Ordo Virtutum (The Play of the Virtues) was both beautiful and encouraging! I absolutely loved the personification of each virtue, especially during each of their separate lines, beginning with Humility, the Queen of the Virtues. However, for this blog post, I want to compare a few of the lines/ideas seen in the play with Scripture, as there were many connections that stood out to me! In the very beginning of the play, the Soul laments, saying, “We are strangers here… We should have been daughters of the King, but we have fallen into the shadow of sins.” Hebrews 13:14 writes: “For this world is not our permanent home; we are looking forward to a home yet to come.” This lamentation for the world to come is echoed throughout the play. And yet, the virtues encourage the weary soul to flee from sin and stand fast. Knowledge-of-God said to the Soul, “See the dress you are wearing, daughter of salvation: be steadfast and you will never fall.” Many times in his letter to the Corinthians, Paul encourages the church in a similar fashion: stand firm, let nothing move you, be courageous, be strong, etc. Hebrews 12:23 says, “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.” Finally, in the end of the play, Chastity, while talking to the devil, alludes to gospel, speaking of Christ who came to earth and “gathers up mankind to himself, against you [Devil], through his nativity.” One question I had while reading was why Humility was called the “Queen of the Virtues.” Perhaps, it is because pride is often considered the root of evil, but I’m not entirely sure. Any thoughts on this?
I'm not sure what the author meant, but if you have every other virtue, but don't have humility and are proud of them, then all your virtues won't help show people what Jesus can do for them.
I really enjoyed reading this play. I felt it accurately captured the essence of each virtue described at the beginning of the play. In particular the description of Hope captured my attention: "I am the sweet beholder of the living eye, I whom no dissembling torpor can deceive. Darkness, you cannot cloud my gaze!” As Christians we have the ability to hope in what is to come, heaven. With hope, darkness, hardships, and evil cannot “cloud our gaze.” Another part in the play that captured the essence of the devil: always casts doubt on whatever the vitures said. Devil: "What is this Power - as if there were no one but God?…."What is this great fear, and this great love? Where is the champion? Where the prize-giver? You don't know what you are worshipping!” Despite this the Soul and the Virtues don’t waver or fall into believing the devil’s lies. The soul says, “But now, you deceiver, I will fight you face to face. Queen Humility, come with your medicine, give me aid!" At the end of the play the Virtues say, "Who are you, God, who held such great counsel in yourself, a counsel that destroyed the draught of hell in publicans and sinners who now shine in paradisal goodness! Praise to you, King for this! Almighty Father, from you flowed a fountain in fiery love: guide your children into a fair wind, sailing the waters, so that we too may, steer them in this way into the heavenly Jerusalem.”
I loved reading this play! I was struck by the beauty of all of the virtues. Each one was so different yet all of them worked together perfectly. One that stood out to me in particular was humility. I think that that is often a virtue that we neglect to focus on and yet it was such a prevalent character in this play. One of Satan's biggest ways of reaching people is appealing to their pride. In reality, pride is the root of so many sins. Pride isn't merely thinking too highly of ourselves, it is thinking too MUCH about ourselves. If that is pride then the exact opposite is true about humility. Humility is not thinking less of yourself, its thinking less about yourself and more about God! In this play humility calls herself,"the Queen of the Virtues" and I couldn't agree more! Once we grasp a sense of humility, the rest of the virtues follow such as peace, obedience, self control, and wisdom. It is no wonder that the devil the hates the humble, for it is the humble that are closest to God.
“Contempt-for-the-World: I, Contempt-for-the-World, am the heat life. Oh wretched, exiled state on earth, with all your toils - I let you go. Come to me, you Virtues, and we will climb up to the fountain of life!
Virtues: Glorious lady, you that always fight the battles of Christ, oh great power that treads the world under your feet, you thereby dwell in heaven, victoriously.”
This specific section in “Ordo Virtutum” stood out to me. Why? Because Hildegard von Bingen revealed the train of religious thought during this time through this brief dialogue. As you all know, monastic life during the life of Hildegard von Bingen required monks, nuns, and oblates to reject the world. This section of “Ordo Virtutum” made me think about how Christians often entered monasteries as a means to reject the world. Rejecting one’s family and the world was viewed as one of the highest forms of sacrifice a Christian could make. It’s always puzzled me how Christianity had evolved into promoting this form of sacrifice. Yes, God calls Christians to reject the world. However, rejecting the world does not mean that it’s ok to wall yourself up in a comfortable or bare-bones monastery and ignore the Great Commission. Matthew 28:18-20 says, “And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations,baptizing them in[a] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold,I am with you always, to the end of the age.” How can a person enter into a life of complete seclusion and still “make disciples of ALL nations” (emphasis added)? He/she can’t. However, enough criticism about Christian’s then. Thinking about Christians’ failures to prioritize the great commission then made me think about how I often don’t prioritize evangelism and ministry. Christians today, including myself, should be careful to not ignore the great commission like many of the monastic orders in the 11th century.
one thing that really caught my attentions was the fact that the devil can not sing. I both liked and disliked this. i liked it because it make the devil seem unappealing, but this is the same reason why i disliked it. i feel like the devil can be very appealing and he knows exactly how to get our attention/deceive us. I this it would be interesting if the devil had a beautiful voice that really caught your ear.
i also loved the Virtues, they were extremely well describe in the beginning of the play and had sang beautifully throughout.
