The miracle ingredient that transformed the world's most popular alcoholic drink. The brilliant abbess who gave the taste of modern beer
Today's biggest beer drinkers owe their name to a 12th century nun. Her name was Hildegard, she was an abbess, a scientist and an accomplished artist. At the same time, she was a pioneer of modern beer, laying the foundations of established recipes.
Hildegard of Bingen PHOTO wikipedia
Little known to the general public is the fact that the existence of modern beers and the taste appreciated by all who enjoy summer with a full pint is due to Saint Hildegard, a nun from medieval Germany. Hildegard was a genius of her time, a physician, musician, gastronome and theologian of exceptional quality. She found the miracle ingredient that not only gave beer its established taste, but also turned it into a less perishable and healthier drink for the human body (obviously, consumed in moderation).
A child from a noble family and a world of visions
Hildegard of Bingen, as she was actually called, was a remarkable figure of the European Middle Ages. Hildegard was born about 1098 in Germany. Her parents were Mechtild de Merxheim-Nahet and Hildebert de Bermersheim, a family of minor nobility in the service of Count Meginhard de Sponheim. Sickly from birth, Hildegard was the youngest of the family, having nine brothers and sisters. Hildegard is said to have had a series of incredible visions since childhood. She had the first one at the age of three, as she herself testified in an autobiographical work. She used the term visio (Latin for “vision”) to describe this experience and admitted that it was a gift she could not explain to others. Hildegard explained that she saw all things in the light of God through the five senses: sight, hearing, taste, smell and touch.
“From my early childhood, before my bones, nerves, and veins were fully strengthened, I have always seen this vision in my soul, until now, when I am over 70 years old. In this vision, my soul, as God wills, ascends high in the heavenly vault and in the changing sky, and spreads itself among various peoples, though they are far from me in distant lands and places. And because I see them thus in my soul, I observe them in accord with the motion of clouds and other created things. I do not hear them with the thoughts of my heart, or with a combination of my senses, but only in my soul. So I have never been a prey to ecstasy, but I see them awake, day and night. And I am often seized with pains so intense that they threaten to kill me until now. The light I see thus is not spatial, but it is much, much brighter than a cloud that bears the sun. I cannot measure the height, nor the length, nor the breadth in it; and I call it the “reflection of the Living Light.” And as the sun, the moon, and the stars appear in the water, so do writings, sermons, virtues, and certain human deeds take shape for me and shine”she wrote to Guibert de Gembloux, at the age of 77.
At the age of 43, Hildegard confessed and confessed that she had these visions as a child. It was the first time she had talked about the subject with anyone other than Jutta, her childhood friend. The matter was brought to the attention of the Archbishop of Mainz. A committee of theologians later confirmed the authenticity of Hildegard's visions, and a monk was appointed to help her record them in writing. Thus was born Scivias, a work that included 26 prophetic and apocalyptic visions, dealing with topics such as the Church or the relationship between God and humanity and salvation. Hildegard spent her whole life in the monastery. She was educated at the Benedictine monastery at Disibodenberg, by Jutta, sister of the Count of Sponheim, who became an anchorite. Hildegard was 15 years old when she began to wear the Benedictine habit and follow a religious life. Due to her intellectual ability and piety, Hildegard became an abbess in 1136.
“The Sibyl of the Rhine,” a brilliant woman of Europe
At some point, together with several other nuns, Hildegard left the Benedictine monastery in Disibodenberg and founded an abbey in Rupertsberg. Hildegard was an absolutely brilliant woman. As a child, she had studied medicine, natural sciences, notions of mathematics, philosophy and theology. As a teenager she was much better prepared than most of the teachers of the time. At Rupertsberg he continued to gather and pass on his knowledge of medicine, nature and healing. She was a very talented songwriter and poet. He wrote hundreds of poems and managed to compose music to the lines of 77 of them. He collected them in a literary and musical cycle called “Symphonia armonie celestium revelationum” (“Symphony of the harmony of heavenly revelations”).
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He wrote numerous works on theology, philosophy, medicine and natural history, demonstrating a level of scientific observation rare for the period. There is also a category of epistolary writings in which prophets are found. For entertainment, he invented his own language, proving linguistic qualities hard to match even today. At the same time, she was a convinced missionary, traveling through Germany, sharing visions, religious teachings but also scientific information. These trips helped her see what medical problems the population was facing in order to study them and then find cures. She was nicknamed the “Sibyl of the Rhine”, for her prophecies and premonitions. She was considered a saint during her lifetime, with reports indicating miracles performed by her. She was canonized only in 2012 by Pope Benedict XVI. As one of the few prominent women in medieval Church history, Hildegard became the subject of increasing interest in the second half of the 20th century.
The “mother” of modern beer, a recipe born from a sanitary necessity
In addition to medicine, theology, writing and composition, Hildegard was also passionate about gastronomy and food safety. In the medieval world, contaminated water was a severe problem. During Hildegard's lifetime several epidemics caused by waterborne bacteria broke out. People had started drinking more beer, precisely to try to protect themselves from the microbes in the water. Beer was consumed by both adults and children, often being safer than water due to the fermentation process. Early beer recipes used predominantly grains and often herbs or fruits for flavor, but without a uniform preservation method. Which meant humans were just as vulnerable.
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To solve the problem, Hildegard started looking for a solution. That's how he found hops. In her writings, especially the medical treatise Physica, she described hops not only as a flavoring agent but also as a preservative and purifier of beer, emphasizing its antibacterial and digestive-soothing properties. She notes that hops can help prevent beer from spoiling and reduce the negative effects of overconsumption, such as digestive upset. “It is hot and dry, and has a moderate moisture content, and is not very useful to man, because it increases melancholy and envelops the soul of man in sadness, burdening his internal organs. However, because of its own yellowness, it prevents some putrefaction in the drinks to which it may be added, so that they last much longer.”Hildegard wrote.
Hildegard introduced hops to beer primarily for medical and preventative reasons, not strictly for taste. In his view of health, any food or drink should contribute to the body's balance. Hops were valued for their soothing effects on the stomach and their antiseptic properties. Thus, the use of hops reflected a combination of culinary innovation and health care, anticipating modern beer preservation practices. Hildegard of Bingen was one of the first people to recommend the use of hops in the brewing process. In the following centuries, hops became a standard ingredient in almost all types of beer in Germany and later in the rest of Europe. Thus, Hildegard is often considered a pioneer of modern beer. Hildegard of Bingen died in Rupertsberg near Bingen at the age of 81.
