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Viriditas (Latin, literally "greenness," formerly translated as "viridity") is a word meaning vitality, fecundity, lushness, verdure, or growth. It is particularly associated with abbess
Hildegard von Bingen Hildegard of Bingen (german: Hildegard von Bingen; la, Hildegardis Bingensis; 17 September 1179), also known as Saint Hildegard and the Sibyl of the Rhine, was a German Benedictine abbess and polymath active as a writer, composer, philosopher ...
, who used it to refer to or symbolize spiritual and physical health, often as a reflection of the Divine Word or as an aspect of the divine nature.


Use by earliest writers

"Viriditas" appears several times in
Gregory the Great Pope Gregory I ( la, Gregorius I; – 12 March 604), commonly known as Saint Gregory the Great, was the bishop of Rome from 3 September 590 to his death. He is known for instigating the first recorded large-scale mission from Rome, the Gregori ...
's ''
Moralia in Job ''Moralia in Job'', also called ''Moralia, sive Expositio in Job'' or ''Magna Moralia'', is a commentary on the '' Book of Job'' by Gregory the Great, written between 578 and 595. It was begun when Gregory was at the court of Emperor Tiberius II ...
'' to refer to the spiritual health to which
Job Work or labor (or labour in British English) is intentional activity people perform to support the needs and wants of themselves, others, or a wider community. In the context of economics, work can be viewed as the human activity that contr ...
aspires.
Augustine of Hippo Augustine of Hippo ( , ; la, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Af ...
uses the term exactly once in '' City of God'' to describe mutability. In a collection of over a hundred 12th-century love letters, said to be those between
Héloïse Héloïse (; c. 1100–01? – 16 May 1163–64?), variously Héloïse d'ArgenteuilCharrier, Charlotte. Heloise Dans L'histoire Et Dans la Legende. Librairie Ancienne Honore Champion Quai Malaquais, VI, Paris, 1933 or Héloïse du Paraclet, wa ...
and
Abelard Peter Abelard (; french: link=no, Pierre Abélard; la, Petrus Abaelardus or ''Abailardus''; 21 April 1142) was a medieval French scholastic philosopher, leading logician, theologian, poet, composer and musician. This source has a detailed desc ...
, the woman uses "viriditas" three times but the man does not use it. Abelard used "viriditas" in at least one sermon, however.Constant Mews, "Religious Thinker", in Newman, 58.


Use by Hildegard von Bingen

Viriditas is one of
Hildegard von Bingen Hildegard of Bingen (german: Hildegard von Bingen; la, Hildegardis Bingensis; 17 September 1179), also known as Saint Hildegard and the Sibyl of the Rhine, was a German Benedictine abbess and polymath active as a writer, composer, philosopher ...
's guiding images, used constantly in all of her works. It has been suggested that the lushness of the imagery is possibly due to the lushness of her surroundings at
Disibodenberg Disibodenberg today Disibodenberg ruins Disibodenberg ruins Disibodenberg picture Disibodenberg is a monastery ruin in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It was founded by Saint Disibod. Hildegard of Bingen, who wrote Disibod's biography "Vita Sanct ...
. Her extensive use of the term can be frustrating in its diversity of uses. In a study of Hildegard by historian of medicine Dr.
Victoria Sweet Victoria Sweet is an American physician, author and advocate for what is termed "slow medicine". She is also a historian of medicine who has studied the writings of Hildegard of Bingen, a 12th century German abbess and medical therapist. Bi ...
, who is also a physician, Dr. Sweet pointed out how Hildegard used the word ''viriditas'' in the broader sense of the power of plants to put forth leaves and fruit, as well as in the sense of an analogous intrinsic power of human beings to grow and to heal. Inspired by Hildegard, Dr. Sweet began to ask herself as she was treating her own patients whether anything was interfering with the ''viriditas'' or the intrinsic power to heal-- to relate to healing like being a gardener who removes impediments and nourishes, in a sanctuary-like setting. In ''
Scivias ''Scivias'' is an illustrated work by Hildegard von Bingen, completed in 1151 or 1152, describing 26 religious visions she experienced. It is the first of three works that she wrote describing her visions, the others being and (also known as ...
'', Hildegard focused foremost on ''viriditas'' as an attribute of the divine nature. In her works the word ''viriditas'' has been translated in various ways, such as freshness, vitality, fertility, fecundity, fruitfulness, verdure, or growth. In Hildegard's understanding, ''viriditas'' is a metaphor for spiritual and physical health, which is visible in the divine word. "
Homeostasis In biology, homeostasis (British English, British also homoeostasis) Help:IPA/English, (/hɒmɪə(ʊ)ˈsteɪsɪs/) is the state of steady internal, physics, physical, and chemistry, chemical conditions maintained by organism, living systems. Thi ...
" could be considered as a more common replacement, but without the theological and spiritual connotations that ''viriditas'' has.


Use by Kim Stanley Robinson

The science fiction author
Kim Stanley Robinson Kim Stanley Robinson (born March 23, 1952) is an American writer of science fiction. He has published twenty-two novels and numerous short stories and is best known for his ''Mars'' trilogy. His work has been translated into 24 languages. Many ...
used it nontheologically to mean "the green force of life, expanding into the Universe." "Look at the pattern this seashell makes. The dappled whorl, curving inward to infinity. That's the shape of the universe itself. There's a constant pressure, pushing toward pattern. A tendency in matter to evolve into ever more complex forms. It's a kind of pattern gravity, a holy greening power we call ''viriditas'', and it is the driving force in the cosmos. Life, you see."Robinson. ''Green Mars''. Spectra, 1994, page 9.


Notes


References

* *{{cite web, access-date=March 29, 2013, url=http://www.stephenandrewtaylor.net/suns/viriditas.html, title= Viriditas: The fifth movement of Shattering Suns, work=Stephen Taylor *
Barbara Newman Barbara Jane Newman is an American medievalist, literary critic, religious historian, and author. She is Professor of English and Religion, and John Evans Professor of Latin, at Northwestern University. Newman was elected in 2017 to the American P ...
(1998). ''Voice of the Living Light: Hildegard of Bingen and Her World''. Berkeley: University of California Press. *Anne H. King-Lenzmeier (2001). ''Hildegard of Bingen: An Integrated Vision''. Collegeville, Minnesota: The Liturgical Press.


Further reading

* Sweet, Victoria (2006). ''Rooted in the Earth, Rooted in the Sky: Hildegard of Bingen and Premodern Medicine'' (Studies in Medieval History and Culture), Routledge. Catholic theology and doctrine Hildegard of Bingen