Commentary, Polemic, and Prophecy in Hildegard of Bingen's Solutiones Triginta Octo Quaestionum

Publication Date

1-1-1992

Document Type

Article

Abstract

"Commentary, Polemic, and Prophecy in Hildegard of Bingen's Solutiones triginta octo quaestionum." This essay analyzes one of Hildegard of Bingen's most neglected texts, the Solutiones triginta octo quaestionum (1176), a collection of her responses to theological and interpretive questions compiled by Guibert of Gembloux and the monks of Villers-en-Brabant. The Solutiones offers an unusual perspective on one of the most interesting chapters in the development of medieval reading and writing practices. Situated among the "classroom vs. cloister" debates of the twelfth century, this text illustrates how the commentary genre could function as a site of struggle between forms of interpretation and the individuals, groups, and institutions that advocated them. The Solutiones demonstrates how advocates of a single method of reading sought to validate their position by aggressively enlisting the support of a celebrated religious authority. Perhaps most interesting, this text reveals how such controversies between medieval men sometimes admitted the intervention of female voices in public discourses where women would ordinarily not have been allowed to speak.

Publication Title

Viator

Volume

23

First Page

153

Last Page

166

DOI

10.1484/J.VIATOR.2.301277

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no SHERPA/RoMEO policy available

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