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Secondary sourcePaintingMediaeval (uncertain date)

Hildegard of Bingen, Medieval-Style Image

Unknown · Mediaeval (uncertain date)

An image of Hildegard of Bingen by an unknown artist, possibly a later depiction made in a medieval style.

A later image depicting Hildegard, likely not made during her own lifetime, showing how she was pictured by others.

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An image in a medieval artistic style depicting a woman identified as Hildegard of Bingen, likely in religious dress.
Unknown author, Hildegard of Bingen, mediaeval-style image, date uncertain.

About this source

What it is

This is an image of Hildegard of Bingen by an unknown maker. Its exact date is uncertain, and it is described as mediaeval in style but likely created later rather than during her lifetime.

Why it matters

Because the date and author are unknown, this image cannot be treated as a firsthand likeness of Hildegard. It instead shows how people pictured her in a traditional religious style, continuing an image of her as a holy abbess and visionary.

Look closer

  • What details in the image suggest it might not be from Hildegard's own lifetime?
  • Why do uncertain dates and unknown authors matter when studying a historical image?
  • How might an unknown artist's choices affect how we imagine Hildegard today?

This painting 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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Illuminated manuscript miniature: an oval mandala of gold flame-like rays and dark red and white bands surrounds a blue field with gold stars, a red-and-white sun or disc at top, and a central cosmic diagram of concentric rings with a bluish-white globe and green figures at top and bottom.Book

Primary source

Scivias

Hildegard of Bingen · 1151-1152

Detail of a painted medieval miniature in orange, red and gold tones. A figure with flowing red hair sits at a desk, writing with a stylus on a tablet. A second face in profile appears at the right edge.Painting

Primary source

Scivias Frontispiece Miniature

12th century

A large open medieval manuscript codex lies on a dark display stand in a glass case, with a metal chain attached to its binding and a white label reading 'Rupert' at the bottom. The pages show black text in columns and red decorated initials.Book

Primary source

Wiesbaden Codex

Hildegard of Bingen · c. 1200

Medieval illuminated manuscript miniature of the Universal Man: a nude human figure with outstretched arms stands within a large white circle surrounded by concentric rings, red and gray bands, and a red border. A bearded head crowns the top and a red-footed figure appears below. A small seated scribe at lower left writes at a desk.Book

Primary source

Liber divinorum operum

Hildegard of Bingen · c. 1163-1174

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.Document

Primary source

Dendermonde Codex

Hildegard of Bingen · c. 1175

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