Editing Hildegard of Bingen (section)

=== {{lang|la|Lingua ignota}} and {{lang|la|Litterae ignotae}} ===
[[File:Litterae ignotae.png|thumb|right|Alphabet by Hildegard von Bingen, Litterae ignotae, which she used for her language {{lang|la|[[Lingua Ignota]]}}]]

Hildegard also invented an [[constructed script|alternative alphabet]]. {{lang|la|Litterae ignotae}} ('Alternate Alphabet') was another work and was more or less a secret code, or even an intellectual code – much like a modern crossword puzzle today.

Hildegard's {{lang|la|[[Lingua ignota]]}} ('unknown language') consisted of a series of invented words that corresponded to an eclectic list of nouns. The list is approximately 1,000 nouns; there are no other parts of speech.<ref name=":2">Ferzoco, George''.'' (2014). "Notes on Hildegard's 'Unknown' Language and Writing." In ''A Companion to Hildegard of Bingen,'' p. 318. Leiden: Brill. Accessed 7 May 2021. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004260719_015.</ref> The two most important sources for the {{lang|la|Lingua ignota}} are the Wiesbaden, Hessische Landesbibliothek 2 (nicknamed the Riesenkodex)<ref name=":2" /> and the Berlin manuscript.<ref name=":1" /> In both manuscripts, medieval German and Latin glosses are written above Hildegard's invented words. The Berlin manuscript contains additional Latin and German glosses not found in the Riesenkodex.<ref name=":1" /> The first two words of the {{Lang|la|Lingua}} as copied in the Berlin manuscript are ''aigonz'' (German, {{lang|de|goth}}; Latin, {{lang|la|deus}}; English, ''god'') and ''aleganz'' (German, {{lang|de|engel}}; Latin, {{lang|la|angelus}}; English, ''angel'').''<ref>As translated in Higley, ''Hildegard of Bingen's Unknown Language: An Edition, Translation, and Discussion'' (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2007), pp. 21, 205.</ref>

Barbara Newman believes that Hildegard used her {{lang|la|Lingua ignota}} to increase solidarity among her nuns.<ref>Barbara J. Newman, "Introduction" to Hildegard, ''Scivias'', p. 13.</ref> Sarah Higley disagrees and notes that there is no evidence of Hildegard teaching the language to her nuns. She suggests that the language was not intended to remain a secret; rather, the presence of words for mundane things may indicate that the language was for the whole abbey and perhaps the larger monastic world.<ref name=":1" /> Higley believes that "the Lingua is a linguistic distillation of the philosophy expressed in her three prophetic books: it represents the cosmos of divine and human creation and the sins that flesh is heir to."<ref name=":1" />

The text of her writing and compositions reveals Hildegard's use of this form of modified medieval Latin, encompassing many invented, conflated, and abridged words.<ref name="Ruether, Rosemary Radford 2002" /> Because of her inventions of words for her lyrics and use of a constructed script, many [[conlang]]ers look upon her as a medieval precursor.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=GkuK53bU4_UC ''Hildegard of Bingen's Unknown Language: An Edition, Translation, and Discussion''], ed. Sarah Higley (2007)</ref>