Bruce Holsinger - The Flesh of The Voice-Embodiment and The Homoerotics of Devotion in The Music of Hildegard Von Bingen

The Flesh of the Voice: Embodiment and the Homoerotics of Devotion in the Music of
Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179)

Author(s): Bruce Wood Holsinger
Source: Signs, Vol. 19, No. 1 (Autumn, 1993), pp. 92-125
Published by: The University of Chicago Press
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The Fleshof theVoice: Embodiment
and theHomoeroticsof Devotionin
theMusic of Hildegardof Bingen
(1098-1179)
Bruce Wood Holsinger
Body is the instrumentupon whichthe mysticrings

of
changes pain andof Itis frombody-whether
delight.
whipped into frenzyby theascetic or gratified
herself
withan ecstasygivenbyGod-that sweetmelodiesand
aromasriseto theverythroneofheaven.
[BYNUM1991, 194]
W ITH THE FOLLOWING WORDS, Margery Kempe,

thefifteenth-century
Englishmystic, hercalling
describes
life:
byGod intomystical
On a night,as thiscreaturelay in herbed withherhusband,she

hearda soundof melodyso sweetand delectable, as
shethought,
shehad beeninParadise.Andtherewith outofherbed
shestarted
andsaid,"Alas,thateverI didsin,itis fullmerryinHeaven."This
melody was so sweetthatit passed all themelodythatevermight
Earlierversionsof thisessay werepresentedat the ComparativeStudiesin Discourse
and Societycolloquiumseries,University of Minnesota,1991; the Conferenceon
FeministTheoryand Music, Minneapolis,1991; the Conferenceon Sex and Sexualityin
the Middle Ages and Renaissance,Toronto,1991; and the InternationalCongresson
Medieval Studies,Kalamazoo, Mich., 1992. For theirgenerouscommentson various
drafts,I thankCarolineWalkerBynum,Rita Copeland, Barbara Engh,Debbie Goelman,
Sheila Holsinger,Donna Jackson,Sarah Kelen,RichardLeppert,Ron Martinez,David
Wallace, the Signsreadersand editors(especiallyJeanneBarker-Nunn),and Susan
McClary,who introducedme to Hildegardand guidedthisprojectin its earlierstages.
Finally,I would like to dedicatethisarticleto Martha Mockus, whose impassioned
intellect,boundlessfriendship, and perversesense of humorhave been a constant(if
long-distance)sourceof laughs and inspiration.
[Signs:Journalof Womenin Cultureand Society1993, vol. 19, no. 1]
? 1993 byThe University
of Chicago.All rightsreserved.
0097-9740/94/1901-0004$01.00
92 SIGNS Autumn 1993

THE FLESH OF THE VOICE Holsinger
be heard in this world withoutany comparison,and caused this

creaturewhenshe heardanymirthor melodyafterwardforto have
fullplenteousand abundanttearsof highdevotionwithgreatsob-
bings and sighingsafterthe bliss of Heaven, not dreading the
shames and the spitesof the wretchedworld. And ever afterthis
experienceshe had in hermindthemirthand themelodythatwas
in Heaven,so muchthatshe could notwellrestrainherselffromthe
speakingthereof.For,where she was in any company,she would
say oftentime,"It is fullmerryin Heaven."1
Music, "a melodyso sweetand delectable,"is themediumthroughwhich

Kempe receivesher firstdirectimpressionof heaven,and she depictsher
experiencein a way thatmightseemtypicalof medievaldevotionalwrit-
ing: the music of heaven surpasses all worldlymelody "without any
comparison,"inspiresa burningdesireforunion with God, and cannot
adequatelybe describedin the fallenlanguageof mortals.Heavenlymu-
sic, spiritualand ineffable,allows Kempe to transcendthepleasuresand
temptationsof the carnal world and, if only for a moment,hear the
wondrousand glorioussounds of the afterlife.
Yet,paradoxically,thisverysame musicexpressesitselfin an unmis-
takablyworldlyway.Althoughwe mightexpectKempe'sinitialexposure
to themusicof heavento be a purelyspiritualphenomenon,she describes
it in words that revealits profoundeffectson her physicalbody.Upon
hearingthe celestialmelody,Kempe sheds "fullplenteousand abundant
tears of high devotionwith greatsobbingsand sighings,"explicitlyac-
knowledgingmusic'sabilityto stimulatethesenses.Laterin thechapter,
Kempe writes,"And also, afterthiscreatureheard thisheavenlymelody,
she did greatbodilypenance. She was shrivensometimestwiceor thrice
on theday.... She gaveherselfto greatfastingand to greatwaking;she
rose at two or threeo'clock and went to churchand was therein her
prayersunto the timeof noon and also all the afternoon.And thenwas
she slanderedand reprovedby manypeople for she kept so straighta
living.Then she got herselfa hairshirtfroma kilnsuch as men drymalt
on and lay it in her girdleas subtlyand privatelyas she mightthather
husband should not spy it" (1940, 12). Once again, it is the sound of
musicthatcauses Kempe to engagein "great bodilypenance"-to con-
fessfrequently, to sit stillin churchall day,to starveherself,and evento
keep a hairclothbound againstherskinas she sleeps.Despite itscelestial
essence,musicforKempeis an oftenpainfulreminderof hernatureas an
embodiedhuman beingand of the tremendousdistancebetweenherself
and God.
1
Kempe1940,11; all translations
aremineunlessotherwise
indicated.
Autumn 1993 SIGNS 93

Holsinger THE FLESH OF THE VOICE
Nor was Kempe alone in hersomaticresponsesto sacredmusic.Over

a centurybeforeshe describedhermelodiouscallingintobodilypenance,
a medievalnun of Unterlinden recountedwhatwas a commonpracticein
hernunnery:"In Adventand Lent,all thesisters,comingintothechapter
house afterMatins,hack at themselvescruelly,hostilelylaceratingtheir
bodies untilthe blood flows,withall kindsof whips,so thatthe sound
reverberates all over the monasteryand risesto the ears of the Lord of
hostssweeterthanall melody"(Ancelet-Hustache 1930, 341; see Bynum
1987, 210). And in the CanterburyTales, Chaucer's Prioresstells of a
hymn to theVirginMary miraculouslyvivifying corpseof a choirboy
the
whose throathas been slit:
"My throteis kut unto mynekkeboon,"

Seydethischild,"and as by wey of kynde
I sholde have dyed,ye,longe tymeagon.
But JesuCrist,as ye in bookes fynde,
Wil thathis glorielaste and be in mynde,
And forthe worshipof his Mooder deere
Yet may I singe O Alma loude and cleere."
[Chaucer 1987, 212]
Althoughtheseexamplesare particularlyvivid (and perhapshorrify-
ing to modernreaders),the close association betweenmusic and body
that underlieseach of themwas a not-uncommonfeatureof medieval
devotionalwritingsand practices.Medieval monks,nuns,poets, schol-
ars, and mysticsweredeeplyaware of music'sdistinctive abilityto stim-
ulate and enliventhehumanbody,and, as thewordsof theUnterlinden
nun reveal,the body itselfwas investedwiththemiraculouspotentialto
burstforthin sonorous melodyat any moment.It may not be an exag-
gerationto say that,to manymedievalChristians,themostfundamental
attributeof musicwas its inextricability frombodilyexperience.
Yet themostenduringscholarlyassumptionabout medievalreligious
musichas been thatits importanceto medievalpeople lay in its perfect
expressionof heavenlyconcord,mathematicalproportion,and cosmic
order.This assumptionhas held such powerfulsway forso long in large
partbecause of music'splace in themedievalquadriviumalong withthe
othernumericalarts-arithmetic,geometry, and astronomy-as well as
medievaldiscussionsof music as an expressionof numberand propor-
tion. The anonymousauthor of the Scholia enchiriadis,a Carolingian
treatiseon the liberal arts,for instance,writes,"Music, like the other
mathematicaldisciplines,is in all itsaspectsbound up withthesystemof
numbers.And so it is by numberthatit mustbe understood"(Gerbert
1784, 196). The authorgoes further, adding,"Music is entirelyformed
and fashionedaftertheimageof numbers.And so it is number,bymeans

of thesefixedand established proportionsof notes,thatbringsabout

whatever is pleasingto theear in singing. Whatever pleasurerhythms
yield,whether in songor inrhythmic movements ofwhatever sort,all is
theworkofnumber. Notespassawayquickly;numbers, however, though
stainedbythecorporeal touchofpitchesandmotions, remain"(196). By
claimingthatnumberand numberaloneis thebasisformusicalform,
fashion, meaning, and pleasure,theauthorspurnsthe"corporealtouch
ofpitches," thesensualeffects thatmusicalsoundsinvariably haveon the
humanbody.
Givenpassagessuchas these,itis no wonderthatmusicologists have
the
accepted overriding of
significance music'snumerical properties to
medievalpeople.No lessa scholarthanJohnStevensrecently encapsu-
latedtherelationship between wordsand musicin theentirety ofmedi-
in
evalplainsong thissinglesentence: "Behindbothwordsandnoteslies
'number,' a numerical Idea waitingto be incarnated; we maycometo
regardthisas theonlycommontermbetween theverseandthemelody"
(1986, 47). WhileI certainly do not wishto downplaythe symbolic
significanceofnumber andproportion to manymedieval on music,
writers
I wouldarguethatthesepurely theoretical playeda lesssignificant
categories
rolethanStevens suggests inthewaysinwhichthegreatmajority ofmedi-
evalpeopleactually heard,thought about,andexperienced music.
Indeed,fromtheearlyMiddleAges,Christian writers madeexplicit
connections inexegetical anddevotionalworksbetween musicandbody.
Glossingthe thirty-third psalm,for instance,an anonymousthird-
century author(longthought to be OrigenofAlexandria) writes,"Give
thanksto theLordon theharp;withtheten-stringed psalterychanthis
praises... thebodyis saidto be a cithara, thespirita psaltery,
whichare
likenedmusically to a wisemanwhoaptlyusesthebodilymembers and
the spiritualfacultiesas strings.... The 'ten strings'standfor 'ten
nerves,'fora stringis a nerve.And thebodycan be seenas theten-
stringed psaltery, forithas fivebodilysensesand fivespiritual faculties"
(Pseudo-Origen 1857-66, 1303).2In a famouspassagefromtheCon-
fessions,St.Augustine admitsthathe "usedto be muchmorefascinated
bythepleasuresofsoundthanthepleasuresofscent"and begsGod to
releasehimfromthe "dangerthatlies in gratifying the senses"with
sacredmusic(1961, 238-39). ForAugustine, evenintrospective, devo-
tionalmusicleavesan indeliblemarkon theflesh.
A century afterAugustine, Boethiustheorizedtherelationship bet-
weenmusicand bodyat length,synthesizing Platonicand Aristotelian
2
As JamesMcKinnon has pointedout, earlypsalm commentariesare the locus
classicusforsuch instrumental
allegories,inspiringsimilarcommentaryfromliterally
hundredsof Christianexegetesthroughoutthe Middle Ages (see McKinnon 1987, esp.
38-39).

