On the 838th anniversary of Hildegard von Bingen

We know more about Hildegard than about almost any other woman of the European Middle Ages. Nevertheless, in the past 50 years in particular, numerous narratives have become established that falsify the actual work of the abbess. A whole industry has now developed that commercially exploits the legacy of the famous Benedictine woman.

So recipes with spelled as well as various other cooking recipes and last but not least the so-called "Hildegard fasting" is felt today for authentic takeovers from Hildegard's works, even if very little or nothing of them can actually be found in her. Among the total of about 270 plant chapters of the 1st and 3rd books of the "Physica", the section on spelled is one of the shorter and is far behind wheat, rye, oats or barley in terms of scope. In the few lines there is exactly one application, namely a porridge to be eaten when there is no appetite. That is - in the sense of Hildegard - an extremely unsuitable food for a fasting cure. Nevertheless, a "moderate spelled fast according to Hildegard" is touted in many places before Easter. As a devout Catholic, Hildegard considered fasting to be sensible for purifying the soul, but in a medicinal context she only writes that it should not be overdone. However, she does not mention any medical benefit at all.

The "Hildegard Medicine" invented by Gottfried Hertzka interprets the two natural and medicinal writings of Hildegard as part of the visionary work, although the "Physica" in particular is formulated in a rational way like other natural encyclopedias of the time. The fact that all keywords are taken from a dictionary speaks for this. One looks in vain for references to divine inspiration in "Physica" - in clear contrast to the three visionary works. The "Causae et curae", the second work on natural science and medicine, is clearly different from "Scivias" (Know the ways), "Liber vitae meritorum" (Book of life earnings) or "Liber divinorum operum" (Book of the divine Works). Ultimately, one finds more Aristotle there than visionary.

When we read in many places today that Hildegard was a doctor (or even the first woman as such), then this is evidence of ignorance of the High Middle Ages and of Hildegard's life in many ways. While Hildegard certainly never had any medical training at an academic level (she neither uses technical terms nor mentions known authorities), at the same time dozens of women have learned and also taught at the school in Salerno. Trota von Salerno wrote a gynecological work during Hildegard's lifetime, which was a standard work of medicine for centuries - a status that Hildegard's two natural and medicinal works could never achieve. In addition, it would have been completely impossible for an abbess of two monasteries to also look after the infirmary. Whether she performed this task during her time in the hermitage on Disibodenberg is a matter of speculation.

The special thing about Hildegard von Bingen is not based on the quality of her medicine, which was certainly much higher in Salerno or the Arab world at that time. It is rather the originality of her texts that sets her apart from other authors of the time. It probably takes on various plants from folk medicine north of the Alps and thus provides the first known evidence for a number of medicinal plants commonly used today such as marigold, arnica and milk thistle. Hildegard also has what is probably the oldest description of a female orgasm. Her variation of the humoral pathology customary at the time is particularly characterized by the fact that she also formulates the theory of temperament for women.