The Secret World of Hildegard

by Jonah Winter

Book Overview

Hildegard could see wonderful things inside her head: flowers and flames, and towers and stars, and the whole universe. She trembled with the brilliance of her visions and the pain of holding them inside. But she lived in a time when women were expected only to obey--not to have visions or speak about them. Yet she did speak, and through her courage became one of the greatest mystics and composers of the medieval age. This exquisite book from the...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0439507391
• ISBN13: 9780439507394
• Release Date: September 2007
• Publisher: Arthur A. Levine Books
• Length: 64 Pages
• Weight: 0.81 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 7.3" x 8.2"
• Age Range: 4 to 8 years
• Grade Range: Preschool to Grade 3

Customer Reviews

A beautiful book about Hildegard von Bingen, a mystic visionary

It was during the Middle Ages when everything seemed so dark gray and dreary. Little girls were not allowed to attend school and never learned to read. Little Hildegard was a very strange and unusual girl. When she was only three years old she began to predict things. This frightened her parents very much. She often claimed her head hurt and she said she saw "flames and stars." It wasn't long after this she was sent away to a monastery. It had beautiful gardens, but her stone room was barren and unwelcoming, yet there was someone there who would help her. Jutta, a nun, taught her to read and do many things. Much later on when Hildegard grew up, she was elected "Mistress," as she was so beloved in the monastery. Eventually she dictated her visions, which she claimed came from God. She wrote music, wrote about medicine, entire languages and more. Eventually she presented a book to the Pope. She was modest and said simply, "I am just a feather on the breath of God." This is a marvelous story, told with poetic simplicity. Hildegard von Bingen was what people called today a "mystic visionary," or prophet. The art work is beautiful . . . acrylic and pen on Arches watercolor paper. There are a brief biography and bibliography in the back of the book. Hildegard was a multi talented woman that many young people would want to acquaint themselves within the pages of this book!