August 30, 2023

Hildegard Von Bingen Lingerie? (and AMA)

I mean what?

Modern Medieval

by David M. Perry and Matthew Gabriele

Tracking the world of the ways medieval Europe infuses modern culture takes one to some unexpected places.1 We really don’t know what to make of this, but it’s a busy week with Matt traveling abroad and David getting ready for the new semester. So here’s the weirdest medievalism we’ve seen lately.

This season, we travel into the mystic with 12th century polymath, proto-feminist and powerfrau Hildegard von Bingen. Living by her credo 'the soul is symphonic', the German visionary harmonized and manifested her soul's manifold desires in a magical way that continues to inspire us. Founding two monasteries, composing an entire catalogue of sacred music - still hugely popular on Spotify! - and penning nine books on subjects ranging from botany to cosmology to human sexuality (including the Western World's first known description of the female orgasm); Hildegard was a Renaissance woman long before the Renaissance. Most importantly, she was a creator."

Hildegard as influencer?

The best we can say as a first impression is that, at least, the bit on the female orgasm is true. Here’s a lovely research article by Lauren Cole and Hannah Victoria (in a free and excellent scholarly ebook called Medieval Mobilities: Gendered Bodies, Spaces, and Movements) on “Reorienting Disorientation: Hildegard von Bingen’s Depiction of the Female Body as Erotic, Fertile, and Holy.”

Beyond that: what?

If you have any questions , post them in the comments.

What have you read or listened to so far this week that’s been good (any field, any topic!)

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