ABSTRACT
This chapter explores Christian ideals of beauty. Based on a correspondence between Hildegard of Bingen and the superior of another convent, it highlights the difference between external and internal beauty. Upon entering a convent, women would usually have their hair cut off and wear worthless cloth in its place. Hildegard opposed this practice by allowing her fellow religious sisters to continue wearing their hair long and adorning it with shiny white veils. She also introduced crowns as part of their habit. As demonstrated here, her own crown, embroidered with silk, gold and silver, is preserved in the Abegg Foundation in Riggisberg.
