To lighten the mood a little I wrote about my first historical crush. A lover AND a fighter and quite literally a legend. It’s Earl Gerald of Desmond. A man taught the dark arts by the devil himself and possibly turned into a goose by his mother. open.substack.com/pub/medieval...

France starts moving government systems from Windows to Linux France is ditching US software for homegrown alternatives of Google Docs, Microsoft Office, Zoom, and Telegram Libre Office is very good. www.techspot.com/news/112032-...

Wit, unker, git: the lost English pronouns #language www.bbc.co.uk/future/artic...

Embers of the Hands: Hidden Histories of the Viking Age Eleanor Barraclough 373 pages • hardcover • first pub 2024 💡📚💙 #Books #HistorySky Women's Prize for Non-Fiction Nominee for Longlist (2025) #TBR

Great to hear from Eleanor Barraclough yesterday about her writing process for ‘Embers of the Hands’ (now available in paperback) at the Viking Society for Northern Research conference hosted by the University of Liverpool #medievalsky #booksky

petition.parliament.uk/petitions/76... #water

epsteinexposed.com?fbclid=IwY2x... #epstein

Programme looks ace. Big cheers to everyone bringing stories to the Lakes, especially YA and queer voices, and have an amazing fest #booksky

Althorp literary festival 8-10th May 2026 #booksky #history althorp.com?tab=programme

Programme released for the Lake District Book Festival #booksky events.lakedistrictbookfestival.co.uk

Les pirates informatiques pourraient rapidement intensifier leurs attaques grâce à une technologie d'IA conçue pour repérer les failles des cyberdéfenses, préviennent les chercheurs en sécurité www.nbcnews.com/tech/securit... [EN]

#FindsFriday Brooch, silver, Anglo-Saxon, AD800-900. Marbury, Cheshire On loan from the British Museum

A striking Hellenistic/#Roman glass bowl, made about 2100-2200 years ago. It has an almost hypnotic blue, green, & clear spiral pattern #AncientBlueSky

That is a wrap on this year’s Viking Society for Northern Research student conference. Superb line up speakers starting of with our plenary Prof Williams pictured with members of Wirhahl Skipfelagr #medievalsky #archaeology #history @archaeodeathprof.bsky.social

One of my favourite historical details. When does the British year start? Well, it depends... #Skystorians

A nice walk up to the Coppermines Valley, Coniston and the remains of its industrial past. A cold breeze, but some sunshine this afternoon 😊

Hm.

Things we'd lick if they were not really really old.

A 2,000-year-old papyrus fragment, discovered in the archives of the French Institute of Oriental Archaeology in Cairo, reveals 30 previously unpublished verses by Empedocles, a pre-Socratic philosopher of the 5th century BC.

This is a major problem. Certain high-status institutions are hoovering up students for whom they don't have space or teaching capacity. It's not good for students, it's driving other universities to disaster and it has none of the benefits of either a planned or a "market" system.

Paul Robeson was a canary in the coal mine long before Jeremy Corbyn On his birthday, Tayo Aluko looks at how the establishment destroyed Paul Robeson's character because of his political views www.thecanary.co/trending/202...

Can anyone advise - what are the earliest translations from Irish to English or English to Irish which can be used to help define early meanings of Irish words in English (medieval/ early modern) ? #gaeilge #spéirghorm #bearla #medievalsky

📚‘Embers of the Hands - Hidden Histories of the Viking Age’ by Dr Eleanor Barraclough Launch of the paperback edition of 'Embers' which looks at Viking history by examing everyday objects 🗓️3:45 pm, Saturday 11 April 🧭Rendall Bdg @liverpooluni.bsky.social FREE: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1985276873...

Looking forward to presenting a Taster Lecture tomorrow on Viking Merseyside for the Liverpool Scholars Programme, part of the university's widening participation initiative: news.liverpool.ac.uk/wp-content/u...

Samuel Bough (British, 1822–1878). Entrance to Cadzow Forest, near Glasgow (1859, oil on canvas).

