I’m thinking about Mont-Saint-Michel and its tidescapes today, and missing this view from my window last year.

Another sealskin book cover @mearcsteppende.bsky.social, this time from Norway 🦭

Feeling this very strongly at the moment. Also see ‘This appears to be a long document, would you like me to summarise it for you?’ I know it’s a long document, it’s taken me almost 5 years to write it, now piss off and stop taking up all the space on my screen with your shitty AI prompts! Argh!

I have just spent a rather lovely and relaxing couple of hours needle felting a poppy to be added to the BioTapestry where it will join these beautiful contributions on the Meadow panel representing the wonderful biodiversity of Gwent.

I’ve just seen this advertised in the window of my local library and made an audible ‘oooh’!

I sailed on a reconstruction of this ship from Paris to Honfleur in August and it was such an adventure! See #Saga25 for my posts from the trip.

As I approach the end of my PhD I’ve been thinking about the contribution I’m making to my field. I’ve never felt so much a part of the history of Norman scholarship as this evening when I used my second-hand copy of v.1 of Orderic Vitalis’ Ecclesiastical History for the first time #Medievalsky

Here's a video of the Bayeux Tapestry being carefully removed from its case and packed away. I had my heart in my mouth while watching. And yes, I do have nightmares about it crossing the channel! I had my heart in my mouth just watching this. www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7ys...

I am quite fascinated by this vestige of the once-lucrative trade in walrus ivory, part of a walrus skull found in Gardar in Greenland. The skull is from the eleventh century, which was before Gardar had become the diocesan see of Greenland. [Nationalmuseet, Copenhagen]

It's Friday afternoon and I have a little time between meetings, so let's do a little mini-thread on early medieval seals in the Firth of Forth and why I think it's useful to us to study them. Join me as I bounce through a tiny bit of my dissertation! (1/11)

I’ve just had a very confusing conversation with my young daughter. She was talking about ‘William fitzOsbern, Lord of Chepstow, his pigeon, and his magic staff’. Turns out that she actually meant Ozzy Osbourne, Prince of Darkness, the bat incident, and his cane!

It’s a good year for figs! This is the second big batch I’ve had from my tree in the last two weeks and there are still more ripening on there. If anyone has any fig recipes they can recommend I would be very grateful 🙂

Terrible news from Wales 😓 www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Start of term = time for a new CMS photo! We love getting the CMS family back together! #medievalsky #skystorians

The group building the reconstruction of the Mora, William the Conqueror's flagship, has announced that the project has gone into receivership due to financial difficulties. I've followed the project closely for several years and visited last month while Saga Farmann was moored outside. What a shame

Impressed by how my sharp-eyed students spotted today how the Vatican Vat. 6018 map (c. 770) includes size estimates for some Mediterranean islands, taken from Orosius.

Something seems fishy for #MosaicMonday! This mosaic emblema depicts eight fish, two squid/cuttlefish, and an eel. An example of the delights of the sea that were destined for the plates of an elite dinner party. From a Roman villa at Cecchignola, Rome. 🏺 1/ 50 BCE-50 CE. #BritishMuseum 📸 me

There are only 4 more days to submit an abstract for our #IMC2026 panel on practice-based/experiential research in medieval studies. We would love for this session to facilitate some interdisciplinary conversations, so please do get in touch with your ideas. #Medievalsky

The amazing Roman pharos (lighthouse) at Dover, still standing after almost 2,000 years! 🤩 The tallest surviving Roman structure in Britain, and one of only three surviving lighthouses from the former Roman Empire! Dated 1st-2nd century AD. 📷 by me #RomanSiteSaturday #Archaeology

So pleased to discover this article (doi:10.15184/aqy.2025.10133) on the results from an archaeological dig at Worth Matravers that I was part of in 2007! A rare stone anchor was found with one burial and it's very interesting that the C14 dates didn't require marine correction so close to the sea.

Treasure!

Call for Papers @imc-leeds.bsky.social Following my recent fieldwork sailing down the Seine in a reconstructed tenth-century ship, @stevedehailes.bsky.social and I are organising a panel on practice-based/experiential research in medieval studies. We welcome abstracts from any field. #Medievalsky

The ship has landed! #Medievalsky

Exciting times at the new Museum of the Viking Age vikingtidsmuseet.no/english/ There is a live feed of the Oseberg ship being (very slowly) moved into its new position. #Medievalsky

I visited Saint Fiacre's chapel in Lisieux Cathedral last week. The Brother Cadfael books were, in retrospect, probably an early influence that led me to an interest in the medieval period and I have a great affection for gardening monks.

Most unfair. The Pythons were famously aware that kings didn't have shit all over them.

I’m in Normandy for the rest of the month with family, though I’m taking every opportunity to think about my thesis. Today I visited an exhibition on the river Risle which was very interesting and made something I’ve been wondering about for a while become clear. I love it when that happens!

