Illuminations: A Novel of Hildegard von Bingen

Not my usual reading fare, but I fell in love with the music of Hildegarde von Bingen years ago. It is hypnotic and perfect to listen to when writing or reading. Think of Latin chants for high soprano voices. She was a 12th Century Saint in the high Middle Ages, a Benedictine Abbotess in the Rhineland in northern Germany, and a controversial writer, mystic, and composer. The Catholic church was the only institution in Europe. It was a time big churches, monasteries, and competing religious order. From her early childhood she had visions of Mary and used that as the material for the esoteric church choral music she created for many church holidays. The music is great, and the book is very original. Mary Sharratt has written a fictional, first person autobiography told by Hildegarde, which does a marvelous job of capturing the era and the church's role in it. Not easy to do, but remarkable. Hildegarde lived to the age of 77, very unique for that era. My only quibble is the last chapters, which don't do a good job of explaining her final years. But it is a very interesting book nonetheless. BB

St. Hildegard earned her sainthood. First, she earned it as an anchorite who was walled into an enclosure in a monastery at age 8. The practice seems more barbaric than devout especially since there could be no pretense that Hildegard made a free and informed choice. She was a human sacrifice. Fittingly, the confinement ceremony resembled funeral rites. Hildegard was confined with another, slightly older anchorite which you might think was a good thing. But no. The sainted Jutta devoted her life to pious displays, starvation, and self-flagellation until she finally managed to torture herself to an early death. Hildegard’s story is one of survival as much as it is a story of faith. She had visions, and she wrote songs of liturgy and faith. She became a skilled healer for the time and founded her own abbey. But mainly, she had to survive the oppression of the body and spirit by men, by her mother, and by society. Her accomplishments and the fact that her work and life story have survived for so long are incredible. Overall, it is very interesting to read her story. The historic context when so many men were off to the Crusades provides its own conflicts and stresses. There are aspects of this story that are horrifying. As if life wasn’t hard enough, some very pious people had to create more hardship for Hildegard and each other. The writing is thoughtful and sometimes eloquent. This book is a historic novel, but do not read it for a broad view of the history of the time in Germany. This is the history of Hildegard and between being female and spending much of her life walled into a monastery the breadth of the history is also confined to a small circumference.

"Illuminations" is a good work of fiction, focusing it pages on the Medieval nun and recently made Catholic Saint Hildegard of Bingen. I've been having this hardcore desire to read books taking place in Medieval Europe (as can be seen in a few of my recent book reviews) and this was one that was right up my alley. Though short, the book does the job in telling the story of Hildegard, a girl who from a young age saw visions that were sent by God and his angels. Her mother seeing this, at first as a sign of wickedness, then as the child being blessed from God, knew that her youngest daughter was destined for the Church. Hildegard, of course wanted no such thing. As any child she wanted to be free from the restrictions of such an institution and did her best to fight against it. Unfortunately she had not the strength or authority to refuse her mother and was sent to the monastery in Disibodenberg where she was literally entombed along with the then holy "magistra" Jutta.After years of this enclosure and with little hope of ever escaping it, Hildegard eventually emerged upon the death of Jutta, who perhaps was not the holy woman everyone thought her to be. With a will and strength that knew no bounds, Hildegard avoided a second entombment and with the help of God (whom continued to send her visions) and rich nobility willing to sacrifice their own children to her, she went on to found her own monastery of nuns. Her visions were documented and eventually went into her own books being properly illuminated by one of her nuns.The story may lag in some places, not having the usual action and plot twists that I'm used to, but all around I enjoyed it and in the end found a little bit of my own spirituality. I'd recommend it to anyone who likes to read historical fiction. Also, I was delighted at the end when the author mentioned a handful of other authors as a "thank you" in her Author's Note. The first three noted were some of favorite authors and likely that of Ms. Sharratt's as well, for they obviously inspired her in her writing. If anyone wants to read some of the best, high quality historical fiction, then you have to turn to Karleen Koen, Sharon Kay Penman and Margaret George. The books of all of these ladies always receive a five-star rating from me.And finally I must say that this book certainly was a miracle when it came to obtaining it. This was a book I was just dying to read, however, I'm trying to be frugal these days when it comes to buying books, so I wasn't willing to spend $12.99 for the Kindle version, nor $14.75 for the book. Only other option was the library, so, I quickly checked to see if my local library had it. Sure enough there was one copy available but it was checked out at the time. Every week or so I kept checking the library website to see if it was available and every time it was checked out. I don't know how many times I went on that website in-between now and its release last fall. By the beginning of March I had lost all hope of ever getting the chance of checking out the single copy from the library. Then, lo and behold on the morning of March 8th I check the Kindle Daily Deals on Amazon and what do I see in the first slot, none other than "Illuminations", for just $1.99. I wasted no time in purchasing it! Miracles do happen!

One of the biggest challenges for the historical novelist is to write a story which is interesting while at the same time being faithful to the historical facts. The strength of Mary Sherratt’s novel is that she has succeeded admirably in using the available source material as a rock solid foundation for her work. Hildegard was one of the most famous women in Europe in the middle ages so providentially, there is much valuable historical documentation available, not just about Hildegard but also texts which deal with some of the other characters central to her life such as Jutta and Volmer. In addition, the writings of Hildegard herself (such as the Scrivia) and the lyrics for her music have survived and have been cleverly integrated into to novel. Hildegard’s life is fascinating; this complex woman of vision pitted herself courageously against the ecclesiastical corruption of her day; she loved nature and developed a theology which was both reforming and feminine. Here is a woman before her time who must be a wonderful subject on whom to base a novel. Unfortunately, this novel fails to deliver because of its style of writing; it is sentimental, pious and over dramatised. It almost reduces itself to a classical Germanic fairy tale where “they all live happily ever after”. I would like to see how a great historical novelist like Hilary Mantel would have handled the same material. No doubt, we would have been presented with a woman of flesh and blood and have been immersed in the complexities of the life of the main protagonist. Mary Sherratt’s novel can serve as a useful introduction to the life of Hildegard but in the end it fails to convey the full depths of the character of this dazzling anchorite.

I really enjoyed reading this historical/novel. I found it inspiring.I thought it was overpriced at £15 but I think the background workwas genuine and I like to support female historians.

Good reworking of Hildergard's life story

A very fascinating story of an remarkable woman. Mary Sharratt's writing is magical and enticing! I highly recommend this book.

Excellent novel that gives a real insight into a fascinating character. Whether you are reading because you want to learn more about Hildegarde or just interested in the story you'll find this worth your while.