You're right about the devil being appealing, but I think the idea was not so much to make him seem bad, but to put a stark contrast between him and the virtues. To emphasize that the virtues were ultimately pure and the devil was ultimately evil.
This play was fascinating to read! I was QUITE interested in the soul... something about her written character kept my attention throughout the play... in the audio, the voices of the Virtues were breathtaking, but some of their descriptions even more so. As they described their jobs, and who they were, I found that some of these virtues were different from what I was expecting. The devil was also an interesting character. His lines, being spoken stuck out a lot, but I wish he had sang a bit too... he isn't the total opposite of an angel. Being a fallen angel, I wish that Satan would have sung a little... it would have provided some consistency in his characterization. The other thing I wish they had done is make the soul speak some lines, especially after she was fallen! I feel like it would have been powerful and effective!
This play details humanity’s fall and how the human soul eventually can find its way back to God. In this play, Hildegard von Bingen gives life to Godly virtues. It begins with patriarchs and prophets recognizing the glory of the Virtues. The focus then turns to the Soul, who embodies a joyful spirit. But the peaceful atmosphere is disrupted when the Soul becomes sad, unable to bear the weight of her dress, and symbolically casts off her cloak. The Virtues mourn the confusion of the Soul, who has been taken by the Devil. Thus begins a “cataloguing” of the Virtues, including Humility, Charity, Fear-of-God, Obedience, Faith, Hope, Chastity, Innocence, Contempt-for-the-World, Heavenly Love, Discipline, Modesty, Mercy, Victory, Discretion and Patience. The Soul then gazes up to the Virtues, now recognizing their beauty and her own error. She pleads to the Virtues that they would cleanse her of her sinfulness. The Virtues tell her to “put on the armor of light,” and with the help of Humility, the Soul turns from the Devil. The Virtues, in a collective effort, successfully bind the Devil. In victory, the Virtues rejoice. The play ends with a call to action for the audience, where the Virtues say this: “So now, all you people, bend your knees to the Father, that he may reach you his hand.” Personally, I was reminded of Paradise Lost while reading this, simply because of how the devil was portrayed and how his thoughts were articulated. In Ordo Virtutem, Satan says “You were in my embrace, I led you out. Yet now you are going back, defying me – but I shall fight you and bring you down!” Similarly, in Paradise Lost, John Milton writes: “When Satan, who late fled before the threats of Gabriel out of Eden, now improved in meditated fraud and malice, bent on Man’s destruction, maugre what might hap of heavier on himself, fearless returned,” (IX:53-7). The phrase of interest is “bent on Man’s destruction.” In both quotes, the author points out how Satan, since he’s already doomed, feels he might as well bring humanity down with him. I also enjoyed the part where the Virtues express their desire to bring the lost Soul back to righteousness. They say “We want to bring you back – we shall not desert you.” Here they recognize God’s power and that He alone can truly guide this lost Soul. Right after that, Humility says “Oh unhappy daughter, I want to embrace you: the great surgeon has suffered harsh and bitter wounds for your sake.” I was confused at the use of the word ‘surgeon,’ but upon further research, I discovered that the word comes from the Greek “kheirourgia,” with kheir (meaning ‘hand’) and ergon (meaning ‘work’). Then it made much more sense, since the world is God's handiwork!
First of all, the guy in the red cloak did an amazing job of being an official "creepy person."
Secondly, the clear highlight of sickness stood out to me. This is specifically what I'm talking about:
Soul: Now I need your help to gather me up - I stink of the wounds that the ancient serpent has made gangrenous.
Virtues: Run to us, follow those steps where you'll never falter, in our company; God will heal you.
Soul, penitent, to the Virtues: I am the sinner who fled from life: covered in sores I'll come to you - you can offer me redemption's shield. All of you, warriors of Queen Humility, her white lilies and her crimson roses, stoop to me, who exiled myself from you like a stranger, and help me, that in the blood of the Son of God I may arise.
Virtues: Fugitive Anima, now be strong: put on the armour of light.
