medievalstudies.thinkific.com/courses/dark... Romans (but not proper Romans), Vikings (but not proper Vikings), 'Anglo-Saxons' (but not really)... this is my course on DARK AGE BRITAIN (not really dark) for @medievalists.bsky.social As of now there's a -15% discount w/ the code 'backtoschool'

Thank you very much to @stevebrusatte.bsky.social for this brilliant review of LITTLE KINGDOMS, releasing 30/11/25 ‘Infused with enthusiasm and written in a conversational tone, this is the type of pop history I love to read.’

An Anglo-Danish force stormed York #OTD in 1069, tearing down its two Norman castles, killing hundreds of Frenchmen and taking sheriff William Malet captive. Edgar Ætheling, ealdormen Waltheof and Gospatric, Mærle-Sveinn and Siward son of Æthelgar led the English. 📸Terry Ball #medievalsky

Thank you very much to @stevebrusatte.bsky.social for this brilliant review of LITTLE KINGDOMS, releasing 30/11/25 ‘Infused with enthusiasm and written in a conversational tone, this is the type of pop history I love to read.’

It is so tiring, the old adage about how hitting a particular register is supposed to be a rite of passage into "serious" scholarship. Please do read some of the "greats" in your field and you will, in fact, see that they were making jokes as well.

A glowing recommendation of LITTLE KINGDOMS by esteemed archaeologist and expert of the early medieval Yorkshire Dales, David Johnson: 'Alex Harvey has taken on the challenge and produced a book, in my opinion, like no other, and furthermore a book that is easy to read and digest.'

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Had a great time last night at my colleague Alex Andrews' talk about recent archaeological discoveries at York Railway Station (incl. a major Roman cemetery and disarticulated pottery/remains in Post-Roman agricultural layers) This was the clearest synthesis of York's 2000+ year history I've seen!

A glowing recommendation of LITTLE KINGDOMS by esteemed archaeologist and expert of the early medieval Yorkshire Dales, David Johnson: 'Alex Harvey has taken on the challenge and produced a book, in my opinion, like no other, and furthermore a book that is easy to read and digest.'

Thank you to @hanavideen.bsky.social of ‘The Deor Hord’ and @oewordhord.bsky.social fame for reviewing my next book, LITTLE KINGDOMS (releasing 30/11/25) ‘Dispels the myth of [easy] ethnicity or nationality [terms]. Instead, Harvey breathes life into a sweeping miscellany of little kingdoms.‘

www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Little-Kingd... LITTLE KINGDOMS: AN A-Z OF EARLY MEDIEVAL BRITAIN, my next book, releases on the 30th of November 2025 As of today it is now available for preorder, at a discounted early price of £20 (RRP £25) Why should you pick up this book...? 🧵

Nice to see Elden Ring (2022) getting in on that LITTLE KINGDOMS hype; interestingly, ‘Eochaid’ as a name has Old Irish etymological origins, connected to the word ‘horse’

YouTube, if you're going to work around my adblock, then I will stop using your platform. I do not, never have, nor never will, care to sit through 60+ seconds of adverts and be bombarded with 5-10 thumbnails for products I will never buy Enshittification = my exit

The pertinent legislation:

Two very important graphs. Net migration reached record levels in 2023 - and has since halved. The vast majority of arrivals comprises students and workers. Arrivals in small boats and asylum seekers - less than 5%. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

arxiv.org/abs/2506.08872 A 200+ page research paper from the University of Warwick, led by Nataliya Kosmyna (et al) This was published a couple months ago but I've only just had the chance to read it. I highly encourage others to do the same but I wanted to condense some observations in a short 🧵

arxiv.org/abs/2506.08872 A 200+ page research paper from the University of Warwick, led by Nataliya Kosmyna (et al) This was published a couple months ago but I've only just had the chance to read it. I highly encourage others to do the same but I wanted to condense some observations in a short 🧵

(Neither would be welcomed in Valhǫll)

The older I get the more I realise Jamie Vardy's classic catchphrase really does beautifully (perhaps crudely) summarise most of human history, both recent and ancient

shows.acast.com/future-imper... It was a pleasure to speak alongside Jason Kingsley and @thatnatt.bsky.social for the third season of the Future Imperfect podcast - vikings galore!

