Working on the most recent Art Doll Quarterly Challenge has been,
well… a challenge! But she is finished! My Medieval Mystery Maiden:
(drum-roll, please…)
Playing softly in the background, while completing my doll
for the “Medieval Doll Challenge, are the ethereal voices
of a
Gregorian chant. I am listening to
music composed
by one of the most remarkable and gifted women
in medieval
history: Hildegard von Bingen.
Born in Germany in 1098, she would dedicate her
life
to serving others; becoming a nun at the age of fifteen.
During her lifetime, Hildegard of Bingen created an
immense
outpouring of work in music, poetry, and scientific literature.
She was both a woman of vision and a
“visionary” of some
Biblical and religious texts during the 12th century.
The music, which I have incorporated on the doll stand,
represents one of Hildegard’s chants: O virtus
Sapientiae
(Strength of Wisdom). I wonder if the text could have been based
upon this
familiar proverbial quote that Hildegard
would have been acquainted with:
Proverbs 9:10
“The fear of the LORD
is the beginning of
wisdom:
and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.” (KJV)
The manuscript sitting on the small side table is a representation
of her writings on medieval medicine: Liber Simplicis Medicinae
(Simple Book of Medicine). The glass jars hold her herbal remedies.
Hildegard… a medieval lady in waiting!
(Yes, waiting to be shipped off to California…)
Thank you for taking this creative journey with me! Daryle
