Hildegard of Bingen · Theology

The Reflection of the Living Light

Hildegard&rsquo;s distinctive way of seeing: not the trance of the ecstatic nor the pictures of a dream, but a waking vision received with &lsquo;the eyes and ears of the inner person&rsquo; - a steady brightness she called the <em>umbra viventis lucis</em>, the reflection of the living Light.

What you'll be able to recall

You learned that Hildegard insisted her visions came while she was fully awake (not in dreams, ecstasy, or bodily sight), that she called the light she saw the umbra viventis lucis (the reflection of the living Light), and that she received the meaning of an image together with the image itself. Explain this visionary…

Leads to Julian of Norwich.

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