explanation of the rule of benedict, by hildegard of bingen

8/12/2019 Explanation of the Rule of Benedict, By Hildegard of Bingen

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Explanation of the Rule of Benedict, by Hildegard of

Bingen

Translated, with introduction and notes, by Hugh Feiss, osb 1

INTR!"#TIN

Hildegard and Her $or%s

The outline of Hildegard’s life is well known, thanks to the attention she has received

recently from mediaevalists.2 According to the reconstruction of Sr. Marianna

Schrader,3 Hildegard’s nole and numerous family came from !ermersheim, near Al"ey,aout ten miles from Main". The family was well connected in church and civil society,

although it did not elong to the highest ranks of the noility. #hen she was aess,

Hildegard would allow only women of nole family to $oin the convent at the %u&ertserg,which included memers of the highest noility, such as %ichardis von Stade. ' (ater, her

rothers gave some of the family &ro&erty to the convent on the %u&ertserg.

Hildegard was orn in )*+, the tenth and youngest child orn of her &arents, Hildeert and

Mechtild.- #hile she was still a small child she had a visionary e&erience/ it was alsoduring childhood that she was trouled y illness.0 At the age of eight she was sent to the

recently refounded !enedictine monastery of 1isiodenerg. There she was enclosed with

an anchoress named utta, the eautiful young daughter of a local count. Soon othersattached themselves to utta, and her cell e&anded to ecome a convent su$ect to the

aot of 1isiodenerg. 4n ))30 utta died and Hildegard succeeded her as leader of the

community. 5ive years later she had a vision of linding light when gave her heavenlyunderstanding of the !ile. 4n the vision she was told to write down what she had seen and

heard, ut she hesitated to do so for a long time. She ecame ill and inter&reted this as a

sign of divine dis&leasure. So, with the hel& of the monk 6olmar and of %ichardis von

Stade, she egan writing down the visions which underlay her first work, Scivias 78scite9vias9domini: know the ways of the (ord;< and which she finished some ten years

later. Meanwhile, a commission a&&ointed y =o&e >ugene iii at Trier in ))'?))' had

a&&roved her visions as authentic.

Aout this time Hildegard announced that she had a command from @od to move hercommunity to %u&ertserg, at the confluence of the ahe and the %hine, aout fifteen miles

from 1isiodenerg. #ith the hel& of another illness and some outside su&&ort, Hildegardand her community of aout twenty nuns made the move around ))-*. Although there weredis&utes etween the two communities for some years, the community of 1isiodenerg

did agree to su&&ly a cha&lain. To the early years at %u&ertserg &roaly elong many of

Hildegard’s hymns and seBuences+ and her medical and scientific works,)* all of which mayhave served the liturgical and &hysical well9eing of the new community and its guests.

http://monasticmatrix.org/MatrixTextLibrary/mm-S3187-hildegard-explanatio-notes.html#1b

























Meanwhile, Hildegard was ecoming more widely known in the world and she

corres&onded with many im&ortant &eo&le.)) Although she was ill etween ))- and ))0),she found the energy to kee& working at her second ma$or work, Liber vitaemeritorum 7!ook of (ife’s Merits<.)2 She also went on some &reaching tours to monasteries

and other churches, which took her considerale distances y river and land. 4n ))03 she

egan her Liber divinorum operum 7!ook of 1ivine #orks<,

)3

which took her over tenyears to com&lete. Aout ))0- her community made a foundation across the %hine at

>iingen/)' in ))* wrote the vita of St. 1isiod ? ut only after she had suffered another

out of sickness ? and in ))*C) she went on another &reaching tour.

4n aout ))' 6olmar, her advisor and confessor, died and his &lace was taken,tem&orarily, first y (udwig from St. >ucharius at Trier and then y Hildegard’s ne&hew,

#e"elin from St. Andreas at Dologne. 5inally, after Hildegard a&&ealed to the &o&e, a

monk named @odfrey was sent from 1isiodenerg around the eginning of ))-. He egan writing a life of the aess ut died in ))0 efore he could finish it.)- His secretarial

work was taken over y Hildegard’s rother Hugo who was re&laced as cha&lain hE a canon

of Main". Around this same time,the monk @uiert of @emlou egan corres&onding withHildegard.)0 #hen Hugo and the canon died in )), @uiert re&laced them oth and he

remained at %u&ertserg until ))*. 1uring the last year of her life, Hildegard was involved

in a dis&ute with the clergy of Main" over the urial of a man who had eenecommunicated. 4t was settled efore her death on Se&temer ), ))+.

The #ircu&stances of Hildegard's Explanation of the Rule of (t) Benedict

There are several &u""ling as&ects aout this short work of Hildegard. 5or one thing,

although she was a memer of a !enedictine convent for all her adult life and an aess for

over forty years, in her works she very seldom mentions !enedict or his %ule. ) This maysim&ly have een another instance of her &ractice of avoiding Buotations from human

authorities. 4n any case, we must rely on this short work for most of what we know of

Hildegard’s views on monastic &ractice.) =ractice, it would seem, is the focus of the work,for Hildegard does not comment on the more theological as&ects of !enedict’s teaching.

Fne slight clue to the time of com&osition may e the &reface to the Liber vitae

meritorum which mentions that she had een s&ending time on 8answers and admonitions

to many &ersons great and small . . . and letters, with certain other e&ositions.)+ 4fher Explanation of the Rule of St. Benedict was among these e&ositions, then she wrote it

in the late ))-*s or early ))0*s.

The identity and location of the reci&ients of the Explanation are even more intractale.

The letter reBuesting the commentary comes from the 8congregatio Hunniensis.; Scholarlysuggestions regarding the identity of this community include the convent of Dluniac nuns at

Huy near (iGge, Heningense in the diocese of #orms, and %avengiersurg HunsrIckJ in

the diocese of Trier.2* The &etitioners seem to e males 8&er$uri; in &ar. 3J, followers ofthe %ule of St. Augustine 8!. =ater . . . religionem nostram; in &ar. 'J. Their lack of clarity

aout oservance seems unlikely in such a venerale house as %avengiersurg, es&ecially

since it was surrounded y houses following the carefully elaorated customs ofS&ringiersach.2) 4t seems more likely that a small, out9of9the9way canonical house with




























eclectic customs drawn from various sources Dhrodegang, !enedictinesJ was accused y

the !enedictines of la oservance. To acBuire authority for their eisting &ractices andCoradvice on how to reform their customs, they asked Hildegard, a recognised !enedictine

authority. #hatever theory one advances, however, it remains difficult to know why

Hildegard answered their rather general letter with such a s&ecific re&ly. =erha&s a

messenger rought not $ust the letter, ut some s&ecific Buestions. 4n any case, &u""ling asthe identity of 8Hunniensis; is, it does not seem to affect the inter&retation of the tet very

much.

As =itra has noted,22 Hildegard’s style in The Explanation of the Rule of St. Benedict is

sim&ler and more straightforward than elsewhere in her work. Fnly at the eginning andend is there a hint of her &ro&hetic and visionary e&erience.

Text and Translations

The letter from the 8congregatio Hunniensis cKnoii; and Hildegard’s res&onse,

the Regulae S. Benedicti Explanatio, are &rinted among her works in volume )+ ofMigne’s Patrologia Latina, cols. )*-3?)*00. Migne re&rinted the tet from 6olume 23 of

the Maxima bibliotheca veterum patrum (yons, )0J which, in turn, re&rinted the tet

from . !lanckwalt, ed., Epistolarum liber Dologne, )-00J.23 one of these &rintededitions is wholly satisfactory. The tet is here translated from Migne MJ, ut with

corrections drawn from the %iesenkode, #iesaden, Hessische (andesiliothek MS

2 2' and =itra =J, nalecta Sacra :'+-. The footnotes to the translation indicate variants in

these sources and which reading 4 have chosen to follow.

