While we take a little pause from our biweekly seminar series, we are very excited to announce that, this term break, we’ll be doing ✨WEEKLY PUB NIGHTS!✨ Taking place every Monday of break at the Swan at 7PM, come join us for a casual chat and just to say hello! We can't wait to see you there!!! 💕

Thinking about @durham.ac.uk's MA in Medieval and Early Modern Studies? 👩‍🏫 Train with subject experts and industry professionals 📈 Build experience for a career in the heritage sector 🎓 Prepare for PhD study Apply now: www.durham.ac.uk/study/course... @durhammemsa.bsky.social

✨AND, one more BIG announcement... GET READY TO WELCOME BACK THE MEMSA PODCAST! ✨ We, your two temporarily-mysterious hosts (shh let us have this🤭), invite you to join us for casual chats discussing the wildest and most fun parts of the Medieval and Early Modern world—maybe with some guests, too! ✨

🎺 Our FINAL TALK of term is coming NEXT WEEK! 🎺 We're excited to have Elisabeth Lee from the University of St. Andrews for her paper, "Reviving the Medieval in the German Democratic Republic (GDR): Werner Tübke's Panorama"! Join us 6pm on Monday, 16 March, 7 Owengate! 💕

🎺 IT'S THE FINAL WEEK! 🎺 If you want to be a part of the 20th annual MEMSA conference, Connection, Conversation, Contention: Encounters in the Medieval and Early Modern World, this is your last chance! Submit your application of 300 words no later than Monday the 9th! We hope to hear from you soon!

An exciting release from the IMEMS Press with @boydellandbrewer.bsky.social! Many congratulation to its author, Dr Sara Ayres.

Today sees the beginning of a two-day conference hosted by @thehuntington.bsky.social, organised by Dr Vanessa Wilkie and IMEMS member Dr Amanda Herbert, 'United Queendom: Legacies of Gendered Power in the Early Modern British World'. 👑

#CfP 'Connection, Conversation, Contention: Encounters in the Medieval and Early Modern World' 13-14 July 2026, St John’s College, @durham.ac.uk With Keynotes by Dr Natalie Goodison (Durham), Dr Lisa Kattenberg (Amsterdam) and Professor Stuart Carroll (York) @durhammemsa.bsky.social

🎺 What's this? A wild change has appeared! 🎺 Due to unforeseen circumstances, Elisabeth Lee's talk has been moved to 16 March, and Ellen Duggan's talk has been cancelled. Instead, we're excited to announce our own Keerthi Vasishta will be taking a swing at something a bit different!

🎺 A brief reminder! 🎺 Our 20th annual conference is accepting proposals for papers! We invite abstracts of up to 300 words for papers from postgrads and early career researchers covering any time and many topics in the medieval and early modern periods. Applications close on 9 March!

We invite 20-minute papers for our 2026 Summer Conference 'The Church and Race' #CfP #history Keynote speakers: ▪️Prof Miri Rubin, EHS President @qmul.bsky.social ▪️Prof Herman Bennett, @cuny.edu ▪️The Right Reverend Rowan Williams Deadline: 15 April ecclesiasticalhistorysociety.com/26summer/

🎺 We're opening applications for the last term of our biweekly seminar series!!! 🎺 Submit your abstract/proposal of no more than 250 words to our email, [email protected], by Sunday 15th March. Check the post for further details! We can't wait to have you join us next term!

🎺 The next term talk is almost here!!! 🎺 Join us next Monday, 16 February, 6pm at 7 Owengate, to hear our own Mara Watling present her paper, "From Pastoral Counsel to Comedy: John of Wales' Communiloquium as a Hidden Source for Chaucer's Merchant's Tale"! We can't wait to see you all there 😉

Discover 17th-century codes with our new online course, 'Working with Early Modern Letters'! 🤫✒️ tinyurl.com/5d9r8rcp ✔️A week's worth of content for just £100 ✔️Optional Q&A sessions with an expert ✔️Learn at your own pace Pictured: John Pell's 17th-century equivalent of an Enigma machine.