conceptionsof the body/soulrelationshipto defineand explicate the

musica humana,or "human music": "Whoeverpenetratesinto his own
selfperceiveshuman music. For what unitesthe incorporealnatureof
reason withthe body ifnot a certainharmonyand, as it were,a careful
tuningof low and high pitchesas thoughproducingone consonance?
What otherthan this unitesthe parts of the soul, which,accordingto
Aristotle,is composed of therationaland the irrational?What is it that
intermingles the elementsof the body or holds togetherthepartsof the
body in an established order?"(Boethius1989, 10). In theBoethianview,
music binds soul to body; indeed,body itselfis quite literallyheld to-
getherby musicalsound.3Thus, thetenth-century nun Hrotsvitof Gan-
dersheimarguedthatmusica humana residesin "the union of body and
soul, ... in the pulse of our veins and in the measuresof our limbs"
(1989, 100).4
Perhapsthe medievalfigurewhose work most thoroughlyand inten-
sivelyreflectsan awareness of music's corporealityis the Benedictine
abbess and visionary,Hildegardof Bingen.Bornin 1098 and placed in a
monastery at theage ofeight,Hildegardwas astonishingly prolificthrough-
out the courseof herlong life.Her extantoeuvreconsistsof threemajor
theologicalworks; severallearnedtreatiseson naturalhistory, medicine,
and thenatureof thehumanbody; overa hundredletters;severalsaints'
lives; a completereligiousdrama withmusicand text;and, mostimpor-
tantforthepurposesof thisessay,overseventyliturgicalcompositionsin
a collectionshe entitledSymphoniaarmoniecelestiumrevelationum.
In the followingpages, I will explorejust a fewof the manyways in
whichHildegard'smusicalcompositionsexemplify herown conceptions
of body-particularlythe female body-and its centralrole in religious
devotion.As we shall see, music providedHildegard with a means of
exploringand, quiteliterally, "giving voice" to the female bodyand all of
in
its fleshlysenses a manner that would not have been possiblethrough
the writtenword alone. This devotionalmusic sonorouslyelaborates
upon femalebodies (both human and divine)and femalesexual desire,
makingsensualphysicality integralto religiousdevotion.Althoughin her
3 See Chadwick
1981, 78-101, foran excellentdiscussionof De institutione musica
thattakes into account the work's Platonicand Aristotelianinfluences.
4 A particularlystrikingadaptationof the Boethianmusica humana is Hugh of St.
Victor'sdiscussionof the body/soulrelationshipin the Didascalicon: "The music
betweenthe body and the soul is thatnaturalfriendship by whichthe soul is leagued to
the body,not in physicalbonds, but in certainsympathetic relationshipsforthe purpose
of impartingmotionsand sensationto the body.Because of thisfriendship, it is written,
'No man hates his own flesh'" (1991, 69); forHugh, "the musicof the human body
... is constitutedin the number'nine,'since nine are the openingsin the human body
by which,accordingto naturaladjustment,everything by whichthe body is nourished
and keptin balance flowsin or out" (65).

writtenworkHildegardfrequently employsthelanguageof humilityand

obedienceto patriarchalchurchauthorityand religiousorthodoxy,I will
argue that her music representsa highlypositive-and even,at certain
moments,subversive-recuperationof femaleembodiment.
Hildegard began composingmusic in the 1140s, soon aftershe was

commandedby God to beginputtingher mysticalexperiencesand rev-
elations into words. In the opening "Declaration" to the Scivias, her
longestwork,she describesthismomentin her life:
It happened that,in the elevenhundredand forty-first yearof the

Incarnationof the Son of God, JesusChrist,when I was forty-two
yearsand sevenmonthsold, Heavenwas opened and a fierylightof
exceedingbrilliancecame and permeatedmywhole brain,and in-
flamedmywhole heartand mywhole breast,not likea burningbut
like a warmingflame,as the sun warms anythingits rays touch.
And immediately I knewthemeaningof theexpositionoftheScrip-
tures,namely Psalter,theGospel and theothercatholicvolumes
the
of boththeOld and theNew Testaments, thoughI did not havethe
interpretation of the words of their texts or the division of the
syllablesor the knowledge of cases or tenses.[Hildegardof Bingen
1990,59]
Hildegard'sdirectencounterwithdivinity, like MargeryKempe's,takes

place in and throughthephysicalbody,involvingmanyof thesame kinds
of corporealpains and devotionalpleasures.She hears God describing
heras one who "suffersin herinmostbeingand in theveinsof herflesh;
she is distressedin mind and sense and endures great pain of body,
because no securityhas dweltin her,but in all her undertakings she has
judged herselfguilty" (60). Similarly,while she is resistantat firstto
recordinghervisionsforothersto hearand read,she is "compelledat last
by manyillnesses"to set her "hand to the writing"(60).
Hildegard bringsthis same awareness of the place of the body in
religiousexperienceto her reflections on the natureof music.SFor her,
"words symbolizethe body,and jubilantmusic indicatesthe spirit;the
celestialharmonyshows theDivinity,and thewordstheHumanityof the
Son of God" (1990, 533). Throughthissubtleanalogy,in which music
vivifiestheliturgyjust as the"celestialharmony"vivifiesChrist'searthly
5 Two gooddiscussions
ofHildegard'sviewofmusicareBarbaraNewman's
"Introduction"
to Hildegard1988,1-63, esp. 17-27; andFlanagan1990.

body,Hildegard imaginesmusic as vital to bodilyexistence,as do her

thoughtson the emotionaleffectsof sacred song: "For the song of re-
joicingsoftenshardhearts,and drawsforthfromthemthetearsof com-
punction,and invokesthe Holy Spirit.... And theirsong goes through
you so that you understand[the heavenlyvoices] perfectly;for where
divinegracehas worked,it banishesall dark obscurity, and makes pure
and lucidthosethingsthatare obscureto thebodilysensesbecause of the
weaknessof the flesh"(534). Heavenlymusicdraws"tears of compunc-
tion" by permeatingtheentirebody,fillingit withmelody,and rescuing
the fleshfrompostlapsarianweakness.6
Not all bodies are musicallyequal in Hildegard'seyes,however.As we
shall see, she investsthe femalebody in particularwithmelodiousqual-
ities. Discussinghuman birthin the Causae et curae, Hildegardwrites
thatwomen's bodies are "open like a wooden frame[lignum]in which
stringshave been fastenedforstrumming [ad citharizandum];or, again,
theyare like windows throughwhich the wind blows, so that the ele-
mentsaffectthemmorevehemently than men,and the humorsalso are
moreplentifulin them" (Hildegard1903, 105). Similarly, in herpoetry,
she imaginesEcclesia's children"gatheredto herbreastin supernalsym-
phony" ("in supernasimphoniafiliieius in sinumsuum collocati sunt"
[1988, 252]) and the VirginMary singingto the God who "planted in
[her]innardsall varietiesof musicin all its floridtones" ("in visceribus
meis omne genus musicorumin omnibusfloribustonorumconstituit"
[260]). Hildegardsaw the dynamicbetweenmusicand the femalebody
enliveningher own fleshas well. In a letterto Elizabeth of Schonau,
anothertwelfth-century femalevisionary,she describesher body as "a
poor,earthly vessel"("pauperculaetfictile
vas" [1844-64, 216]) "sounding
a littlelike thesmall sound of trumpet"("parvus sonus tubae") in the
a
serviceof God (217-18). WhileHildegardemploysa humility topos here
that is typicalforher,she nevertheless commands respect for her pro-
pheticpowerand extraordinary visionaryauthoritythrough imageof
an
herselfas a musicalbody.
The close associationHildegardmade betweenmusicand the female
body demonstratesthe importanceof going beyond the disciplinary
boundariesof traditionalmedievalmusicologywhenconsideringhermu-
sical compositionsthemselves.Despite thepervasivesomaticsignificance
Hildegardgaveto music,however,moststudiesof hercompositionshave
Hildegardgraphicallydisplaysher acute awarenessof the music/body dynamicin a
6
miniatureillustrationof the twelfthvisionof the Scivias,in whichshe depictschunksof

bodies-severed heads, hands,feet,and tongues-rising fromthe dead as a figureat
the feetof God blows air througha trumpet(reproducedin Bynum1991, 291). Here
Hildegardis givinga literalinterpretationof 1 Cor. 15:52 ("for the trumpetshall sound,
whichservedas one of the bases forthe
and the dead shall be raised incorruptible"),
church'sdoctrineof bodilyresurrection (see Bynum1991, 239-97).

