After finishing Scivias in 1151, Hildegard had no plans to write another visionary work for a long time. Only seven years later, she seems to have made the decision to extend Scivias into a trilogy. In direct sequence, she wrote Liber vitae meritorum and Liber divinorum operum within a period of 15 years. The first one is separated into six parts. In the first five parts, 35 incarnated vices and virtues each fight against each other in pairs, as if on a stage. After that, an interpretation of the figures by the divine voice and a description of the character of the vices, possibilities of penance in this world and their punishment in the Beyond follow. In the last vision, Hildegard sees how, at the end of the world, the people are judged according to their good and bad actions and enter the various places of damnation or the receiving of eternal salvation.

Hildegard’s view was that each person is exposed to this fight of the vices against the virtues every day and that people are responsible for their actions to the extent that they do not only affect themselves, but entire creation. In the last part, she then describes the consequences for the immortal soul. Here, at the beginning of the ending times, it is also the prophet’s purpose to persuade the people to change. This is why it was important to her that these people recognized the sins and would not let them seduce them. In case that this still happened, she quickly provided different possibilities for penance in order to avoid the punishments described above.

Liber vitae meritorum was handed down in five complete versions, of which one was written when Hildegard was still alive. Furthermore, two partial fragments still exist. None of the copies were illustrated, which can probably explain the limited awareness of the work’s existence.