Saint Hildegard's Prayer Book

Saint Hildegard's Prayer Book

This precious manuscript from the Bavarian State Library is believed to have been the personal possession of one of the most famous women of the entire Middle Ages: Hildegard von Bingen (1098–1179). Written mainly in Latin, the sumptuous design and selection of prayers indicates that the Liber precatorius was intended for a high-ranking woman and was likely created by a Cistercian monk who collaborated with a miniaturist familiar with both older theological traditions and the new ideas of the 12th century, a time of reform and innovation in the church.

An Unusual Prayer Book

This manuscript is unusual and only one other surviving work shares its image program and salvation-historical perspective, the structure of which expresses more than just the intention to convey a biblical completeness but allows the reader to reflect on the course of the world and their own existence in it. The 72 miniatures chronologically traces the history of piety from Genesis to the Last Judgement including a detailed depiction of Christ's ministry. It is designed to allow the reader to contemplate the salvific events and create a meditative relationship with them. For example, the miniature on the theme of the carrying of the cross shows Christ embracing a heavy, large cross standing on the ground, but it is not the actual carrying of the cross that is emphasized, but rather Christ's willingness to take up the cross and begin the path of suffering. It thus shifts the emphasis from the historical event to the inner process of the action. The cross is also associated with the tree of life, especially in the depiction of the Last Judgement.

Origins of the Manuscript

Judging by the iconography, the manuscript probably originated in Trier, perhaps in the monastery of St. Eucharius, which Hildegard would have had regular contact with. German texts were added sometime in the first half of the 13th century to explain the illustrations accompanying two of the Marian prayers, one of which was crossed out with ink by a later hand, which has been a considerable obstacle for researchers. Nonetheless, a linguistic analysis indicates that the notes were written in an Alemannic dialect, i.e. the southwestern linguistic German area. It is thus believed that these notes were added by nuns from the region of Bingen-Worms, which is not far from the convent founded by Hildegard at Rupertsberg.