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savaging's review
3.0
This was not well written. Too many eyes as bright as the morning stars and smiles as wide as the horizon. And I distrusted how positively Hildegard von Bingen was presented -- surely she had more conservative views, and would have been a prickly convent-mate. However, the figure is so damn fascinating to me that I was pretty caught-up in this book. A little girl bricked-in to a cramped monastery room with a self-flagellating fanatic -- becoming a well-respected sibyl preaching God the Mother, a leader, and an incredible composer -- and then getting excommunicated for preaching against corruption in the church and defending one of its victims. And now a Catholic Saint.
I don't necessarily recommend reading this book, but I do think everyone should learn about this person. Some of her teachings are discussed here: (including that menstrual blood doesn't defile a woman; rather, blood shed in war defiles soldiers) http://ncronline.org/blogs/ncr-today/hildegard-bingen-no-ordinary-saint
I don't necessarily recommend reading this book, but I do think everyone should learn about this person. Some of her teachings are discussed here: (including that menstrual blood doesn't defile a woman; rather, blood shed in war defiles soldiers) http://ncronline.org/blogs/ncr-today/hildegard-bingen-no-ordinary-saint
winterkinzy's review
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
colleengeedrumm's review
4.0
This was great historical fiction about a fascinating woman/nun during the Middle Ages.
There is Music of Heaven in all things and we have forgotten how to hear it until we sing. - Hildegard von Bingen
He who does not love, does not know God, for God is love.
Dedicated to women of spirit everywhere - many blessings on the quest
There is Music of Heaven in all things and we have forgotten how to hear it until we sing. - Hildegard von Bingen
He who does not love, does not know God, for God is love.
Dedicated to women of spirit everywhere - many blessings on the quest
swansreina's review
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I really enjoy this book and writing style. It covers the life of Hildegard von Bingen from her childhood through her teen years and until her death later in life. I was interested in reading more about her life, particularly after listening to some of her (still) existing songs. It’s quite remarkable that her songs would endure centuries later and can be heard today. I am unsure about how much of the book can be considered historically accurate, however, I still found it to be an enjoyable read about the life of this remarkable person and I do think the author tried to remain as close to accuracy as possible.
If you’re a fan of historical fiction and books that deal with religion/religious themes, you will probably like this book.
If you’re a fan of historical fiction and books that deal with religion/religious themes, you will probably like this book.
elisebrancheau's review
5.0
I loved this book! Especially interesting (yet very disturbing) was the section devoted to Hildegard's time as an anchorite with Jutta. I enjoyed how the author inserted fascinating historical facts throughout the book in a way that fit with the story and helped move the narrative along and give the characters a rich complexity. Beautifully written, and an incredible story about an amazing woman.
adamrshields's review against another edition
3.75
Summary: A historical novel of the life of Hildegard.
I do not read enough fiction. Generally, I want to read more fiction, but I always get caught up in learning more things. Historical fiction is a mixed bag because as much as I enjoy learning things as I read fiction, I am always wary of distorting historical figures by making them modern people in an earlier setting. Inevitably, fiction necessarily distorts history in favor of making the story better.
Now that I have read Illuminations, which I enjoyed, I want to read a good biography of Hildegard. The notes said the novel tried to stay historically accurate in the timeline. However, there were some changes, and there will always be speculation because no medieval figure has a well-defined biography.
Hildegard was a mystic, an anchorite, an abbess, a writer, a composer, and a preacher. She lived from 1098 to 1179 in what is now Germany. Pope Benedict, on October 7, 2012 declared her a Doctor of the Church, a designation only given to 37 people, four of whom are women.
The novel shows the problem of an anchorite (a person who was walled into a room or rooms for the purpose of prayer with only a small space to give them food). It also raises the problem of devotion to God, which may appear to our modern eyes to be more like mental illness. There is some debate, but it appears she was walled in at the age of eight with another woman, Jutta. Jutta was considered a saint at the time, but the book largely portrays her as someone who was traumatized and attempted to use the church as a means of escape from the world.
The novel does not dismiss Hildegard's mystic visions as mental illness, migraines, or other natural causes. The corruption of the church is primarily found in others, not Hildegard. I think the book avoided hagiography, but it is hard not to veer at least a bit into that realm. When Jutta dies, Hildegard and the two others who were added to the anchorite rooms are allowed to live in the monastery without being walled in. There is a lot of speculation here, but it is in this era that Hildegard begins to write not just her visions but also science and medicine and eventually a short autobiography.
The church has always had corruption. Often, women have been used for their utility (bearing children, forging alliances through marriage, etc), not honored for their imago dei. Illuminations was worth reading because it humanized the life of a medieval saint, even if it was a bit idealized. Some people do consider Hildegard a proto-reformer, and that is hinted at but not explored deeply. She was undoubtedly disruptive in her calls for the reform of corruption. Her visions were unverifiable and went outside of the standard church authority. And her music may be the most lasting of any of it.
originally published on my blog at https://bookwi.se/illuminations/
I do not read enough fiction. Generally, I want to read more fiction, but I always get caught up in learning more things. Historical fiction is a mixed bag because as much as I enjoy learning things as I read fiction, I am always wary of distorting historical figures by making them modern people in an earlier setting. Inevitably, fiction necessarily distorts history in favor of making the story better.
Now that I have read Illuminations, which I enjoyed, I want to read a good biography of Hildegard. The notes said the novel tried to stay historically accurate in the timeline. However, there were some changes, and there will always be speculation because no medieval figure has a well-defined biography.
Hildegard was a mystic, an anchorite, an abbess, a writer, a composer, and a preacher. She lived from 1098 to 1179 in what is now Germany. Pope Benedict, on October 7, 2012 declared her a Doctor of the Church, a designation only given to 37 people, four of whom are women.
