Depictions of Women in High Middle Ages

Hildegarda iz Bingna je bila opatinja iz 12. stoletja, ki se je v zgodovino zapisala kot pomembna svetnica in tudi vsestranska ženska. Ukvarjala se je z različnimi področji in se izkazala kot znanstvenica, glasbenica, pesnica in tudi umetnica. Bila je avtorica številnih iluminiranih rokopisov med katerimi je najznamenitejši Scivias, ki je napisan in ilustriran na podlagi njenih videnj. Scivias obsega 34 iluminacij, med katerimi so tudi številne upodobitve ženskih figur. Ženske figure so upodobljene kot personifikacije abstraktnih idej in v sebi nosijo številna sporočila in interpretacije: ena najpogostejših figur, ki se v Scivias pojavlja je Ecclesia, h kateri se je Hildegarda neprestano vračala in jo upodabljala v različnih kontekstih ter jo včasih z različnimi simboli predstavila v povsem novi luči. S tem ko je ženske figure postavila v različne vloge, nam je Hildegarda na nek način omogočila vpogled v svojo lastno predstavo o svetu in takratni vlogi spolov v družbi ter nenazadnje razkrije tudi splošno družbeno stanje in razmišljanje 12. stoletja.Hildegard of Bingen was a 12th century abbess who went down in history as a saint and polymath. She was well versed in many disciplines and proved herself as a scientist, musician, poet and an artist. She authored many illuminated manuscripts, most notable of which is the Scivias that was illuminated with 34 illuminations based on her visions, among which are also numerous depictions of female figures. The female figures are constructed as personifications of abstract ideas, carrying various themes and interpretations – one of the most common figures in Scivias is Ecclesia, to whom Hildegard commonly returned. She has depicted her in various contexts and used different symbols to present her in a completely different light. The state and mentality of 12th century society is thus revealed from her multi-dimensional treatment of female figures, giving us a unique insight into her own perception of the world and societal gender roles of the era