Today it's Egeria vs. Hildegard of Bingen. The world's original "Mystery Worshipper" vs. a 12th century renaissance woman. Both have had a major impact upon the Christianity we have inherited, yet only one will advance to the Saintly Sixteen. We're expecting a flurry of comments on this. Let the agonizing over votes begin!
But first, speaking of comments, sometime during yesterday's battle between Jackson Kemper and Margery Kempe, we passed the 20,000 comment milestone on the Lent Madness website. That's a lot of conversation about holy people, don't you think?
Oh, and Kemper trounced Kempe 74% to 26% meaning he'll face the winner of Bernard Mizecki vs. Margaret of Antioch in the Saintly Sixteen.
Egeria
Egeria gives us the earliest glimpse we have into organized Christian practice and belief.
We don’t know much about who she was, exactly. Many say she was a Spanish nun, which makes sense given her unusually high level of literacy — and the way she addressed those she wrote to as sisters. Others point out she must have been an unusual sort of nun, if she was a nun at all. Her letters were detailed and practical, betraying none of the fascination with the miraculous and fanciful that some other clerical pilgrims loved. And what sort of nun was free to travel around the known world for years at a time? Possibly this made her a sort of wandering monastic — additionally unusual for her time. Or maybe she was a very devout noblewoman, called to pilgrimage, who wrote letters home to other devout women at her church.
Egeria traveled across much of the known world during 381-384 CE to Jerusalem, Mount Sinai, Constantinople, and Edessa. Her letters were collected in monasteries and copied, then copied again. They were housed in the library of Monte Cassino, and the oldest surviving copies were made there in the eleventh century.
Egeria recorded everything: she stayed in Jerusalem to witness an entire liturgical year and wrote down the liturgical practices of the local Christians. She described the holy sites on the Mount of Olives and the rituals around Holy Week. She told of the ritual of the eucharist as practiced in Jerusalem, and Egeria applauded the practice of reading from the Old and New Testaments as well as passages from the gospels. She described the process by which catechumens were taught the faith and baptized. It is from Egeria that we know about Holy Week rituals like the veneration of the Cross and the procession of the palms on Palm Sunday. It is also from her that we hear for the first time of the Easter Vigil and lighting of the first fire of Easter.
She described liturgical practice at a time when Christian beliefs were just becoming unified across the known world. Remember, the Second Ecumenical Council met in 384 CE, so Egeria was traveling and writing about liturgical practice before the formalization of the Nicene Creed, much less other traditions of the Church.
Through her bravery, her wandering feet, and her meticulous eye for detail, Egeria connected our liturgical practice with that of our earliest sisters and brothers in Christ.
Collect for Egeria
Jesus, our brother, as we, like Egeria, dare to follow in the steps you trod, be our companion on the way. May our eyes see not only the stones that saw you but the people who walk with you now; may our feet tread not only the path of your pain but the streets of a living city; may our prayers embrace not only the memory of your presence but the flesh and blood who jostle us today. Bless us, with them, and make us long to do justice, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with our God. Amen.
Hildegard
Hildegard of Bingen is one of the most accomplished women in church history. The twelfth-century abbess was a mystic, theologian, composer, cloistered nun, and autodidact who wrote one of the largest bodies of letters to survive from the Middle Ages.
Born into a noble family and sickly from birth, Hildegard experienced visions beginning in early childhood. Perhaps because of them, her family dedicated her to the church; her fellow brides of Christ recognized her gifts for leadership, unanimously voting her abbess.
At the age of forty-two, Hildegard received a divine vision to“write down that which you see and hear.” Hesitant to do so, she resisted and became physically ill. “But I, though I saw and heard these things, refused to write for a long time through doubt and...in the exercise of humility, until, laid low by the scourge of God, I fell upon a bed of sickness; then, compelled at last by many illnesses...I set my hand to the writing.”
Later, she commissioned an ornate manuscript of her writings, including images of her visions. The original was lost in World War II, but its images were preserved in a copy painted in the 1920s. Notably, these theological works contain one of the earliest descriptions of purgatory.
Hildegard’s musical compositions make up one of the largest extant medieval collections in the world. Her medical writings demonstrate her vast experience in the monastery’s herbal garden and infirmary. Physica and Causae et Curae provide a rare view into the practical medicine employed primarily by medieval women. Hildegard believed there was a vital connection between the natural world and human health. Her reputation as a medical writer and healer was used in early arguments for women’s right to attend medical school. Hildegard also invented an alternative mystical language, the Lingua Ignota, perhaps to strengthen the bonds among her nuns, and potentially as a result of all that time she spent in her herb garden.
