Student Major/Year in School
History, English/third year
Abstract
The Ordo Virtutum, a twelfth-century musical drama by abbess Hildegard of Bingen, details a now-familiar theme: the spiritual battle between personified Virtues and the Devil over a human soul. Because this theme formed the basis for the later morality play genre, Hildegard is now considered to have written the first morality play—even though she lived three centuries before the genre became popular.
Like her work, Hildegard is also experiencing newfound prominence for predicting future trends. As a medieval musician, scientist, and abbess, Hildegard’s contributions to numerous fields are gaining increased attention. However, one consequence of this attention is that Hildegard’s works—such as the Ordo—are occasionally seen as reflecting later medieval and even modern trends more than Hildegard’s own time. Under this interpretation, much of the specific context that drove Hildegard’s personal contributions is lost.
Thus, I offer an examination of the Ordo Virtutum not as a morality play, but as a representation of Hildegard’s circumstances and worldview. Unlike morality authors, Hildegard was not creating a play for a wider audience—she was writing in a distinctly monastic context. By considering Hildegard’s use of music, characters, and audience, I aim to illustrate how the Ordo Virtutum operates as a carefully crafted embodiment of the female monastic experience. Instead of focusing on the similarities between the drama and later works, this analysis highlights Hildegard’s crucial decisions which made the Ordo Virtutum truly unique. Hildegard may have anticipated later trends, but, more importantly, she crafted a work uniquely reminiscent of monastic life.
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Recommended Citation
Dowell, Nathan (2019). "Lesser-Known Virtues: How the Ordo Virtutum Reflects Hildegard of Bingen’s Monastic Worldview," Kansas State University Undergraduate Research Conference. https://newprairiepress.org/ksuugradresearch/2019/panels/1
Lesser-Known Virtues: How the Ordo Virtutum Reflects Hildegard of Bingen’s Monastic Worldview
The Ordo Virtutum, a twelfth-century musical drama by abbess Hildegard of Bingen, details a now-familiar theme: the spiritual battle between personified Virtues and the Devil over a human soul. Because this theme formed the basis for the later morality play genre, Hildegard is now considered to have written the first morality play—even though she lived three centuries before the genre became popular.
Like her work, Hildegard is also experiencing newfound prominence for predicting future trends. As a medieval musician, scientist, and abbess, Hildegard’s contributions to numerous fields are gaining increased attention. However, one consequence of this attention is that Hildegard’s works—such as the Ordo—are occasionally seen as reflecting later medieval and even modern trends more than Hildegard’s own time. Under this interpretation, much of the specific context that drove Hildegard’s personal contributions is lost.
Thus, I offer an examination of the Ordo Virtutum not as a morality play, but as a representation of Hildegard’s circumstances and worldview. Unlike morality authors, Hildegard was not creating a play for a wider audience—she was writing in a distinctly monastic context. By considering Hildegard’s use of music, characters, and audience, I aim to illustrate how the Ordo Virtutum operates as a carefully crafted embodiment of the female monastic experience. Instead of focusing on the similarities between the drama and later works, this analysis highlights Hildegard’s crucial decisions which made the Ordo Virtutum truly unique. Hildegard may have anticipated later trends, but, more importantly, she crafted a work uniquely reminiscent of monastic life.