Soul: And you, true medicine, Humility, grant me your help, for pride has broken me in many vices, inflicting many scars on me. Now I'm escaping to you - so take me up!
Humility: All you Virtues, lift up this mournful sinner, with all her scars, for the sake of Christ's wounds, and bring her to me.
Notice how (according to Hildegard Von Bingen), everything from scars, to sores, to gangrene can be cured by God or some other virtue. Hildegard does a great job capitalizing on the idea that pride can inflict painful wounds. So, I decided to look into a little bit of Hildegard’s medicinal life, and found out that she got a fairly large understanding of medicine off of the typical agricultural medical practices and remedies of her time. She actually wrote a medical text called “Causae et curae,” which I didn’t even dare look into, as it appears very large and intimidating. From what I can tell, she seems to make a parallel connection between the human relationship with God and one’s health (that’s why in the play, the virtues heal sickness). While many physicians of the time looked for cures, she looked for causes. Overall, I was amazed at how intelligent Hildegard Von Bingen was…she seems to be an expert in every field of study. Good luck to whoever is doing a biography on her. ;)
While reading and watching this play, one thing that I was particularly interested was the theme of light. This was discussed multiple times in the play, and the staging also strongly suggested it. Charity, Obedience, and Discretion all specifically spoke of being a light. Hope also said that it could not be clouded by darkness, and Chastity stated that it would never know the shadow. Besides these and other references, I was really intrigued by how the staging of the play followed the same themes. The Virtues spent almost the entire play in the apse, near the altar, while the uncertain soul stayed primarily in the aisle. Not only is this significant because the apse and altar signify nearness to God, but this area is also associated with light. Most of the windows and lights are located in this area, and in traditional cathedral architecture, the church would be oriented so that the light of the rising sun came through these windows, strengthening this symbolism even further. Finally, the theme of light was clearly acknowledged when, as the Virtues mourned for the lost soul, the lights turned off and slowly came back on as the soul returned to the Virtues. In my opinion, this theme beautifully enhanced the meaning of an already magnificent play.
I was very interested by the Soul's fall away from the virtues into a life of sin. For one thing, it wasn't the first time this had happened. The souls, in the beginning, say that they "should have been daughters of the King, but...have fallen into the shadow of sins." So already, the soul is coming back to God after having lived a life without him. Then, after the soul comes in and puts on the robe of righteousness (or something like that) she complains that she isn't good enough to "perfect" it; she says, "it is too heavy for me to fight against my body" (I was confused at first reading this, but "my body" can also be translated as "my flesh" as in the desires of the flesh). She says that since she will fail, she might as well give up: "I cannot perfect this dress I have put on! Indeed I want to cast it off!" Then finally, we hear her real, or at least principal reason. "God created the world... I only want to enjoy it!" She wants the pleasures of the world, and doesn't want to give them up to follow God. She uses the excuse of "it's too hard, I'll never be able to do it" to get out of following God. I too often do this. If God tells me to do something that I don't want to do, my first excuse is, "I'm not good enough." But I miss the important truth that the soul also missed. Knowledge-of-God tells her, "See the dress you are wearing, daughter of salvation: be steadfast and you will never fall." The righteousness the soul has is not hers; it's God's. It isn't me that needs to be good enough; it's God. Fortunately, that's not a problem.
As I was listening to Ordo Virtutum, I was impressed that, even five centuries later, the play still remains relevant to the struggles of the Christian life. Specifically, the following line struck me as being particularly profound: “Unhappy state of mind, oh poor Anima, why do you hide your face in the presence of your Creator?” This line emphasizes that it’s impossible to disobey God (as the soul had been doing) and still maintain a close relationship with him. It reminded me of John 3:19 – “Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.” I think that in the play, the soul’s main struggle was to acknowledge that she had done wrong, and to be willing to repent before God. Initially, she seems despondent, with no hope of casting off her sin, but finally realizes that she can only turn away from her sins by asking the virtues for help. During the play, we see the soul’s attitude shift from defensive (“God created the world: I'm doing him no injury - I only want to enjoy it!”) to repentant (“what woe is mine that I fled from you”). The play demonstrates that if we do not repent of our sins, our relationship with God is crippled. But we also see that if we are willing to acknowledge our brokenness and cry to God for help, he will not hesitate to come to our rescue.
