I was unable to attend class when we discussed mystics, so I decided
for this blog post I would talk about my thoughts on Hildegard von Bingen. My
first thought was: how was this woman not tried as a witch?!?!?! The reason
being is that she has all the requirements of being a witch.
1. She is a woman,
This right away should cause suspicion as we have learned from our good
friends Kramer and Sprenger.
2. She has “Visions”
2. She has “Visions”
I know she did not reveal her visions to many people but those who
knew, did they never question this woman? I am surprised that no one thought
that maybe she was being possessed by a demon. Or that she herself is receiving
prophecies as a result witchcraft?
3. She was educated
3. She was educated
She was ambitious and educated enough to read and write. Von Bingen
knew how to read Latin and was a part of the church. We have learned in class
that this is the gateway to necromancy!
4. “She used the curative powers of natural objects for healing…”
4. “She used the curative powers of natural objects for healing…”
This is something that I thought was a major selling point to
convincing people that she was a witch. I do not understand how people
overlooked this aspect of her life. If anything, I would think it would condemn
her to the stake, she is mixing herbs to create a type of medicine. Or maybe just
maybe she was mixing herbs to make…..a potion!! MAGIC!!!
The only thing that I can think of that would make her more witch-like
would be if she were a mid wife as well. Luckily, she studied medicine and
herbs instead. Now I do it is great that this woman was able to gain the
respect and fame that she did. I do find her story inspiring especially for a
woman during this period. However, I do not think that I am alone in feeling a
little confused as to why this woman specifically was not met with scorn or
suspicion. To be honest when I first read about her I kind of wanted to drop a
house on her. I’m not going to lie…..
I had a lot of the same thoughts, and I was in class that day! Basically we came to the conclusion that the only reason why it's okay to do "witchcraft" in their case is because it's in devotion to God and the Pope approved of it. That is the only difference we came up with, to my knowledge. Personally I don't think that's good enough. I mean, they're still doing the same thing common witches were accused of... weren't they?
ReplyDeleteExactly! And what was up with the whole sex thing? I did not understand that part like did God wanted you to tell this to everyone or was it the devil or was it just you because you were educated?
ReplyDeleteI think in that time period perception of a person was just as important in determining if they were a witch as what they did was. In that sense a poor peasant woman would more likely be considered a witch if she practiced herbal remedies than an educated girl from an affluent family.
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