Allegorical Form and Theory in Hildegard of Bingen’s Books of Visions

This book analyses how the three books of visions by Hildegard of Bingen use the allegorical vision as a form of knowledge. It describes how the visionary’s use of allegory and allegorical exegesis is linked to theories of cognition, interpretation, and prophecy. It argues that the form of the allegorical vision is not just the product of a medieval symbolic mentality, but specific to Hildegard’s position and the major transformations taking place in the prescholastic intellectual milieu, such as the changing use of Scripture or the shift from traditional hermeneutics to cognitive language philosophy. The book shows that Hildegard uses traditional forms of knowledge – prophecy, the vision, monastic theology, allegorical hermeneutics – in startlingly innovative ways by combining them and by revising them for her own time.

Table of Contents:
1 Introduction.- Integumental Hermeneutics and Prescholastic Philosophy.- Allegory, Language, and Cognition.- Linking Allegorical Form to Allegorical Theory.-References.-2 Vision and Explanation.- Vision and Explanation.-The Function of the Allegory.-The Formal Interplay of Allegory and Allegoresis.- Allegory and Symbol.-References.-3 Allegory as Form and Concept.- Distinguishing Between Allegory and Allegoresis.-Prejudiced Distinctions in Modern Theory.-Blurred Distinctions in Medieval Hermeneutics.- Interactions Between Allegoresis and Allegory.-Allegory as Form: Figurative Language and Levels of Meaning.-Metaphor.- Pun.-Personification.-Metonymy.- Allegory as Idea: A Vital Belief and Conceptions of Allegory.-Language: Suprarealism and Self-Consciousness.-Reality: Fabulism and Figuralism.- Reversal of Values.-References.-4 Exegetical Form: The Eccentric Exegesis of the Homilies.-Creative Allegoresis in the Expositiones.-Multiple Interpretations and Narrative Continuity.- A Formal Definition for the Literal Level.-A Narrative Definition for the Senses of Scripture.-Creating a Narrative.- Exegetical Method: The Miraculous Catch of Allegory?.-The Allegoresis of the Expositionesand the Allegory of the Visions.-References.- 5 Allegorical form: Narrative, the Cosmos, and the End of Time.-The Narrative of the Parables.-The Reality of the Cosmos.- The Textuality of Visionary Reality.-The Reality of the Textual Cosmos.-The End of Time.- References.-6 Allegorical Cognition through Words.-Hildegard’s Model of the Mind.- Other Models of Cognition.-The Circular Mind.-Perceptions as Cognitive Agents.- The Absence of Mental Images.-The Essential Role of Words.-The Promotion of Words Over Images.- Hildegard’s Turn to Language.-Exegetical Cognition.-From Hermeneutics to Epistemology.- Allegorical Creation from Exegetical Method.-Glossing and Properties.-Allegorical Handbooks.- The Cognitive Dynamics of Reading Allegorically.-References.-7 Allegorical Revelation through Prophecy.- Allegorical Interpretation as an Essential Part of Revelation History.-The Old, the New, and the Interpretation of Each.-Allegory in Deeds and in Words.- Veils and Illumination.-Allegory and Forms of Prophecy.-Clarity, Obscurity, and Hildegard’s Prophetic Goals.- Different Kinds of Prophecy in Hildegard’s Works.-Cognition and Forms of Visionary Experience.-Augustine’s Theory of Vision.- Hildegard’s Visio Spiritualis/Intellectualis.-Augustine’s Cognitive Visions.-The Continuity Between Vision and Cognition in Medieval Texts.- Becoming a Prophet.-The Prophet and the Reader.-References.- 8 Beliefs about Language and the Construction of Allegorical Form.-Allegorical Visions and Scripture.-Exceptional Language and the Reference to Nature.- Reversal of Allegory and Allegoresis.-Allegorical Form and Truth.-Allegorical Language.- The Origin and Fall of Language.-In Search of a Theological Language.-A Sphere of Literary Symbolism?.- Hildegard’s Faith in Language.-Conclusion.-References.