Three modern translations offered some guidance in rendering difficult &assages: M. =ot’s

1utch translation, a @erman translation and &ara&hrase y Maria Assum&ta HLnmann, 81ie

%egula Sancti !enedicti %!J im ommentar der heiligen Hildegard von !ingen,; rt!

und "hrist 2 )+)J: 32?'-, and a translation &re&ared y =amela ouris as &art of an MA

thesis at !isho&’s Nniversity, (ennoville, OuPec, )++*. The divisions and sutitles are

my own, although 4 have &rofited y the suggestions of HLnmann, as listed on &. 3- of her

translation of Hildegard’s Explanation.

My commentary follows the &aragra&h numers of the translation, The &refi => refers to

the &aragra&hs of the &etitionary letter, while the &refi > refers to the &aragra&hs of

Hildegard’s >&lanation of the %ule and my commentary on it.

Re*uest of the #o&&unity of the #on+ent of Hunniensis to Hildegard

1)

To Hildegard, the tem&le of the Holy S&irit and Dhrist’s revered ride, eloved of @od, and

to the sisters of the greatly desired mistress of St. %u&ert in !ingen.2- The whole

community of the convent of %avengiersurg, with the humility and insistence of gooddeeds, 7&rays< that she e ealted with eternal glory.











)

As though s&rinkled with the &riceless flower of the narcissus of &aradise,20 we have so

delighted u& to now in the revelations of your thought, that we are com&elled to say withthe a&ostle: 8Thanks e to him who always trium&hs in us, in who he dis&lays the fragrance

of his knowledge everywhere; 2 Dor 2.)'J. As we contem&late the whole framework ofthe entire ody of the church in which 8the one S&irit divides u& to each as he wishes; )Dor )2.))J, we re$oice that his aundance overflows in your outstanding holiness. !ecause

in &ost9a&ostolic time we contem&late you as a mirror of divine love, in a moment of need

we flee to you as to the steadfast refuge of an im&regnale city, and we entreat you to aid us

with your counsel and &rayers.

-)

Although we are different from you2 in all res&ects, our order is honoured and lessed y

you. #e have een told of your deeds, how in a short time you estowed desirale riches

on the children of the res&lendent church. !ecause you do not lack this gift now, we castourselves2 at the feet of your holiness and all of us together ask your holy love, that you

leave to us as a memorial what is needful to us regarding the %ule of our lessed father

!enedict.

.)

5or we are called liars, &er$urers and2+ violators of that aforesaid %ule, and &eo&le who hold

in contem&t the synodal decrees. #hat ha&&ens most es&ecially is that if, y the wilfulness

of their mind, any of our &relates comes3* to think contem&tuously of the canonical statutes

of the %ule, then as a law unto themselves they say ? according to the testimony of the %uleitself ? that what they want is holy and $ust, and what they do not want they think is not

allowed %! ).+J. Hence, it comes to &ass that we are carried aout y every wind of

doctrine >&h ': )'J and the &resum&tions of men weigh 3) heavy on us. Fur lessed fatherAugustine also shuddered at such &resum&tions. He s&oke of them in the same way. He

wished our religious community to e free from them, y the grace of @od, for a few

ovious sacramental celerations. Although it may not e against faith, they o&&ress ourreligious community with servile urdens to such an etent that the state of the ews would

e more earale. 5or although they32 did not know the time of true lierty, they were

su$ect to the sacraments of the law,33 not to human &resum&tions.

/)

Qou would &resent a work more &recious than the riches of Droesus or indeed of all thetreasuries of the world, if you would meet our reBuest in this matter of necessity3' for all

cloisters. >ven if you were to e&ound the whole of sacred scri&ture, you could not &resent

us with anything so useful and so dear. 5or the rest, &ray for us, so that through the HolyS&irit our gathered community may not ever e distured y any hostile trickery. !ut 3- may

he who has egun a good work in us =hil ):0J, deign to &reserve it in us y the working of

his good will. May your maternal love &ros&er.




























The Rule of (t) Benedict Explained by (t) Hildegard-0

Introduction)

The irtues of (t) Benedict, The Inspired 2uthor of the Rule

1)

And 4, a &oor little female in form, unlearned y human teaching, looked toward the true

light and to the memory of lessed !enedict as you reBuested, in order that the matters in

the teaching of the %ule which are more difficult and oscure to human understandingmight e revealed to me through the grace of @od. And 4 heard a voice from the true light

saying to me: The Holy S&irit effected most rilliant gifts3 and mystic ins&irations in St.

!enedict, so that his mind glowed with the love of @od, and y his virtues he shone like the

dawn.3 He &erformed in his deeds none of the things the crafty devil urged. He had een sofilled with the grace of the Holy S&irit that in no deed of his did he lack the &ower of the

Holy S&irit for even a second or the link of an eye.

)

!iscretion

5urthermore, he was a closed fountain Song ':)2J who &oured forth his doctrine in the

discretion of @od. 5or he drove in the shar& nail of his doctrine neither too high nor too

low, ut in the middle of the wheel, so that each one, whether strong or weak orsick,3+ would e ale to drink from his according to his ca&acity. This turning wheel cf. >"

):)-/ )*/ +/ 1n :+J is the &ower of @od, y which @od worked in the saints of old u& to

the time of Moses, who gave the law to the &eo&le of @od. !y the same &ower @od was at

work in other holy men as well, the nail of whose laours was fied at such great heightthat the common &eo&le were not ale to gras& it.

-)

Fear, 3iety, #harity and #hastity

!lessed !enedict drank his doctrine most mildly in the fear of @od/ he taught thecommandments of @od in &iety/ he constructed the wall of the holiness in charity of the

%ule/ and in chastity he was a stranger to the &om&s and delights of this world. !ecause he

wrote his doctrine in fear and &iety and in charity and chastity, nothing should e added toor taken away from that doctrine. othing is lacking in it ecause it was done and

com&leted in the Holy S&irit.

.)

3aternal Teacher

!ecause he was the son of a dove cf. Mt 3:)0?) &ar.J, he said: 8(isten F Son,'* to the &rece&ts of your father; %! =rol. )J. Thus, he was full of the holiness of the virtues















mentioned aove, $ust as 8Moses was the meekest of all the &eo&le who lived on the earth;

m )2:3J.

2) (earching for 4od in the 5onastic 6ife

/)The 7inds of 5on%s

As') a loving father he says that some monks diverge in their haits of life/ to those who

&onder this, it is clear how the reward of their deeds will e given them in accord with theirmerits. 5or efore the time of lessed father !enedict, monks were fortified y no certain

rule, and they wandered here and there, uncertain and unstale in various ways. They

lacked certain teaching and a fied &lace. 5or this reason he descries the evil elements of

their lack of moral staility as a warning that their way of life should e avoided y faithfulmonks.

0)n (ilence 8RB 09

Fn account of the im&ortance of silence, &ermission to s&eak '2 is rarely given cf. %! 0:3Jto those who truly are followers of his teaching. Such &ermission is granted when there

arise things reBuiring consultation or usiness matters or serious needs/ such &ermission is

for s&eaking together, moderately and riefly as need dictates, not &rivately.'3 Then when asign is given, let all e Buiet in silence as is customary. !enedict had not &redetermined this

&ermission for a stated hour on a certain day, ut retained the &ower to grant it insofar as it

was necessary. 5or he gave this &ermission to s&eak '' only as some $ust need or kindly

&ur&ose urged it. However, since it is almost'- inhuman for a &erson to e silent always andnever s&eak, the same father left this matter, as he did many other things, in the &ower of

the $udgement of the aot. He may &rovide a suitale time for the disci&les to s&eak

together aout matters which are good and necessary, so that they will not e urdened withweariness ecause of ecessive silence. After such &ermission to s&eak together, they could

all the more fittingly and sternly e urged and com&elled to the s&irit and &ractice of

silence.

