The Woman Who Refused to Be Silent

She was born in 1098. She composed extraordinary music, wrote about medicine and the natural world, described visions of the universe, advised powerful men and founded her own religious communities. She did all this in a world that wasn't particularly interested in women having opinions. Her name was Hildegard of Bingen and the Ministry has opened her file.

In this first public episode of The Ministry of Lost Voices, we travel back to the twelfth century to meet a woman who was, quite frankly, rather difficult to put into a box: A benedictine abbess, a composer, a writer, a visionary, a woman whose correspondence reached popes, emperors and people who had considerably less power than either.

But who was Hildegard beyond the titles? What did it mean to be a woman with such an extraordinary voice in medieval Europe? How did she manage to make herself heard? Why, more than eight centuries after her death, does her story still feel so surprisingly relevant?

This is not a history lecture. It's an invitation to meet a remarkable woman perhaps to discover that history has been keeping some rather interesting things from us.

This episode belongs to CASE LV001, the first recovered voice in The Ministry of Lost Voices.

Every month, the Ministry opens a new case file dedicated to a real woman from history.

Our custodians receive a beautifully crafted physical letter and archival collection through the post, with historical discoveries, visual treasures, a clue to the next Lost Voice, and exclusive access to The Listening Room.

Become a custodian/member here

In the Listening Room, we take the story one step further through an imagined conversation inspired by the woman's documented life and surviving work. The women are real, the research matters, the conversations are imagined.

Ex silentio, vox.

Written, created and presented by Valerie Thys.

© 2026 The Ministry of Lost Voices.

Chapters

• (00:00:02) - Introduction to the Ministry of Lost Voices
• (00:01:51) - The Physical Archive and Case Files by Post
• (00:03:40) - The Listening Room Concept Explained
• (00:04:27) - Bilingual Archive, Same Story
• (00:05:11) - Introducing Hildegard of Bingen
• (00:05:47) - Early Life and Visions at Disibodenberg
• (00:07:28) - Becoming Leader and Beginning to Speak
• (00:08:59) - Writing Scivias and Gaining Church Approval
• (00:09:50) - Founding Her Own Monastery and Composing Music
• (00:10:38) - Inventing Language and Writing on Nature
• (00:12:11) - Many Versions of Hildegard and the Archive Desk
• (00:12:59) - Letters to the Powerful and Finding Her Authority
• (00:14:25) - Setting Up the Listening Room Interview
• (00:15:14) - Imagined Conversation with Hildegard
• (00:16:48) - Becoming a Custodian and the Joy of Mail
• (00:18:25) - The Mysterious Paris 1943 Clue
• (00:19:17) - Ordering Case LV001 and Future Files
• (00:20:27) - Spreading the Word and Closing the Case

Welcome to The Ministry of Lost Voices, a rather unusual place where history, storytelling and a little imagination meet.

Join Valerie Thys, your newly appointed Archivist, as she follows forgotten trails, opens long-closed doors and uncovers the stories history left behind.

Expect curious discoveries, unexpected twists, a touch of mystery and the occasional administrative irregularity.

The Ministry of Lost Voices is available in both English and Dutch. Two languages, but one Archive.

If you Love history, hidden stories and a good mystery? Join the Ministry's mailing list to be among the first to discover what's coming next on 6 October 2026.

Become a custodian/member here.

History forgot a few things but we're looking into it.