ABSTRACT
Rupert of Deutz (c. 1075-1129/30) and Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179) stand among the dominant figures in the landscape of the twelfth century, at least from late twentieth-century perspective. They share other common bonds as well: both traditional Benedictines, both heads of religious houses, both passionate defenders of clerical reform. It was in the mid-1120s that the Walloon writer and teacher, Rupert of Deutz, offered two personal accounts in works written at around the same time, of the visions in which he believed that he had been commissioned as an exegete. In explanation, Rupert had recounted his visions and Cuno had insisted that Rupert write them all down for him. But Rupert had been unwilling to comply and now found that this failure interfered so much with his commentary that he had to stop and finally deal with the topic of his own visions.