Well that’s the end of this excellent adventure. I’ve spent 2 weeks travelling down the Seine from Paris to Honfleur managing navigation, radio communication with the maritime authorities, booking our harbours, and acting as translator and tour guide as well as crew. I’m tired but happy 🙂 #Saga25

Life aboard: Today is the last day on board as we hand over the ship to the next crew at the end of our 2-week stage. Yesterday afternoon we cleaned the ship, which is a big but important job as we all live, sleep and eat on board and don’t want any rodent or insect passengers joining us #Saga25

I’ve just spent the morning visiting La Mora project in Honfleur (like a kid in a candy shop)! My doctoral research examines the maritime culture of tenth and eleventh-century Normandy to identify the foundations which enabled the Norman invasion to become a successful reality #Saga25 #MedievalSky

We have just taken delivery of a new rudder, as the one we have been sailing with all week was broken on the previous stage and had a temporary repair. The new rudder was driven to Honfleur from Norway to meet us #Saga25

This morning we arrived in beautiful Honfleur after a speedy voyage on the ebb tide. Honfleur has a long maritime history and tomorrow the public holiday in France celebrates the Assumption of Mary, a festival particularly important to sailors who consider Mary their protector- Stella Maris #Saga25

We have been averaging 4-5knots along the river on this voyage, which the crew say is typical of the speeds this ship type would have achieved in the 10th century. However, the tides are now so strong that we have been averaging 7-8knots this morning. You certainly have to go with the flow! #Saga25

We just passed Aizier, the location of a Roman port excavated between 2009-13. The excavations revealed three successive phases of a substantial port from the 1st-3rd centuries. A publication from the excavations can be found here journals.openedition.org/gallia/5763 #Saga25

We had another early start this morning from Caudebec to catch the tide again. Minutes after we cast off we discovered that some of the debris carried by the strong tides had been wedged under the boat causing drag. Once free it floated away and we could continue 1/ #Saga25

We arrived in Caudebec at midday and visited the MuseoSeine. I’ve been here several times and really like it as it shows the importance of the Seine throughout history and how it has changed. This is essential for interpreting the activities that took place along this waterway in the past #Saga25

The abbey of Jumièges from the river (& a closer view from an earlier visit). Est. in the 7th c, attacked during the Scandinavian raids of the 9th c, and rebuilt by William Longsword in the 10th c. The abbey church was consecrated in the presence of William the Conqueror in 1067 #Saga25 #MedievalSky

It was a very early start this morning leaving Rouen to catch the tide. We have quite a long voyage today along the boucles de la Seine and will be passing some important historic locations, so I’m interested to find out what is visible from the river today #Saga25

A day spent in Rouen today where I’ve been acting as tour guide to some of the crew. We visited the cathedral, where Rollo and William Longsword have effigies and where there is a relic of Saint Olaf. We also went to the new Viking Cité Immersive experience which was interesting #Saga25 #MedievalSky

Yesterday we arrived in Rouen and last night Rouen Cathedral was illuminated by a Viking-themed light show #Saga25

We also passed Oissel, an island with a fortified camp in the 9th c. Today the island is joined to the bank, as with most of the 117 islands that were in the Seine in 1750 before engineers sought to tame and reclaim from the river. There are only 20 islands left today #Saga25 #MedievalSky

Just passed Pont-de-l’Arche where a Frankish fortified bridge is mentioned frequently in the late 9th c at a strategic location at the confluence of the rivers Seine and Eure. In the 12th c Robert of Torigni reported that a fortification built by Rollo could also still be seen #Saga25 #MedievalSky

Life aboard: Most of the crew take turns in pairs to make all the meals for one full day (breakfast, lunch and dinner), and also do the washing up. Each pair can choose what they make, so we have had a nice variety of interesting meals. The double gas hob is hidden in a big box on board #Saga25

Today we arrived in Poses which is 200km along the Seine from where we started in Paris. It is also the location of a barrage, so from this point on we will be travelling down the maritime, tidal Seine. The church has late 16th-c graffiti depicting ships made by local bargemen #Saga25

The duke is sailing in the opposite direction #Saga25

Life aboard: Sounds and views from the lookout position in the bow #Saga25

Today we had a short voyage from Vernon to Les Andelys below spectacular Château Gaillard. We passed Le Goulet, where in a charter of 1006 the abbot of Saint-Ouen de Rouen granted Drogo permission to build two new mills in the port called ‘Orgul’ (Scripta 1446). #Saga25 #MedievalSky 1/

This afternoon we visited Monet’s beautiful house and gardens at Giverny. I walked there from Vernon along the Seine and Epte which was lovely #Saga25

Yesterday evening we arrived in Vernon and had another beautiful mooring. A charter (Scripta 3342) of c.1200 records that King Philip Augustus granted the earlier mill here to the man who showed him the best place to build it in return for a nominal annual payment of one fat eel #Saga25 #MedievalSky