While watching and listening to Ordo Virtutum I was surprised by how applicable it is for Christians today. When the soul in the beginning wanted the virtues help her come to God, she wanted them to do all the work. This could not be done for she alone had to stand fast. The virtues could help her but in the end, it was the soul’s decision whether or not she would remain in God. Because standing against the temptations of the devil is hard the soul quit and ran to the embrace of the devil. This is still very present in our modern day world. Following Christ is hard and will guarantee suffering. The devil will tempt the followers of Christ by making sinful things look beautiful and innocent. Order Virtutum reminds us to remain strong in Christ with the aid of the virtues. The devil will lead you in places you do not want to go. One little sin will lead to another and another. In the end you will be shocked at how far you have strayed from Christ. A majority of it was spent explaining the different virtues and how they are treasured in God’s kingdom, while everything they are fighting against is of the devil. When the soul eventually comes back it shows us in order to live in Christ you must first come with the right mind. A mind of full submission to Christ. Even though this was written several centuries ago Ordo Virtutm is still a good reminder of struggles agains temptations to Christians.
This play was a wonderful read, I loved reading about all the virtues. They listed so many in the play, even ones that I never knew were considered "virtues" (Contempt-For-The-World, Heavenly Love, Knowledge-of-God, etc). I thought these were very interesting to read about, and how they appealed to the soul and to the other virtues.
I enjoyed reading what the virtues had to say in response to the devil's attacks. When he said, "What is this Power - as if there were no one but God? I say, whoever wants to follow me and do my will, I'll give him everything." I loved what Humility said in response, she said "My comrades and I know very well that you are the ancient dragon who wanted to fly higher than the highest one: but God himself hurled you in the abyss." They knew exactly who the devil was, exactly what he was up to, and exactly what is going to happen to him.
Two things struck me as I read/watched this delightful play. Beyond the angelic singing of the actors (he didn’t really sing) and actresses, and the insightful descriptions of the virtues, soul and the devil, I was fascinated by the character of the virtues, more specifically, by how they interacted with each other. They didn’t compete with one another, rather, they worked together in perfect harmony. Humility calls her fellow virtues “comrades”, which derives from the Latin word ‘camera’ which means ‘chamber’ and later translated into ‘chamber mate’ or ‘room mate’. Each virtue is quick to tell of their role, for example, Humility quickly claims the spot of Queen of the Virtues, just as Obedience says she will “lead you to your homeland and to the kiss of the King.” Delighting in each other’s ‘roles’, not fighting for prominence over each other, they pool their resources to help mentor sad souls. Secondly, I was struck by the sad soul. Desperately wanting to “stand firm”, the soul simply couldn’t resist the temptation of sin, as much as she wanted to, “I don’t know what to do or where to flee Woe is me, I cannot perfect this dress I have put on! Indeed I want to cast it off!” Although the soul want’s to be rid of sin, the idea of life without sin seems incomprehensible. This is why we are always drawn to the same sins, because Satan makes them irresistible and addicting. Just like Alypius’ addiction to the gladiatorial games in St.Augustines Confessions, as much as he wanted to hate them, he could’t escape their allure. This is the torment I saw the sad soul going through— a desire for both good and evil.
When I first started reading this play I thought It would be a boring one. But ho far from wrong could I be. This was an amazing read. Seeing as I do debate and am use to clash it was so cool to read how the virtues addressed the point that the devil made. There were two lines that stood out to me…
Devil: Who are you? Where are you coming from? You were in my embrace, I led you out. Yet now you are going back, defying me - but I shall fight you and bring you down!
I recognized that all my ways were wicked, so I fled you. But now, you deceiver, I will fight you face to face. Queen Humility, come with your medicine, give me aid!
After reading this I had to stop and read it over and over again taking in how much importance this has. Even though all of us were born into sin we can flee from is but only to grow strong and turn around and fight the Devil face to face.
One thing I noticed when i read the play was, using the same couple lines that Luke used above:
Devil: Who are you? Where are you coming from? You were in my embrace, I led you out. Yet now you are going back, defying me--but I shall fight you and bring you down!
Soul: I recognized that all my ways were wicked, so I fled you. But now, you deceiver, I will fight you face to face. Queen Humility, come with your medicine, give me aid!
Something that I realized is incredibly crucial in getting rid of sin and fighting evil is humility. On our own, without God's power, we can do nothing against evil, and it takes a heart that admits it needs God to win the battle
This play completely blew my mind. It was incredible to read. The thing that stood out to me the most was the Devil's lines. He seems to let out an air of wounded victim/betrayed friend. His lines give up his disguise, however: "...I shall fight to bring you down", "...You don't even know what you are!", etc. We see the Devil getting angry, lashing out, unable to control his emotions. I'm not sure why, but I found this incredible (even to the point of getting chills). Perhaps it's just that I love these kinds of things that show what might be happening in the realm of the supernatural. Either way, I loved this play!
