Days of creation / Scivias (Hildegard)

[CaryR]

@CaryR: Could you give an example how you interpret the Hildegard symbolism in connection with the VMS ? Or do I have to be patient until you publish the blog post with Koen ?

Well, the blog post is not going to specifically focus on Hildegard, but we may bring in an example or two. I don't think that Hildegard's imagery directly influenced the VMS necessarily, but I do think there could be a shared sphere of influence, drawn both from popular aspects of Christian iconography as well as those more connected with Christian mysticism. 

Hildegard copied widely popular iconography such as Christ in a mandorla, and at the same time she created original imagery with symbolism specific to her own visions, like in Scivias plate 4, "universe". But even her more original and abstract imagery still shows recognizable signs of Christian influence (even just visually, without reading her accompanying explanations). I noticed that a starry mandorla shape is often used as a background that frames Christ in a variety of scenes (from many medieval art sources, not just Hildegard). Especially since Hildegard herself also drew "the ruler of all" sitting in a starry mandorla on plate 19, I thought it likely that Hildegard was aware of these associations when she designed the "universe" image. 

In the example of the VM's lower left rosette, I think the visual resemblance to Hildegard's "universe", and to her starry mandorla-shaped sky on plate 34, "the new heaven and the new earth" might suggest some connection, not to Hildegard specifically, but with the wider use of this motif.  

Anything more specific will have to wait until the post is written up