Scarlet Music: A Life of Hildegard Von Bingen

by Joan Ohanneson

Book Overview

In breathtaking prose, Joan Ohanneson has crafted an unforgettable encounter with Hildegard, the astonishing visionary and prophet, artist and healer, whose music is sweeping the charts today. Weaving... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 082451646X
• ISBN13: 9780824516468
• Release Date: April 1997
• Publisher: Crossroad Publishing
• Length: 280 Pages
• Weight: 0.99 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.0" x 8.9"

Customer Reviews

Despite Some Historical Inaccuracies, this Book Shines!

Having read several of the more scholarly treatises on Abbess Hildegard of Bingen, I'm finding it a breath of fresh air to experience her as a living being. The book is beautifully written and is not afraid to present Hildegard as all too human, dealing with the concerns and fears that must have accompanied her extraordinary visionary gifts. Although Hildegard would never have called herself a "feminist", since she embraced the precepts and beliefs of Catholicism, including the superiority of an all-powerful male God, she held women in high regard and challenged many of the assumptions of that time about women the value of women in the eyes of God. It is difficult to imagine that the Catholic church never officially granted sainthood to Hildegard; however, she is considered a saint in Germany - and I agree!

Hildegard comes alive.

The life, the country, the contemporaries, and the political times of Hildegard come alive in this book. She was more than a religious woman who could write music - she had a great deal of courage and determination which even today would make her an outstanding feminist. Read it while listening to her music and find your dreams taking yyou to another world.