In an isolated, hilltop monastery in 12th century Rhineland, Hildegard von Bingen spent her days in a single-windowed room. From there, she wrote poetry and music which would go on to be largely forgotten for hundreds of years, before being rediscovered in the late 20th century. This new-found attention gave the long-dead figure the remarkable title of one of the greatest female composers in history - along with numerous other extraordinary accolades that for one person seems near impossible.

Hildegard is the focus of Bound by Theatre’s new show, soon to be performed at the Vaults festival. Hildegard Von Bingen - the title of the play is the figure’s name - explores Hildegard’s intense prophecies, her life in the monastery, and the visionary creations that have survived centuries. Writer Kristin Winters shares why Saint Hildegard is such an inspiration, and how the company turned archival material into a physical, full-bodied performance. 

Kate Wyver: What first made you interested in Hildegard Von Bingen? 

Kristin Winters: Honestly, I was sat squandering away at home early during lockdown and a BBC podcast came on about Hildegard and her life. As with many, I was first awed by her music, how otherworldly and different it was to music from the same period. 

I went on to learn that she was a polymath, respected in her own time and revered for her contribution to so many different fields - composer, doctor, poet, ‘Sybil of the Rhine’. I knew then that I wanted to dig deeper. She has been claimed, in a way, by all of these different fields, but I’m really curious about the person underneath all of this, and the way she was able to channel her inspiration - whether one believes it was internal or divine - in such a prolific way. 

She was a child who was locked away at eight years old, spent her entire life answering to the (male) clergy, who stripped her of her right to sing or pray out loud, something that was fundamental not only to her practice, but her very being. 

We want to explore the different facets of Hildegard. How afraid she must have been of revealing her visions, how much she was playing the game and saying what she needed to in order to be heard, how painful it was to be silenced and be called scrumpilgard (wrinklegard/ wrinkled thing) in her old age, in spite of all that she had achieved. She had the ear of three Popes, king and clergy. She was the architect of two abbeys, and was a woman’s woman, and yet throughout her life was reminded that she was a ‘mere woman’ (we know this from correspondences written to her) and also that she herself absolutely upheld that women were subordinate to men.

Kate: To have a woman's own words from this period of history is rare. How do we know so much about her?

Kristin: First, she had the foresight to write a lot of it down - and then luckily she had enough of a support system around her that they - the monks - not only continued to write about her but also kept those writings safe. Music notation had only been in use for a hundred years or so, so we’re lucky in that regard too. 

It really seems that those around her knew that she was not only exceptional for her time, but would continue to be so. That said, she was almost erased from history - as has so often been the case for women that there is a name: The Matilda Effect - until she was ‘rediscovered’ in the 1980s.

Kate: What kind of research have you conducted to piece together her experiences? 

Kristin: I’ve done my absolute best to read both her extensive writings and literature about and around her. Fiona Maddock’s Hildegard: A Woman of Her Age; Hildegard Von Bingen and her Vision of the Feminine by Nancy Fierro, and Music, Body, and Desire in Medieval Culture by Bruce Holsinger - are a few that I’ve found particularly juicy. 

I’m amazed at her breadth of knowledge, her generosity and her tenacity. Regardless of who is writing about her or from what angle they approach, it is very clear that she was a force to be reckoned with. Not surprising given what we know of her, but pleasing to be reminded nonetheless. 

I was also lucky enough to visit Bingen a few months ago. It both gave me a sense of the abbeys she built - Rupertsberg and Eibingen - and talk to some of the nuns there, but also to experience her music in the setting in which it was created. Being in Bingen and its vast landscape, understanding the importance of its geographical location at the crossing of the river Nahe and the Rhine were all important in understanding her thought process. It also meant I had some locally made Hildegard soup and Eibingen Abbey-made wine… that’s research, right?

Kate: Is there one thing about Hildegard's life that you'd really love to know, that can't be found in history books?

Kristin: Her energy, internal rhythm… I know that’s not about her life but would be interesting to witness. 

More tangibly, I’d love to know exactly what those first years of her life were like, locked away with Jutta - her anchoress - at eight years old. She speaks about how children should not be forced into the church until they are ‘of an age of reason’, so she clearly disapproved of it, but I’d ask her what that was like to endure and adjust to that.

Kate: When you knew you wanted to bring her 'visions' to life, how did you set about experimenting with that onstage?

Kristin: We’ve been exploring everything very physically. Using her life experience and writing as well as the visions themselves. We’re really using her visions and her music as a place from which to try and understand her inner workings. Looking at the way she wrote and what she wrote passionately about. They are so vivid and numerous that just having the images and music surrounding us has been ample inspiration for movement and exploration.

We take bits of her text - from Scivias (visions) but also her personal correspondence with other religious figures of the time - including Popes, Archbishops, and other Abbesses - and some more personal, family and friends, and use them to find her sensibilities, humours, and how that physically manifests - literally and in a more abstract way - on stage. 

Kate: What impact does having a multi-generational cast have, both on a rehearsal room and on the play itself?

Kristin: It means that at the drawing board, in the fibres of the piece, we have women at different places in life with a breadth of experience sharing their voice and feelings on Hildegard and on the world in which we live. We also get to explore the entirety and reality of Hildegard, and see the strength of a woman throughout her life. There is no start or end time to her vivacity and it’s important to explore that. 

It’s been beautiful and frustrating to hear how many shared experiences we have as women - good and bad - that haven’t changed over the years. We do have a laugh through the frustration though. When people sixty or so years apart can share the exact same experience it’s a reminder that we need to keep telling the stories of women like Hildegard, and using them to help each other speak out.

Kate: What have you learnt from making the show?

Kristin: That there is a beauty in silence. We don’t get a lot of it nowadays, but they definitely would have. Those moments of absolute stop and reflect. Humans are human. However saintly she was she could also be petty, angry, grief stricken, humorous. We know this, of course, but it’s fun to be reminded. 

Vault Festival is running from 21-26 Feb. For more information on Hildegard von Bingen and other shows, please click here. 

For more information on Bound by Theatre, please click here.