Page 274 - Western Civilization A Brief History, Volume I To 1715 9th - Jackson J. Spielvogel

FILM HISTORY
Vision (2009)
WRITTEN AND DIRECTED by Margarethe von Trotta, a German director well known for her feminist views, Vision is a cinematic reconstruction of the life of the twelfth-century nun and mystic Hildegard of Bingen (Barbara Sukowa). The movie follows her life from her initial entry as a young girl into a Benedictine monastery at Disibodenberg in western Germany through her career as abbess of a convent at Rupertsberg.
The film is a realistic portrayal of Hildegard’s life and her many accomplishments. She wrote Gregorian chants, parts of which form the background music for the film, and one scene shows the nuns of her convent performing her play Ordo Virtutum (Play of the Virtues) for a visiting abbess. Hildegard’s preoccupation with books is evident in her philosophical, theological, and scientific interests. She was active as a healer, making good use of her extensive knowledge of herbal remedies. Her mystical visions, in which she claimed to receive the “living light,” or a direct message from
God, were written down in three books.
The film captures the complicated nature of a world in which money and politics often collided with sincere religious impulses. The twelfth-century religious world is depicted as an environment dominated by men, who pursue political and financial as well as religious goals. It was also a time of fear and superstition. In the film, Hildegard’s male superiors often remind her that her visions may be from the devil instead of God.
Hildegard is presented—rightly or wrongly—in very human terms as capable of cynically using her near-death experiences and mystical ecstasies for political and even selfish purposes to gain benefits for herself and her nuns. Portrayed as politically astute, she appears quite capable of appealing to and even
manipulating powerful individuals to gain favors, including the construction of a new convent for her nuns at Rupertsberg.
Called “one of the greatest intellectuals and mystics of the west,” Hildegard of Bingen stands out as an unusual woman in the twelfth century. Indeed, the film presents Hildegard as the forerunner of the modern, liberated woman. When reminded of her vow of absolute obedience to her superiors, she responds, “It is our divine right to decide our own fate.” Vision also portrays Hildegard as an early practitioner of holistic medicine, not only in her use of herbal medicines, but also in her promotion of music as an instrument in healing. As she says, “Music can heal wounds and the soul.”
Hildegard of Bingen (Barbara Sukowa) collects herbs in a convent garden in Rupertsberg, Germany
including praying for themselves and others, copying manuscripts, maintaining libraries and schools, acting as missionaries to the heathen, preaching to the poor, and fighting heresy. But in an age when governments did not provide basic social services, monks and nuns also worked for society by performing a number of social welfare services that our governments provide today.
Monasteries often provided both food and clothing for the poor. Otto of Freising, a German writer of his- tory in the twelfth century, declared, “There is always a pious, God-fearing friar sitting [at the gate] receiving all arriving guests, pilgrims, and poor people, as friendly and kind-hearted as Christ himself.” Due to a shortage of inns, monasteries also provided refuge for pilgrims and other travelers. As the Rule of Saint
236 Chapter 10 The Rise of Kingdoms and the Growth of Church Power
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a Zeitgeist Films/Courtesy The Everett Collection, Inc.