Viriditas
Encyclopedia
Viriditas is a word particularly associated with abbess Hildegard von Bingen, although it was used by earlier writers, particularly Gregory the Great. It was also used by science fiction author Kim Stanley Robinson
with a somewhat differing meaning.
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 Heloise
and Abelard, the woman uses "viriditas" three times but the man does not use it. Abelard did use "viriditas" in at least one sermon, however.
. Her extensive use of the term can be frustrating in its diversity of uses.
In Scivias
, Hildegard focused foremost on viriditas as an attribute of the divine nature. In her works it has been translated in various ways, such as freshness, vitality, fertility, fecundity, fruitfulness, verdure, or growth. In Hildegard's understanding, it is a metaphor for spiritual and physical health, which is visible in the divine word.
"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."
Kim Stanley Robinson
Kim Stanley Robinson is an American science fiction writer known for his award-winning Mars trilogy. His work delves into ecological and sociological themes regularly, and many of his novels appear to be the direct result of his own scientific fascinations, such as the fifteen years of research...
with a somewhat differing meaning.
Use in earlier writers
"Viriditas" appears several times in Gregory the Great's Moralia in Job, to refer to the spiritual health to which Job aspires. AugustineAugustine of Hippo
Augustine of Hippo , also known as Augustine, St. Augustine, St. Austin, St. Augoustinos, Blessed Augustine, or St. Augustine the Blessed, was Bishop of Hippo Regius . He was a Latin-speaking philosopher and theologian who lived in the Roman Africa Province...
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 Heloise
Heloise
Heloise may refer to:* Heloise , medieval author, wife of Abelard* Heloise , advice columnist* Heloise , a main cartoon character from the show Jimmy Two-Shoes...
and Abelard, the woman uses "viriditas" three times but the man does not use it. Abelard did use "viriditas" in at least one sermon, however.
Use by Hildegard von Bingen
Viriditas is one of Hildegard'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 DisibodenbergDisibodenberg
thumb|right|Disibodenberg todaythumb|Disibodenberg ruinsthumb|Disibodenberg ruinsthumb|Disibodenberg pictureDisibodenberg is a monastery ruin in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It was founded by Saint Disibod. Hildegard of Bingen, who wrote Disibod's biography "Vita Sancti Disibodi", also lived in...
. Her extensive use of the term can be frustrating in its diversity of uses.
In Scivias
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 Liber vitae meritorum and De operatione Dei...
, Hildegard focused foremost on viriditas as an attribute of the divine nature. In her works it has been translated in various ways, such as freshness, vitality, fertility, fecundity, fruitfulness, verdure, or growth. In Hildegard's understanding, it is a metaphor for spiritual and physical health, which is visible in the divine word.
Use by Kim Stanley Robinson
The science fiction author Kim Stanley Robinson 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."