St hildegard of bingen biography for kids

(1098 - 1179) German abbess, monastic leader, mystic, and author, Hildegard was born into a family of knights in the service of the counts of Sponheim, close relatives of the Hohenstaufen emperors.

Because Hildegard was a tenth child, at the age of eight Hildegard's parents sent her as a tithe to the church (as was customary in medieval times). Hildegard was put in the care of Jutta, the sister of Count Meinhard of Sponheim.

St hildegard of bingen biography for kids printable

On Jutta's death in 1136 Hildegard was chosen superior of the community that had grown up around Jutta at Disibodenberg, and eventually moved the community to a new monastery on the Rupertsberg at Bingen on the Rhine. In her administrative role she corresponded with Popes, Abbot Suger, Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa, and St.

Bernard of Clairvaux.

Hildegard wrote prolifically, and much of her work survives, including accounts of her visions, music, medicine, and letters. From the time she was very young, Hildegard claimed to have visions