Ordo Virtutum (The Play of the Virtues) was both beautiful and encouraging! I absolutely loved the personification of each virtue, especially during each of their separate lines, beginning with Humility, the Queen of the Virtues. However, for this blog post, I want to compare a few of the lines/ideas seen in the play with Scripture, as there were many connections that stood out to me! In the very beginning of the play, the Soul laments, saying, “We are strangers here… We should have been daughters of the King, but we have fallen into the shadow of sins.” Hebrews 13:14 writes: “For this world is not our permanent home; we are looking forward to a home yet to come.” This lamentation for the world to come is echoed throughout the play. And yet, the virtues encourage the weary soul to flee from sin and stand fast. Knowledge-of-God said to the Soul, “See the dress you are wearing, daughter of salvation: be steadfast and you will never fall.” Many times in his letter to the Corinthians, Paul encourages the church in a similar fashion: stand firm, let nothing move you, be courageous, be strong, etc. Hebrews 12:23 says, “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.” Finally, in the end of the play, Chastity, while talking to the devil, alludes to gospel, speaking of Christ who came to earth and “gathers up mankind to himself, against you [Devil], through his nativity.”
ReplyDeleteOne question I had while reading was why Humility was called the “Queen of the Virtues.” Perhaps, it is because pride is often considered the root of evil, but I’m not entirely sure. Any thoughts on this?
I'm not sure what the author meant, but if you have every other virtue, but don't have humility and are proud of them, then all your virtues won't help show people what Jesus can do for them.
Delete*them as in the virtues
DeleteI really enjoyed reading this play. I felt it accurately captured the essence of each virtue described at the beginning of the play. In particular the description of Hope captured my attention: "I am the sweet beholder of the living eye, I whom no dissembling torpor can deceive. Darkness, you cannot cloud my gaze!” As Christians we have the ability to hope in what is to come, heaven. With hope, darkness, hardships, and evil cannot “cloud our gaze.” Another part in the play that captured the essence of the devil: always casts doubt on whatever the vitures said. Devil: "What is this Power - as if there were no one but God?…."What is this great fear, and this great love? Where is the champion? Where the prize-giver? You don't know what you are worshipping!” Despite this the Soul and the Virtues don’t waver or fall into believing the devil’s lies. The soul says, “But now, you deceiver, I will fight you face to face. Queen Humility, come with your medicine, give me aid!" At the end of the play the Virtues say, "Who are you, God, who held such great counsel in yourself, a counsel that destroyed the draught of hell in publicans and sinners who now shine in paradisal goodness! Praise to you, King for this! Almighty Father, from you flowed a fountain in fiery love: guide your children into a fair wind, sailing the waters, so that we too may, steer them in this way into the heavenly Jerusalem.”
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI loved reading this play! I was struck by the beauty of all of the virtues. Each one was so different yet all of them worked together perfectly. One that stood out to me in particular was humility. I think that that is often a virtue that we neglect to focus on and yet it was such a prevalent character in this play. One of Satan's biggest ways of reaching people is appealing to their pride. In reality, pride is the root of so many sins. Pride isn't merely thinking too highly of ourselves, it is thinking too MUCH about ourselves. If that is pride then the exact opposite is true about humility. Humility is not thinking less of yourself, its thinking less about yourself and more about God! In this play humility calls herself,"the Queen of the Virtues" and I couldn't agree more! Once we grasp a sense of humility, the rest of the virtues follow such as peace, obedience, self control, and wisdom. It is no wonder that the devil the hates the humble, for it is the humble that are closest to God.
ReplyDelete“Contempt-for-the-World:
ReplyDeleteI, Contempt-for-the-World, am the heat life. Oh wretched, exiled state on earth, with all your toils - I let you go. Come to me, you Virtues, and we will climb up to the fountain of life!
Virtues:
Glorious lady, you that always fight the battles of Christ, oh great power that treads the world under your feet, you thereby dwell in heaven, victoriously.”
This specific section in “Ordo Virtutum” stood out to me. Why? Because Hildegard von Bingen revealed the train of religious thought during this time through this brief dialogue. As you all know, monastic life during the life of Hildegard von Bingen required monks, nuns, and oblates to reject the world. This section of “Ordo Virtutum” made me think about how Christians often entered monasteries as a means to reject the world. Rejecting one’s family and the world was viewed as one of the highest forms of sacrifice a Christian could make. It’s always puzzled me how Christianity had evolved into promoting this form of sacrifice. Yes, God calls Christians to reject the world. However, rejecting the world does not mean that it’s ok to wall yourself up in a comfortable or bare-bones monastery and ignore the Great Commission. Matthew 28:18-20 says, “And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations,baptizing them in[a] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold,I am with you always, to the end of the age.” How can a person enter into a life of complete seclusion and still “make disciples of ALL nations” (emphasis added)? He/she can’t. However, enough criticism about Christian’s then. Thinking about Christians’ failures to prioritize the great commission then made me think about how I often don’t prioritize evangelism and ministry. Christians today, including myself, should be careful to not ignore the great commission like many of the monastic orders in the 11th century.
one thing that really caught my attentions was the fact that the devil can not sing. I both liked and disliked this. i liked it because it make the devil seem unappealing, but this is the same reason why i disliked it. i feel like the devil can be very appealing and he knows exactly how to get our attention/deceive us. I this it would be interesting if the devil had a beautiful voice that really caught your ear.
