Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.31823/d.30.3.4
From Known Motifs to Unknown Words – With Two Lexical Neologisms of Saint Hildegard of Bingen
Marija-Ana Dürrigl
orcid.org/0000-0002-7715-1953
; Old Church Slavonic Institute, Zagreb, Croatia
Abstract
Two Latin neologisms, the adverbs tunicaliter and flammanter, written in the Liber vitae meritorum of Saint Hildegard of Bingen, are viewed as stylistic elements, highlighted places in the passage from the vision and as a kind of substitute for defined theological terms. Hildegard expresses herself pictorially to stimulate feelings, imagination, and thinking in the recipient. In so doing, these adverbs create links with known contents (especially with the Holy Scriptures), and at the same time, this opens new viewpoints for reflection on the presented text. Understanding the lexical innovations is partly made difficult because they are hapax legomena, so their interpretation should include the symbolism of the tunic and flame (nouns from which the adverbs are derived) in Hildegard’s visionary work in general. In addition, also interesting is the phrase officiale opus, with which Hildegard indirectly defines man and his role in the salvation history of the world.
Keywords
Hildegard of Bingen; Liber vitae meritorum; vision; medieval literature; theology; poetics; hermeneutics
Hrčak ID:
286187
URI
Publication date:
25.11.2022.
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