On September 17, 1179, Hildegard died, and two beams of light were said to shine across the sky and into her room. Her relics are housed in her parish in Eibingen, Germany. In Anglican churches, she is commemorated on the day of her death.
Modern feminist scholars have drawn attention to the way Hildegard strategically belittled herself and other women in her writing, and thus claimed her wisdom had solely divine origin, giving her the authority to speak in a time and place where few women could do so. She also stated that, “woman may be made from man, but no man can be made without a woman.”
In space, the minor planet 898 Hildegard is named for her, which only seems fair, given her astronomical intellect and accomplishments.
Collect for Hildegard
God of all times and seasons: Give us grace that we, after the example of thy servant Hildegard, may both know and make known the joy and jubilation of being part of thy creation, and show forth thy glory not only with our lips but in our lives; through Jesus Christ our Savior, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Vote!
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364 comments on “Egeria vs. Hildegard”
I was set to vote for Hildegard, a long time favorite, but the story of Egeria and her travels in the 4th century blew me away. She would have been a great travel companion. My prayer book , with the "proposed" crossed out by Canon Guilbert after final approval at the 1979 General Convention in Denver, owes a lot to Egeria.
This was by far the most challenging match up so far - and we are still in the first round!
Far be it for me to complain about the SEC, but this is an excruciatingly difficult choice: Egeria the courageous pilgrim, whose writings give us a glimpse into the life of the early church, and without whom we might not have the Easter Vigil. And Hildegard the mystic, musician and theologian. Two very strong and influential women, but today I have to vote for Egeria.
This one just isn't fair! Two women who have so much to do with the beauty and quality of our liturgy. Hildegard of Bingen and her music were well known to me, but I had no idea that Egeria is our connection back to the earliest observances of Holy Week. For the gift of Easter Vigil, she gets my vote today.
What a hard choice! but I went with Hildegard because music, to me, is one of the surest signs of God's existence and work in the world. Music, to me, can only be inspired by God and I quite well believe God's speech must be singing. I never heard of Egeria before and am quite impressed by her travels as a woman so early in history, though I doubt she traveled alone. She deserves more press, as others have mentioned, but I have to go with the artist and composer.
The musician in my just can't pass on Hildegard.
I voted for Egeria. I had never heard of her. The work of closely attending and recording is its own kind of calling. I have loved Hildegard of Bingen for a long time. I don't feel the vote is about whether or not one values music. Music is breathing to me, but I still vote for Egeria. I was captured by learning her role in recording Holy Week practices. One of the things that nourishes me even in the stormiest dreadfulness of my demons that tear at my faith is knowing how ancient are our practices, that so many have done then for so long. This is deeply calming for me when in my storms: just as calming as the essential music of each church season. I give thanks for the knowledge that Egeria has helped us to know about and continue those ancient ways of marking our faith.
Touch choice indeed. Today brings clarity. No matter who one votes for (or against), there are no winners or losers. No better, no worse. There are preferences only. And the end shall bring all of us the most preferred Saint. And that is good, for we know each better.
So tough! I voted for Egeria, but just by a hair. Both of these contestants are amazing.
I went with my first choice after reading the bios. Somehow Egeria seemed more serene and her reporting helped to unify the beautiful worship traditions of the young church. I loved Hildegard too. Her music and her medical knowledge,her ability to shoot from the hip with the higher ups, her mysticism and more make her a medieval rock star but Egeria , the early wanderer captured my vote.
I think this was the hardest decision yet! I voted for Egeria because of her recording of the liturgy surrounding Holy Week in Jerusalem.
I had to vote for Egeria, but it was a hard choice. I love the rituals of Holy Week from Palm Sunday through the Easter Vigil. Thank you, Egeria, for detailing these devotional practices for us. And thank you, SEC, for bringing her to our notice. Hildegarde, too. She was equally amazing.
This was a difficult choice. Hildegarde contributed much to the world, by example and particularly her music. Egeria contributed some the of the rite and rituals used in Christian liturgy today and left a great legacy based on observation of the early church.
Never heard of Egeria before so was pleased to learn of another saint. More food for the soul, thanks SEC.
I love that both these women were writers. I voted for Egeria because of her devotion to detail and bravery as a woman in a male dominated age.
The liturgy recorded by Egeria was created by others. Music and art are part of our liturgical tradition and Hildegard was one of the contributors.
It was a difficult choice but in the end, I went with Egeria. As a Hispanic who loves to travel and some of the early traditions she wrote about (which otherwise would have not been known by us) are some of my favorite practices, since Holy Week and Easter are my favorite seasons of the Christian calendar.
