Hildegard von Bingen
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Women have always struggled to be allowed to take a part of science and intellectual work.
One of those who fought for this – with succes – was Hildegard von Bingen, a medieval nun. She has been called one of the most influental women from the middle ages, which otherwise was a period where women did not have much
influence, neither on the society or on own lives.
Hildegard von Bingen was born around 1098 in the region Spongen, a part of the Roman empire (today a part of Germany). In 1098, universities and science were only in their very early beginning. The concept of universities was born out of the so-called “scriptoria” of the munk-monasteries. In those, writers and illustrators worked with translations of religious scrips and documentation.
The monasteries for nuns were not really a part of this, but there were exceptions. Hildegard von Bingen, a wonder child, was accepted by a Benedictine-monastery already as 8-year-old. Later she got to be prioress (leader) there and started her own scriptoria.
She quickly got competent within many areas; philosophy, medicine, botany and music. She wrote books (“Causae et curae” about healing plants and diseases – and “Physicae” about nature generally). She composed music (still played today). She travelled around Europe and told about her knowledge, wisely enough camouflaged as holy preaching. Otherwise, she would probably have been “cancelled”.
When the universities were formed, as a natural continuation of the scriptoria, they were strictly male worlds. And in the first 600 years of their history, women were efficiently locked out, with few exceptions. The University of
Bologna in Italy is the world’s oldest, still active university today. From there, the concept of universities spread, first to the rest of Europe – and later to the rest of the world.
Text and illustration by myself, Ann-Louise Bergström, without use of AI.
References:
– Londa Schiebinger: “Women in Science: Historical perspectives”, https://lnkd.in/dWXzZRd4
– Rüegg, Walter: “Foreword. The University as a European Institution”, in: A History of the University in Europe. Vol. 1: Universities in the Middle Ages, Cambridge University Press, 1992, ISBN 0-521-36105-2, pp. XIX–X