:)

3rayer; The 2rrange&ent of the !i+ine ffice 8RB <=>9

He says: 84n the winter, that is from the first of ovemer until >aster, &rudent

consideration suggests that rising take &lace at the eighth hour of the night. !y resting until

a little &ast midnight, they may rise with digestion com&lete; %! :)J. This is ecause onewho kee&s watch for a third &art of the night hours in the winter, or who slee&s for a third

&art of the night and day hours in winter, is not weakened in his rain or in the rest of his

ody y staying awake or y slee&. Someone who stays awake immoderately, or whoslee&s immoderately, suffers damage to his senses and ody. Thus the slee&ing rothers

will'0 rise for vigils with digestion com&leted ecause after ' food has een eaten and drink

taken, it is changed' into something else during these &rolonged hours of inactivity. Then a &erson should get u&, for these vigils also confer health on a &erson when he shakes himself





















from his idle slee& and &urges himself. 4f a &erson slee&s immoderately, he will easily fall

victim'+to fevers and ecause of the interior heat, he will feel stirring-* in his flesh. !ut toguard himself from these things and faithfully serve @od, let him with a good attitude fulfil

the ehortation of his loving father.

<)

There follows: 8Those rothers who need to study the &salter or readings may devote the

time after vigils to such meditation; %! 0:3J. He says this to warn them not to givethemselves afterwards to slee& or idleness/ instead, this winter interlude is carefully

arranged for the utility of the soul as the season then &ermits until, at the dawning of the

day, morning &raise egins. He assigns this interval after vigils, that is after the nightly &salms are finished, for &rayerful meditation or reading. Then immediately he says of the

interval in the summer: 85rom >aster until ovemer ), the hour for vigils should e

arranged that a very small interlude will give the rother a chance to go out for the needs ofnature. Then as the day egins to reak, lauds are to egin; %! 0: 'J. Fne should notice in

this &assage that oth in summer and in winter, that is whether there are three readings oronly one, the rothers do not return to rest on their eds either after vigils nor after lauds.

%ather, in oth instances they so arrange the nightly vigils after midnight that they arealready singing lauds as they see the day dawn. They will not e urdened y this &ro&er

and moderate arrangement. Fn the contrary, they will re$oice ecause, to re&eat what was

mentioned earlier, when a man kee&s vigil after he has rested for more than half the nightand then is awakened, his strength is not undermined y such vigils.

?)

Then he says: 8#hen these have een recited and a verse said, let the aot give a lessing;

%! +:-J. This does not indicate that the (ord’s =rayer &receded there/ the same is truewhen he writes regarding the first nocturn on Sunday: 8As we said aove, when si &salms

and the verse have een said and all are sitting in orderly fashion on their enches, four

other lessons are to e read from the ook, as we said aove; %! )):2J. or is the (ord’s

=rayer mentioned in connection with the second and third nocturn, ecause after the thirdnocturn is finished, he says: 8After the verse has een said and the aot’s lessing, another

four lessons are to e read; %! )):J. He makes no mention of the (ord’s =rayer there so

that it will not e an interru&tion.

1>)

!ut when the si &salms of the second nocturn of an ordinary day are finished, he says:

8After these, the reading from the A&ostle follows/ it is to e recited y heart; %! +:)*J.

And after these, 8instead of three lessons, one from the Fld Testament is to e &ronouncedfrom memory; %! )*.2J. And again/ 8Then one lesson of the A&ostle recited y memory;

follows %! )3:))J. This shows that while the rothers devote themselves to readings and

meditation,-) they commit to memory the necessary &assages in Holy Scri&ture. Then when

the &ro&er time comes and they need to,-2they can &roduce these lessons y heart and frommemory without any written material, that is they will recite without a ook, for these

lessons are short. !ecause of their revity, it will e no hindrance should they have at hand












no ook to read or no light to see. !ut he is silent aout these matters in the day hours of

the work of @od, ecause during daylight he leaves it to their $udgement whether to recitethe cha&ters, that is the lessons mentioned aove, either y heart and from memory or from

a code. There will e less hindrance then ecause of the daylight.

11)

He commands that the @os&el e read after the nocturns on Sunday and other solemnities.

He wants it to e understood that at all times, that is oth at night and during the day, themessage of @od should e heard and &ractised and, in this way, @od e served.

5urthermore, when the @os&el has een heard, let the monks rememer that saying of the

@os&el: 8!ehold we have left everything and followed you; Mt )+:2J. And he alsointended-3 that if anyone, ecause of scarcity of &riests or ecause of the hindrance of some

occu&ation, was not ale to have Mass that day or to e &resent at it, it will e enough that

he has read and heard the @os&el.

1)

#hen the @os&el has een read, he says: 8After the enediction has een given,; that is y

the customary &rayer 8let them egin lauds; %! )):)*J. This tet does not indicate that an

interval should e ke&t-' for meditative &rayer or readings/ nor does he &rohiit the rothers

to return to their eds to rest on these days once lauds is finished. %ather, he tacitly leaves itto their $udgement to return to their eds if time &ermits, ecause they have risen earlier

ecause they are worn out y the length of the night’s divine service. The things he will not

&ermit to ha&&en, he o&enly forids. He makes clear what things he urges to e done. !utthe things aout which he is silent in this way, he leaves to the $udgement and discretion of

the aot and the rethren.

1-)

Hence, at the end of nocturns, of lauds and of the day hours of the divine service, he makesit clear that after the 8(ord have mercy,; the (ord’s =rayer should e said. He says: 8At

other services, let the last &art of this &rayer e said so that all may answer R!ut deliver us

from evil’; Mt 0:)3/ %! )3:)'J. He does not indicate that a collect &rayer should e said

there, for after having mentioned 8!ut deliver us from evil,; he says: and 8thus the nightvigils are ended; %! +:))J. And again: 8And it is com&leted; %! )2:'/ )3:))J. And still

again: 8The dismissal; %! ):)*J. o collect &rayer is indicated lest it e tedious for those

&raying or the &receding (ord’s =rayer -- e said negligently, for one does not find any &rayer more &recious than the (ord’s =rayer through which the divine service is ended.

Then, at the end of com&line, he adds: 8(ord have mercy, a lessing and the dismissal; %!

):)*J. He refers to the lessing which has een used from his time to ours.

1.)

He says: 8(et us always rememer what the =ro&het says: RServe the (ord with fear’ =s

2:))J/ and again: RSing wisely’ =s '0 7'<:J; %! )+.3J. !y this he wanted it understood

that he had shortened the divine service, so that it could e com&leted "ealously, $oyfully










and without weariness. 4t is known to e short/ and where a section is long, it is sustained

y all the reath of all the singers/ where it is truly short, it &roceeds without the su&&ort ofsuch reathing. #ordiness in the divine office counts for almost nothing efore @od. 4t is

fitting that one standing efore a king ? lessed !enedict says this %! 2*:)J ? address him

in an honourale way. Afterwards he adds: 84n community, &rayer should always e ke&t

short; %! 2*:-J. He recommends &rayer efore each canonical hour. (ater he commands:8A kiss of &eace should not e offered the guest unless &rayer has &receded; %! -3:-J. 4f

almighty @od is the one to e greeted, it is all the more &ro&er that a rief &rayer &recede.

Then later when they are taking &art in the &salmody, they will not e less attentive to the &salmody ecause they will not e fatigued y the length, &receding &rayer.

1/)

(leeping 2rrange&ents 8RB 9

8 As &rovided y the aot, monks receive edding suitale to their way of life; %! 22:)J.This is clarified when he s&eaks of the clothing of the rethren: 85or edding a mat, a

woollen lanket and a light covering as well as a &illow will e sufficient; %! --:)-J. 8(etthem slee& clothed; %! 22:-J, that is with the single, sim&le woollen garment which is

worn net to the skin, so they will not lie naked. They do not wear two layers of clothes, ecause they could not stand it.-0 They slee& 8girded with elts or cords; %! 22:-J so that

the clothes they are wearing will not fall off and so that they will not a&&ear naked.

10)

n 3unish&ents 8RB -=->9

He also says: 84f any rother e found stuorn or disoedient or &roud; %! 23J. %ight

after that he adds: 8&rovided he understands the nature of this &enalty, let him e su$ected

to ecommunication; %! 23:'J. This is not the lawful ecommunication &ronounced y &riestly right under the stole, ut one which y sim&le words se&arates from the com&any

of the rothers, in the refectory, or the divine office in choir, or the dormitory, or the like.

