Skip to main content

Primary sourceBook1175-1190

Riesencodex Folio 466 Recto

Unknown author · 1175-1190

A page from the Riesencodex, the great illuminated manuscript collecting Hildegard's own writings, made during or shortly after her lifetime.

A page from Hildegard's own illuminated codex, showing her theological writing and musical composition.

Ask Hildegard of Bingen about this sourceView the original(opens in new tab)
A scanned manuscript page with two columns of medieval Latin text in black ink, with red decorated initial letters and red staff lines carrying musical notation. The page number 466 is written in the upper right corner.
Folio 466 recto, Riesencodex, 1175-1190. Manuscript collection.

About this source

What it is

This is a page from the Riesencodex, a large manuscript made between 1175 and 1190 that preserves many of Hildegard of Bingen's own writings. The page shows two columns of medieval Latin text with decorated red initials and musical notation written on red staff lines.

Why it matters

The Riesencodex is one of the most important sources for Hildegard's theological and musical work. Because it was created during or just after her lifetime, it gives historians direct access to the words and music she composed, showing her skill as a writer, composer and visionary thinker.

Look closer

  • What does the presence of musical notation alongside text tell you about Hildegard's range of talents?
  • Why might decorated initials and careful layout have mattered to the scribes who made this page?
  • What is lost when parts of the text are illegible today?

This book 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.

More Hildegard of Bingen sources

Meet the AI Hildegard of Bingen →
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

Ready when you are

Start chatting with Hildegard of Bingen now.

20 messages free · No credit card · Available in 50+ languages.

Trial Humy for freeGet a quote for institutions