I have decided that my ‘second niche interest’ beyond early medieval history/archaeology is the impact of AI / LLMs on education and young people’s cognitive abilities

'The culture of AI is imperialist and seeks to expand the kingdom of the machine. The AI community is well organised and well funded, and its culture fits its dreams: it has high priests, its greedy businessmen, its canny politicians.' Solomonides and Levidow (1995, p.13-14)

An early medieval fibula (a decorative pin for fastening garments/a brooch) in the form of an eagle, made of gold and silver inlaid with garnets and lapis lazuli. It's part of the so-called Domagnano Hoard consisting of 21 pieces. They belonged to an Ostrogothic...🧵1/3 🏺 #archaeology

I would not — and I cannot stress this enough — trust anything coming from Pam Bondi, Kash Patel or anonymous "internal law enforcement sources." Fascists lie. We have evidence, both contemporary and historical. Unless there is indisputable proof behind a claim made in this case, question it.

Classic Dust Veil + Justinianic Plague double whammy effect

Brilliant evening. The audience were enthralled - Alex is a natural storyteller and his knowledge and passion for all things Vikings shines through

Thanks to @petejackson.bsky.social for interviewing me last night about FORGOTTEN VIKINGS!

I saw a thing the other day that basically said “no matter what prompt you give it, the question an LLM is answering is ‘what would a plausible response to this prompt look like?’”

Only 10 days left! If you know of anyone who might be interested in joining us to this coming IMC ("long beard" not a requirement), then please forward this over!

Very pleased that a thing I wrote is on the UNESCO think lab on AI and futures of education. Predictably, I wrote about accessibility but also about caution around gen AI and its promises to “fix” digital accessibility www.unesco.org/en/articles/...

Brilliant (and timely) cartoon

Love this; always been a champion of analogies and comparisons in writing and teaching (Davies & Davies, 2012)

UK PEOPLE: If you start watching Threads at 2.12pm, the bomb will go off at the same time as the Emergency Text alert.

Thank you to @hanavideen.bsky.social of ‘The Deor Hord’ and @oewordhord.bsky.social fame for reviewing my next book, LITTLE KINGDOMS (releasing 30/11/25) ‘Dispels the myth of [easy] ethnicity or nationality [terms]. Instead, Harvey breathes life into a sweeping miscellany of little kingdoms.‘

I've decided I'm leaving my job as an author to become a preacher

Discussing Craven! Again! In Sheffield on 18/10/25!

It went well! Got to talk about 10 increasingly obscure Yorkshire-based polities (from Northumbria to Hrypsetna) plus I called William the Conqueror a bastard (well deserved)

In Ripon tomorrow delivering a talk on LITTLE KINGDOMS for the local civic society

Three blokes from Yorkshire wax lyrical about the Viking Age, TV shows, and our shared love of all things old and dusty

Three blokes from Yorkshire wax lyrical about the Viking Age, TV shows, and our shared love of all things old and dusty

I do enjoy public speaking but I much prefer wandering the countryside in my wizard’s carriage where my sole companions are random wild creatures

Very grateful to @simonelliott20.bsky.social - author of The African Emperor - for his review of LITTLE KINGDOMS, releasing 30/11/25 ‘Using true academic rigour, matched with a wonderful ability to tell a story, […] an important book for our age, when self-identification is at the forefront […]’.

Pleased to reveal the new paperback cover for FORGOTTEN VIKINGS, re-releasing on the 15th November 2025 (merely 15 days before my next book!)

On publication day for The First King of England, enormous thanks to @princetonupress.bsky.social and Doug Young of PEW Literary for making it possible

Pleased to reveal the new paperback cover for FORGOTTEN VIKINGS, re-releasing on the 15th November 2025 (merely 15 days before my next book!)

Brilliant time with my wife exploring the Words On The Wave exhibit yesterday at @nmireland.bsky.social (Ireland's National Museum of Archaeology), helpfully intro'd by a tourguide Eleanor who provided context on 4-12th c. Ireland

A fabulous book Alex!

Very grateful to @simonelliott20.bsky.social - author of The African Emperor - for his review of LITTLE KINGDOMS, releasing 30/11/25 ‘Using true academic rigour, matched with a wonderful ability to tell a story, […] an important book for our age, when self-identification is at the forefront […]’.

Delighted with this review of LITTLE KINGDOMS from Christopher Hadley (author of 'The Road' and 'Hollow Places') 'Harvey is not afraid to ask questions that are impossible to answer, but his attempts not only make for an enjoyable read, but gradually form answers to much bigger questions [...]'