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Primary sourceDocumentc. 1175

Dendermonde Codex

Hildegard of Bingen · c. 1175

A 12th-century manuscript of Hildegard's songs, the Symphonia harmoniae caelestium revelationum, copied during her lifetime and sent to monks at Villers.

This manuscript preserves Hildegard's own musical compositions, copied and circulated during her lifetime.

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Front cover of an old manuscript volume bound in worn reddish-brown leather with a dark spine featuring raised bands and small gold floral tooling at the corners and gold edge rules. The cover is scratched and stained.
Dendermonde Codex, containing works by Hildegard of Bingen, c. 1150–1175. Dendermonde Abbey.

About this source

What it is

The Dendermonde Codex, also called the Villarenser Kodex, is a manuscript containing Hildegard of Bingen's collection of songs, which she named the Symphonia harmoniae caelestium revelationum. Dated around 1176, it contains 183 surviving parchment folios of psalms and canticles, and is held by Dendermonde Abbey, currently entrusted to the Catholic University of Leuven for conservation.

Why it matters

Historians believe the manuscript was first sent to Villers Abbey, showing how Hildegard's music circulated to other monastic communities during her lifetime. It demonstrates that she was recognized as a composer as well as a visionary writer, and its survival through centuries of relocation between abbeys shows how monastic communities valued and protected her musical works.

Look closer

  • What does sending this manuscript to another monastery tell us about how music and ideas spread in the 12th century?
  • Why might some folios of the manuscript be missing today?
  • What can the physical condition of the cover tell us about how the book has been used and preserved?

This document is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Hildegard of Bingen on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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