La sapienza medievale alla prova della pandemia: iIdegarda di Bingen tra cura e profezia

[Autom. eng. transl.] The pandemic has confronted us with our fragility, putting a strain on our physical and mental health. We have tried to respond to this in various ways, often clashing with the limits of the various strategies. Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179), philosopher, mystic, prophetess, faced with illness (caused by the fracture of the original harmony) proposes an approach that reintegrates the corporeal and spiritual dimensions, taking care of basic needs (such as movement , nutrition, sleep), supporting the mind (soul) with something positive in order to open up to hope. In fact, the Benedictine nun was the first to codify notions and knowledge relating to the area of healing and care according to a Christian perspective, giving life to a corpus of doctrine conveyed by a female voice, in which she promotes the humanization and personalization of care. His 'scientific' works (in particular Causae et curae and Physica) appear to be the result of an original synthesis of monastic knowledge, scientific culture and notions acquired from observation and experience of everyday life and the domestic. At the center of his works is man, plenum opus Dei, the fullness of God's works. Hildegard approaches human health from a 'global' point of view, ranging from prevention to the search for the causes of the symptom and disease, passing from the choice of diversified therapeutic strategies to the identification of precise prognostic elements. Unlike the visionaries and mystics of her time who censored the body, Hildegard brings out the human creature in its full physicality, not in a generic way, but in its being man and woman. Ildegarda insists on the importance of nourishing thoughts and feelings marked by good and beauty (such as music, singing, prayer), as the continuation of negative emotions and moods affects the correct functionality of our body to the point of altering them. operation. Likewise, it emphasizes the importance of sticking to a healthy lifestyle, in harmony with nature and proper nutrition, since incorrect eating habits and disordered lifestyles, in addition to representing some of the main causes of illness, do not allow healing. The nun identifies in man the forces of self-healing, an expression of viriditas (green energy), to draw upon which it is necessary to recover the optimal integration between soul and body, marked by discretio (ability to measure and discern). Hildegard encourages man to restore harmony between microcosm and macrocosm, to fight evil in all its manifestations, reaffirming the superiority of life, to fulfill the earthly and supernatural purpose of human existence.