neglected to examinethemas embodiments ofhervisionary experience,

devotionalpractice,and Christian theology. Instead,scholarshavefo-
cusedprimarily on themusic'sformalattributes without considering the
abbess'sreligiousexperience, genderedidentity, social milieu, and the
enormousinfluence all musthavehad on hermusicalcreativity. As ex-
amplesofmedievalplainchant, hercompositions areoftencomparedin
detailto chantsfromthestandardGregorian repertory, resulting in a
searchfortheuniqueand originalattributes ofhermusic.Whilethisis
certainlya laudablegoalinitself, fewscholarshavegonebeyondformal-
ismto askwhyhermusicis uniqueandoriginal. In a recentstudyofone
ofHildegard'santiphons, RobertCogan,referring to GuidoofArezzo's
eleventh-century on
writings music, summarizes the problemas follows:
"Candorcompelsus to recognizea wide-spread preference, thenand
now, forthe Guidonian mechanics ofmusical performance and academic
explanation to Hildegard'sunconventional creativefantasy.... Guido
aimedat certainty ofconceptand performance; Hildegardon theother
handstillraiseschallenging controversialquestions"(1990,2; emphasis
in the original).Mechanicsand fantasy, certainty and controversy:
Cogan's observation suggests thatthe conventional approachtomedieval
musicI havediscussedabove,emphasizing as it does themusic'sdeep
mathematical structure andproportional order, is notan adequatemodel
forinterpreting Hildegard'scompositions.7 While I wouldargueagainst
suchan approachto medievalmusicgenerally, I hope thisessaywill
demonstrate thatitis especiallyinappropriate inreference toHildegard's.
We shallsee thatHildegard'splainchant is indeedstrikingly originalby
twelfth-century standards and deservesmuchmoreextensive treatment
thanit has received thusfarin medievalmusicology. As Coganputsit,
"all previousconclusions aboutthisperiod'smusicmaybe subjectto
reviewas understanding of[Hildegard's]workmatures" (1). Forhim,the
answeris to see Hildegardas the"earliestappearancein thehistory of
Europeanmusic"ofthe"composeras star,auteur, quasi-mythical being"
(2), one whosecompositions reflect
"theeternaltimeliness [and]time-
lessnessofthebestmusic"theWesthas produced(16).
In thisarticle,however, I am notconcerned withestablishing Hilde-
gard'sclaimsto greatness. Instead,I hopetorecuperate hercompositions
as signifyingand culturally meaningful,demonstrating how intertwined
theyarewithhersociohistorical milieu,herreligious identity, herunder-
standing of humanand divinebodies,and herrecognition of boththe
7
For interpretationsof Hildegard'smusicthatemphasizeits mathematicalproperties,
numericalproportions,and even its "hidden geometry," see Escott 1984 and 1990.
a similardebate in art historybetween"aestheticists"and "geometrical
Interestingly,
schematists"took place over halfa centuryago. See Schapiro (1932) 1977a and (1947)
1977b.

enormousdistancesand intimateproximitiesbetweenthetwo. In no way

is my argumentintendedsomehow to questionor diminishHildegard's
musical genius. Quite the contrary:music has always been a site of
identityconstructionand social negotiation,and in her abilityto use
musicto theseends Hildegardhad no medievalrival.DiscussingHilde-
gard's music formalisticallyor mathematically,however,would be to
ignore how the abbess actually describedand experiencedmusic. Her
compositions must be seen as inextricablybound up with her spiritual
and
experience,partiallyconstituting intimately hercosmology
reflecting
and self-awarenessas a woman, a visionary,and a Christian.
II
Ave, generosa (fig.1), one of the threeof Hildegard's compositions
classifiedas hymns,bears a close resemblanceto her sevensequences.In
thetwelfth century,hymnsand sequencesweregenerallythelongestand
mostexpressivechantssungin mass or dailyoffice,and theywereplaced
at the momentsof greatestdevotionalfervorwithinthe service.This
particularhymnmakes it easy to see why,for its textualand musical
elementsconveyHildegard's sensual, corporeal understandingof reli-
gious devotion.Addressingthe hymnto the VirginMary, Hildegard's
languageevokesthepowershe sees as inherentin thenatureofthefemale
body. In these lyrics,Hildegard voices a numberof meaningsthat the
femalebody held formedievalChristianity in generaland forherselfin
particular.The half
first of the hymn is a conventional,thoughelegant,
descriptionof the VirginBirth.Althoughthe hymnis addressedto the
Virgin,thefirstfourversesconcentrateon God's choiceof Mary and her
role in givingbirthto Christ.The Virgin'sown thoughtsand feelingson
the matterdo not seem significant at thispoint. Hildegardhere reflects
thecommonmedievalnotionof theVirgin'sbodyas a vessel,a container
into which God poured the substanceof divinity.Hildegard uses the
Latin wordsintactaand castitasto emphasizetheVirgin'sfreedomfrom
male penetration.WhileMary's importancelay in hergrantingof fleshto
the Son of God, in the traditionalChristianview her own body is not
permittedto experiencesensualpleasure.Indeed,the orthodoxdoctrine
of the VirginBirthallowed God to become Man withoutthe stain of
postlapsariansexualityas a counterexampleto Eve.
In the fifthverse,however,Hildegardturnsher attentionaway from
God and Christand toward the body of the Virginherself,and, just as
she does so, she mentionsmusicforthefirsttimein thehymn:"For your
wombheld joy,whenall thecelestialsymphoniarangout fromyou." For
Hildegard, as for MargeryKempe and the nuns of Unterlinden,it is
music,themusicechoingin and resonatingfromtheVirgin'swomb,that

Ave,generosa,gloriosaet intacta Hail, noble, glorious,and virgingirl;

puella; tu, pupilla castitatis,tu You, the pupil of chastity,
you,
materiasanctitatis,que Deo placuit! mother ofholinesswhowas pleasing
to God!
Nam hec supernainfusioin te fuit, Forithappenedin youbythe
quod supernumverbumin te carnem supernalone,thatthesupernal word
induit. was cloakedin flesh.
Tu, candidumlilium,quod Deus ante You,whitelily,whomGod viewed
omnemcreaturaminspexit. beforeall othercreatures.
O pulcherrimaet dulcissima;quam O mostbeautiful and sweetestone;
valde Deus in te delectatabatur!cum howgreatly was God pleasedin you!
amplexionecaloris sui in te posuit ita withtheembraceofhisheathe thus
quod filiuseius de te lactatusest. madeithappenthathissonwas
suckledbyyou.
Venterenimtuus gaudiumhabuit, Foryourwombheldjoy,whenall the
cum omniscelestissymphoniade te celestialsymphoniarangout from
sonuit,quia, virgo,filiumDei youcarriedthe
you,because,virgin,
portasti,ubi castitastua in Deo sonof God,whereby yourchastity
claruit. burnedbrightlyin God.
Viscera tua gaudiumhabuernut,sicutYourinnardsheldjoy,justas grass
gramensuperquod ros cadit cum ei on whichdewfallswhengreenness
viriditatem floodsintoit; thusdidithappenin
infudit;ut et in te factum
est,o materomnisgaudii. you,o mother of all joy.
NuncomnisEcclesiain gaudiorutilet Now letall Ecclesiablushin joyand
ac in symphonia
sonetpropter soundin symphonia forthesweetest
dulcissimam
virginemet laudabilem and
virgin praiseworthy Mary,
MariamDei genitricem.
Amen. mother of God. Amen.
FIG.I Ave,generosa
(LatintextinHildegard
ofBingen
1988,122)
fillsthe femalebody withgaudium,the joys, delights,and pleasuresof

devotion.Music explicitlyeroticizestheVirgin'sexperience,allowingher
thesensualpleasuresdeniedherby Christiantradition.This versetellsus
that the vessel imageryin the firstfew verses does not constructthe
Virgin'sbody as passive in any way. Rather,in this poetry,Hildegard
realizesand appreciatesthepotentialof thewoman's body; to her as to
many other woman mystics,it "scintillatedwith fertility and power"
(Bynum1987, 20).
Justas musicis themediumofgaudiumin thefifth verse,theliquid of
dew is its bearerin thesixth:"Your fleshheld joy,just as grasson which
dew fallswhen greennessis poured into it." In medievalreligiouswrit-
ings, of course, dew is a standardtypologicalimage derivedfromthe
biblicalstoryofGideon'sfleece(seeJudg.6:36-40), and itwas a common

tropeforChrist'sconception.But Hildegard'ssensualidentification with

the Virgin'swomb eroticizesthe image of dew, expressingher own so-
maticunderstanding of spiritualexperience.The Virgin'sflesh,anything
but a passive receptaclefor the Word, is flooded with dew, feels the
blissfuljoy it brings,and blooms in fertility and song.
In thefinalverse,HildegarddescribesthefigureofEcclesia "blush[ing]
in joy and sound[ing]in symphoniaforthe sweetestvirginand praise-
worthyMary." As a typologicalrecapitulationof both Eve and Mary,
Ecclesia was formedievalChristianity theChurchon Earth,theBody of
Christ-a body in which the faithfulwere housed and fromwhich all
could derivesustenance.Hildegard,moreover,saw Ecclesia as the Bride
of Christ,a Virginwhose well-beingis constantlythreatenedby human
corruptionand the evils of Satan.8 Hildegard's double feminizationof
Christas bothbodyand brideallows Heaven'ssymphoniato echo within
a specifically femalebody; the body of Ecclesia resonateswiththe same
soundsthatfilledtheVirgin'swomb two versesearlier.Sharingthesame
sonorous experience,the bodies of the Virginand Ecclesia are linked
throughthe sensual,corporealbonds of music and melodiouspleasure.
These varioustextualimagesofthefemalebodyare reflected vividlyin
thehymn'smusic,forto Hildegardmusicgivesthefemalebodymuchof
itsfertilepowerand eroticpotential.Conversely, themusicthatemanates
fromthe female body reflectsand reproducesthe sensualitiesthat it
experiencesin devotionalpractice.In thetextto thefifth verse,musicfills
theVirgin'swomb withdelightand causes her body to resoundin sono-
rous joy. And it is just at thispoint,on the word symphonia,that the
music of the hymnreachesits highestpoint (see fig.2). The hymnhas
ascendedfroma first-line E (in modernnotation)in thefirstverseto a C
above the staffat thispoint.This immensegap of an octaveand a sixth
is augmentedin the culminatingphrase itself:the highestnote is ap-
proached by a leap of a fourth,a gestureemphasizingopenness and
breadth.Similarly, Hildegardbeginseveryversebut one witha dramatic
leap of a fifth. This kindof melodicgesture,in whichthechantmovesby
leaps and bounds,is called "disjunctmotion"by medievalmusicologists
(as opposed to "conjunctmotion,"in which singlesteps dominatethe
melody). As we can see, Hildegard foregroundsdisjunctionat several
importantmomentsin thehymn.In additionto theupwardleaps I have
alreadyidentified, the downwardjumps of fourthsand fifths in thefifth
and sixthversesare especiallynoticeable.
To appreciatethe significance of Hildegard'smelodicgesturesin Ave,
generosa, it is necessaryto understand thebasic ways in whichthehymn
8 Newman
1987, 196-249, providesa detailedand excellentdiscussionof the
of Ecclesia to Hildegard; see also the manuscriptilluminationsreproducedin
significance
thissection.