To those with understanding, this &enalty rings greater shame and confusion- than

cor&oral &unishment. Since cor&oral &unishment is to e inflicted on those who lack suchunderstanding, he adds: 84f, however, he lacks understanding, let him undergo cor&oral

&unishment; %! 23:-J. 4n other words, let him e &unished with lows or other &hysical

chastisements, ecause such a one is not led to amendment y words and scarcely y theshar& &ains of the flesh.

!. Dommunity Tasks and Dare for Those with S&ecial eeds

1:)

The #ellarer 8RB -19

He s&eaks this way of the cellarer of the monastery: 8He will &rovide the rothers theirallotted amount of food; ? that is without any &redetermined measure eing e&licitly

estalished ? 8without any &ride 78ty&o;< or delay; %! 3):)0J. 4n the word 8ty&o; one

should understand 8ti,; that is 8to you; and 8in- &o,; that is, &ower. Hence, the cellarershould not say to himself: 8Qours is the &ower to give and deny when you wish,; so he may










give more and etter food to whom he wishes and may &rovide less and worse food for

whom he wishes. To some etent, &eo&le of the world, dis&ensing allotments in theadministration of &rinces, are wont to do this at time. He is not to arrogate this &ower. 5or

he does not su&&ly a greater &ortion to the one who needs than to the one who is not needy,

when he gives more to the one who needs than to the one who is not needy.-+ or will he

delay

0*

to give the things which are to e given.

1<)

7itchen (er+ice 8RB -/9

Then there follows: 8Fn Saturday the rother who is com&leting his work will do the

washing; %! 3-:J, washing out stains and dust with ranches when this is necessary.Again: 8!oth the one who is ending his service as well as the one who is aout to egin are

to wash the feet of everyone; %! 3-:+J. This refers to the mandatum. Again: 8Fne hour

efore mealtime, let him receive something to drink; %! 3-:)2 3:)*J. This means asnack, that is read and wine, s&ecifically read di&&ed in drink, ite si"ed, so it can e

mied with drink. Afterwards it says: 8(et the one going out receive a lessing,; that is a &rayer. 4mmediately there follows: 8Fnce he has received the lessing, let him enter/; this

refers to a suitale &rayer 0) %! 3-:)?)J.

1?)

#are for the (ic%, the @oung and the 2ged 8RB -0=-:9

Then he says: 8Moreover, to regain their strength, the very sick and infirm may eat meat;

%! 30:+J. He wishes this to e understood to mean the meat of four9footed animals and of irds/ it ecludes no meat which men ordinarily eat. 8!ut when they have ecome etter,

let all astain from meat as is customary; %! 30:+J. This refers to the meat of four9footed

animals, for those who are healthy do not usually eat them and their $uices, while those whoare sick do. The healthy do eat the flesh of irds ecause these are clean and they do not

induce lusty desire in those who eat them.02 Then he adds: 8and let them antici&ate the

canonical hours; %! 3:3J. This refers to eating efore the hours laid down in the %ule.

The aged and the children eat their meal earlier than others/ they eat and more often thanothers, and they receive more delicate food.

>)

Table Reading 8RB -<9

Again he says: 8And thus after receiving a lessing03 let him egin his reading; cf. %!3:'J with a &rayer of lessing. And immediately he adds: 8o one should &resume to ask

there aout the reading or aout anything else, lest occasion e given 7to the devil<, unless

the su&erior should wish to say a rief word of edification; %! 3:+J. At that time, hewho was the su&erior of the rest gave salutary admonitions regarding the reading to those

&resent efore they &arted. They were few then/ later, as numers grew, they avoided this

lest on such an occasion they reak forth in idle words. 8The rother who is reader for the

week should receive a drink,; as was said aove, 8efore he egins to read, ecause of theHoly Dommunion; %! 3:)*J. 5or in the time of lessed !enedict, the one who was going

to read, ecause he uttered holy words, was like one serving at the altar and so he received















Dommunion0' on Sunday. !ut0- then he had lunch so that he would not e fasting when he

read and &erha&s feel faint. Another factor that the 5ather 7!enedict< wished understoodwas that after receiving Dommunion, each eliever should kee& a more close and careful

watch than usual on himself in all things.

1)The 5easure of Food 8RB -?9

He adds: 8Two cooked dishes should suffice for all the rothers; %! 3+:3J. 8Dooked; hererefers to those foods which are &laced on the fire and moved ack and forth with a stick so

that they will not e urned. Then he says: 84f there is any fruit or fresh vegetale, let a

third e added; %! 3+:3J. He indicates eans and &eas and other vegetales of that kindwhich are collected fresh from the field, $ust as fruit is taken from trees/ he orders these to

e &laced efore the rothers as a third food, not cooked, ut with the shell removed. 5ish

and cheese and eggs are also included in this third dish/ they are a treat. The loving fatherdoes not mention these e&licitly ecause he knew that monks would not astain from

them. Hence he neither forade them nor did he mention them e&licitly. Afterwards hewrites: 8(et everyone, ece&t the very weak and sick, com&letely astain from eating the

meat of four9footed animals; %! 3+:))J. He makes no mention of irds ecause he did notforid the healthy to eat them. Since in his time the monastic way of life was crude and still

rather unusual, the same father avoided foridding them the eating of meat com&letely. He

&ermitted them to make use of irds as food.

#) !isciplines of the #o&&on 6ife 8RB .-=/9

)

5a%ing 2&end&ent 8RB .-=.09

Then he says: 8So that he may e seen y him and y all, until he does &enance y &ulic

satisfaction at the end of the work of @od; %! '3:0J y &rostrating and asking &ardon.And again: 8Thus let the guilty one make satisfaction y this; %! '3:)2J, that is y

&rostrating u&on the ground. Then he adds: 8#hen the time comes that he wants what he

earlier refused, or anything else, let him receive nothing at all, until he makes suitaleamendment; %! '3:)+J. !ecause of the disres&ect he showed, everything, however

necessary, will e denied to the im&udent rother until he demonstrates his amendment y

humle &enance.00 And again: 8Then at the feet of all that they may &ray for him; %!

'':'J to @od whom he has offended y his grave faults. And immediately: 8(et them kee&doing this until he 7the aot< lesses them; %! '':)*J y greeting them in &ulic and

arousing humility. And then: 8And if he do not seek satisfaction,; that is y seeking &ardon

with his ody flat on the ground, 8there he will e humiliated efore all. (et him e su$ectto greater &unishment; %! '-:)J y the &unishment of his flesh efore all. And when he

says: 84f the cause of sin is hidden in his soul,; he means if a rother has secretly deviated

in any matter or has secretly committed0 some sin. 8(et him make it known only to theaot or to s&iritual seniors; %! '0:-J y confessing the ond of sin and thus gaining

forgiveness.













-)

3enitential 3ractices 8RB .?9

He adds: 8>veryone should, however, make known to the aot what he is offering u&since it should e done with his lessing and a&&roval; %! '+:J. one of the rothers

should astain com&letely from the regular communal food and drink regularly andcommunally set efore him in the community of his rothers unless he has the &ermissionof his aot. or, when the rothers are gathered for the common &rayers and works should

he y his own decision de&art from them, unless he is allowed to do so y his s&iritual

father. However, for the sake of his ody he can lawfully withdraw &art of some of the

regular and common food and drink regularly and communally set efore him in thecommunity of his rothers. However, he should do this so that clamour does not arise, y

regularly and humly following the common custom of the monastery in all matters

without com&laint.

.)

3rohibition of Eating 2way fro& the 5onastery 8RB /19

He writes afterwards: 8(et him not &resume to eat outside, even if someone strongly urges

it, unless he should e commanded to do so y his aot; %! -):)J. 4f he does otherwise,let him e ecommunicated with that ecommunication y which an insolent and

disoedient rother is se&arated from the communion and com&any of his rothers until he

makes satisfaction, as was said aove.

/)

Re+erence 8RB /9

And he says:0 8#hen the work of @od is finished, let all go out with the greatest silence/

and let a reverence e made to @od; %! -2:2J. (et them ow reverently as they go out,

and let them have reverence in their other works which are done in the service of @od, andnot rush into anything wanton or ecessive.

