Hildegard’s Germany

Hildegard’s geographic context as well as the cultural milieu  of her day shaped her life and ministry. Here are a few locations key to that journey.

Holy Roman Empire

Hildegard spent the whole of her life in German-speaking territories of the Holy Roman Empire. A confederacy of territories ruled by various knights, barons, counts, margraves, and dukes, the Holy Roman Empire covered a large part of central Europe, especially the German-speaking territories. It was ruled by a diet (parliament) headed by an elected emperor. The empire was named as such because it was seen to be the Christian revival of the old Roman Empire. With close ties to the papacy, the emperors assumed that they had the right to determine who would be the next pope; meanwhile, the popes tried to control the emperors. Such was the political climate in which Hildegard lived, established her two monasteries, and sought to bring God’s word to the leaders of her day.

Hildegard’s Life

▲ In the center of the map just south of Mainz we see Bermersheim, where Hildegard lived as a child.

■ At 14 Hildegard took vows to be a Benedictine nun at Disibodenberg, some 30 miles west of Bermersheim.

■ When Hildegard was 52, she founded the abbey at Rupertsberg in Bingen, which is near the confluence of the Nahe and Rhine Rivers (see inset map).

■ Fifteen years later she established her second abbey just across the Rhine at Eibingen, a district of Rudesheim.

Preaching Tours

From 1158 to 1170, when establishing her second monastery, Hildegard embarked on a series of preaching tours. She addressed monks, nuns, clergy, and sometimes crowds that included laypeople. Not only were these itinerant preaching tours remarkable because travel was difficult and Hildegard, who was in her sixties and seventies, was in poor health—they were also highly unusual because only men could officially preach. Being the magistra of two abbeys, however, gave her a platform; moreover, she was well known at this point in her life for her orthodox teaching and supported by many in high places. 

• East and Mainz (1158–1161): Hildegard traveled eastward several times, reaching as far as Bamberg, a 150-mile journey each way along the Main River. These visits spanned three years, and Hildegard preached primarily at cathedrals and monastery chapter houses en route, addressing clergy and monastics. 

• West and Trier (1160): Hildegard also traveled nearly as far westward along the Mosel River. This tour included Trier, Metz, and the monastery at Krauftal. The latter two are now in the Alsace region of France. 

• North past Cologne (1161, 1163): In both 1161 and 1163, Hildegard traveled northward along the Rhine and Ruhr Rivers as far as Werden.

• South (1170): When Hildegard was 72, she took her longest and most difficult trip, traveling south along the Neckar River and then across rolling hills to Zwiefalten Abbey. 

Significance of Mainz, Trier, and Cologne

Rather than having a hereditary king, the Holy Roman Empire had an emperor who was elected by seven dominant figures within the imperial territory. Four were influential lords: the duke of Saxony, the king of Bohemia (Czech), the count Palatine of the Rhine, and the margrave of Brandenberg. The other three electors were the archbishops of Mainz, Trier, and Cologne. These clergy were powerful political figures as well as ecclesiastical leaders. 

It is significant that Hildegard visited the cities of Mainz, Trier, and Cologne on her preaching tours. There she visited and possibly preached before the three elector-archbishops of the Holy Roman Empire, two of whom were her close allies.