divergesfromthe standardmedievalchantrepertory and its history.Be-

ginning in the earlytenth a
century, number of music theorists, including
Odo of Cluny and, later,Guido of Arezzo, began to formulatea set of
basic rulesand principlesthatwould eventuallystandardizethe already-
existingbodyof religiouschantand allow itto be taughtmoreeffectively
to novices.Althoughmuch of thismusichad been writtendown a cen-
turyearlierunderthe Carolingians,the tenth,eleventh,and twelfthcen-
turiessaw forthefirsttimea widespreadeffort to boil thechantdown to
itsbare essentialsand fittheexistingpieces intonew formulas.As Rich-
ard Hoppin notes,"the majority[ofchantmelodies]seem to have fitted
into the new theoreticalsystemwithlittledifficulty" (1978, 68). Of the
many resultsof this complex and lengthyprocess, there are two that
interestme here. Perhapsmost importantwas the developmentof the
modal system,the means by whichpreexistent melodiescould be classi-
fiedby melodic typeand new ones composed accordingly.This modal
systemled in turn to an implicitrestrictionon the musical style of
plainchant,in termsof both permissiblemelodicrange and musical in-
terval.As a result,the melodiesof almost all the survivingchantsfrom
theperiodstaywithina quite limitedmelodicrange.A majorityof them
movewithintherangeof a seventhor an octave,althoughthereare many
whoserangeis confinedto a fifth or sixth(see Hoppin 1978, 74). Similarly,
almostall standardchantsmoveprimarily by conjunctmotion.Repeated
skips of a fifth(such as those in Ave, generosa) are uncommon,and
downwardskipsof fourthsand fifths are quiterare(Hoppin 1978, 7).
Much of the success of the modal systemin standardizing(and thus
controlling)the chant repertorywas the directresultof the Cistercian
Reform,a monasticmovementthatbegan in the firsthalfof the twelfth
century.Hoppin describesthe reformas follows:
The Cistercianswere noted forthe severityof theirmonasticrule,

and apparentlytheyfeltthat the music of the Church should be
equallypure. Takinga fundamentalist view of the Biblicalpassage
"upon a psalteryand an instrument of tenstringswill I singpraises
unto thee" (Psalm 144:9), theydecided thatno chantshould have
a rangeof morethantennotes.To bringoffending chantsintoline,
the Cisterciansgenerallyresortedto transpositionof the pertinent
phrases.... Althoughscholars are divided as to the extentand
importanceof theCistercianReform,therecan be no doubt thatit
marksthe nearlysuccessfulcompletionof effortsto correlatethe
modal systemand thepreexistingplainchantrepertory. [1978, 72]
Like Augustine,the Cistercianofficialswho promulgatedthe modal

systemwere well aware of music's abilityto arouse the passions. The

1 A - ve, ge-ne - ro - sa, glo-rl- o - sa et in - tac-ta pu -
r .
, .--- --
cas-ti- ta-tis, tu, ma-te - ri - a sanc-ti - ta-tis, que
- ,- - ^ ' .-. . ".- . . .-~

',I
_
:
\*
2 Namhec su - per - na in-fu-sl- o in te fu - it, quodsupernum ver-b
' -
Tu -d
Tu, can-di-dumli- li - um,quodDe-us an - te om- nem cre- a-tu-r
4 0 pul - cher- ri -ma et dul-cis-si - ma; quam val - de
-s -- o ,_
- - ta - ba - tur
4-..4 ^
- o - ne ca-lo-ris su - i
de le cum am -ple-xi
^9 "
T --.-.E
-J^ @ ba _ =
i - ta quod fi - li - us ei - us de te lac - ta -
FIG.2 Ave, generosa (from Hildegard of Bingen 1983, 3)

5 Ven - ter e - nim tu- us gau-di-um ha - bu- it, cum om -
4 ^ * - ^ * - s
_ _
+_
_-3 s
sym- pho-ni - a de te so- nu- it, qui - a, vir - go, fi - i
u - bi cas- ti - tas tu - a in De- o
6 Vis - ce - ra tu - a gau - di - um ha- bu - e - runt, sic- cu
5'_ [' ^
,_. I-
0
ca - dit cum e-i vi-ri-di - ta-tem in - fu-dit; ut et in te fac-tumest,
b-Xw _-*-*=_- * '-?

7 Nunc om-nis Ec - cle - si- a in gau- di - o ru - ti - let ac
prop - ter dul - cis - si - mam vir gi - nem et la
= - -
,4W
rW^- 11
Ma - - ri - am De - I ge - ni - tri - cem. A
FIG.2 Continued

CistercianReform,then,was not simplyan effortto instillmonastic

simplicityinto singingstyle.It was also an explicitattemptto regulate
and disciplinethesingingbodiesof themonksbybringingmusicintoline
withtheproprietiesof monasticlife.As a Cistercianstatuteof 1134 puts
it, "It befitsmen to sing with a manlyvoice, and not in a womanish
mannerwithtinkling, or,as it is said in thevernacular,with'false'voices,
as ifimitatingthewantonnessof minstrels. We have thereforestipulated
that the mean should be adhered to in chant, so that it may exude
seriousnessand devotion may be preserved"(Page 1990, 156). Such
polemicsagainstthe "feminization"of chantare echoed in thewritings
of any numberof twelfth-century Cistercianleaders.In his Sermonson
the Song of Songs, for instance,Bernardof Clairvaux commandshis
monksto sing "correctlyand vigorously... not wheezingthroughthe
nose with an effeminate stammering, in a weak and brokentone, but
pronouncing the words of the Holy Spiritwithbecomingmanlinessand
resonanceand affection"(1979, 9-10), and in his Speculumcaritatis,
Aelredof Rievaulxrantsagainstcontemporary singingpractices,writing
thatthesingingvoice is often"forcedintothewhinnying of a horse,and
sometimesit lays aside its manlypower,and puts on the shrillnessof a
woman'svoice.... The whole bodyis agitatedbytheatricalgestures,the
lips are twisted,theeyesroll,theshouldersare shrugged,and thefingers
bent responsiveto everynote" (cited in Hayburn 1979, 19). For the
Cisterciansand other twelfth-century reformersof the chant,musical
excess is associatedwithbodilydisplayand effeminacy. If themusicthat
thebodysingsis out of control,thebodyitself,along withthedistinctive
markersof genderand sexualitythatconstructit (and whichitperforms),
becomesthe site of discursivetransgression.
A simpleglance at the melodyof Ave, generosa makes it clear that
Hildegardwas decidedlynot "adheringto the mean" demandedby the
Cistercianstatute,which was issued just a few yearsbeforeshe began
composinghermusic.9Chantswiththerangeof Ave,generosarepresent
the kind of musical excess that was anathematizedby the Cistercian
reformers while Hildegardwas writing.The abbess's audacityin allow-
ing her chant to exceed the proper melodic range for twelfth-century
plainchantby an intervalas large as a sixthis apparentthroughoutthe
Symphonia.In fact,severalpieces,such as the responsoryO vos angeli,
exceed two octaves (Hildegard 1969, 59-62). We have alreadyseen to
whatextentHildegardcelebratesthefemalebodyin Ave,generosa'stext,
and hereI mean to suggestthatthe hymn'smusicparticipatesas well in
thissomaticpanegyric.Drawingexplicitlyon the codes of corporeality
9 The tenth-century
treatiseby AbbottOdo of Clunysets forthmostclearlythe
church'spositionon melodicrange.See Strunk1965, 113.

and femininity anathematized by the Cistercianreformers, Hildegard

transgresses the melodic norms of plainchant and allowsthe musical
bodiesshehascreatedinthetexttoopenup andresoundinactualmusic,
the musicsungby the choirof nunsforwhomthehymnwas com-
posed.Whenit is sung,then,thehymn'smusicquiteliterally embodies
Hildegard'spoetic meditations on the female body. UnlikeAugustine,
however, Hildegardexpressesno guiltat the sensualpleasuresmusic
allowsfor.The abbessgivesa highlyprivileged place to musicin Ave,
it to the
generosa,granting power reflect sensuality of thefemalebody
muchmorearticulately and effectivelythanwouldbe possiblethrough
poetryalone. Moreover, thereis a subtlebut deliberate senseof self-
in
reflectionHildegard's language, her
forshenamed collection ofmusic
theSymphonia armoniecelestium revelationum, or "Symphony of the
harmony ofcelestial Placingthewordsymphonia
revelations." whereshe
does in thehymn-at theheightof musicalecstasy-letsus hearthe
entiretyoftheSymphonia as "mystic speech,"a discursivepracticethat
Michelde Certeauidentifies as "an organization oferoticmeaning[that]
servesas thesupportforan organization ofmusicalsounds"(1986,99).
Whatelse is suggested byHildegard'semphasisthroughout herrep-
ertoryon widerangeandinterval? In orderto answerthisquestion, itis
necessary to see Ave,generosaforwhatit trulyis: an expression of
intense,loving,and eroticdevotionto theVirginMary.In thispiece
Hildegardvoices-or even,perhaps,performs-her desiringadoration
fortheVirginas thesimultaneously absentand presentobjectof love.
MeasuredagainstGregorian norms,themedievallistener wouldhave
heardtheextreme rangeofthehymnas an upwardmotionsignifying an
activeand restlessdesireforthehymn'ssubject,theVirginMary.Atthe
sametime,however, thisgesturerelieson melodicopenness, an unfolding
of music'sbodyfortheentrance ofdivinity. Liketheorans(orpraying)
figureofEcclesiainthemanuscript illuminationsthataccompany a num-
berof hervisions(see esp. Hildegard1990, 199 and 491), themusic
reachesandopenssimultaneously,10 somatizingthefemalemusicalvoice
and infusing themusicalbodywithdesire.In thisway,theabbessmusi-
callyexpresses herself-awareness as a siteofcorporeal,eroticexchange
0 I wouldliketo thankRonMartinez forpointing outthisvisualparallel.It is

