hildegard von bingen

"O jewel resplendent and bright and joyous beauty of the sun that’s flooded into you— the fountain leaping from the Father’s heart. This is his single Word by which he did create the world’s primordial matter, a motherhood into confusion cast by Eve."

- O splendidissima gemma

a woman of intense aptitude and piety, she is someone who i have come to admire through my research and studies of herbalism— and now, theology.

with her work of physica, i have only a handful of the recipes she writes of, including:

"Take some nutmeg and an equal weight of cinnamon and a bit of cloves, and pulverize them. Then make small cakes with this and fine whole wheat flour and water. Eat them often. It will calm all bitterness of the heart and mind, open your heart and impaired senses, and make your mind cheerful. It purifies your senses and diminishes all harmful humors in you. It gives good liquid to your blood, and makes you strong."

- Physica

i shall be the first to say it, these things did not exactly "make my mind cheerful" like she touts. however, many modern recipes adjust and add certain aspects to it to make it more like a contemporary cookie, which i shall try soon enough.