!) Hospitality

0)

Hospitality 8RB /-

Then he says: 8#hen a guest is announced, let the su&erior or the rethren hurry to meethim with the courtesy of charity, and first let them &ray together; %! -3:3J. All are led to

church in order to offer adoration. Thus, the rothers &ray to @od so that they will not

violate their order with the guests/ the guests, that they will e etter for seeing their way oflife. And again: 8#ith their heads owed or their whole ody on the ground, they adore

Dhrist in the guests, $ust as He is received in them; %! -3:J. 5or it is as though Dhrist is

&resent when guests arrive and they receive them, or when guests de&art and they lessthem as they go, or they ow efore the guests out of reverence for Dhrist or ask &ardon

from them cf. %! -:0J. He adds immediately: 8And after this let all courtesy e shown

him; %! -3:+J. This includes oth friendly and com&anionale conversation and every





odily need. And further: 8(et the aot &our water for the guests’ hands; as a duty0+ of

humility 8and let oth the aot and the community wash the feet of all guests; %! -3:)2? )3J. The latter means those for whom the aot en$oins such a service. 5or when the guests

whom lessed father !enedict received were aout to eat, he gave them water for their

hands/ and when they had risen from tale, he washed their feet. He did this ecause of the

eam&le offered at the (ast Su&&er to the disci&les y the Son of @od. #omen’s feet he didnot touch/ ut he modeled contem&t of the world for them oth in his dress and in his holy

way of life. At that time monks did not yet feel the &ress of a tumult of strangers crowding

u&on them. However, those who did come to them were seeking there nothing else utDhrist/ and they found Him there in the holy works.

E) #lothing 8RB //9

:)

uter #lothing

Then he &roceeds: 8The clothing given the rethren should vary according to the localconditions where they live and the climate; %! --:)J. He shows here that clothing is given

to the rethren with regard to what they can stand and so that they may not murmur. #here

the area is so cold that necessity forces men to not forego the use of warm clothing, othlinings of lam’s wool and tunics with a lam’s skin collar are monks’ clothing which

meets with the heavenly udge’s a&&roval, ecause they make a su&erfluity of clothes

unnecessary. Then there follows immediately: 8#e elieve that for each monk a cowl and a

tunic will suffice in tem&erate regions; %! --:'J. The cowl should e full and etend tothe ankle/ it should have short sleeves so that the hands etend slightly eyond them. 4t

should have two o&enings running down elow the arm&it on each side. The ca&uch was

attached aove. 4t is a s&ecial sign of the monk when he has it on his head, signifying helooks neither left nor right toward the world. There should e a wool tunic somewhat less

am&le than the cuculla, ut wider in the legs and reaching to the feet. The sleeves should

not e too wide or too tight and should reach to the hands. There should e an o&eninggoing down on each side elow the arm&it. The tunic* had no ca&uch.

<)

"nderclothing

Then he adds: 8(et the aot take care of the measurements, so that they will not e too

short; %! --:J as some lay &eo&le’s are. %ather, let the monks’ clothing reach to theankle, ecause they do not wear underclothing in their Buarters. Hence, he adds: 8!rothers

going on a $ourney should get underclothing from the wardroe, and when they return they

should wash it and give it ack %! --:)3J. 5rom this one can understand that monks wholived under the teaching of this father did not use underclothing ece&t when they were

leaving their Buarters. The ma$ority of &eo&le did not use underclothes at that time so,

ecause of the customs of the &eo&le and as a sign of childlike sim&licity and humility, thesame father did not allow underclothes to his disci&les while they were in their ) Buarters.

!ut he granted them to those who were going out on horse or on foot2 as an eam&le of

chastity and for the sake of manly decency and human res&ect. !ut now in our times, ecause the customs of men indicate it, it is not dis&leasing to @od if monks, ecause of the













las&hemy of sacrilege which they might e&erience in naked flesh, wear underclothes so

that they will not e naked and touch flesh with flesh, and thus e reminded of fleshly sins.

?)

Bedding

He continues: 85or edding monks need a mat, a lanket; %! --:)-J. The latter is made of

coarse cloth or from hem& and sha&ed like a sack, filled with some sort of edding material

and &laced u&on the mat which the monks had s&read over their ed. 74n the same sentence<he says they should have a 8light covering; of wool, which is s&read over the ed during

the day for decorum and with which they may cover themselves at night when they wish.

4mmediately he says: 8(et all the things that are necessary e &rovided y the aot; %!--:)J. He mentions a cincture which is cinched over the tunic so it will not sli& off

ecause they slee& without underclothes/ and a 8garter; which was worn net to the skin

from which the tied sandals hung/ a 8handkerchief; or cloth made of line with which theywi&ed away their sweat while they were working.

F) The Reception of Brethren 8RB /<=09

->)

#hildren 8RB /?

(ater he says: 8And with the offering let them wra& the &etition and the hand of the oy inthe altar cloth; %! -+:2J. This means that the &etition of the &arents of a ody is

committed to writing as confirming evidence when they offer him to @od, $ust as that of the

one who himself &romised staility, conversion and oedience efore @od and His saints in

his own consecration as descried earlier.

-1)

3riests 8RB 0>9

Then he writes: 84f any of the order of &riests asks to e received into the monastery, do not

let consent e granted too Buickly; %! 0*:)J. Such a &riest is understood to e one who &resided over a charge or a deanery or a &arish and so could, with difficulty, force

himself 3 into su$ection. There is no Buestion of a isho&, ecause it would not e fitting

that one who was a ruler of &eo&le’s souls and was the master of an aot, should esu$ect to an aot. 4f a isho& wishes to convert, he should do it only y &enance, without

sumitting to any teaching authority. Then he says: 84f there is Buestion of an a&&ointment

or another matter in the monastery; %! 0*:J ? referring to res&onsiilities and

teaching' offices or eternal usiness matters which are to e handled with consultation ?8let him kee& the &lace which is his according to entry into the monastery; %! 0*:J: 8the

&lace,; that is his &rofession of their way of life of humility and su$ection which gains for

him a good and high grade ) Tm 3:)3J. (et him kee& efore the eyes of his heart what &lace he is going to enter since he received the monastic hait in the monastery which

shows contem&t for the world, 8not that which is granted him out of reverence for his

&riesthood; %! 0*:J. This means he is not to &ay attention to the &lace of teacher thatearlier was his when he was a teacher and master among the &eo&le and clergy. (et him not







think or $udge himself more &rudent or learned or more ready or circums&ect in s&eech than

his rothers who were raised in the cloister, nor that ecause he dwelt in the world andconsorted with seculars he sur&assed them all. 4nstead, ecause of his voluntary conversion

y which he freely su$ected himself to the disci&line of the %ule and out of reverence for

his &riesthood, he will give good eam&le with the others and will show himself oedient

and su$ect in all matters.

-)

5on%s fro& Elsewhere 8RB 019

And the same father then says: 84f afterwards he wishes to &ledge his staility, such a wish

is not to e denied.; And then: 8ot only should he e $oined to the community if he asksto e received. He should even e urged to stay so that others may learn from his eam&le,

for the (ord is served in every &lace and one fights for the same king; %! 0):?+J. This

father first wrote that 8the novice is to e received in the oratory where he should &romisehis staility efore all; %! -:)J/ and then he added: 8He states his &romise in a &etition

in the name of the saints whose relics are there; %! -:)+J/ and then he says this: 8Such awish is not to e denied; and 84ndeed, let him e urged to stay; and, again, 8!ecause the

one (ord is served in every &lace; %! 0):?+J. He wishes this to e understood as follows.Fn account of his own instaility, a monk secretly or wantonly leaves his monastery in

which he has &romised staility and made his &etition as is written aove. He comes to a

distant region and there sees a monastery of his ty&e of religious life. He is moved yre&entance to want to stay there in staility. He has asked for confirmation that he may e

received. 4n such a case, if he is worthy, even if ecause of his lengthy travels he does not

and could not have letters of commendation, it will e etter that he e received than thatentry e denied him. 5or if he were not received, he might e discouraged y weakness,

infirmity, old age, or some other hindrance, or y the length of the return $ourney to the

monastery he left, and in des&air he might return to the world. Then, remaining in the

world, he would &erish in soul and ody. However, it would e much etter for him if hecould somehow return to his monastery which he left without the &ermission of his s&iritual

father or seek forgiveness, than if he stuornly remained in the other - monastery.