tempting to readHildegard'smusicalgestures throughthelensesofmodern semiotics. In
A Lover'sDiscourse,forinstance, RolandBarthes "The discourse
writes, ofAbsenceis a
textwithtwoideograms: therearetheraisedarmsofDesire,andtherearethe
wide-open armsofneed.I oscillate,I vacillatebetweenthephallicimageoftheraised
arms,andthebabyishimageofthewide-open arms"(1989,16-17). WhileBarthes's
bidimensional semiotic
is clearlysuggestive,
itdependsuponan implicit gendering of
reaching anddesireas masculine andinfancy andneedas feminine.Hildegard's notions
ofgender, however,weremuchmoresubtleandcomplex, disallowingBarthes's
somewhat readingoferoticlonging.
simplistic

withthe divine.While theprevalencein Hildegard'shymnof intervallic

leaps remindsthe listenerthat she is aware of the Virgin'sostensibly
passiverole as vessel,it nevertheless constitutes an assertionof theactive
of
power femininity and thefemale body. In Ave,generosa,then,theacts
ofreachingand opening,as wellas theconstruction of thebodyas sacred
vesselwithinthe music,reflectHildegard'sconsciousunderstandings of
religiousdevotion on many levels.
If we situatethe reading(and hearing)of Ave, generosaI have pro-
posed withinthehymn'smedievalcontextand considerthesocial mean-
ingof itsoriginalperformance, we see thefollowing:a groupof nuns,led
byHildegard,living in intimate proximity, raisingtheirvoicestogetherin
song,allowing music itself-the actual music producedby and resonat-
ing between the bodies of the nuns as well as the musicthatemergesfrom
the bodies of the Virginand the feminizedChurchon Earth-to create
and enliventhe social, devotional,and eroticbonds both betweenone
anotherand betweenthemselvesand God. Music, always a somaticphe-
nomenonforHildegard,allows womento voicetheirfleshly and spiritual
desiresfor the femalebody in a way that transgresses-textuallyand
musically-the carefuldevotionalboundariesestablishedby the medi-
eval Church.What are we to make of thevibrantand unabashedcircu-
lationsof female/female desirein Hildegard'shymn,and how mightthey
relateto the Christiantraditionwithinwhich Hildegardlived,learned,
and composed?
Here I would like to turnbriefly to a recentdiscussionbyTerryCastle
of themodernlesbiannovelistSylviaTownsendWarner.Referring to Eve
KosofskySedgwick'shighly influential argument in Between Men: En-
glishLiterature and Male Homosocial Desire (1985), Castle proposes a
compellingtheoreticalmodel for female homosocial desire that both
buildsupon and problematizesSedgwick'sanalysis:
To theorizeabout female-female desire... is preciselyto envision

thetakingapart of thissupposedlyintractablepatriarchalstructure
[i.e.,themale homosocialtriangle].Femalebonding,at least hypo-
destabilizesthe "canonical" triangulararrangementof
thetically,
male desire,is an affrontto it,and ultimately-intheradical form
of lesbianbonding-displaces it entirely.... The male-female-male
erotictriangleremainsstableonlyas long as its singlefemaleterm
is unrelatedto any otherfemaleterm.Once two femaletermsare
conjoined in space, however,an alternativestructurecomes into
being, a female-male-female triangle,in which one of the male
termsfromtheoriginaltrianglenow occupiesthe "in between"or
subjugatedposition of the mediator.... Withinthis new female
homosocial structure, the possibilityof male bondingis radically

forthemaletermis now isolated,justas thefemale

suppressed:
termwas inthemalehomosocialstructure.
[Castle1992,132-33]
ForCastle,in "themostradicaltransformation offemalebonding-i.e.

fromhomosocialto lesbianbonding-thetwo femaletermsindeed
mergeandthemaletermdropsout.Atthispoint,itis safetosay,notonly
is malebondingsuppressed, it has becomeimpossible-there beingno
maletermsleftto bond" (133).
Manyofthecharacteristics ofHildegard'smusicraisethesubversive
possibilityof Castle's"most radical transformation offemalebonding."
In theeroticintermingling of femalefleshthatAve,generosaproduces
whenitis sung,"twofemaleterms"(EcclesiaandtheVirgin, Hildegard
and hernuns,earthly womenand divinewomen,etc.)are,quiteobvi-
ously,"conjoinedinspace";buttheyarealsoconjoinedinmusic,and,as
we haveseen,inHildegard's view,musicalbondsarealwaysat thesame
timesensual,corporeal bondsas well.Within a religioustraditionthatset
great store its
by patriarchal heritage and male deities,it wouldbe un-
derestimating theforceofHildegard's elaboration offemalehomosocial
desirenot to call it radical,as Castlesuggests.Althoughthe twelfth
century saw a blossoming of discoursescelebrating theimportance of
femininity to religious experience, thecentralroleoftheVirginto Chris-
tianhistory and tradition, and evena newemphasison theinvolvement
of affectivity and thesensesin devotional practice,mostof thesedis-
courseswereaimedat furthering thedevotional aimsofmen.Veryfew
allowedforthekindsofhomoerotic bondsbetween womenI havebeen
discussing. Ave,generosa, bycontrast, bringsthesebondstothecenter of
devotional practice.
Although hermusicalelaboration ofreligious experience is eroticand
corporeal,Hildegardwas not an ecstatic.Unlikefigures suchas Saint
Teresa,Hildegarddid not employthelanguageof heterosexual inter-
courseinwriting ofherownexperiences ofcommunion withthedivine,
and sheinsisted uponthefactthatshemaintained controlofhersenses
at all times.Butwe shouldnot assume,as manyhave,thatspiritually
eroticexperiences formedievalreligious womensomehowdependedon
penetration byorsubmission to a dominant malefigure. In fact,thelyrics
of manyof Hildegard'scompositions suggestthatfemalehomoerotic
sensuality was muchmorecentralto hersymbolic expressions of reli-
giousdevotionthanwereheteroerotic images.Thesecompositions pro-
foundly expresstheabbess'sintense desireto embodyinmusictheentire
physical, sensualessenceoftheVirgin.In thesixthstrophe ofAve,gen-
erosa,as we haveseen,theVirginfleshexperiences thetouchofthespirit
as grassexperiences dew: notbybeingpenetrated, butbybeingcoated
andimmersed inmoisture andblossoming infertility.Hildegard usesthis

O viridissima virgaave,que in Hail,o greeneststem,whichwas

ventosoflabrosciscitationis brought forthin thewindyblastsof
sanctorum prodisti. theprayers ofthesaints.
Cumvenittempusquod tufloruisti in Becausethetimecomeswhenyour
ramistuis;ave,avesittibi,quia calor branches havebloomed;hail,hailto
solisin te suadavitsicutodor you,becausetheheatofthesunhas
balsami. sweatedintoyoulikethescentof
balsam.
Nam in te floruitpulcherflosqui For in you the beautifulflower
odoremdeditomnibusaromatibus blossomed,whichgave scentto all
que aridaerant. the spices thatwere dry.
Et illa apparueruntomniain And theyhave all appeared in
viriditateplena. pregnant
greenness.
Undecelidederunt roremsuper Whencetheheavens dewon
bestowed
gramen etomnisterraletafactaest, the grass and all the earthwas made
quoniamvisceraipsuisfrumentum because its verywomb
fruitful,
protulerunt et quoniamvolucresceli broughtforthgrain,and heaven's
nidosin ipsahabuerunt. birdsmadetheirnestsin it.
Deindefactaestescahominibus, et Finallythereis madefoodfor
gaudiummagnum unde,
epulantium; humanity, andgreatjoyforthe
o suavisvirgo,in te nondeficit
ullum in
whence,o sweetvirgin,
feasters;
gaudium. youthereis no shortage
ofjoy.
Hec omniaEva contempsit. Allofthesethings Evedespised.
Nuncautemlaus sitaltissimo. Now lettherebe praiseto the
one.
highest
FIG.3 0 viridissima
virga(Latintextin Hildegardof Bingen1988, 126)
image to delightin the flesh,the body of the Virginherself.Thus, the

hymnsubvertsthe conventionalinsistenceon Christ'sconceptionas a
noncarnal,purelyspiritual,yetallegoricallybridalexperienceand affirms
the centrality feeling,homoeroticbody to Chris-
of the Virgin'sfleshly,
tian experience.
III
Anotherstrikingexample of Hildegard's musical elaborationof the
homoeroticsof devotionis thesong O viridissimavirga(fig.3).11 In this
piece,Hildegardis again veryconsciousof thefertile
powerof thefemale
11Thistextofthissonghas beentreated byBarbaraGrantin thisjournal(1980).
Theliturgical
genreof O viridissima
virgais unclear;accordingto Grant,itis "one of
onlytwosongsin thewholecollection
withno designation as to liturgical
formor
function"
(1980,563).

