Hello again, BlueSky! I had let this little app go quiet for a bit, not realizing how many wonderful people have now joined it. Hello! Thought I’d share a snippet from the latest Medieval Podcast episode - all about pubs! Enjoy 🙂

Treasures of legal history - a splendid illuminated legal text - 'Bracton: the king’s duty to do justice' (BL MS Add 11353 fo 9. ©The British Library) #medievalsky

Happy #Easter Bluesky! Please enjoy this delightful bunny rabbit (or maybe a hare?) depicted on this early 14th century floor tile from Greyfriars Church in #Reading 📷 me #medievalsky #historysky #history

It would have been a tense #Easter week in #Northampton in 1264, when Henry III rocked up to seize the town from its rebel garrison. I wrote about this ‘other’ battle of Northampton in Medieval World Issue 5 You can grab it here: www.karwansaraypublishers.com/en-gb/produc... #medievalsky #history

This letter, addressed to a spice merchant in Montpellier, is dated to the 1250s and written mostly in medieval Occitan. The most compelling part to me is that it's written on paper rather than parchment. Remarkably early example of paper in this region, especially among merchants! #medievalsky

I’ll be talking about my recent research on the Bayeux Tapestry in a public lecture here in Bristol on Thursday 30 April. Attendance is FREE and includes a drinks reception 🍷 Everybody welcome! Please join us if you can and help spread the word! #medievalsky #skystorians

‘The state of the world is at the present day constantly changing’ I feel like this could have been written this morning, but it’s a ‘Song on the Times’ of thirteenth-century England, during the reign of Henry III Perhaps some things just really don’t change…. #medievalsky #history #politics

Empires are only as strong as their communication systems. If you're curious how the Romans in the ninth century operated a telegraph that sent messages across 700km from the frontier to Constantinople, the first part of my work on this is now on the Exeter Medieval Studies blog. Link in next post

Research Seminar - 23 Feb, 4pm (Hybrid) Dr Alastair Ayton Beyond a Borderland: The March of Wales and its Lords in Thirteenth-Century English Politics Open to all! Email [email protected] to register (online or in person).

It's that time of year again when we see posts about 'England's first parliament' taking place #OTD in 1265 Simon de Montfort's #parliament was NOT England's first - but it is nonetheless interesting. Here's why it's remembered www.lukefoddy.com/simon-de-mon... #medievalsky #history

✨ Call for Papers ✨ Are you a postgrad, ECR, independent scholar, or heritage professional researching any aspect of Midlands history? We'd love to hear about your work at our New Voices in Midland History Conference on Saturday 6 June at Newark Museum. CfP details below 👇 deadline 31 March.

The @ihr.bsky.social Late Medieval Seminar series for autumn 2025 is now published. Themes from ladies in waiting to the custom house, and a roundtable on editing sources. All seminars are hybrid (or fully online), also, I'm now one of the convenors! www.history.ac.uk/news-events/...

My online live course Medieval Chivalry has its first run from April - if it sells well it'll be added to the permanent roster! lifelong-learning.ox.ac.uk/courses/medi...

Delighted to be able to share news about this volume, produced in honour of a wonderful scholar

Researching any aspect of history of the midlands? Then this is for you 🫵 The Midland History essay prize offers a first prize of £400.00 and opportunity for your research to be published in a peer-reviewed journal. Deadline for entries 31 October 2025 🎃 #skystorians #PhD

A carved and half-eaten chicken brought back to life? The most impressive miracle in the Evesham abbey miracle book, from ‘Saint Simon de Montfort’, ed and trans by David Cox. An editorial note speculates that this might have been a joke. #medievalsky

Had to be done.

If you're looking for something new to read you might be interested in my book: "The Mongol Storm: Making and Breaking Empires in the Medieval Near East" It offers a multi-perspective history of the Mongol invasions into the Middle East during the 13th Century.

Fascinated to read today that 12th & 13th-c Cistercian monks in France were engaging in long-distance trade networks to source sealskin for their book coverings. This is conveniently timely for my thesis chapter on maritime resources and networks in Normandy. www.theguardian.com/books/2025/a...

The US Kindle edition of my Anglo-Saxons book is only $1.99 today. If you're in the US, don't miss this rare opportunity to obtain a foreign product for less than it cost last week. www.amazon.com/Anglo-Saxons...

For the record, I don’t think Henry III was the worst #medieval king of England. But I do feel his modern reputation flatters him somewhat Interested in what #medievalsky thinks! #history #henryiii

🎉✨The Destruction of Medieval Manuscripts in England ✨ Absolutely delighted to announce that my second book has just been released (and it's open access; free to download at the link below!). academic.oup.com/book/59790?f...

More on the Farley Moor stone from the BBC ... www.bbc.co.uk/news/article... bsky.app/profile/derb... #Derbyshire #archaeology

I absolutely devoured River Kings by @catjarman.bsky.social - I loved the use of a humble bead to traverse the #Viking world, from Scandinavia to Byzantium (via several mentions of Derbyshire 😁) So I can’t wait to get stuck into this! #newbook #medievalsky #history

The Midland History Essay Prize 2025 is now live! Submit an article relating to the history of the Midlands and be in with a chance of winning £400, plus publication in our journal. The deadline for entries is 31st October 2025. See the attached flyer for further details.

