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By what authority did medieval authors presume to write and speak? Literary scholars consider such matters routinely, while historians too often take their ‘sources’ for granted, as texts conveniently present for them to pillage. Plainly, one must make a host of distinctions with respect to eras, regions, languages, offices, social positions, and much else. This article examines the era when writing exploded in medieval Europe, what we call the twelfth century, and looks more closely at two of its most influential figures, Bernard and Hildegard, a man and a woman, an abbot and an abbess. Both aspired to write and to reach a general public, both came out of uncertain training, both claimed a kind of authority for themselves and their writings far beyond their offices, both were extremely self-conscious about themselves as authors. More, historians have placed each in quite different categories. This article re-examines that, and suggests a fresh look at each as “authorities” and “authors” and at how they claimed their ‘authorization’.
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