body.The Stemof Jesse,the virgadescribedin the firstline,was a "fa-

voritemotifin manuscriptpaintingsand cathedralwindows,"as Barbara
Newman writes: "As the fatherof David lies sleeping,the Messiah's
familytreeis seen to risefromhis loins,withprophetsand ancestorsof
Christseatedon theseveralbranchesand pointingto Mary enthronedin
the crown" ("Commentary"in Hildegard 1988, 276). Hildegardbegins
by praisingthe virga,the stemitself,at firstglance a seeminglyunmis-
takable signifierforpatriarchalphallocentrism (theLatin virgais a com-
monword forpenisin bothclassicaland medievalsources[Adams 1982,
14-15]), and Hildegard appears to be celebratingmale fertility and its
regenerative capabilities.
As the text progresses,however,we see that Hildegard is actually
celebratingthe femalebody and femalefertility. The spices describedin
the thirdverse appear in "pregnantgreenness"(viriditate plena) in the
fourth. By thefifthverse,it is clear thatthewomb of the Earth is thebearer
of thejoy,greenness,and fruitfulness describedin thehymn.The dew on
the grass celebratedin Ave, generosareappears,and, by a cleverword-
play,virgo,theVirginMary,has replacedvirga,thephallicstem,as wellas
theEarth,as thecentralimage.Althoughthistextcould be read as Hilde-
gard's "appropriating the phallus" forfemaleuse, I would argue thatit
actuallyrepresents a simultaneousacknowledgment of theuniquepowers,
pleasures,and fruitsof thefemalebodyand,indeed,theradicalirrelevance
of the phallus.The heat of the sun, the aroma of balsam,the beautiful
flower, wheatfromthewomb servedat a banquet:Hildegardexperiences
theVirgin'sbodyas taste,touch,sight,smell,and, mostimportant, sound,
forall theothersensesare setwithintheframeof a musicalcomposition.
Again,as thenunssing,theirbodiesproducethemusicthatcapturesall the
othercorporealsensesin words.The somaticnatureof musicto Hildegard
conveysthefeelingsand sensualities of theVirginand earthlywomb.
Hildegard'svibrantimagery, whichdepictsthefemalebody as vibrant
and pansensory,is well servedby the melodyof the chant (fig.4). The
tunemodulatesnoticeablyfromstropheto strophe,mirroring the many
powers Hildegard sees emanatingfromthe Virgin'swomb. A through-
composed piece (i.e., one in which whole melodiesdo not repeat from
verseto verse),O viridissimavirga conveysa sense of fluiditythrough
Hildegard'sadeptemployment of internalcentonization.This is a process,
quite common in the standardchant repertory, in which shortmelodic
fragments appear severaltimesin the course of a composition,connect-
ingdifferent sectionsof thechantto thelistener'sear.ButHildegard'suse
of internalcentonizationdiffersmarkedlyfromstandardexamples.12
Instead of using the same melodic fragmentover and over as a simple
12
Thanks to D. MartinJennifortakingthe timeto pointthisout to me in a letter.

0 i
w w
.a
i -^ . . ^- -^--
-~_ __v_ __ _ _ __ _ _
1 O vi- ri - dis - si - ma vir - ga a - ve, que
flab - ro scis- ci -ta - ti - o - nis san- to - rum pr
2 Cum ve - nit tern- pus quod tu fo - ru - is ti
tu - is; a - ve, a - ve sit ti - bi, qui - a
It
A. ..4 d- ,. ',4- l, _- h -
mU Le sU - uaC - v;A 0 - UU.L U U&- V & -i
J
- f
3 Nam in te io - ru - it pul- cher flos qui
FIG.4 0 viridissima
virga(fromHildegardof Bingen1983, 10-11)

r
om - ni - bus a - ro - ma - ti - bus que a r
4 Et ii - la ap - pa-ru - e - runt om-ni - a in vi - ri - di - ta -te
(J
5 Un - de ce - li de - de -runt ro -rem su- per gramen et om
* _I
?> P *~ -, --- ,- , ,
-,-. ,
fac - ta est, quo- ni - am vis - ce - ra ip - si - us fru - men
et quo- ni - am vo- luc - res ce - li ni - dos in ip - sa h
FIG.4 Continued

6 De - n - de fac - ta est es - ca ho - mi - ni - bus,
mag - num e -p
p - lan - ti - um; un - de, o
'y=- =w= -
in te non de - fi - cit ul lurm au
7 Hec om ni - a E - va con -
X X , _ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~7
_
8 Nunc au - tern laus sit al - -
FIG.4 Concluded

reference point,shealtersslightly itsoriginalformeachtimeitappears,

a gesture thatallowsthemusicto achievea highdegreeofexpressiveness.
In thisrespect, O viridissima virgais indicativeofHildegard's general
derigidification of chant melody. As noted by Marianne RichertPfau,
authorof theonlyfull-length musicological studyof Hildegard'scom-
positions(1990), the abbess allows for greatmelodicfreedomin her
longerliturgical songs, such as 0 viridissima virga.According to Pfau,
thesepiecesare characterized by "considerable melodic contractions
and expansions,changesin textdeclamation, registral extensions and
compressions, modifications in the disposition of internal articulations,
andin someinstances differentinternal tonalgoals.On thewhole,these
piecesare not lockedintofixedparallelstructures. As a result,they
commanda dynamicmodelof formthatemphasizesthe conceptsof
relationoverrepetition, changeoverstaticidentity, and processover
fixedform"(1989, 1). Although somehavecalledsuchcompositional
strategies regressiveandunrefined incomparison to thoseofHildegard's
Pfau
contemporaries, persuasively argues that there is muchmoregoing
on in the abbess'slongercompositions thana returnto the styleof
earliersequencecomposers.13 Ifwe acceptthata composition suchas O
viridissima virga is a musical expression of devotional desire and em-
bodiment, then the manycontractions, expansions,extensions, com-
and
pressions,modifications, goal changes Pfau notes take on new
significance. They are compositional strategiesHildegardemploysin
orderto expressherprofound awareness ofthesonorousrichness ofthe
femalebody.Hildegardmusically invests thefemalebodywitha pleth-
ora of possibilities, and the constantrefusalto repeatmelodiesand
renderthemstaticthrowsthe relationship Hildegardconstructs into
continuous flux.
Suchan appreciation ofthefemalebodyforitsboundless and
fertility
potential ratherthan foritsstaticutilitarianism characterizes all ofHilde-
gard'sexpressions ofpersonaldevotion to theVirgin's corporeality.This
specifically twelfth-century experimentation withtheeroticsof descrip-
tionresonates witha numberof contemporary women'swritings, par-
ticularly those of theFrenchnovelistMoniqueWittig.In The Lesbian
Body,forexample, Wittig exploresthepossibilities ofcreating a language
oflesbiansensuality; shehas written ofherbookthat"thebodyofthe
text. . . subsumesall thewordsof thefemalebody.The LesbianBody
attempts to achievetheaffirmation ofitsreality....To reciteone'sown
body, to recitethe body of theother,is to recitethewordsofwhichthe
bookis madeup.Thefascination forwriting theneverpreviously written
13
Hildegard'sregressionto ninth-and tenth-century
sequence stylehas been argued
in, among otherplaces, Bent 1980, 553, and Schmidt-G6rg1956, 111.

and the fascinationforthe unattainedbody proceed fromthe same de-

sire" (1976, vi). Althoughit is importantto be cautious in comparing
worksfromradicallydifferent culturesand historicalperiods,it is argu-
able thatWittigdoes withlanguagewhat Hildegarddid withmusiceight
centuriesearlier.In everypassage of hernovelWittigexpressesa desireto
know completelythe femalebody,a knowledgecentralto her construc-
tion of lesbian eroticism:"THE OESOPHAGUSTHE BRAINTHE CIRCULATIONTHE
RESPIRATION THE NUTRITION THE ELIMINATION THE DEFAECATION THE REPRODUCTION
[XX + XX = XX] THE REACTIONS PLEASURE EMOTION VISION SMELL TASTE TOUCH
HEARING THE VOCAL CORDS THE CRIES THE WAILINGS THE MURMURS THE HOARSENESS
THE SOBS THE SHRIEKS THE VOCIFERATIONS THE WORDS THE SILENCES THE WHISPERINGS
THE MODULATIONS THE SONGS THE STRIDENCIES THE LAUGHS THE VOCAL OUTBURSTSTHE
LOCOMOTION" (126). Wittigimaginesthefemalebody as a sourceof erotic
stimulationinvolvingall fivesenses;indeed,themanyphysiologicalfunc-
tionsof thebodyare not to be despisedand rejected,butrecuperatedand
elaboratedupon. Similarly, Hildegard'scompositionsexpressher desire
to capture in sound the Virgin'ssensuous corporealityand reveal her
intense"fascinationforthe unattainedbody" of the Virgin.Withinher
own religiousand sociohistoricalcontext,Hildegard'slanguagerevealsa
bold and unashamedproximity in the
to thefemalebodythatis reflected
music that framesit. Like Wittig,one of a numberof currentwomen
writerswho "wrestlewith and withinthe language which theyfeel is
alien to them" (Marks and Courtivron1980, xii), Hildegard reacted
throughmusic to the constraintsof the male-dominatedchurch-the
churchto which she was devotedbut whose leaders she criticizedover
and overin hervisionsand letters-by constructingpowerfulalternatives
to patriarchaltraditions,alternativescenteredaround the femalebody,
sensuality,and homoeroticdesire.
IV
Hildegard'stheologicaltractsand the poems she set to musicare the

best-knownof herwritings, and in herlifetimeitwas theseforwhichshe
was famous outside of her community.Withinher own geographical
locale,however,Hildegardhad a well-deserved reputationas an authority
on traditionalfolkmedicine,herblore, and humanphysiology.In addi-
tionto writingtwo full-lengthtreatiseson thesesubjects,she was sought
out regularlybyhernuns,thelocal peasantry,and eventhenobilityon a
wide varietyof medicalconcerns.
Hildegard's many musical insistenceson the Virgin body as fully
and sensuallyphysicalsuggestconnectionswith otherparts of the ab-
bess's cosmologythatmodernscholarsdo not defineas strictly spiritual
or devotional. A significantportion of Hildegard's scientificwritings

