Hildegard, Doctress of the Church

(Allegory of Charity)

Happy feast day of Hildegard von Bingen, abbess, mystic, polymath, and preacher. Pope Benedict XVI named Hildegard a Doctor of the Church mere months before his abdication of the Holy See, and there has never quite been a sufficient explanation for her elevation to this honor. I have recently been reading commentary on the Deutsch Doctress but am now feeling the need to study her original writings. Her Scivias looks rather daunting in length and subject matter. She also fits in with a long term plan to read from a wide range of pre-modern women mystics.

That being said, I would be happy to look at any good commentary our readers can send my way. Any thoughts on the appropriateness of her honorary doctorate or of her audacity to become a preacher are also welcome.