Very privileged to have provided some voice acting in Latin, Old English, and English for #RiversofInk, thanks to the brilliant @laurenrndll.bsky.social. Looking forward to its debut today at St. Laurence's, High Pittington. @durhammemsa.bsky.social www.durham.ac.uk/news-events/... #Amiatinus

Why did 17th century letter writer Katherine Thimelby use this curious patchwork style? ✒️ 📅 Find out more about women's letter-writing in the new IMEMS online short course 'Working with Early Modern Letters'! Available to book from Monday 9 February 2026.

🎺IT HATH ARRIVED!🎺 The official MEMSA stash drop is now available to buy! You have 7 days to get what you want before it disappears into the mystical Otherworlds once more… 🤭 redbirdapparel.co.uk/collections/...

#CfP: Connection, Conversation, Contention: Encounters in the Medieval & Early Modern World @durhammemsa.bsky.social 20th Annual Conference, St John’s College, Durham University, July 13 - 14 2026. Abstracts by 9 March 2026 #Skystorians www.rensoc.org.uk/event/cfp-co...

And the last big news for the day... 👀 🎺 The official MEMSA stash drop will be releasing on 29 January! It will be open until 5 February, so you’ll have a week to snag any of the goodies you want from Redbird Apparel! 🎺 Keep an eye on our Insta for the link when it opens!

Do you enjoy acting, directing, or watching theatre? Are you a Shakespeare enjoyer? Would you be interested in a 24 Hour Shakespeare challenge? 👀 🎺 Fill out the interest check form below! 🎺 Link here: forms.office.com/e/Uiq8r2ia6v

🎺 The MEMSA blog is accepting submissions! 🎺 Are you interested in writing for the MEMSA blog? Whether you want to snag the chance to put your name on a seasonal post or you have an idea all your own, fill in this form to propose an article to the team! Link here: shorturl.at/9wEZg

🎺 Santiago García Sosa from Leiden University will joining us on 2 February to present on Queenship, Conduct, Counsel, and the Restoration of Order in Martín de Córdoba's Jardin de nobles doncellas! Mark your calendars for 6pm, 7 Owengate! 🎺 (And we have more news coming today too... 👀)

🎺 Don't miss our FIRST TALK OF TERM, coming this Monday, where Davide Salmoiraghi from the University of Cambridge will be presenting on 'The best knight that ever was': The Old Norse Lives of Hector of Troy! Remember to come by 7 Owengate at 6pm so you don't miss out on the action! 🎺

🎺 Are you interested in exploring Connections, Conversation, Contention: Encounters in the Medieval and Early Modern World? Then consider submitting a paper to the 20th annual conference, taking place 13 and 14 July 2026 at St John’s College, Durham University!

Anyone feeling like a pub night? 👀 Come join us for some drinks and a good chat at the Swan and Three Signets on Monday 12 January, 7pm, to celebrate the start of epiphany term!!! We hope to see you there 😉

🎺 We have some more big news: our 20th ANNUAL CONFERENCE THEME! We are proud to present Connection, Conversation, Contention: Encounters in the Medieval and Early Modern World, coming on 13 and 14 July, 2026!🎺 Keep an eye out for more information on how to get involved in the coming days....👀

Though we suppose we can give you one extra teaser today 😉 🎺 THE OFFICIAL EPIPHANY TERM CARD IS HERE!!! 🎺 As always, all of our term talks will take place on alternating Mondays, 6pm at 7 Owengate on Palace Green. We can't wait to see you there!

Exciting things are happening this term... 👀 Welcome to our updated socials! Keep an eye out for some big announcements this week and as we head into 2026! 🎺

We are VERY excited to announce the MEMSA blog is BACK!!! 🎺 Our first post for this year is an interview with tonight’s speaker, Eugenia Vorobeva! Come along later to see her presentation, and take a look now to hear about her in advance!! Link: durhammemsa.wordpress.com/2025/12/08/i...

🎺 HEAR YE, HEAR YE! MEMSA and Castle MCR have teamed up for a Christmas movie night! 🎺 Join us on Monday 15 December in Castle’s MCR for David Lowery's The Green Knight! Hot chocolate will be provided, so you only need to bring yourself and maybe a snack 😉 See you there!!!

