I thought that Hildegard von Bingen should have definitely been accused of witchcraft. If you take out that she comes from a wealthy family, is a nun, and attributes her visions to God then you can see that she clearly was a witch. I feel like her family's connections and her position within the church allowed her to "draw outside the lines" without anyone asking questions. She was also able to get the pope on her side which pretty much meant that whatever she said was right and the pope had her back on it.
The thing that was just really weird about her was the story about the worm/dragon. This dragon was huge and divided into regions. And she was able to relate these regions and the entire vision to God and the Devil and people following God and not following him. And I think the main reason that she was not called a witch for because of this vision is because she was using it as a tool instead of a sort of summoning ritual or sacrifice as we had seen in the other books. The main pitfall of the people committing witchcraft in the other two books is because they were summoning demons and involving the devil but Hildegard was using this vision to teach people and spread the word. She wanted them to know that stopping to buy and sell was not the right thing to do, she did not encourage buying. She related each piece of her vision to a lesson that could be learned such as the dislocated jawbone which symbolized that the dragon could not exert its true bitterness because the Son of God had overthrown the devil. In my opinion Hildegard would have definitely been accused of witch craft if she has not been from her family and did not get the popes backing.
I agree completely. I think both Saints we read about weren't convicted of witchcraft because of their position in society. If both of them weren't so holy, I think someone would have no trouble pointing a finger at them. I also agree with your view on the vision Hildegard had of the dragon. It would be different if she was using the vision to persuade people to join the devil, but she viewed it as a way to teach people how the devil tries to gain followers. I think despite all of the magical things surrounding each saint, they both were truly dedicated to God.
ReplyDeleteI feel like since the worm/dragon resembles a snake it would have directly connected her to witchcraft. Snakes are suppose to be like another form of the devil and completely opposite from God and so why would God tell one of his workers to spread the word about that it just doesn't add up.
ReplyDeleteI still find it funny how a majority of the class thought the picture was of a worm. No matter if its a worm or dragon, Hildegard's drawing and writing on the devil changed my view of her. I would have accused her of witchcraft.
ReplyDeleteHmmm, not quite sure where I stand in this argument. At first, my opinion was like why prosecute a woman who spoke out and didn't deny she liked sex and for women it too can be pleasurable- that's life people. However, I did most definitely start to question her reliability when I saw her story of the devil (aka the worm-fox hybrid).
ReplyDeleteI honestly think if she didn't have the Church or her family to protect her, she would have been tried as a witch instantly!
ReplyDeleteIt's sad to see what social status could do even in a time of "unholy" witchcraft!