>s&ecially is this the case if he knows that the disci&line of the monastic life is oservedthere in his former monastery. The father affirms this in what follows: 8(et the aot

eware of ever granting memershi& to a monk from another known monastery without the

consent of his aot or a letter of commendation; %! 0):)3J. He does not wish that monksoliged y their staility and &etition move from &lace to &lace as they choose without

&ermission. %ather they are to kee& their vow with firm tenacity.

4) Relations a&ong 5e&bers of the #o&&unity 8RB 0=:-9

--)

3riests 8RB 09

There follows: 8(et him not, ecause of his &riesthood, forget the oedience and disci&line

of the %ule, ut let him advance more and more toward @od. (et him always kee& that

&lace which is his y entry into0 the monastery, ece&t in his duties at the altar; %! 02:'J.This means that a &riest monk who is ordained in his monastery should not ecome &roud







ecause of his &riesthood ut, with loving devotion, kee& efore the eyes of his heart that

&lace of humility and su$ection for which, following the eam&le of Dhrist ) Dor 2:)J, hereceived the monastic hait and emraced contem&t of the world. At that moment he

su$ected himself to the service of @od and man. Aove all, let him think humly that he

ecame the servant and minister of @od when he yoked himself to the service of the altar.

4n this way he will show himself more humle and more oedient in all things. He willrecall that he humly and devoutly received the hait of a monk ecause of which he will,

without &retence, think himself worthy and oedient in everything. !ut he must also recall

that ecause of the way he su$ected himself to @od in the duties of the altar ) Dor ':)J, hewill sincerely account himself humle, meek and in last &lace Mt )):2+J.

-.)

Respect for (eniors 8RB 0-9

Then he adds: 8#henever the rothers meet each other, the $unior should ask a lessingfrom the senior; %! 03:)-J, that is y way of the greeting, he will show himself to e

su$ect to his senior in all humility.

-/)

3rayer for 2bsent Brethren 8RB 0:9

Then he says: 8All those who are asent should always e commemorated at the closing &rayer of the work of @od; %! 0:2J. This last &rayer of the work of @od is the (ord’s

&rayer for, as was said aove, the work of @od is ended with this &rayer since he showed

that the litany, the (ord’s &rayer and the dismissal, occur there. #hen the disci&les of this lessed father &ray in the same &rayer 8!ut deliver us from evil,; they add regarding those

asent: 8and your servants and our asent rothers,; therey commemorating them.+ They

did not have fully develo&ed collect &rayers at that time and so they often ended the divineservice with the Fur 5ather.

-0)

Boys 8RB :>9

Then he says: 8!oys u& to the age of fifteen should, however, e carefully disci&lined and

su&ervised y everyone; %! *:'J. That is, $ust as a oy under fifteen years of age isdelicate of ody, so he is delicate of mind. 5or the time eing he has no fear and can e

ent toward what is good/ he does not dare wantonly to resist those who correct him. !ut

when he reaches fifteen years he is already in the loom of youth. (ike a flowering treestrengthened y the &ith and fluids in it, so the &owers of his mind surge u& so that he

disdains to acce&t and ear the childish corrections he used to acce&t.

-:)

(traight to the 4oal 8RB :9

5inally the lessed father affirms all these things: The kingdom of heaven will lie o&en to

those who do these things cf. r 2:))J. All the things which are descried in this %ule are












not too slack * nor too restrictive/ they look to the right and not) to the left, so that they

lead the one who kee&s them straight to heaven.

-<)

#onclusion

Therefore 4, a &oor little female in form, heard these words from #isdom who taught me

the oscure things in the %ule of lessed father !enedict so that 4 could &resent them

o&enly. So let the meek, mild and timorous hear them, let them understand them2 with aloving heart, and let them acce&t them with humle devotion.

#o&&entary on the Re*uest of the #on+ent of Hunniensis

1)

The whole community writes. (ater in &aragra&h ' of their &etition => 'J, they com&lain

aout the aritrariness of their &relates. =erha&s this suggests a collegiate church of canons,su$ect to a diocesan isho& who is not a memer of the community.

Hildegard is a tem&le of the S&irit and a s&ouse of Dhrist eloved of @od, two titles which

were a&&licale to any Dhristian ut which seem es&ecially a&&ro&riate to a visionary

tem&le of the S&iritJ and an aess mistressJ who is renowned for her sanctity s&ouse ofDhrist, eloved of @odJ. She is revered/ hence the &etitioners address their reBuest to her.

)

The attriutes of sanctity and s&iritual vision are re&eated: they re$oice in her holiness and

they have already delighted in the revelations of her thought. 4t is clear, therefore, thatHildegard is already an estalished figure since she was already known to them.

-)

The first sentence of this &aragra&h is enigmatic. 8Frder; could refer to a way of life

governed y a %ule e.g. Dluniac, 6ictorineJ or even to a community. The &etitioners’ orderis honoured y Hildegard, 8although we are Buite different from you in all res&ects.; Here

they refer to 8the %ule of our lessed father !enedict;/ in => ' they mention 8our lessed

father Augustine.; The most likely meaning is that they consider themselves followers of

St. Augustine, whose Frder Hildegard has held in honour, ut they also have great res&ectfor !enedict and so can also refer to him as their father.

The &etitionary letters reads 8omnes in commune; all of us togetherJ/ the %! favours the

eBuivalent forms 8omnes &ariter; 2*:-/ '+.3J3 and 8&ariter; together: -3:'/ 2:)2J. They

ask for a 8memorial; memoriale vestrumJ/ rememering and forgetting are key conce&ts inHildegard’s writings.'

.)
















8 =er$urers; &er$uriJ is the one word in the first sentence of this &aragra&h which suggests

the gender of the &etitioners. There may e one or two issues at stake here: the &etitionersmay e indicating that they themselves are un$ustly accused of violating the synodal

decrees, whereas their &relates do indeed violate the canons and the rule, or they may e

saying their &relates force them to live in such a way that they are rightly accused of eing

violators of the rule. The first inter&retation seems more likely.

The main fault of the &relates, from the &etitioners’ &oint of view, is that they aritrarily

im&ose added 8servile;J urdens which go eyond the rule.- They want a rule governed

y the laws of the church and the %ule. Their &relates are 8saraaites; %! )+J. The Rule of

ugustine is very short and does not im&ose many minute regulations.

/)

(ike =eter de Delle, a !enedictine who wrote his School of the "loister 0 for a canon

regular, the &etitioners recognise the close affinity of all claustrals.

The &etitioners end where they egan with a reBuest for counsel and &rayer from one whois wise and holy and conclude with a final salute to Hildegard’s maternal love cf. => )?2J.

They ask her to &ray that they may have a share in the S&irit who guides her.

#o&&entary on Hildegard's Explanation of The Rule of Benedict

1)

Hildegard often egins her works with a &assage de&recating her human ca&acities as anunlettered woman. Such avowals of incom&etence are common in twelfth9century authors.

Hildegard, however, adds a different twist. Since there is no human source for her teaching,she can then claim divine enlightenment and warrant. 6iewed another way, Hildegard, as a

woman who was not highly educated, could not ho&e to receive a hearing unless sheclaimed su&ernatural authority. 4n this instance she invokes not $ust the 8true light; ut

also 8the memory of !lessed !enedict,; therey echoing the &etitioners’ => 3. Hildegard’s

claim to eing uneducated and therefore taught y the Holy S&irit is su&&orted y the factthat a&art from the !ile and, in this work, The Rule of Benedict , she does not Buote earlier

or contem&orary Dhristian authorities. Although she was certainly influenced y Dhristian

tradition, her vocaulary and ideas are often freshly minted.+

Hildegard mentions the grace and &ower of the Holy S&irit three times in this one rief &aragra&h. She will mention them often in suseBuent &aragra&hs.