ReplyDeletei also loved the Virtues, they were extremely well describe in the beginning of the play and had sang beautifully throughout.
You're right about the devil being appealing, but I think the idea was not so much to make him seem bad, but to put a stark contrast between him and the virtues. To emphasize that the virtues were ultimately pure and the devil was ultimately evil.
DeleteThis play was fascinating to read! I was QUITE interested in the soul... something about her written character kept my attention throughout the play... in the audio, the voices of the Virtues were breathtaking, but some of their descriptions even more so. As they described their jobs, and who they were, I found that some of these virtues were different from what I was expecting. The devil was also an interesting character. His lines, being spoken stuck out a lot, but I wish he had sang a bit too... he isn't the total opposite of an angel. Being a fallen angel, I wish that Satan would have sung a little... it would have provided some consistency in his characterization. The other thing I wish they had done is make the soul speak some lines, especially after she was fallen! I feel like it would have been powerful and effective!
ReplyDeleteThis play details humanity’s fall and how the human soul eventually can find its way back to God. In this play, Hildegard von Bingen gives life to Godly virtues. It begins with patriarchs and prophets recognizing the glory of the Virtues. The focus then turns to the Soul, who embodies a joyful spirit. But the peaceful atmosphere is disrupted when the Soul becomes sad, unable to bear the weight of her dress, and symbolically casts off her cloak. The Virtues mourn the confusion of the Soul, who has been taken by the Devil. Thus begins a “cataloguing” of the Virtues, including Humility, Charity, Fear-of-God, Obedience, Faith, Hope, Chastity, Innocence, Contempt-for-the-World, Heavenly Love, Discipline, Modesty, Mercy, Victory, Discretion and Patience. The Soul then gazes up to the Virtues, now recognizing their beauty and her own error. She pleads to the Virtues that they would cleanse her of her sinfulness. The Virtues tell her to “put on the armor of light,” and with the help of Humility, the Soul turns from the Devil. The Virtues, in a collective effort, successfully bind the Devil. In victory, the Virtues rejoice. The play ends with a call to action for the audience, where the Virtues say this: “So now, all you people, bend your knees to the Father, that he may reach you his hand.” Personally, I was reminded of Paradise Lost while reading this, simply because of how the devil was portrayed and how his thoughts were articulated. In Ordo Virtutem, Satan says “You were in my embrace, I led you out. Yet now you are going back, defying me – but I shall fight you and bring you down!” Similarly, in Paradise Lost, John Milton writes: “When Satan, who late fled before the threats of Gabriel out of Eden, now improved in meditated fraud and malice, bent on Man’s destruction, maugre what might hap of heavier on himself, fearless returned,” (IX:53-7). The phrase of interest is “bent on Man’s destruction.” In both quotes, the author points out how Satan, since he’s already doomed, feels he might as well bring humanity down with him. I also enjoyed the part where the Virtues express their desire to bring the lost Soul back to righteousness. They say “We want to bring you back – we shall not desert you.” Here they recognize God’s power and that He alone can truly guide this lost Soul. Right after that, Humility says “Oh unhappy daughter, I want to embrace you: the great surgeon has suffered harsh and bitter wounds for your sake.” I was confused at the use of the word ‘surgeon,’ but upon further research, I discovered that the word comes from the Greek “kheirourgia,” with kheir (meaning ‘hand’) and ergon (meaning ‘work’). Then it made much more sense, since the world is God's handiwork!
ReplyDeleteThat is so fascinating! And it makes more sense now.
Delete
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, the guy in the red cloak did an amazing job of being an official "creepy person."
Secondly, the clear highlight of sickness stood out to me. This is specifically what I'm talking about:
Soul:
Now I need your help to gather me up - I stink of the wounds that the ancient serpent has made gangrenous.
Virtues:
Run to us, follow those steps where you'll never falter, in our company; God will heal you.
Soul, penitent, to the Virtues:
I am the sinner who fled from life: covered in sores I'll come to you - you can offer me redemption's shield. All of you, warriors of Queen Humility, her white lilies and her crimson roses, stoop to me, who exiled myself from you like a stranger, and help me, that in the blood of the Son of God I may arise.