The novel shows the problem of an anchorite (a person who was walled into a room or rooms for the purpose of prayer with only a small space to give them food). It also raises the problem of devotion to God, which may appear to our modern eyes to be more like mental illness. There is some debate, but it appears she was walled in at the age of eight with another woman, Jutta. Jutta was considered a saint at the time, but the book largely portrays her as someone who was traumatized and attempted to use the church as a means of escape from the world.
The novel does not dismiss Hildegard's mystic visions as mental illness, migraines, or other natural causes. The corruption of the church is primarily found in others, not Hildegard. I think the book avoided hagiography, but it is hard not to veer at least a bit into that realm. When Jutta dies, Hildegard and the two others who were added to the anchorite rooms are allowed to live in the monastery without being walled in. There is a lot of speculation here, but it is in this era that Hildegard begins to write not just her visions but also science and medicine and eventually a short autobiography.
The church has always had corruption. Often, women have been used for their utility (bearing children, forging alliances through marriage, etc), not honored for their imago dei. Illuminations was worth reading because it humanized the life of a medieval saint, even if it was a bit idealized. Some people do consider Hildegard a proto-reformer, and that is hinted at but not explored deeply. She was undoubtedly disruptive in her calls for the reform of corruption. Her visions were unverifiable and went outside of the standard church authority. And her music may be the most lasting of any of it.
originally published on my blog at https://bookwi.se/illuminations/
jgintrovertedreader's review against another edition
4.0
Young Hildegard was the tenth child of an aristocratic family. While her father and two oldest brothers are away fighting in the Crusades for literally decades, Hildegard’s mother starts arranging marriages for her daughters. Hildegard has had strange visions all her life so her mom decides that she will be the family’s gift to the Church. She arranges for Hildegard to accompany Jutta, a higher-ranking noble who wants to become an anchorite at the monastery at Disibodenberg in Germany. Hildegard is only eight years old and doesn’t understand exactly what her future holds.
When the two girls arrive at the monastery, the monks hold a service for the dead to symbolize their passage from the world of the flesh and wall them into two tiny cells that they share. One of the rooms is a courtyard open to the sky and the other has a screen for food to pass through and for conversation. But the girls are never allowed to leave and are expected to live a life of religious prayer and contemplation. Hildegard has always loved the woods and the outdoors and she’s desperate to find a way out. She does feel called to serve God but she knows this is not her path.
I first became interested in Hildegard von Bingen (St. Hildegard) when author Clemency Burton-Hill mentioned her as a composer in Year of Wonder. Ms. Burton-Hill included a brief biography but I was curious to know more. I was thrilled to find this work of historical fiction, although I did wonder how much was history and how much was fiction. The author addresses that at the end. The essential facts are all correct although there is some discrepancy among the source material regarding the age when Hildegard entered the monastery.
The Hildegard in these pages was fascinating. She was a strategist but she also had a heart to care for others. She was “only” a woman but she was a woman with connections and she wasn’t afraid to use them. As she grew older, she called out hypocrisy and inhumane practices. God was always female in her visions. She was an avid learner and read through any books the monks would give her. She trained to be a healer and she became a composer whose work is still fairly widely performed. The breadth of her accomplishments would be remarkable even today; they were almost unfathomable in the twelfth century.
The novel is on the shorter side, at 294 pages in my e-book. I wish the author had spent a bit more time on the final years of Hildegard’s life. The bulk of the story is devoted to her time as an anchorite but I would have liked to read more about her time in the wider world.
If you’re curious, the book is only “religious” in the sense that the author based it on a religious figure. I certainly didn’t feel that there was any sort of Christian agenda.
I highly recommend this if you’re interested in historical fiction about extraordinary women.
When the two girls arrive at the monastery, the monks hold a service for the dead to symbolize their passage from the world of the flesh and wall them into two tiny cells that they share. One of the rooms is a courtyard open to the sky and the other has a screen for food to pass through and for conversation. But the girls are never allowed to leave and are expected to live a life of religious prayer and contemplation. Hildegard has always loved the woods and the outdoors and she’s desperate to find a way out. She does feel called to serve God but she knows this is not her path.
I first became interested in Hildegard von Bingen (St. Hildegard) when author Clemency Burton-Hill mentioned her as a composer in Year of Wonder. Ms. Burton-Hill included a brief biography but I was curious to know more. I was thrilled to find this work of historical fiction, although I did wonder how much was history and how much was fiction. The author addresses that at the end. The essential facts are all correct although there is some discrepancy among the source material regarding the age when Hildegard entered the monastery.
The Hildegard in these pages was fascinating. She was a strategist but she also had a heart to care for others. She was “only” a woman but she was a woman with connections and she wasn’t afraid to use them. As she grew older, she called out hypocrisy and inhumane practices. God was always female in her visions. She was an avid learner and read through any books the monks would give her. She trained to be a healer and she became a composer whose work is still fairly widely performed. The breadth of her accomplishments would be remarkable even today; they were almost unfathomable in the twelfth century.
The novel is on the shorter side, at 294 pages in my e-book. I wish the author had spent a bit more time on the final years of Hildegard’s life. The bulk of the story is devoted to her time as an anchorite but I would have liked to read more about her time in the wider world.
If you’re curious, the book is only “religious” in the sense that the author based it on a religious figure. I certainly didn’t feel that there was any sort of Christian agenda.
I highly recommend this if you’re interested in historical fiction about extraordinary women.
nekomeith's review
4.0
An amazing novel about an amazing historical figure that I had before never heard about. Her visions were beautiful and her sermons fierce and true.
magenta_silk's review
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
canadiancat's review
3.0
3.5/5 stars
Solid book, fairly historically accurate. Wish some characters got more depth.
Solid book, fairly historically accurate. Wish some characters got more depth.