Start Date
4-18-2018 9:00 AM
End Date
4-18-2018 10:15 AM
Disciplines
History of Religion
Subjects
Saint Hildegard (1098-1179) -- Criticism and interpretation, Saint Hildegard (1098-1179) -- Appreciation -- History, Paradox
Abstract
The first women granted Papal permission to teach and preach on theological matters, Hildegard of Bingen (AD 1098-1179) was a revered spiritual teacher who accumulated a sphere of influence far beyond most medieval women. However, Hildegard’s power derived from a paradox: the only way in which Hildegard was able to gain power was by deliberately diminishing herself as a paupercula femina forma (a poor little form of a woman). This paper explores the paradoxical cultivation of Hildegard's self-image, of a weak woman unwillingly receiving the word of God through debilitating visions, as a means to authenticate Hildegard's work and gain influence within the medieval world.
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Persistent Identifier
http://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/24768
Included in
The Supreme and Fiery Force of a Poor Little Form of a Woman: The Development of the Prophetic Voice of Hildegard of Bingen
The first women granted Papal permission to teach and preach on theological matters, Hildegard of Bingen (AD 1098-1179) was a revered spiritual teacher who accumulated a sphere of influence far beyond most medieval women. However, Hildegard’s power derived from a paradox: the only way in which Hildegard was able to gain power was by deliberately diminishing herself as a paupercula femina forma (a poor little form of a woman). This paper explores the paradoxical cultivation of Hildegard's self-image, of a weak woman unwillingly receiving the word of God through debilitating visions, as a means to authenticate Hildegard's work and gain influence within the medieval world.
Notes
2nd place winner of the Karen E. Hoppes Young Historians Award for Outstanding Research and Writing.