Our final talk of term will be next Monday, 8 December, featuring Eugenia Vorobeva from the University of Oxford! She will be presenting her paper, "Devil in the Detail: Language and Laughter in the Passio Domini Homily." Come along to 7 Owengate at 6pm to see her presentation! ✨

Our fourth talk of Michaelmas term will be on Monday 24 November, featuring a presentation by Alastair Forbes, Durham alumni+independent scholar! He will be discussing "The Vision of Boso and Moral Soundscapes in Simeon of Durham's Libellus de exordio." Come to 7 Owengate at 6pm to hear his paper! ✨

Our next talk of term will be on Monday 10 November, featuring a presentation by Ido Kons from the University of Cambridge! He will be discussing "Manuscript Transmission and the Spread of Learning in Late Anglo-Saxon England, c. 950-1066." Come along to 7 Owengate at 6pm to hear his paper! ✨

🎺 HEAR YE, HEAR YE! 🎺 We are proud to announce the official MEMSA seminar series term card for this autumn! Make sure to put the dates in your calendar so you don't miss our amazing speakers! We can't wait to see you there!

Our next talk of term will be from our other co-chair from last year, the amazing Lottie Thompson! She will be presenting on "Medieval Durham and the Ancient World: Lawrence of Durham’s Dialogi and Virgil’s Eclogues and Georgics." See her talk on Monday, 27 October at 6p, 7 Owengate! See you there!

Do you want to stay up to date on all things medieval and early modern at Durham? Join the weekly MEMSA email list! ✨ The manual URL is forms.office.com/e/KPARhd0Cmf (Also I'm an AI anti but the ✨ emoji was mine first, sue me—)

Do YOU want to be on the MEMSA exec? ✨ We're looking for two community course convenors this year! If you're interested in getting involved, send an email to [email protected] by Friday, 24th October! We look forward to having you join us! 💕

Our first talk of this year's Michaelmas term will be delivered by one of the MEMSA chairs from last year, Isaiah Silvers! He will be discussing 'Auxilios: "Reform" and "Aid" in the Hospital Institutions of New Spain, c. 1730-1770'. Hope to see you all on Monday 13th October at 6pm!

We will be holding our first social of the year at the oldest pub in Durham on Tuesday 7th October at 7pm. Everyone is welcome, whether you are studying the medieval or early modern period or just interested in it! Come along to meet some fellow postgrads and celebrate the new academic year!

We are pleased to announce submissions are OPEN for this year's MEMSA seminar series! Submit your abstract of <250 words to our email by Sunday 5th October. Please check the post for further details. We look forward to reading all applications, and we can't wait to see you there!

At the beginning of this week we hosted the 19th Annual MEMSA Conference. We would like to thank our supporters: @sshmedicine.bsky.social, Durham's Faculty of Arts and Humanities, @durhamhistory.bsky.social, Durham Castle and of course @imems.bsky.social

MEMSA Conference 2025 Final photo of the conference, thank you to everyone who came over the two days - whether for the whole conference or popped in for part of it. Safe journey home

‘Creatures of Power: Animals, Ecology and Humanity in the Medieval World’

‘The Green Arcana: Herbs as Tools of Transformation in Magic and Ritual’

MEMSA Conference ‘Poetry as Natural Philosophy: Reimagining Life and Death in Verse’

Alongside hosting the conference in Durham Castle, our other panel is held in 7 Owengate, the home for the Institute of Medieval and Early Modern Studies. Here are some of our talks taking place there yesterday

Kicking off proceedings bright and early on day 2 of our conference we have the first panel on: ‘Myths and Legends: Exploring the Boundaries of Folklore and Science’ with papers from Valentina Majolo, Thomas Banbury and Charles Marshall.

We are rounding up our panels for the day. Here are some more pictures from our speakers from sessions held in the Bishop's Dining Room in Durham Castle

Some highlights from our panel this morning on 'Listening to the land'

It’s the first day of the MEMSA conference. We have two days of exciting panels on this year's theme: Illuminating Nature: Explorations of Science, Religion, and Magic. Delegates are currently at registration before things kick off at 10.15!