Fertile minds: notes
1

The English word tithe, referring to the 10% tax of land, currency or other wealth paid to the church, comes from Anglo Saxon teóntha, ‘tenth’. Hildegard was effectively a tithe. [back]
2
From Greek anachoretes, ana, ‘apart’, choreein, ‘to withdraw’. Anchors of both sexes led ascetic lives, shut off from the world inside small rooms, usually build next to a church or monastery, with only a small window as a link to the outside world. Jutta’s cell was such a room, although it also had a door through which girls like Hildegard passed for an education. [back]
3
 The book of Psalms, printed separately from the rest of the Bible.  [back] 
4

There have been many attempts to capture the essence of what is called mysticism. On the whole it refers to a quality of experience that has usually—but not always—been defined as religious, in that there is a felt connection to something which is perceived to be ‘ultimate’, i.e. a dimension of existence beyond that which can be perceived through the senses. [back] 
5
 Meaning uncertain, although it is believed to derive from Scito vias Domini, “know the ways of the Lord”. [back] 
6
 The name given by the Greeks and Romans to prophetesses inspired by some deity, usually Apollo. [back] 
7
 From a Latin word meaning “to cast light in or upon”. Illuminations were meant to throw additional light on the subject. Although she probably did not paint them herself, Hildegard personally oversaw the illustration of her books. [back] 
8
 A Jew converted to Christianity as a result of a mystical experience, Paul is a significant figure in the formulation of early Christian theology. He is the author of several books of letters in the New Testament; it has been suggested that when he stated in his epistle to the Corinthians that women should be silent in church he was making a specific reference to those who had been chatting during the service, rather than expressing a general prohibition. [back] 
9
 Liturgical prayers recited daily, consisting of eight canonical hours. Canonical hours are ancient divisions of time—Matins, Lauds, Vespers etc—developed by the Catholic Church, a system that grew from the Jewish practice of reciting prayers at set times of the day. [back]
10
 Pierre-F Roberge has compiled a complete discography of available recordings of Hildegard’s music. [back]
11
 Hildegard’s superiors had demanded that a local man who had been buried at Rupertsberg be moved as he had been excommunicated at the time of his death. Hildegard protested that he had received the last rights and therefore had been reconciled to the Church. The prelates deemed this insubordination and imposed the penalty of inderdict, which forbade the sacrament of the Eucharist as well as the performance of music during services. [back]
12
 The modern province of Shantung. [back]
13 Lun Yu, ‘selected sayings’. The Analects were orginially assembled by Confucius’s immediate disciples and added to and edited by later generations. [back]
14 A fine example can be seen in the recent Chinese film “Hero” at the school of calligraphy. [back]
15 This suggests to me that, born at a different time, he would also have included girls. [back]
16 The date varies from year to year and place to place. In Taiwan it is celebrated each year on 28 September. According to the Chinese lunar calendar it falls on the 27th day of the eighth lunar month, which in 2004 is 10 October. [back] 
17 A character composed of two components meaning ‘spirit’ and ‘sacrifice’.  [back] 
18 The detailed regulations concerning li are to be found in the Li Jing (‘book of li’), which is a collection of three ancient texts compiled sometime between 206 BCE and 9 CE. [back] 
19 A modern example of a rite that might exert this kind of power is the opening ceremonies of the Olympic games. [back] 
20 Sima Qian reports in his biography that as a young boy Confucius was known to act out various ceremonies, reverently practicing the appropriate gestures. [back] 
21 In earlier times, this god was known as Shang-ti, the divine ancestor of the Shang. [back] 
22 De is ‘power’ or ‘virtue’; according to Confucius it arises when a person acts in a manner true to the spirit of li. [back] 
23 Analects II. 1. [back] 
24 Literally ‘son of a ruler’. [back] 
25 Analects XII. 2. [back]