from, the great visions of light that fill her, her illumination of the
corruption in the church; light fills Hildegard’s life even at its darkest
points. This is a triumphant story told in lyrical prose that brings the era
and monastery life into brilliant, colorful focus. But it’s not a one sided
glorification of Hildegard; she’s a living, breathing woman with the faults all
humans share. It’s not a religious book at all; it’s a story of people and
spirit. Whether you’re Catholic or not, or even Christian or not, Hildegard von
Bingen was a fascinating woman. Sharratt’s writing held me suspended in
Hildegard’s life throughout the novel, and it left me wishing the book was
twice as long.
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