R93: Abt W. von Bouzonville an Hildegard von Rupertsberg
Salutation and Self-Introduction
The abbot W. of Bouzonville greets Hildegard, acknowledging God's grace and her role as a refuge of salvation in tribulation.
The abbot of Bouzonville. To Hildegard. By the grace of God, W. [of Bouzonville]. Although the unworthy abbot of Bouzonville. To Hildegard, his most beloved and to God dedicated virgin. That which is most blessed in eternal life. For in the storms of tribulation— the grace of God has granted you as a harbor of salvation to all who flee to you for refuge.
Trouble Within the Community
The abbot explains that internal instigators, prompted by the devil, have brought disgrace upon his once-honored church, exposing hidden sins through their unbridled pride.
For this reason, we who are in danger do not hesitate to stretch out our hands to you in supplication. By this present letter, therefore, we make it known to you under pledge that our church, which by the mercy of God has been held in great honor for many years,1 has now, our sins demanding it, been stained by a detestable rumor of disgrace.2 For certain men from among our own, instigators of evil — with the devil prompting them, he who is always hostile to good — never stop trying to burden our house, us, and the entire community with whatever trouble they can stir up.3 And to sum up everything: their unbridled pride had brought all this about. so that everyone may say our hidden sins have now been laid bare.4
Petition for Consolation and Prayer
The abbot humbly asks Hildegard for a consoling word and for prayers to reconcile them to God and men, closing with a farewell.
And so, bearing this burden of oppression to you for the sake of relief— we humbly ask that you write back to us some word of consolation on this matter. And above all, we earnestly ask that you reconcile us to God and to men by your prayers. Farewell.
Read the original Latin
Abbas bosonis uillę. hildegardi. Dei gratia vv. licet indignus bosonis uillę abbas. hildegardi dilectissimę suę ac deo dicatę uirgini. illud quod felicissimum in uita eterna est. Quoniam in tribulationum procellis. portum salutarem omnibus ad te confugientibus gratia dei te donauit.
idcirco et nos periclitantes manus ad te supplices extendere non dubitamus. Presenti igitur litterarum cautione tibi insinuamus quod ęcclesiam nostram quę per dei misericordiam annis multis in magno honore habita est! iam peccatis nostris exigentibus detestandus infamię rumor asperserat. Nam quidam ex nostris incentores malorum suggerente eis qui bonis semper infestus est diabolo. domum nostram nos et totum conuentum qua possunt perturbatione grauare non desinunt! et ut totum concludamus. egerat hoc effrenata eorum superbia. ut uniuersi peccata nostra latentia iam paruisse dicant.
Huiusmodi ergo oppressionis sarcinam subleuationis causa deferentes ad te. petimus humiliter ut super hoc aliquod consolationis uerbum nobis rescribas! et ante omnia ut orationibus tuis deo et hominibus nos reconcilies instanter rogamus. Valete.
Notes
- 1 ↩cautio rendered as 'pledge' in the sense of a written guarantee or formal assurance accompanying the letter.
- 2 ↩Manuscript reads 'infami' for infamiae; normalized text supplies the standard spelling.
- 3 ↩qua rendered as 'whatever' / 'in whatever way'; the form is morphologically ambiguous between ablative of qui and adverbial qua.
- 4 ↩paruisse: the perfect infinitive of parere is ambiguous between 'to have appeared / become visible' and 'to have obeyed.' The context — hidden sins now exposed — strongly favors 'appeared.'
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