Musician Transforms Classic Pop Songs Into Medieval-Style Cover Songs

Medieval Cover Songs Hildegard von Blingin'

You’ve likely heard acoustic versions of your favorite tunes, but have you ever heard cover songs remixed to sound as if they’re from a completely different era? Singer Hildegard von Blingin' transforms well-known hits—such as Creep, Bad Romance, and What Is Love—into medieval-style ballads. She describes the genre as, “Bardcore for the discerning clergyman, noble, or muck-gathering peasant.”

The name Hildegard von Blingin' is a playful take on the 12th-century abbess and composer Saint Hildegard of Bingen. Demonstrating a similar flair for poetic language, Von Blingin’ reworks the lyrics of classic pop songs into olde English verses. For Pumped up Kicks (originally by Foster The People) the clever songstress sings:

All ye bully-rooks with your buskin boots
Best ye go, best ye go
Outrun my bow
All ye bully-rooks with your buskin boots
Best ye go, best ye go, faster than mine arrow

Hildegard von Blingin’ even used a medieval-style instrumental arrangement by Cornelius Link, featuring the sounds of a harp and wooden recorder. You can just imagine jesters dancing along to entertain the guests of the court.

Check out some of the Hildegard Von Blingin’ cover songs below and find more on YouTube and Soundcloud.

Listen to Hildegard von Blingin's medieval-style covers of well-known hits—such as Creep, Bad Romance, and What Is Love.

Hildegard von Blingin': YouTube | Soundcloud
h/t: [Open Culture]

All images via Hildegard von Blingin'.

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Emma Taggart

Emma Taggart is a Staff Writer and Video Editor at My Modern Met. She earned a BA in Fashion and Textile Design at the University of Ulster in Belfast. Originally from Northern Ireland, she lived in Berlin for many years, where she fostered a career in the arts, dabbling in everything from illustration and animation to music and ceramics. She now calls Edinburgh home, where she continues to work as a writer, illustrator, and ceramicist. Her ceramics, often combined with hand-painted animation frames, capture playful scenes that celebrate freedom and movement, and blend her passion for art with storytelling. Her illustrations have been featured in The Berliner Magazine as well as other print magazines and a poetry book.
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