Virtues:
Fugitive Anima, now be strong: put on the armour of light.
Soul:
And you, true medicine, Humility, grant me your help, for pride has broken me in many vices, inflicting many scars on me. Now I'm escaping to you - so take me up!
Humility:
All you Virtues, lift up this mournful sinner, with all her scars, for the sake of Christ's wounds, and bring her to me.
Notice how (according to Hildegard Von Bingen), everything from scars, to sores, to gangrene can be cured by God or some other virtue. Hildegard does a great job capitalizing on the idea that pride can inflict painful wounds. So, I decided to look into a little bit of Hildegard’s medicinal life, and found out that she got a fairly large understanding of medicine off of the typical agricultural medical practices and remedies of her time. She actually wrote a medical text called “Causae et curae,” which I didn’t even dare look into, as it appears very large and intimidating. From what I can tell, she seems to make a parallel connection between the human relationship with God and one’s health (that’s why in the play, the virtues heal sickness). While many physicians of the time looked for cures, she looked for causes. Overall, I was amazed at how intelligent Hildegard Von Bingen was…she seems to be an expert in every field of study. Good luck to whoever is doing a biography on her. ;)
While reading and watching this play, one thing that I was particularly interested was the theme of light. This was discussed multiple times in the play, and the staging also strongly suggested it. Charity, Obedience, and Discretion all specifically spoke of being a light. Hope also said that it could not be clouded by darkness, and Chastity stated that it would never know the shadow. Besides these and other references, I was really intrigued by how the staging of the play followed the same themes. The Virtues spent almost the entire play in the apse, near the altar, while the uncertain soul stayed primarily in the aisle. Not only is this significant because the apse and altar signify nearness to God, but this area is also associated with light. Most of the windows and lights are located in this area, and in traditional cathedral architecture, the church would be oriented so that the light of the rising sun came through these windows, strengthening this symbolism even further. Finally, the theme of light was clearly acknowledged when, as the Virtues mourned for the lost soul, the lights turned off and slowly came back on as the soul returned to the Virtues. In my opinion, this theme beautifully enhanced the meaning of an already magnificent play.
ReplyDeleteI was very interested by the Soul's fall away from the virtues into a life of sin. For one thing, it wasn't the first time this had happened. The souls, in the beginning, say that they "should have been daughters of the King, but...have fallen into the shadow of sins." So already, the soul is coming back to God after having lived a life without him. Then, after the soul comes in and puts on the robe of righteousness (or something like that) she complains that she isn't good enough to "perfect" it; she says, "it is too heavy for me to fight against my body" (I was confused at first reading this, but "my body" can also be translated as "my flesh" as in the desires of the flesh). She says that since she will fail, she might as well give up: "I cannot perfect this dress I have put on! Indeed I want to cast it off!" Then finally, we hear her real, or at least principal reason. "God created the world... I only want to enjoy it!" She wants the pleasures of the world, and doesn't want to give them up to follow God. She uses the excuse of "it's too hard, I'll never be able to do it" to get out of following God. I too often do this. If God tells me to do something that I don't want to do, my first excuse is, "I'm not good enough." But I miss the important truth that the soul also missed. Knowledge-of-God tells her, "See the dress you are wearing, daughter of salvation: be steadfast and you will never fall." The righteousness the soul has is not hers; it's God's. It isn't me that needs to be good enough; it's God. Fortunately, that's not a problem.
ReplyDeleteAs I was listening to Ordo Virtutum, I was impressed that, even five centuries later, the play still remains relevant to the struggles of the Christian life. Specifically, the following line struck me as being particularly profound: “Unhappy state of mind, oh poor Anima, why do you hide your face in the presence of your Creator?” This line emphasizes that it’s impossible to disobey God (as the soul had been doing) and still maintain a close relationship with him. It reminded me of John 3:19 – “Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.” I think that in the play, the soul’s main struggle was to acknowledge that she had done wrong, and to be willing to repent before God. Initially, she seems despondent, with no hope of casting off her sin, but finally realizes that she can only turn away from her sins by asking the virtues for help. During the play, we see the soul’s attitude shift from defensive (“God created the world: I'm doing him no injury - I only want to enjoy it!”) to repentant (“what woe is mine that I fled from you”). The play demonstrates that if we do not repent of our sins, our relationship with God is crippled. But we also see that if we are willing to acknowledge our brokenness and cry to God for help, he will not hesitate to come to our rescue.