Hildegard says that she has een enlightened regarding the more difficult and oscure

matters in the %ule. (ike Hildegard herself, St. !enedict was filled with the grace of the

Holy S&irit. Although the virtues she attriutes to St. !enedict are Buite general, they seemto reflect the influence of !ook 2 of The 1ialogues of @regory the @reat which, with the

%ule, &rovide almost all the information we have aout !enedict. The devil looms large in

@regory’s Life of Benedict 1ial. 2:2, 2:, 2:)*, 2:)0, 2:2*, 2:2-, 2:3*J/+* @regory’s

















descri&tion of !enedict’s mystic vision was universally known 2:3-/ cf. 2:)0, 3?:

!enedict was one s&irit with @odJ/ @regory shows that !enedict had the virtues of all the $ust 2:?+J/+) !enedict had the gift of &ro&hecy from the Holy S&irit 2:2), 3?'J.

)

@regory says that !enedict’s %ule was 8outstanding for its discretion; 2:20: regulam

discretione &raeci&uamJ. The Rule of Benedict insists on discretion in the aot/ @regory

says aot !enedict could not have lived other than he legislated 2:30J/ !enedict’sdiscretion is one of the most insistent themes of Hildegard’s commentary. !y insisting on

!enedict’s discretion, Hildegard is im&licitly $ustifying her own inter&retation of the %ule,

which is marked y discretion instead of an infleile commitment to literal oservance orausterity.+2 Hildegard is also im&lying an affinity etween !enedict’s discretion and her

own conviction that &hysical and s&iritual health are ased on harmony.+3

The circle or wheel is a recurring symol in Hildegard’s works, which often stands for the

creative dynamism of the divine nature.

+'

Here the meta&hor seems to e of a arrel of wineor eer lying on its side, in which a s&igot has een &laced at a convenient height.+- The

idea of drinking wisdom or grace occurs in =rov :3-, )2:2, ):22, 4s. )2:3 and is a theme

of n '. The meta&hor is continued in the first line of > 3.

Moses is a favourite figure of Hildegard+0 and also a&&ears in this work > 'J.

-=.)

Fnce again, !enedict is endowed with all the virtues of the $ust. !enedict’s doctrine was

&erfected in the Holy S&irit/ hence it ought not to e altered. The o&ening words of the %!

echo the didactic tone of the wisdom tradition,

+

and thus identify the author as a divinelyguided teacher.

/)

Hildegard $um&s from the 8&ius &ater; of %!, =rol. ) to Dha&ter ) on the kinds of monks

on which she gives some rather general comments and em&hasises the im&ortance of

staility. The nail fied in the centre of the circle of > 3 suggests staility as well asdiscretion.

0)

Having already &assed over the doctrinal content of the &rologue, Hildegard now fails to

comment on im&ortant cha&ters: 2J on the aot/ 3J calling the community for counsel/'J instruments of good works/ and -J oedience. She treats silence at length as a &ractical

matter: evidently it was an issue in cloisters of her day. Her &osition is that !enedict

allowed s&eaking times when they were necessary ut did not estalish a certain time eachday for s&eaking. This was a matter he left to the $udgement of the aot. S&eaking should

e in common and moderate. Here Hildegard is referring to immoderate silence, not to the



















disci&le9master relationshi& or to evil s&eaking, two to&ics that loom large in %!. 4t must e

noted that she makes no mention of sign9language.

:)

4n her lengthy discussion of the arrangement of the divine office, one of Hildegard’sconcerns is to decide whether what %! says of one hour a&&lies to other hours: usually she

says it does not.

ust as Dhrist was a healer, so too did !enedict have the touch of a &hysician/ hisdiscretion ke&t him fied and stale at a healthy &oint of alance in matters such as silence

and s&eaking. His rule for slee&ing and kee&ing awake shows the same healthy alance.+

Hildegard shares the common mediaeval view that haits of eating,like the times of slee&

when food is digested, correlate with inclinations towards seual arousal.

!enedict used the words 8&ietas; and 8&ius; e.g., in the &hrase 8loving father;J only in the &rologue. Hildegard uses it in the same way at the end of this &aragra&h.

<)

!enedict’s %ule is also moderate in reBuiring the monks to stay awake after 6igils and

(auds.

?)

Dommenting on %! +?)2 Fn the ight FfficeJ, Hildegard sim&ly says that no 8Fur

5ather; should e added where !enedict does not &rovide for one.

1>)

This &aragra&h deals with which of the short readings at the 1ivine Fffice should e

memorised and recited y heart. (ike modern commentators on the %!, Hildegardinter&rets !enedict’s &rovisions for reading and meditation '.)3,23/ -.-J as including

memorisation of tets.++ As usual Hildegard sees a &ractical $ustification for this legislation.

11)

Hildegard em&hasises hearing and listening to the word of @od. She &icks out for &articularem&hasis the @os&el &assage: 8!ehold we have left everything and followed you; Mt

)+:2J. 4n so doing, she a&&lies a &assage s&ecifically to monastics which eegetes

traditionally a&&lied to the A&ostles or to all elievers and which the liturgy has used as theDommunion anti&hon for the Dommon of a confessor who was not a isho&.)**

The im&lication of the last &art of the &aragra&h seems to e that Hildegard considered

daily celeration of the >ucharist usual, ut foresaw that there were ece&tions.)*) 4n











the Scivias 2.0.'0, ed. 5IhrkLtter, &. 2*J, she says that Dommunion should e received

under oth s&ecies ece&t y those who are likely to s&ill the wine.

1)

Hildegard here discusses one sentence in %!, Dh. )2 which deals with 6igils on Sunday.Fffering the unlikely inter&retation that on Sundays there might e an interval etween

6igils and (auds, she concludes that memers of the community could go ack to ed

during this time. She ases this reading on what, for her, is a key &rinci&le for herinter&retation of the %ule: the fact that !enedict is Buite clear aout those things he wishes

to e done and o&enly forids what he does not wish to ha&&en. He leaves those things

which he does not mention to the discretion of the aot and the memers of thecommunity.

1-)

Here and in > 3-, Hildegard maintains that !enedict did not end the hours of the Ffficewith Dollect &rayers ut that all the hours, with the ece&tion of Dom&line, conclude withthe (ord’s =rayer.

1.)

Hildegard enunciates the &rinci&le that liturgical &artici&ation should e 8"ealous, $oyful

and without weariness; 8in gaudio et sine taedio studiose;J. #ith this &rinci&le in mind,

she says that St. !enedict shortened the divine service)*2 and that wordiness has no &lace inliturgical &rayer cf. Mt 0:J. She thus a&&lies to liturgical &rayer as a whole what !enedict

may have intended to a&&ly only to the silent &rayer or to the Dollect &rayer following the

=salms.

)*3

#hen Hildegard says that long sections 8distinctiones;J should e sustained y the reath8ad s&iritum;J, she is &erha&s referring to the &ractice of taking dee& reaths at the start of

a section and then reathing at different times during it. She may also e referring to the

Holy S&irit.

Hildegard’s suggestion that a rief &rayer should &recede each canonical hour cominestwo dis&arate ideas of St. !enedict. This may e a criticism of the rather lengthy accretions

which &receded the Fffice in mediaeval monastic &ractice.

1/)

Hildegard inter&rets %! 22.- in the light of her argument in > 2 that it was fitting in hertime that monastics wear underclothes. Here she says that they should take off their outer

clothes and slee& in their underwear if it ecame too warm. Her concern that monastics not

e seen naked is re&eated in > 2.

10)







Hildegard comments on the &enal code of the %ule in one rief &aragra&h. She &oints out

that monastic ecommunication is something Buite different from formal ecclesiasticalecommunication.)*' She herself was to e&erience some of the com&lications of the latter

sort of ecommunication near the end of her life.)*-

1:)

Hildegard’s commentary on the work of the cellarer is carefully constructed. He is to

su&&ly )J the allotted &ortion 2J without favouritism and 3J without delay. To give moreto one who needs more does not im&ly that the cellarer is either eceeding the allotted

&ortion or showing favouritism. 8Tu&hos; &ride, vanityJ is a term used freBuently y

@reek Dhristian writers and it is occasionally found in Augustine.)*0 Although heretymology of the word is false)* ? the root meaning of the word is 8smoke; ? she has

ca&tured the meaning of the word very well: 8tu&hos; is the o&&osite of humility.