(mostlyin the Causae et curae [1903]) is devotedto lengthyexplication

of the natureof human sexualityas well as the ways in which sexual
desire and reproductionshape genderdifference. Althoughit has been
remarkedthatHildegardgave "scarcelya nod towardtheologicalinter-
pretation"withinher physiologicalwritings,14 I would argue that her
theorizationsof femaleeroticdesireactuallyilluminatehertreatments of
spiritualdesire,such as thosewe find in Ave,generosa and O viridissima
virga.
Severalmodernscholarshave writtenabout Hildegard's conceptions
of genderand sexuality(see esp. Cadden 1984 and Dronke 1984), noting
thattheabbess constructeda systemdependenton well-defined and thor-
oughlyexplained causalities.Especiallyfascinating for our purposes is
the abbess's discussionof femalesexual pleasure,which she ascribesto
breezescirculatingin thewomb: "When thebreezeof pleasureproceeds
fromthe marrowof a woman it fallsinto her womb, whichis near the
navel,and movesthewoman's blood to pleasure; and because it spreads
out around the womb, and is therefore moremild,because of her mois-
turewhere she burnsin pleasure,or fromfearor shame,she is able to
restrainherselffromexcessivepleasuremoreeasilythan a man" (Hilde-
gard 1903, 76). To Hildegard,althoughpudor,or shame,is certainlyone
of theconsequencesof eroticdesire,thewomb itselfis thelocus of sexual
pleasure.
I would like to make three briefpoints in connectingHildegard's
ostensiblydistinctrepresentations of sexual and spiritualdesire.First,in
her view, winds and breezeswithinthe femalebody are the source of
eroticdesire(Hildegarduses theLatin ventusdelectationis,or "winds of
pleasure"). O viridissimavirga(fig.3) begins,"Hail, o greenestbranch,
sprungforthin the airybreezesof the prayersof the saints."The verses
go on to explorethemanyways in whichthefemalewomb is a sourceof
life,heat, scent,and the joy of devotionforthe Christiandevout. It is
significantthatHildegardbeginsthistextwithreference to "airybreezes"
(theLatin ventosoflabro):in hernaturalisticwritings,such as Causae et
curae, these same airy breezes issue forthfromthe marrowand cause
sexual desireto be inflamedwithinthewomb. O viridissimavirgaserves
to remindus that the physicallysexual and the spirituallyerotic are
perhapsidenticalforHildegard.
14
Newman 1987, 121. But Newman has also suggestedthatHildegard'smost
intenseconcentrationon both naturalscienceand musicmay have occurredat roughly
the same time.Especiallyinteresting
is Newman's positingof a "middle period" in the
abbess's musicalcompositionthatwould have includedboth Ave,generosaand O
viridissimavirga.Accordingto Newman's own chronology,then,Hildegard's
compositionof thesetwo songs may have takenplace while she was at work on the
Causae et curae. See Newman's "Introduction"to Hildegard 1988, 7 and 10.

The second pointis closelyrelated.The airs and breezesthatproduce

desiredo so in women throughdispersaland diffusion,a process that
givesthemroom to spread out and allow women to achieve a kind of
tranquilfertility.In Hildegard's own words, "Pleasure in a woman is
comparable to the sun, which gently,calmly,and continuouslyspreads
the earthwith its heat, so that it may bringforthfruit."15 This recalls
the passage fromO viridissimavirgain whichHildegarddescribes"the
sun sweat[ing]into" the Virgin'swomb. This physiologicaldescription
also sheds lighton the melodicgesturesHildegardemploysin her com-
positions.As I argued above, in Ave, generosa,everyword of which is
devotedto theVirginand thesensuous,erotic,and fertilequalitiesHilde-
gard ascribesto herwomb,themelodyis integralto thecentralmessage
of thetext.The hymnbeginswitha risingfifth thatis allowed to expand
almost immediatelyby the middle of the firstverseto span the entire
octave.Expansion is accomplished,again, not throughconjunctmotion
(i.e., step-by-stepprogression)but, rather,throughdisjunct motion,
wherea risingfifthis followedimmediatelyby a risingfourth.In a very
real way,then,Hildegardis givingthismusicthatcelebratesthe Virgin
maternalwomb a spaciousnessof its own; it is diffused,dispersed,and
spread out in a kind of cartographyof femaledesire.
Third, as in her musical constructionsof the eroticsof spirituality,
Hildegard'selaboratedescriptionsof femaledesireand sexualitydo not
depend on male penetration.Althoughthereare passages in the Causae
et curae that discuss heterosexualintercoursein a positivelight (see
Dronke 1984, 176), it seems clear that Hildegard sees the abilityof
women to feelsexual desireand pleasure as an attributeof the female
body itself,not as theresultof stimulationfroman externalsource.For
bothwomenand men,desirearisesfromthemarrow(ex medulla)-not
the bone marrow,but,accordingto Joan Cadden, the "person's core or
innermostpart" (1984, 157). Like the textsand musicof Ave,generosa
and O viridissimavirga,Hildegard's discussionof femalesexualityin
Causae et curae is a tributeto the femalebody and its sensual, erotic
attributes.
The argumentI am making-namely,that Hildegard's poetic texts
and musical compositionsdemonstratea fundamentalaffinity between
female spiritualdevotion and female sexuality-is directedexplicitly
againstrecentinterpretationsof the abbess's Marian works.Commenting
on the "themesthatpervade all Hildegard'swritingabout the Virgin,"
Newman writes,"If we step back fora momentfromthe details,what
15
"Delectatio ... in mulieresoli comparatur,qui blande et leniteret assidue terram
calore suo perfundit, ut fructusproferat,quia si eam acriusin assiduitateincenderet,
fructusmagis laederetquam eos produceret"(Hildegard1903, 76; trans.in Cadden
1984, 158).

seemsmostdistinctive aboutthisbodyofproseandsongis thenear-total

absenceof Maryas a person.She is rathera stateof existence, an em-
bodiedEden.Herfleshis thegardenwhereGod dwells;everything about
heris joy,innocence, asexualeros.Her beautyis notthatof a human
formbut thatof intangible essences-lightand fragrance and song"
(1987, 187). Here Newman is following Peter the
Dronke, firstmajor
scholarofHildegardin theEnglishlanguage, whowritesthat"shewho
wroteso openlyabout women'ssexualityin the contextof medicine
nonetheless retainedan asexual conceptof love in her ideal realm"
(1984,170). BothNewmanandDronkeseeHildegard's devotional verse
and musicaddressedto theVirginas somehowasexual,divorcedfrom
hernaturalistic appreciation ofthefemalebodyand eroticdesire.Simi-
larly, that
byarguing Hildegard seesMaryas a "stateofexistence" rather
thanas a "person,"Newmanelidesthecorporeal, eroticdelightin the
Virgin'sbodythatinspires andpervadestheabbess'smusic.Perhapsthis
is becauseNewmanseesmusic,likelightandfragrance, as an "intangible
essence"ratherthantheunabashedly somaticphenomenon Hildegard
foundit to be. I wouldagreewithNewmanthatHildegard'sMarian
compositions areaheterosexual. Butifweareto accepttheargument that
are
they simply asexual,period, we also have to askthequestion, Asexual
to whom?
A good friend recentlytoldme thatshe likesto thinkof theVirgin
Mary as the firstteenagelesbianmom.Whileundoubtedly Hildegard
wouldnothaveusedthesewordsto describe herownviewoftheVirgin,
itis important torealizetheextent towhichmodern readingsofmedieval
devotional textshavefailedto takeintoaccountthecentrality ofhomo-
eroticdesireto women'sreligious and
experience expression. Muchof
thesecondary literatureon women's religious discourseusesphrasessuch
as "unashamedly erotic"or "evensexualat times"whendescribing fe-
maledevotionto God or JesusChrist,butwhena womanexpresses an
intenselongingforand devotionto theVirginMaryor otherfemale
figures, thelanguageis described, inNewman'swords,as "asexualeros."
Despitethecautiouscomparisons I havedrawnbetweenHildegard
and modernlesbiannovelists, however, I am not suggesting thatshe
herself a
was lesbian. Like manymedieval writers,Hildegardsawcarnal
desireas a signoftheFall,andhermonastic vowofchastity was one of
thewaysinwhichshedemonstrated thisview.Indeed,at onepointinthe
SciviasHildegardexplicitly attackssexualactivity betweenmembers of
thesamesexinlanguagethatresonates withcontemporary homophobic
diatribes fromthereligiousRight(1990, 279). Moreover, a numberof
scholarsare beginning to see thathomosexuality and lesbianismare
modernconceptual categoriesthatarenotadequatetermsfordescribing
premodern behavior and self-understanding. David Halperinhas made

thisargumentmost succinctly:"The veryconceptof homosexualityim-

pliesthatthereis a specificallysexual dimensionto thehumanpersonality,
a characterologicalseat withintheindividualof sexual acts,desires,and
pleasures-a determinatesource fromwhich all sexual expressionpro-
ceeds.... Sexualityeffectsthe conceptualdemarcationand isolationof
thatdomain fromotherareas of personaland social lifethathave tradi-
tionallycut across it, such as carnality,venery,libertinism,virility,
pas-
sion, amorousness,eroticism,intimacy,love, affection,appetite, and
desire-to name but a few of the older claimantsto territories more
recently staked out by sexuality" (1990, 24-25). As demonstrated
above, Hildegarddid not make a conceptualdemarcationbetweenwhat
we includeunderthe rubric"sexuality"and manyof the otherpartsof
her lifeand writings.Indeed,the two liturgicalcompositionsI have dis-
cussed demonstrateboth musicallyand textuallythathomoeroticdesire
is integralto thediscursivestrategiesthroughwhichHildegardexpressed
herdevotionalsensibility. To followNewman and insiston a strictdivide
betweenspiritualand sexual desirein Hildegard'sMarian works,then,is
to misrecognizethe polymorphously eroticnatureof the bodies she en-
shrinesin melody.Hildegard's music-how it sounds, how it works,
what it does, and what it means-pressures us to considerthe ways in
whichshe and othermedievalreligiouswriterseroticizedtheentirebody,
not simplythe genitals.16
Acknowledgingthisfactmightallow scholarsseekingto recoverles-
bian and gay historyin the Middle Ages to move beyondconcernwith
genitalsexualityand recognizehow insistently "queer" medievalChris-
tianity can be at times. To put it another way, ratherthan looking for
"actual" lesbians and gay men in the Middle Ages, why not tryouting
medievaldevotionitself?Doing so would not trivializethe specificity of
queer experiencebut,rather, broaden thisexperienceto includethe mag-
nificentmedievalarrayoftexts,musics,and desiresthathavebeenviewed
thusfarexclusivelythroughthe lenses of compulsoryheterosexuality, a
moderninvention. In E. Ann Matter'swords,"We can onlyfind'medieval
lesbians' among the landmarksof medievalculture,on that particular
continuum,not ours." Althoughaccordingto Matter "the overwhelm-
inglypatriarchalnature of medieval culturesignificantly modifiedthe
evidence for,or even the experienceof, women whose primaryemo-
16
Bynum has madea somewhat argument
complementary (withtheoppositeresult,
in a replyto Leo Steinberg's
however) ofChrist"
studyofwhathe calledthe"sexuality
betweensexualityand
in Renaissanceart (Bynum1991, 79-117). Distinguishing
"genitality," whether
shequestions we are"entitled with
to associategenitality
sexuality" in theMiddleAges,andwhether "medievalpeopleimmediately [thought]
oferections whentheysawpenises(as modern
andsexualactivity peopleapparently
do)" (85).