Seriously ... it's got to be Hildegard.
Interesting and rather exciting to see a relatively unknown contestant leading a better-known nominee. It makes LM more fun when voters venture out from the expected.
I voted for Egeria. The importance of writing down the daily liturgical practice in an she when few could write, and of communicating those practices across the Christian world when fee traveled, is huge. Without Egeria it is unlikely that we would have the rites that so move us today. It doesn't matter that she didn't invent them; she preserved them for posterity. As we approach Holy Week I will keep Egeria in my thoughts, and I will remember to thank her for her contribution to my worship.
To say that we would have learned about the earliest liturgies from SOMEONE, if not Egeria, sounds to me a little like saying, "Someone would have gotten to this side of the pond whether or not Columbus (or Leif Ericsson, or whomever) had done it." Or, "Somebody would have eventually invented the light bulb, even if Thomas Edison had not." As a "high church progressive" (who loves liturgy) according to one survey I took, my vote goes to EGERIA!
As has often been said in the Diocese of New Jersey — RIGHT ONWARD!
3.5.2015 [Hildegard of Bingen]
a feather on the
breath of God
you stole away
the day
to sail the skies
of heavenly grace
a paver of God’s
ways
health and heart
community
all brilliant in
your ways
a voice of truth
that freed your
soul, embracing
music’s sway,
pray now for us
our hearts to grasp
the wisdom
in your gaze.
-----------------------
Hildegard had me at Herb Garden.
I have to echo those who said this is the hardest choice so far. And I'd thought it was going to be so easy! Each of these women contributed so much in her own way. I'd be more upset with the SEC, but if they had avoided this match-up now, we'd probably have to face it sooner or later. What does the SEC do in the event of a tie?
The portrait of Egeria with her bio is quite lovely. Where might one find a copy?
I 'met' Egeria in Israel a few years ago and when I returned home - bought her book, Egeria: Diary of a Pilgrimage. She was indeed something of an anthropologist and a wonderful journalist. Those who feel that someone else would have recorded what she did are only partly correct I believe. Her extraordinary journey and the factual recordings she made of liturgy, events,etc. were remarkable untainted by ego and politics . She had a fresh, unbiased view of a developing world and I think the Christian churches are all the better for it. I love Hildegarde, another extraordinary woman but my vote goes to Egeria.
The SEC is clearly biased against women, pitting two of the best in the same first-round bracket?! Couldn't one of these easily have taken out Branden the Navigator? The SEC clearly needs some feminizing influence.
While I have the utmost regard for Hildegard and her visions, music, and herbs, I am a historian at heart and so I must vote for Egeria, for without her, what would we know of the earliest Christian practices? If only she'd been there during Christ's life!
Egeria it has to be. She ought to be the patron saint of Vergers. From her--we receive many of the descriptions and directions for the liturgy as we celebrate it today. Thank God for her attention to detail!!
I voted for Hildegard, because her pneumatology and theology of creation are drawn on today as valuable contributions that serve as resources for a deeper understanding of theology in the 21st century. In the Catholic church, her progression towards sainthood had languished for centuries; it was reinvigorated by Pope Benedict who not only canonized her, but also pronounced her a Doctor of the Church, and I'm convinced it was because of her insight into "the greening power of God." Seeing God's life-givingness all around us helps us to see all of creation as holy: something we desperately need at this time in the history of humanity. Pope Francis will be releasing an encyclical on the environment later this year, and I would bet we'll see some citations of her work.
Plus the music, plus the medieval medicine, plus the leadership: this woman was so gifted by God in so many different areas.
At the same time, I rejoice to have been introduced to Egeria... and am pretty darned annoyed that I've never heard of her before, neither in my continuing-ed nor in my graduate level course on the first five centuries of the church, nor in the reader of spiritual pilgrims, nor in all the various readings I've done over the years on liturgy. Thanks to everyone who posted links, and I do believe I'll be dropping a suggestion to add her to the curriculum at my school. 🙂
Thanks for the web links to Egeria's writings. After reading excerpts from her very informative writings, I wish I had had them as a guide when I visited the Holy Lands. Her writings are so simple and inclusive of all of the points of interest. Its hard to think she wrote them more than 1700 years ago. When one visits the Holy Lands there is a pervasive question expressed of the validity of the particular spot or point of interest i.e., did it really happen there? It seems from Egeria's writings, Jesus and the Desert Fathers commerce was going strong very early and its comforting to know perhaps they have preserved the places where it really happened.
My vote is for Egeria -- which in no way diminishes the impact of Hildegard, whom I love and admire very much!