ReplyDeleteWhile watching and listening to Ordo Virtutum I was surprised by how applicable it is for Christians today. When the soul in the beginning wanted the virtues help her come to God, she wanted them to do all the work. This could not be done for she alone had to stand fast. The virtues could help her but in the end, it was the soul’s decision whether or not she would remain in God. Because standing against the temptations of the devil is hard the soul quit and ran to the embrace of the devil. This is still very present in our modern day world. Following Christ is hard and will guarantee suffering. The devil will tempt the followers of Christ by making sinful things look beautiful and innocent. Order Virtutum reminds us to remain strong in Christ with the aid of the virtues. The devil will lead you in places you do not want to go. One little sin will lead to another and another. In the end you will be shocked at how far you have strayed from Christ. A majority of it was spent explaining the different virtues and how they are treasured in God’s kingdom, while everything they are fighting against is of the devil. When the soul eventually comes back it shows us in order to live in Christ you must first come with the right mind. A mind of full submission to Christ. Even though this was written several centuries ago Ordo Virtutm is still a good reminder of struggles agains temptations to Christians.
ReplyDeleteThis play was a wonderful read, I loved reading about all the virtues. They listed so many in the play, even ones that I never knew were considered "virtues" (Contempt-For-The-World, Heavenly Love, Knowledge-of-God, etc). I thought these were very interesting to read about, and how they appealed to the soul and to the other virtues.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading what the virtues had to say in response to the devil's attacks. When he said, "What is this Power - as if there were no one but God? I say, whoever wants to follow me and do my will, I'll give him everything." I loved what Humility said in response, she said "My comrades and I know very well that you are the ancient dragon who wanted to fly higher than the highest one: but God himself hurled you in the abyss." They knew exactly who the devil was, exactly what he was up to, and exactly what is going to happen to him.
Two things struck me as I read/watched this delightful play. Beyond the angelic singing of the actors (he didn’t really sing) and actresses, and the insightful descriptions of the virtues, soul and the devil, I was fascinated by the character of the virtues, more specifically, by how they interacted with each other. They didn’t compete with one another, rather, they worked together in perfect harmony. Humility calls her fellow virtues “comrades”, which derives from the Latin word ‘camera’ which means ‘chamber’ and later translated into ‘chamber mate’ or ‘room mate’. Each virtue is quick to tell of their role, for example, Humility quickly claims the spot of Queen of the Virtues, just as Obedience says she will “lead you to your homeland and to the kiss of the King.” Delighting in each other’s ‘roles’, not fighting for prominence over each other, they pool their resources to help mentor sad souls. Secondly, I was struck by the sad soul. Desperately wanting to “stand firm”, the soul simply couldn’t resist the temptation of sin, as much as she wanted to, “I don’t know what to do or where to flee Woe is me, I cannot perfect this dress I have put on! Indeed I want to cast it off!” Although the soul want’s to be rid of sin, the idea of life without sin seems incomprehensible. This is why we are always drawn to the same sins, because Satan makes them irresistible and addicting. Just like Alypius’ addiction to the gladiatorial games in St.Augustines Confessions, as much as he wanted to hate them, he could’t escape their allure. This is the torment I saw the sad soul going through— a desire for both good and evil.
ReplyDeleteWhen I first started reading this play I thought It would be a boring one. But ho far from wrong could I be. This was an amazing read. Seeing as I do debate and am use to clash it was so cool to read how the virtues addressed the point that the devil made. There were two lines that stood out to me…
ReplyDeleteDevil:
Who are you? Where are you coming from? You were in my embrace, I led you out. Yet now you are going back, defying me - but I shall fight you and bring you down!
I recognized that all my ways were wicked, so I fled you. But now, you deceiver, I will fight you face to face. Queen Humility, come with your medicine, give me aid!
After reading this I had to stop and read it over and over again taking in how much importance this has. Even though all of us were born into sin we can flee from is but only to grow strong and turn around and fight the Devil face to face.
One thing I noticed when i read the play was, using the same couple lines that Luke used above:
ReplyDeleteDevil: Who are you? Where are you coming from? You were in my embrace, I led you out. Yet now you are going back, defying me--but I shall fight you and bring you down!
Soul: I recognized that all my ways were wicked, so I fled you. But now, you deceiver, I will fight you face to face. Queen Humility, come with your medicine, give me aid!
Something that I realized is incredibly crucial in getting rid of sin and fighting evil is humility. On our own, without God's power, we can do nothing against evil, and it takes a heart that admits it needs God to win the battle
This play completely blew my mind. It was incredible to read. The thing that stood out to me the most was the Devil's lines. He seems to let out an air of wounded victim/betrayed friend. His lines give up his disguise, however: "...I shall fight to bring you down", "...You don't even know what you are!", etc. We see the Devil getting angry, lashing out, unable to control his emotions. I'm not sure why, but I found this incredible (even to the point of getting chills). Perhaps it's just that I love these kinds of things that show what might be happening in the realm of the supernatural. Either way, I loved this play!
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