Hildegard conflates the &rovisions for a snack efore meals for readers %! 3J and

kitchen servers %! 3-J which was to e &rovided in order that the servers e strengthenedfor their work. 4n allowing a reader a drink )* efore the midday meal, !enedict also seems

to have wanted the reader to rinse out his mouth lest he s&it out any of the >ucharistic wine

while he was reading out loud. Hildegard does not here advert to this see > 2*J, utseems to eBuate 8mistum; 8&randium; 7midday meal< read and drink 78&anem et

&otum;< read di&&ed in drink 78&anem &otui intinctum;< ite9si"ed &ieces 78offae;<

which make it &ossile for read to e mied with wine. 4t is &ossile that she meant

8&randium; 7midday meal< to e in a&&osition with 8hora refectionis; 7mealtime<, and therest in a&&osition to 8mistum.;

1?)

Hildegard inter&rets !enedict’s references to meat in the light of %! 3+.)) where he

forids the healthy to eat the meat of four9footed animals 8carnium Buadru&edum;: see >2)J. She elieves that red meat is more likely to nourish seual inclinations than the meat of

fowl.)*+

>)

Hildegard im&lies that the custom of su&eriors commenting on the tale reading had la&sed y her time.

%eturning to the drink given to the tale reader ecause of Dommunion see > )J,

Hildegard inter&rets this to mean that since he has fasted efore Dommunion, he will need

to eat so that he will have the strength to do his reading: a feat which, efore the days ofmicro&hones, reBuired considerale eertion.

The &arallel which Hildegard draws etween reading holy words and serving at the altar is

reminiscent of the &arallel which !enedict makes etween the tools of the monastery and

the vessels of the altar %! 3).)*J. Although her statement that !enedict wanted those who















.)

Hildegard omits the first &hrase of !enedict’s short cha&ter and adds a descri&tion of

ecommunication.

/)

Here Hildegard sees reverence as an attitude towards @od which should accom&any all the

works done in @od’s service))) and unruliness as its o&&osite.))2

0)

%everence, then, should e shown guests. After the guests have een greeted &rom&tly,they are taken to the church where the monks &ray that their hos&itality will not violate

their daily routine 8ordo;J and the guests &ray that they will e edified y the monks’ way

of life 8conversatio;J.

Hildegard em&hasises !enedict’s &oint that Dhrist is served in the guests. The courtesy8humanitas;J etended to them includes conversation, care for their odily needs and the

washing of their hands and feet 8mandatum;: see > )J. !enedict, she says, was ale to

devote more time to guests than a modern su&erior could since there were fewer guests in

his day and, furthermore, they were more religiously motivated.

Throughout this &aragra&h, Hildegard em&hasises the effect of good eam&le. The aot

washes the feet of the guests ecause of Dhrist’s eam&le. The guests are to e edified y

the eam&le of the daily routine and works of the monks. Although !enedict did not touchthe feet of women, he did give them an eam&le y his dress))3 and demeanour. Here and in

> 3) Hildegard sees outward de&ortment in the contet of 8contem&t of the world; as asign or eam&le for others.))'

:)

4n the matter of clothing, discretion must take into account the climate and situation, andHildegard &refers that monks try to get y with few ut suitale clothes. Her descri&tions of

the cuts of the garments are somewhat oscure. Her edifying inter&retation of the ca&uche

is re&eated in her (etter -) in res&onse to the &rior of >erach ))- where she also discussesthe significance of the cuculla.))0

<)

Here Hildegard gives two reasons for her views on the wearing of underwear: custom and

decorum. Nnderwear was not in common use in !enedict’s day ut he recommended that,

for decorum’s sake, it e worn outside the monastery. !y Hildegard’s time, however, it wascustomarily worn and thus she legislates its use oth inside and outside the monastery,

es&ecially since, she says, its use may lessen carnal tem&tation. 4n > )- she had said that

contem&orary monastics should slee& in their underwear.















?)

Hildegard had discussed edding in > )-, ut since !enedict rings u& again the to&ic

here, so does Hildegard. Her inter&retations of the items of clothing and edding mentioned y !enedict are interesting and reasonale, if occasionally Buestionale. The ed, mat,

lanket and a light covering s&ecified are similar to &resent9day slee&ing eBui&ment for amountain cain: unk, &ad, slee&ing ag and dust cover.

->)

The &arents of child olates are to &ut their &etitions in writing, like adult novices.

Hildegard concludes the &aragra&h y saying 8as descried earlier.; This is a clear

reference to the &rovisions of Dha&ter - of the %ule on the &rocedure for receiving

candidates, a cha&ter u&on which, in fact, she has not commented.

-1)

Hildegard gives a detailed commentary on the rece&tion of &riests. As a ruler of souls, a

isho& was not to e received into a monastery since it would e ina&&ro&riate for such a

one to e su$ect to an aot. 4n the same way, Hildegard considers it unwise to receive &riests who are used to &ositions of authority. 4f admitted, they should esteem their &resent

humle and su$ect &osition as more valuale than their &riestly rank. His status as &riest

should olige him to e an eam&le of oedience and su$ection in his freely chosen &osition as monk. 5inally, he should eware lest he think himself wiser than those who

were raised in the monastery since their childhood. Here Hildegard seems anious to

oviate tension etween 8olati;C;nutriti; on the one hand, and 8conversi; on the other, a

realisation &erha&s ased on her e&erience as an olata, a sister, and an aess.

-)

Acce&tance into a monastery of &ersons who had een &rofessed in other monasteries was

an arasive to&ic in the twelfth century.)) 4n > -, Hildegard indicated the im&ortance of

staility and she closes this &aragra&h y insisting on the oligation of monks to remainfaithful to this vow: they should not move to another &lace without &ermission. She

narrows the issue down to the s&ecific situation of a monk who, through his own lack of

staility, leaves his original monastery without authorisation.)) Her imagined renegadetravels far and wide and, finding a monastery similar to his own, is moved y re&entance

and asks to e allowed to $oin it. Although, astractly s&eaking, it would e etter for such

a one to return to his original monastery, there remains the &ossiility that he might die

efore he is ale to return to the community he aandoned. Thus, in Hildegard’s $udgement,it is etter to receive him into the new monastery even if he has no letters of

recommendation. She reiterates !enedict’s caution that admittance should never e given to

a monk from another known monastery without consent of his &revious aot.

--)







4n this &aragra&h, Hildegard returns to the Buestion of the &lace of &riests in the monastery.

Her concern, however, is no longer aout &riests who have eercised administrative andteaching authority ut, rather, any &riest. She develo&s the idea roached in > 3) that the

&riest9monk should find in his monastic &rofession and in his &riesthood a motivation to

humility and oedience, since oth commit him to a life of service to @od and others. Here,

as in > 3), the considerale attention Hildegard gives to the &osition of &riests in themonastery may well reflect a concern at the community at Hunniensis.

-.)

#hen a $unior greets his senior y asking a lessing, he signifies his su$ection to him in

humility.

-/)

4n > )3 Hildegard did not think that in !enedict’s time the hours of the Fffice ended with

a collect &rayer. Here she concludes that the commemoration of the asent rethren which!enedict had mandated for the end of Dom&line was attached to the Fur 5ather.

-0)

4n this &aragra&h, Hildegard elaorates on a single line of the %ule regarding thedisci&lining of oys u& to the age of fifteen.))+

-:)

4n this &assage, which is an inclusion with > 2, Hildegard returns to !enedict’s discretion.

#here there she said that !enedict aimed neither too high nor too low, here she says that hedeviated neither to the right nor to the left.

-<)

Hildegard’s concluding &aragra&h is an inclusion with > ): she is a &oor woman taught y

#isdom itself. She ends with a word of encouragement to others who, like her and thefearful community of Hunniensis are not among the mighty of this world and who therefore

are ale to hear, understand and acce&t these words with loving heart and humle devotion.



explanation of the rule of benedict, by hildegard of bingen

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