title: Hildegard of Bingen: A Spiritual Reader
author: Hildegard of Bingen
description: For those who already know and admire her, this compilation of Hildegard's various works is an ideal reference. For those who are unacquainted with Hildegard of Bingen, this book is the best of introductions. Carmen Acevedo Butcher, besides her selections from Hildegard's own works, provides the reader with a biography of this remarkable medieval mystic. The English translations from Hildegard's Latin are engaging. Hildegard, a nun who died in the 12th century, speaks our own language today. She was instructed by God to "write down what you see and hear!" Carmen Acevedo Butcher has made it accessible to us in this fine book. -- <i>Br. Benet Tvedten, author of The View from a Monastery</i><br /><br />I just finished Dr. Butcher's manuscript, and I am happy to report that I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. In fact, it was one of those texts that, imperceptibly but irresistibly, draws you in until you fall in step with the author in her perambulations between the 12th and 21st centuries. Good medievalist that she is, her mode of presentation, analogical logic, if the favored form of medieval argumentation, but her transposition of this usually theological, legal or scientific methodology to seemingly banal events is nothing short of delightful. The introductory essay detailing Hildegard's life and accomplishments is engaging, her obvious affinity with her subject spiritually inspiring, and her presentation scholarly and lucid.
zlib_text: Praise for Hildegard of Bingen
  “Comprehensive.... [A] balanced presentation both of Hildegard’s gifts and her
  weaknesses, revealing her as fully human yet filled up with God.”
  —Norvene Vest, author, What Is Your Practice? Lifelong Growth in the Spirit
  “An insightful introduction; wisely chosen texts; clear, concise annotation.... Instructs
  readers how to handle the texts ... on the nun’s own terms.”
  —Mary Hunt, coeditor, New Feminist Christianity: Many Voices, Many Views
  “Writing with clear love of Hildegard von Bingen and from her own perspective as
  theologian, religious leader and woman of faith, Sheryl Kujawa-Holbrook ... provides a
  hybrid scholarly and practical resource for anyone seeking to know Hildegard von
  Bingen and her world.”
  —Suzanne R. Ehly, sporano and former member of Sequentia; artist in residence and
  faculty in voice, body and culture, Episcopal Divinity School “A must-have book for
  anyone wanting a deep personal experience of Hildegard of Bingen; her life, writings
  a