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Hello frens,I’m beyond excited to share my latest blog post, this time about the one and only Hildegard von Bingen.

Let me say this upfront: I’ve barely scratched the surface, and I’m fully aware of it.

She was such a fascinating, complex, and wise woman that there’s no way I could condense her life’s work into a single entry. Still, I did my best to highlight what stood out to me the most.As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts. Had you heard of her before, or did you discover something new?

A small detour: while diving into this topic, I was reminded of Black Narcissus. I watched the film ages ago, and only recently discovered it was based on a novel, which I immediately picked up. I loved the eerie atmosphere and the slow-building tension. I should revisit the film, though, as I remember its tension feeling even more palpable, perhaps because cinema can play with perception in ways books do differently. In any case, I highly recommend both.Without further ado, I’ll leave you with my beloved Hildegard. Enjoy your weekend, and all the best.

See you later, alligator. 🐊

125 sats \ 1 reply \ @Scoresby 24 Jul

My wife was interested in Hildegard some time ago, particularly for Hildegard's view of nature/ecology.

But I didn't know about her lingua ignota:

A collection of invented words and an alphabet that she placed alongside Latin and the vernacular.

And I'm very glad you included some examples.

Scurinz and Flagur may represent different kinds of flame: one for the church and another for the kitchen.
Scalimiz can mean “shepherd,” while in another instance it appears as “sage.”
Sculiz may mean “awl” or “sheaf.”
Galschia can refer to both “germander” and “dove.”
Luschia may mean “lovage” or “duck.”
Scantido and Scandidoz are the names for February and September.

I'm not sure why I'm so fascinated by that aspect of Hildegard. Perhaps I just like made up words and pretend languages.

Your post reminds me that I should read old texts more often. There was a time when I frequently read things written hundreds of years ago. Lately, I seem so horribly biased to the present that reading something written a month ago causes me to worry. We live in era when the present is so dominant I fear we are going to forget all the rest.

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Maybe you could impress her with a new fun fact or better yet invite her to read the article :P It's funny that you mentioned that I included examples of her Lingua Ignota, I thought to myself if I were reading the article I would love to know a word or two from her vocabulary.

What made up words have you come up with? That sounds super cool!

People move on to the next "big" thing really fast and so easily, it sometimes can rub off to ourselves too which kinda sucks but just shows we live in a society at the end of the day. Hopefully, you'll pick a new old book or novel, or just one of Hildegard's books, which by the way are beyond fascinating. As always thank you for reading and sharing your thoughts, always looking forwad to them! 🌱🌞

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