The Mediæval Bæbes are an English ensemble of female musicians founded by Miranda Sex Garden (MSG) member Katharine Blake in the 1990s, featuring some of her MSG colleagues as well as other friends who share her love of medieval music. The lineup often rotates from album to album, and ranges from 6 to 12 members.

The Bæbes's first album, Salva Nos (1997), shot straight to No 2 in the classical charts, a silver disc. Subsequent albums include Worldes Blysse (which went straight to No 1), Undrentide, (co-produced by John Cale), The Rose, and the Christmas-themed album Mistletoe & Wine.

Mirabilis (2005), was launched at a concert and party in London, August 2005. A self-titled DVD was released in July 2006. The first 300 preorders were autographed by the band and received a special mention in the DVD credits.

A live album was released on November 25 2006 and features two new studio tracks.

Each album features traditional medieval songs and poetry set to music, mostly arranged by Blake specifically for the ensemble, alongside varying numbers of original compositions. They sing in a variety of languages, including Latin, Middle English, French, Italian, Russian, Swedish, Cadenet, Scottish English, German, Manx Gaelic, Spanish, Welsh, Bavarian, Provençal, Irish Gaelic, modern English and the nearly extinct Cornish. Their vocals are backed by medieval instruments, including the recorder and cittern, played by the singers or fellow musicians.

The Bæbes' musical pieces run the gamut from extremely traditional, such as their version of The Coventry Carol on Salva Nos, to songs that feel traditional but are much more modern, such as their rendition of Summerisle, a song written for Robin Hardy's 1973 cult film Wicker Man. John Cale added non-medieval instruments, including saxophone and electric guitar, to some of the arrangements on Undrentide, although with subsequent albums the band returned to more traditional instruments. Even with these instruments, however, the band's current style is quite different from medieval authentic performance groups, as it displays significant modern influence, this juxtaposition most notably apparent in the Bæbes's latest album Illumination (2009) produced by KK (Kevin Kerrigan)

Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.