🚨New preprint and our results are rather concerning.. We find the "boiling frog" equivalent of AI use. Using large-scale RCTs, we provide *casual* evidence that AI assistance reduces persistence and hurts independent performance. And these effects emerge after just 10–15 minutes of AI use! 1/

Liverpool University Press is thrilled to share that we have been shortlisted for the Clarivate Academic, Educational and Professional Publisher of the Year at the 2026 Independent Publishing Awards!

"In Assisi you queue to meet the dead." I joined the thousands of pilgrims who had travelled to see the bones of Saint Francis, on full public display for the first time in 800 years, and wrote about it for @financialtimes.com. www.ft.com/content/5d1e...

Bin the state visit by King Charles! Madness to go ahead...

What is the role of the University in a world of “AI everywhere”? New in the Journal, @katyhayward.bsky.social argues why universities matter more than ever in a world shaped by AI, as spaces for cultivating critical thinking and intellectual independence. Read more: https://bit.ly/3O5VsKq

Database on vikings in Irish Chronicles AD 794-902 which was completed as part of my doctoral research (a looong time ago) www.celt.dias.ie/publications... #medievalsky #archaeology #spéirghorm

Left Academia dot edu a while back over their AI policy and now building momentum on Knowledge Commons. Please find free access to a range of my publications here: hcommons.org/members/clar... #medievalsky #history #archaeology #Ireland #scotland #vikings

🚨🚨 Announcing: SUMMA 🚨🚨 Simple spreadsheet software for calculating with Early Modern English currency. gjhilton.github.io/Summa/

Annales Islandici 8 vols, five privately hard bound. Superb condition. Looking for £140 plus postage for this set #ísland #iceland #haskoli #history #medievalsky #booksky Bluesky messaging non functional but drop a message on the post if interested!

😂😂

Fermanagh faces

No wonder the AI boom is encountering fierce grassroots resistance across the US from across the political spectrum—left to right, rural, urban, and suburban. https://bit.ly/4sjj24B

look at this baby beaver and feel better briefly (@ wildheartrescue on TT)

“…the researchers argue that AI systems have given rise to a categorically different form of “cognitive surrender” in which users provide “minimal internal engagement” and accept an AI’s reasoning wholesale without oversight or verification.”

Registration: [email protected]

🧵Scenes depicting Jesus' mother Mary, and the disciple John standing below the cross together with the descent from the cross form part of the passion cycle, a section of the wall paintings in St Peter and St Paul Church, Pickering. Dating to around 1450-70. The paintings were covered

A popular subject in medieval literature & art, the Harrowing of Hell shows Christ's soul liberating the lost from Hell's mouth & restoring them to bliss: "Michael, my pure angel, receive these souls unto yourself & I shall teach you to lead them to Paradise" York play 37 #BookWormSat #MedievalSky

Research paper on the effects of AI use arxiv.org/abs/2602.19141 #aI #techbology #education

New — I wrote about how journalists proudly using AI to help them write their stories obscures the deeply human process that makes journalism a societal necessity, and one that feeds the soul of those who create it. Hope you’ll give it a read. I promise I wrote the whole thing.

Congratulations to the "ESRC Northern Ireland General Election study group" which has been awarded the Pippa Norris Prize at #PSA26 The group includes our Prof Peter Shirlow and @drseanhaughey.bsky.social as well as @jontonge.bsky.social and academics from LSE and @qubelfastofficial.bsky.social.

1940: 🇩🇪🇫🇷The Nazis warned the French non-Jews to not hide any Jews, otherwise there would be consequences. 2026: 🇮🇱🇱🇧The Israelis warn the Lebanese non-Muslims to not hide any Muslims, otherwise there will be consequences.

Replica of an early medieval ship commemorating ‘the beginning of English history’ at Cliff’s End near Broadstairs, Kent #medievalsky

Professor Alex Sanmark from the UHI Institute for Northern Studies & Viking burial expert Caroline Patterson recently travelled to the Scottish island of Arran as part of the UHI Tourism Knowledge Exchange Initiative, connecting research with businesses & communities. tinyurl.com/3y4n8wm2