tionaland eroticrelationwas to otherwomen,'17the"continuum" to

whichshe refersmighteasilybe seen as the lesbiancontinuum that
Adrienne Richdescribes as "includ[ing]
a range-through eachwoman's
lifeand throughout history-of woman-identified experience [and]not
simply the fact that a woman has had or consciously desired genital
sexualexperience withanotherwoman"(1980, 648). ForRich,as for
Wittigand Hildegard, theerotic"is unconfined to anysinglepartofthe
or
body solely to the an not
bodyitself, energy onlydiffuse but ...
omnipresent" (650). While herdiscussion is certainlyflawed by an es-
sentialist
stigmatization ofmale and a
homosexuality purification ofles-
Rich
bianism,18 quitepowerfully urgescritics and historiansto recover
the"breadthsof femalehistory and psychology whichhavelain out of
reachas a consequence of limited,
mostlyclinical,definitions of 'lesbi-
anism'" (649). I hopethisessaywillcontribute to sucha recovery.
Becausesingingdoesmorethanwoodenly recapitulatea priorsys-

temcalled"sexuality," let us consider"voice" to be themaster-
and"sexuality,"
discourse, itsappendage;if"sexuality" seemstobe
thetermon top,and "voice" thetermbelow,let us reversethe
ifonlyto seethetwoconceptsmoreclearly.
hierarchy, Raptinthis
we
reversal, might discover thatthe ramificationsof "voice" are
moremajesticand shattering thantheeffectsof "sexuality."
What
if"voice"were,finally,
a moreusefulrubricthan"sexuality"? Dis-
pensewithoursexrhetorics, and thinkofdesireas articulatedair,
a shapedcolumnof breathpassingthrough a box on itswayto a
17Matter 1992, 3. Matter'scommentsintroduceda forumtitled"Gay and Lesbian
Concernsin Medieval Studies" thatappeared in the Spring1992 editionof the Medieval
FeministNewsletterwhile I was in the processof revisingthisessay.The short
commentariesby Matter,Simon Gaunt, CarolynDinshaw,SylviaHuot, Susan
Schibanoff,and Mary Anne Campbell are all centrallyconcernedwiththe issues raised
in Halperin 1990, specifically as theyrelateto the studyof medievalcultureand
literature.Campbell's commentson the thirteenth-century homilyHali Meidenhad are
especiallyrelevantto the issues underconsiderationhere: "Preciselyso as not to misread
women's importin medievalliterature, we mustbeginto accept in earnestthatmedieval
women did live trulydifferent liveswhen not bound to husbands.And we mustbeginto
considertheirown sensesof theirvirginallivesas possiblyakin to lesbianism.'Holy
maidenhood'providedformedievalwomen not only a rejectionof physical
heterosexuality but also a rejectionof spiritualheterosexuality-in favorof women-only
physicalspaces and women-identified spirituality"(1992, 15).
18 She notes,forinstance,"the prevalenceof
anonymoussex and the justification of
pederastyamong male homosexuals" (Rich 1980, 649) and arguesthat "so-called
lesbianpornography, createdforthe male voyeuristic eye,is ... devoid of emotional
contentor individualpersonality"(641). For a good summaryof Rich's critics,see
Sedgwick1990, 36-38 (textand notes).

resonator.Are we experiencing"voice" or "sexuality" when we

greetor hold a controlledshaftof air movingfroma darkplace out
into the world? [Koestenbaum1991, 211]
Althoughtheyappear in a discussionof modernopera and male ho-

mosexuality,Koestenbaum'srapturouswords could just as easily have
been writtenas an introductionto Hildegard's devotional music. By
invitingus to deprivilege whatHalperincalls the"conceptualdomain" of
modernsexuality, Koestenbaumraisesthepossibility of puttingvoice-the
siteat whichmusicand body coincidemostradically-"on top." Doing
so encouragesboth the degenitalizationof sexualitydiscussedabove as
wellas therecognitionofmusic'scentralrolein locatingbody,desire,and
eroticismin cultureand society.As Susan McClary has argued,"To the
large extentthatmusiccan organizeour perceptionsof our own bodies
and emotions,it can tell us thingsabout historythat are not accessible
throughany othermedium" (1991, 30).
Hildegard's images of embodimentand homoeroticdesireprovided
her monasticcommunitywith a means of participatingin the relation-
shipsshe establishedthroughmusicitself.That is, thenunsin Hildegard's
abbeywho sang fromor listenedto theSymphoniawereactivelyinvolved
in theirleader's ideal religiousmatrixof musicand body.For the music
used fortheworshipof God in medievalEurope was not an isolatedpart
of themonasticexperience.As thewritingsand livesof medievalmonks
and nunsdemonstrate, musicframedmonasticism, and formanyfaithful,
such as Hildegard,it providedthe most intensemeans of experiencing
divinelove. Finally,musicmayhavebeen theonlydiscoursethatallowed
Hildegardto expressfully-and us to recuperate-the embodieddepth
of herdesirefortheVirginMary.Most scholarswho havewrittenabout
thehistoryof Christianity haveglossedoverthoseexpressionsofreligious
devotionin whichwomenhave voiced theirphysicaland spiritualdesire
fortheVirginor otherwomenas theobjectof love ratherthanforChrist
or anothermale figure.(For exceptionssee Brown 1989 and Campbell
1992.) But such expressionsmay be themostchallengingand subversive
of all. In thecontextof medievalChristianity,a religionwhose orthodox
proponentsconstantly insistedon the miracle of ChristHimselfas its
kernelof legitimacy, Hildegard's music was forherself and thewomenin
her abbey an escape into a formof spirituality thatcenteredaround the
femalebody and femalehomosocial and homoeroticdesire. Although
Hildegarddescribedherselfas a "poor littlefemale,"complainedofliving
in an "effeminate age,"neveradvocatedfemaleordination,and was never
accusedofheresy,hermusicis nonethelessa many-layered siteof struggle
withthe patriarchaltraditionsof Christianity and the church.Framing
expressionsof desirewithinan exclusivelyfemininecontext,Hildegard's

music exceeds and transcendsthe normsof twelfth-century plainchant

and refusesto fitinto the neat, mathematicalmodels constructedby
medieval music theoristsand contemporarymusicologists.Hildegard
gavefleshto thevoice and voice to thefleshnot foraestheticgratification,
but for the affirmationof femininity and the sonorous expressionof
body,sexuality,and devotional desire.
Departmentof Englishand ComparativeLiterature

Columbia University
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Bruce Holsinger - The Flesh of The Voice-Embodiment and The Homoerotics of Devotion in The Music of Hildegard Von Bingen

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Bruce Holsinger - The Flesh of The Voice-Embodiment and The Homoerotics of Devotion in The Music of Hildegard Von Bingen

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The Flesh of the Voice: Embodiment and the Homoerotics of Devotion in the Music of

Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179)

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Body is the instrumentupon whichthe mysticrings

W ITH THE FOLLOWING WORDS, Margery Kempe,

On a night,as thiscreaturelay in herbed withherhusband,she

92 SIGNS Autumn 1993

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be heard in this world withoutany comparison,and caused this

Music, "a melodyso sweetand delectable,"is themediumthroughwhich

Autumn 1993 SIGNS 93

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Nor was Kempe alone in hersomaticresponsesto sacredmusic.Over

"My throteis kut unto mynekkeboon,"

94 SIGNS Autumn 1993

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of thesefixedand established proportionsof notes,thatbringsabout

Autumn 1993 SIGNS 95

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conceptionsof the body/soulrelationshipto defineand explicate the

96 SIGNS Autumn 1993

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writtenworkHildegardfrequently employsthelanguageof humilityand

Hildegard began composingmusic in the 1140s, soon aftershe was

It happened that,in the elevenhundredand forty-first yearof the

Hildegard'sdirectencounterwithdivinity, like MargeryKempe's,takes

Autumn 1993 SIGNS 97

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body,Hildegard imaginesmusic as vital to bodilyexistence,as do her

miniatureillustrationof the twelfthvisionof the Scivias,in whichshe depictschunksof

98 SIGNS Autumn 1993

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neglected to examinethemas embodiments ofhervisionary experience,

Autumn 1993 SIGNS 99

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enormousdistancesand intimateproximitiesbetweenthetwo. In no way

100 SIGNS Autumn 1993

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Ave,generosa,gloriosaet intacta Hail, noble, glorious,and virgingirl;

fillsthe femalebody withgaudium,the joys, delights,and pleasuresof

Autumn 1993 SIGNS 101

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tropeforChrist'sconception.But Hildegard'ssensualidentification with

102 SIGNS Autumn 1993

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divergesfromthe standardmedievalchantrepertory and its history.Be-

The Cistercianswere noted forthe severityof theirmonasticrule,

Like Augustine,the Cistercianofficialswho promulgatedthe modal

Autumn 1993 SIGNS 103

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cas-ti- ta-tis, tu, ma-te - ri - a sanc-ti - ta-tis, que

- ,- - ^ ' .-. . ".- . . .-~

2 Namhec su - per - na in-fu-sl- o in te fu - it, quodsupernum ver-b

Tu, can-di-dumli- li - um,quodDe-us an - te om- nem cre- a-tu-r

4 0 pul - cher- ri -ma et dul-cis-si - ma; quam val - de

FIG.2 Ave, generosa (from Hildegard of Bingen 1983, 3)

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u - bi cas- ti - tas tu - a in De- o

6 Vis - ce - ra tu - a gau - di - um ha- bu - e - runt, sic- cu

b-Xw _-*-*=_- * '-?

prop - ter dul - cis - si - mam vir gi - nem et la

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CistercianReform,then,was not simplyan effortto instillmonastic

b-Xw _--=_- * '-?