Jutta and Hildegard: The Biographical Sources (review)

Jutta and Hildegard: The Biographical Sources. Translated and introduced by Anna Silvas. [Brepols Medieval Women Series.] (University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press. 1999. Pp. xxvii, 299. $18.95 paperback.)

This volume, as the title suggests, brings together a range of documentary material that illumines the lives of two remarkable holy women, Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179) and her teacher and mentor, Jutta of Sponheim (1092-1136). The vitae of Jutta and Hildegard are supplemented by extracts from chronicles, letters, and charters relating to monasteries with which they were closely associated: Disibodenberg, Sponheim, and Rupertsberg. This documentary material, much of which remains difficult to obtain, provides an essential background for interpreting the images of female spirituality depicted in the vitae. Silvas, through her selection, lively translations, and scholarly commentary, provides an important introduction to these women for the experienced scholar and student new to the field alike.

The material assembled in this collection spans a period of roughly 130 years, from Jutta's birth in 1092 to the abandoned attempt to secure Hildegard's canonization in 1233. The translations are arranged chronologically, enabling the reader to develop an appreciation of the social and monastic context in which Jutta and Hildegard lived before coming to the vitae of the women themselves. Silvas introduces each translation with a discussion of questions of authorship, dating, and style. Her commentaries combine to connect each individual translation into a related whole, guiding the reader through the lives of the two holy women and the men who left records of them. The translations are accompanied by two maps, genealogical tables, and indices of names and scriptural references.

The heart of the collection is the translation of the vitae of Jutta and Hildegard. Silvas offers an engaging and perceptive translation of the Life of the Holy Hildegard based on the critical edition of the Latin text. Her translation of the Life of the Lady Jutta makes accessible for the first time in English a recently discovered text of major significance for the life and spiritual development of both women. The portrait of Jutta the recluse and her small community of women in the Life of Jutta illumines Hildegard's early life at Disibodenberg, providing an interesting counter to the visionary's later autobiographical reminiscences. The Life of Jutta, together with extracts from the chronicle of Disibodenberg, documents the culture of monastic renewal and spiritual intensity, including the veneration of holy women and visionary spirituality, that strongly shaped Hildegard's religious expression. These two texts are complemented by the translation of an unfinished vita of Hildegard by Guibert of Gembloux, which contains details of the women's lives not attested to elsewhere.

The material recording the lives of Jutta and Hildegard illustrates the profound reverence and esteem in which holy women were held by their male monastic colleagues. The circumstances in which the vitae were produced, by men who experienced the privilege of intimate spiritual friendships with these holy women, shed insight more broadly into the relationships that existed between religious women and the men who provided spiritual direction to them. Each text also counterpoints the other, enabling the reader to reflect on the processes of memorialization and veneration that motivated the production of the texts themselves. This volume will be an important contribution to the expanding field of Hildegard studies, and also to readers with an interest in the social and spiritual contexts of holy women and the relationships between the sexes in monastic life.

Julie Hotchin
Canberra, Australia

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