“Like billowing clouds,
Like the incessant gurgle of the brook,
The longing of the spirit can never be stilled.”
― Hildegard von Bingen
Like the incessant gurgle of the brook,
The longing of the spirit can never be stilled.”
― Hildegard von Bingen
Midweek Motif ~
Hildegard von Bingen
From "8 Reasons Why Hildegard Matters Now" by Mary Sharratt in the Huffington Post:
"Born in the Rhineland in present day Germany, Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179) was a visionary [Benedictine] nun and polymath. She founded two monasteries, went on four preaching tours, composed an entire corpus of sacred music, and wrote nine books addressing both scientific and religious subjects, an unprecedented accomplishment for a 12th-century woman. Her prophecies earned her the title Sybil of the Rhine. An outspoken critic of political and ecclesiastical corruption, she courted controversy.
" . . . . Reason #4: "A cornerstone of Hildegard's spirituality was Viriditas, or greening power, her revelation of the animating life force manifest in the natural world that infuses all creation with moisture and vitality. To her, the divine was manifest in every leaf and blade of grass. . . . Hildegard celebrated the sacred in nature, something highly relevant for us in this age of climate change and the destruction of natural habitats."
"I, the fiery life of divine essence, am aflame beyond the beauty of the meadows, I gleam in the waters, and I burn in the sun, moon and stars ... I awaken everything to life." -- Hildegard von Bingen, Liber Divinorum (Book of Divine Works)
Your Challenge:
Use any element and/or image from Hildegard von Bingen's music, writing and life as inspiration for a new poem.
Use any element and/or image from Hildegard von Bingen's music, writing and life as inspiration for a new poem.
Awakening The Heart By Hildegard of Bingen
Holy Spirit,
Giving life to all life,
Moving all creatures,
Root of all things,
Washing them clean,
Wiping out their mistakes,
Healing their wounds,
You are our true life,
Luminous, wonderful,
Awakening the heart from its ancient sleep.
(from Huffington Post, "Daily Meditations: Awakening the Heart")
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| Illumination from the Liber Scivias showing Hildegard |
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| "Universal Man" illumination from Hildegard's Liber Divinorum Operum, I.2. Lucca, MS 1942, early 13th century |
Additional Resources:
~"8
Reasons Why Hildegard Matters Now" by Mary Sharratt and "Canonization
Coming for Hildegard" by Michael Sigman in the Huffington
Post
#
For those who are new here:
- Post your Hildegard poem on your site, and then link it here.
- If you use a picture include its link.
- Share only original and new work written for this challenge.
- Leave a comment here.
- Visit and comment on our poems.
~Next week's Midweek Motif will be Heritage Day (South Africa)~
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