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Primary sourcePaintingc. 1200

St. Hildegard Receiving Visions, Salem Scivias Manuscript

Unknown author · c. 1200

A detail from an early illuminated copy of Hildegard's own visionary work Scivias, made around 1200.

An early illustrated copy of Hildegard's own major work, Scivias, depicting her receiving visions.

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Medieval manuscript painting of a robed figure with a pale halo-less head covering, standing on a white ground within a blue panel framed by red sides and a green arched top. In raised hands the figure holds a stylus-like tool in one hand and a wax tablet or writing frame in the other. Latin text is visible above, reading 'et omnium sanctorum'.
St. Hildegard Receiving Visions, Salem Scivias manuscript, c. 1200.

About this source

What it is

This is a detail from an early illuminated manuscript of Hildegard of Bingen's major visionary work, Scivias, made around the year 1200. It shows a robed figure standing within a decorated panel, holding writing tools, with Latin text visible above.

Why it matters

Scivias records Hildegard's religious visions and theological ideas, and this manuscript is an early copy made close to her own lifetime. Images like this one, showing a figure receiving and recording visions, helped shape how Hildegard's mystical experiences were understood and remembered by later readers.

Look closer

  • What do the writing tools in the figure's hands suggest about how Hildegard's visions were recorded?
  • Why might the artist have used bright colors and careful framing for this scene?
  • What can an illustrated copy of a text tell us that the words alone cannot?

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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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

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Scivias Frontispiece Miniature

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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

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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

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Liber divinorum operum

Hildegard of Bingen · c. 1163-1174

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