Veiled influence: Drawing connections between Hildegard of Bingen's correspondence, her eschatology, and medieval letter-writing conventions

Drawing on the letters and theology of Hildegard of Bingen (1098–1179), this thesis explores influences on her prophetic ideas as well as her conception of authority. The thesis demonstrates that the loss of her monastic sister and best friend, Richardis, had a profound personal impact that is visible over two decades later in Hildegard’s apocalyptic theology, written in the Liber Divinorum Operum (Book of Divine Works) in 1174. The thesis also examines Hildegard’s correspondence in relation to conventional medieval letter-writing practice, including structure and formality. This allows a better understanding of how Hildegard viewed her position in the hierarchy of imperial secular and religious authority. It also provides the opportunity to demonstrate the difficulty of using medieval letters as an evidentiary base.