Medieval Treasures of Lithuania Unearthed in Vilnius Cathedral www.medievalists.net/2025/01/medi... #Medieval

And you can read Luke Foddy's article 'Rebel without a Cause? Robert de Ferrers III and the Barons’ War in the Midlands, 1263–1265' in Midland History. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

It was a great pleasure to speak with Emily Briffett on the @historyextra.bsky.social podcast We talked about the political revolution of 1258, and how a series of reforms - including changes to the murdrum fine - sought to improve conditions in Henry III’s England #medievalsky

The Spring 2025 issue of Midland History is out now, featuring articles on Tudor Warwick, the Thelwall Riot, a witchcraft murder trial, and the Black Country. www.tandfonline.com/toc/ymdh20/c...

Simon de Montfort’s decision to arrest #RobertdeFerrers, earl of #Derby, during his famous 1265 parliament has drawn surprisingly little attention. For me, it was a major miscalculation that had far reaching consequences for Montfort, as I outline here #medievalsky www.lukefoddy.com/the-arrest-o...

Why Being a Medieval Priest Wasn’t as Easy as You Think, by @anyfourcastles.bsky.social https://www.medievalists.net/2025/02/being-medieval-priest/ #medievalsky

#medievalsky All events at the Institute for Medieval Studies are free and open to public. We also try to make events hybrid when possible. All welcome! Follow @leedsims.bsky.social for future announcements of events and all things medieval at Leeds!

Oh this will be very useful: a database for which saints lives are in which manuscripts.

Just one week until the 2025 Historic Building Mythbusting book tour kicks off in my ancestral heartlands of St Helens. The night after I'll be in Chester... these being the 1st shows of the run in the NW! Tickets & more info for all shows: triskeleheritage.triskelepublishing.com/mythbustingt...

It’s #MagnaCartaMonday! You can now visit @matthewholford.bsky.social’s fantastic display commemorating the 800th anniversary of the 1225 Magna Carta at @bodleianlibraries.bsky.social 📜🎉 visit.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/event/magna-...

We're back after New Year, the weather's atrocious, it must be Derbyshire Archaeology Day! Join us at the Winding Wheel Chesterfield on Sat 25th January for 8 winter warmers running from Romans to railways and all points between - tickets available here! chesterfieldtheatres.co.uk/shows/derbys...

Is one of your new year's resolutions to get an article published? If so, we want to hear from you! We welcome article submissions on any aspect of the history of the Midlands from Roman times to the 21st century. Visit our submissions site here: www.tandfonline.com/journals/ymd...

Henry III sailing in the margin: 'Rex henri(cus) III naviga(n)s in b(re)ta(n)ia(m)' BL Royal MS 14 C VII; 1250-1259; Matthew Paris, Historia Anglorum, Chronica majora, Part III; England (St Albans); f.116v

Grateful to those friends who pushed me to finish my first ever academic paper, which was published in @midlandhistory.bsky.social this year. Definitely my 2024 highlight! I wrote some thoughts on it, and #RobertdeFerrers III, here: www.lukefoddy.com/prize-winnin... #medievalsky #skystorians

A treasure of legal history - the 1225 Magna Carta and which is featured at a free exhibition until 21 April 2025 visit.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/event/magna-...

Our most recent edition (Summer 2024) is available online, with open access articles on topics including a 19th C Birmingham penny bank, the HIV/AIDS epidemic and the Uni of Warwick, and Robert de Ferrers' involvement in the Barons' War in the 13th C. #history www.tandfonline.com/journals/ymd...

“My eyes are up here, Steve”

A #Roman gladiatorial helmet. In 1766 it was found in the gladiator barracks at #Pompeii where it had lain since the eruption of #Vesuvius in AD 79 (I hope the gladiator(s) who once wore it managed to get away from the disaster in time!) AncientBlueSky #Archaeology

Gorgeous 12th and 13th century wall paintings in St. John’s Church, Duxford, Cambridgeshire…and they’re still being gradually uncovered 🤩

I've written a new blog post about being a historian on an archaeological dig in Ireland, and what it means for my research now! Check it out at open.substack.com/pub/wanderin... #medievalsky 🏺

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article... #archaeology

On a quiet street in Bologna stands the Church of Corpus Christi. For around six hundred years, Saint Catherine of Bologna has sat on a golden throne, relics of her and her followers arranged around her. She is a patron saints of artists and musicians, as she was in life as an abbess.

When you enter a subway to cross a road and end up in an #archaeology gallery Well played, #Sofia 👏Well played #history #Bulgaria #archaeologysky #ancienthistory #ancientsky

The rebellion against Henry III saw considerable disorder across the #Midlands with Robert de Ferrers, earl of #Derby, heavily involved. Yet much of this was strategic and coordinated Find out more in my research paper published in Midland History www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.... #medievalsky

The “Vampire of Sozopol”, Museum of #Archaeology, Sozopol, Bulgaria Having read about anti-reincarnation rituals in #medieval English contexts (eg Geoffrey of Burton), it’s interesting to see #archaeological evidence of similar practices elsewhere in Europe #medieval #archaeology #history