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The pilgrimage of the soul in the Scivias of Hildegard of Bingen: creation, fall, redemption and salvation

Hildegard of Bingen, religious Benedictine woman who lived in the twelfth century, claimed to have written her first work, the Scivias, under a "prophetic call", that she would have received in one of her spiritual visions. According to Hildegard, her visions had been with her since childhood and in them she received "divine" messages. The Scivias, written between 1141 and 1151, consisted of, as Hildegard claimed, the transcription of these messages and it was a work with teachings in doctrinal orthodoxy. The book, with Hildegard's visions, is divided in three parts of unequal size which deal respectively with creation and fall (first part), redemption and salvation. This article aims to analyse the fourth vision of the first part of the Scivias in which Hildegard relates a pilgrimage of a sinner soul. The journey of this soul is interesting as it synthetizes the doctrinal phases worked in all Scivias, meaning creation, fall, redemption and salvation.

orthodoxy; pilgrimage; medieval spirituality; history of salvation


Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho Faculdade de Ciências e Letras, UNESP, Campus de Assis, 19 806-900 - Assis - São Paulo - Brasil, Tel: (55 18) 3302-5861, Faculdade de Ciências Humanas e Sociais, UNESP, Campus de Franca, 14409-160 - Franca - São Paulo - Brasil, Tel: (55 16) 3706-8700 - Assis/Franca - SP - Brazil
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