The Letters of Hildegard of Bingen

The first translation into English of the complete correspondence of the remarkable twelfth-century Benedictine abbess Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179), this study consists of nearly four hundred letters, in four projected volumes. Addressed to some of the most notable people of the day, as

well as to some of humble status, the correspondence reveals the saint in ways her more famous works leave obscure: as determined reformer, as castigating seer, as theoretical musician, as patient adviser, as exorcist. Sometimes diffident and restrained, sometimes thunderously imperious, her letters

are indispensable to understanding fully this luminary of medieval philosophy, poetry, and music. In addition, they provide a fascinating glimpse at life in tumultuous twelfth-century Germany, beset with schism and political unrest. This first volume includes ninety letters to the highest ranking

prelates in Hildegard's world--popes, archbishops, and bishops. Three following volumes will be divided according to the rank of the addressees.

"Every library supporting a women's studies program should have this useful and seminal volume."--Choice

"I think this is the translation of Hildegard's letters that medievalists have been waiting for. It is based on a reliable edition, movingly and accurately translated, and will be useful to many scholars."--Elizabeth A. Petroff, University of Massachusetts, Amherst

"Baird and Ehrman's translation is at once accurate and smooth, rendering Hildegard's Latin in an English style as idiomatic as her quirky language permits....This is an excellent starting point for readers who want to sample the writings of this great monastic in small doses before dipping into her formidable visionary tomes."--Reviews for Religious

"This first volume...makes available for the first time in English 90 letters to and from both the upper echelon of church and state and lesser ecclesiastical figures." --Theological Studies

The first translation into English of the complete correspondence of the remarkable twelfth-century Benedictine abbess Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179), this study consists of nearly four hundred letters, in four projected volumes. Addressed to some of the most notable people of the day, as well as to some of humble status, the correspondence reveals the saint in ways her more famous works leave obscure: as determined reformer, as castigating seer, as theoretical musician, as patient adviser, as exorcist. Sometimes diffident and restrained, sometimes thunderously imperious, her letters are indispensable to understanding fully this luminary of medieval philosophy, poetry, and music. In addition, they provide a fascinating glimpse at life in tumultuous twelfth-century Germany, beset with schism and political unrest. This first volume includes ninety letters to the highest ranking prelates in Hildegard's world--popes, archbishops, and bishops. Three following volumes will be divided according to the rank of the addressees.