R117: Abt N. von Selbold an Hildegard von Rupertsberg
Salutation and Blessing
The abbot of Selbold greets Hildegard with reverence, invokes divine grace upon her, and prays that she may be united with Christ in the heavenly bridal chamber.
The abbot at Selbold. To Hildegard. To Hildegard, venerable servant of almighty God! N. Humble and modest steward at Selbold. May you overflow with all the grace of divine bounty. And after this, may you be joined to the Lord Jesus Christ, King of all kings, in the heavenly bridal chamber.✦ Blessed be the mercy of almighty God.
Joy at Hildegard's Holiness
The abbot rejoices upon hearing of Hildegard's blessedness and, despite his own unworthiness, explains that he remembers her in his prayers.
Which in these times of iniquity… He gave you to his faithful ones to be consoled, like a lamp shining in the darkness. Therefore, hearing of the report of your blessedness through a long span of time, and recognizing that what was being said was in fact true for a long time now, I rejoice greatly with your blessedness, and I delight with it. So that, even though my request amounts to nothing in God's sight, nevertheless, what might appear as foolishness and folly—
Prayer for Protection and Glory
He prays that God will guard and increase the gifts of mercy in Hildegard and make her a companion of the saints, yet confesses his inability to see her in person despite great longing.
I always hold you in memory in my prayers. asking for this, longing for this, so that the Lord may always guard in you the benefits of his mercy bestowed on you. and may always increase them in you more and more. and make you a companion of his saints in eternal glory. But since I cannot approach you in person, I whom such great longing for your presence holds fast,
Humble Supplication
Through the letter he prostrates himself at Hildegard's feet, begging her to intercede with God for his calamities, confident that the Holy Spirit dwelling in her can obtain all things.
Through this letter, as best I can, I throw myself at your feet—a suppliant, and a humble one at that! And I prostrate myself again and again at the feet of your authority. So that you would not disdain to entreat Almighty God more earnestly on behalf of my calamities and miseries. Indeed, I have no doubt! There is no question that you can obtain from the Holy Spirit—the one who dwells within your holy breast—everything you have wished for. But I am not uncertain about this either. There is no question—my entire situation, and everything that is happening around me.
Entreaty for Past, Present, and Future
He asks Hildegard, through God's revelation, to know his circumstances—past, present, and future—and to admonish or forewarn him as needed.
Things past. Things present. And things to come. Through these present letters — with God himself revealing — may you come to know them.1 And so, if in any way the lowliness of my insignificance presumes to ask this of you,2 I throw myself at the feet of your holiness, with all my heart and body laid low, and I beg you:3 that concerning my situation — whether by way of admonishing about things past and present,4 or by forewarning and taking precautions about things to come.5
Final Request for Consolation
He closes by asking that, if it is not against her wishes, she would gladden his soul with her writings at the end of his life.
And if, at the end of my life, this is not against your will, do not disdain to gladden my soul through your writings.
Read the original Latin
Abbas in selbolth. Hildegardi. Hildigardi uenerabili omnipotentis dei famulę! N. humilis et modicus prouisor in selbolth. omni gratia diuinę largitatis affluere. et post hęc omnium regum domino iesu christo in celesti thalamo copulari. Benedicta omnipotentis dei misericordia.
quę in his temporibus iniquitatis. tanquam lampadem fulgentem in tenebris te suis donauit fidelibus consolandis. Famam igitur tuę beatitudinis per multum temporis audiens. et iamdudum uera esse quę dicebantur cognoscens. in tantum tuę beatitudini congaudeo. et condelector. ut licet nulla sit in conspectu dei peticio mea. tamen quod stulticia et fatuitas uideri potest.
memoriam tui semper habeo in orationibus meis. id petens. id optans. ut collata tibi misericordię suę beneficia dominus in te semper custodiat. et custodienda in te semper magis ac magis adaugeat. sanctorumque suorum in eterna gloria te sociam faciat. Sed quoniam presentiam tuam cuius magno teneor desiderio. corporaliter adire nequeo.
per presentes litteras inquantum ualeo supplex et humilis adeo! et almitatis tuę pedibus sepius sepiusque aduoluor. quatenus pro calamitatibus meis et miserijs deum omnipotentem attentius exorare non dedigneris. Neque enim dubito! quin omnia quę uolueris apud habitatorem sancti tui pectoris spiritum sanctum obtinere possis. Sed nec de hoc ambigo. quin omnem statum meum. et omnia quę circa me aguntur.
preterita. presentia. et futura. per presentes litteras ipso reuelante cognoscas. Vnde si ullo modo uilitas paruitatis meę id petere presumit. pedibus sanctitatis tuę toto animo et corpore submissus deprecor. ut pro eodem statu meo siue ammonendo de preteritis atque presentibus. siue premonendo et cautum faciendo de futuris.
et uitę meę fine si id contrarium tibi non sit. per scripta tua animam meam letificare non dedigneris.
Scripture echoes
- ↩Rev.19.7-Rev.19.9 — Let us rejoice and be glad and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. Rev.19.8 — And it was granted to her that she be clothed in fine linen, bright and pure—for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. Rev.19.9 — And he said to me, "Write: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb." And he said to me, "These are the true words of God."
Notes
- 1 ↩ipso reuelante: ablative absolute, 'with him (God) himself as revealer.' The antecedent of ipso is not explicit in the Latin but the context of Hildegard's visionary authority points to God as the revealer.
- 2 ↩uilitas paruitatis meę: 'the baseness/smallness of my littleness' — a double intensification of humility, rendered as 'the lowliness of my insignificance' to capture the rhetorical weight.
- 3 ↩toto animo et corpore submissus: 'submitted with whole soul and body' — rendered as 'with all my heart and body laid low' to capture the full prostration of the petition.
- 4 ↩siue ammonendo: 'whether by admonishing/advisng' — introduces a disjunctive series of ways the abbot might respond.
- 5 ↩premonendo et cautum faciendo: 'by forewarning and making provision/caution' — rendered as 'forewarning and taking precautions.'
Epistolae: Letters to Frederick Barbarossa and Henry II of England companion
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