Hildegard’s Historical Memory: The Lives of Saint Disibod and Saint Rupert as Models of Local Salvation History

Abstract

Although cloistered, Hildegard of Bingen had a remarkable level of awareness of the world around her. As such, when Hildegard requested transfer to a different monastery in the Rhineland, her move was fraught with spiritual and political conflict. Letters exchanged between Hildegard and her superiors reveal the diplomatic yet direct ways in which Hildegard dealt with these conflicts. In addition to these letters, Hildegard composed the lives of two saints, Rupert and Disibod, which she later shared with her former and new monastic communities. When read alongside the letters, these Lives are revealed to be a subtle and sophisticated commentary on the politics of Hildegard’s later monastic life. Not only do the Lives serve as Hildegard’s defense for relocating to Rupertsberg, but they also help ease tensions between the two communities and serve as an instructional salvation history for the members of both monasteries to live by after Hildegard’s death.