It‘s that time of year again when students ask for extensions. When they do, consider this: do you think academics always submit book manuscripts, chapters for edited collections, reviews or corrections for articles, books and chapters to editors on time? Do you?

It‘s that time of year again when students ask for extensions. When they do, consider this: do you think academics always submit book manuscripts, chapters for edited collections, reviews or corrections for articles, books and chapters to editors on time? Do you?

The OMGC committee is delighted to announce this year’s Call for Papers! We look forward to receiving submissions for 20-minute papers from graduate students on the theme ‘Sounds and Silence.’ Please submit abstracts of 250 words to [email protected] by 8 December 2025. Details Below

SSMLL is proud to support the Oxford Medieval Graduate Conference's provision of travel bursaries for participants. The 22nd annual Oxford Medieval Graduate Conference on 'Sounds and Silence' taking place 23rd–24th April 2026. See below for more details on how to respond to their CFP.

Getting away with crime or getting justice? Sometimes medieval criminal court records reveal instances in which localities and/or individuals took the punishment of crime into their own hands. The castration case of Tom, son of Leofwin, from the year 1202 is one such case. 🧵1/5

We’re learning about outlawry in my crime class @viuniversity.bsky.social this week. Interestingly, women couldn't be outlawed in 13th-century England because they were never put in law. Instead, women accused of crimes were ordered to be waived. For more info, read this ⬇️

The quickest way to finish an article is to start it. It also helps if you can stay away from social media, tv and the internet. And your cell phone. And other people. You should also fight urges to clean and organise spaces, and to cook big meals. In other words, it’s difficult to finish articles.

5 authors I’ve read 5+ books by: Norman Bridwell Roald Dahl Beatrix Potter Mercer Mayer Robert Munsch

Want to learn about medieval coroners, tithings & the frankpledge system, crime & punishment, peacekeeping, the hue & cry, amercements, etc? Then check out my article “The limits of strong government: attempts to control criminality in thirteenth-century England”. academic.oup.com/histres/arti...

For years I’ve been helping at a student conference in British Columbia. This year they chose not to share information about it with me or my department. When I inquired, the response I got was like the person smelled shit, but couldn’t quite identify from where it came.

My infant has slept very well, which means I have time to catch up on some work. I’ve nearly finished grading assignments for one of my classes.

A fantastic opportunity to work with amazing people on a spectacular project.

Instead of offering Putin territory that doesn’t belong to the US, Trump should offer him US territory. Why not give the Russians Wyoming?

Two-year postdoc at Queen’s University for historians of Classical &/or Medieval Europe. ~$70,000/year (CDN); requirement to teach 2 semester-long courses per year; teaching experience & scholarly publications are an asset. Per donor’s bequest, “only candidates who identify as women are eligible”.

Two-year postdoc at Queen’s University for historians of Classical &/or Medieval Europe. ~$70,000/year (CDN); requirement to teach 2 semester-long courses per year; teaching experience & scholarly publications are an asset. Per donor’s bequest, “only candidates who identify as women are eligible”.

For a second I thought the red leaf was an amazing piece of tuna.

Some high school students attended my “Living standards before the Black Death” lecture at @viuniversity.bsky.social yesterday. The lecture included a bit about coins, so I had an opportunity to show off some medieval silver pennies, including this one from King John’s reign (1199–1216).

Can’t wait to get/read this. There’s a 30% off discount code in the comments.

Me trying to explain to my wife that I need to buy more books.

Committee work is so much easier when people listen, are open minded to possible changes, and don’t think only about themselves. But also, committee work is difficult because it requires members who will listen, are open minded to possible changes, and don’t think only about themselves.

For those who don’t want to click the link, the movies are: 1) Troop Beverly Hills 2) Rookie of the Year 3) The Devil Wears Prada, and 4) 300.

A damn good point. ⬇️

I’m getting raise-the-roof vibes from @profgabriele.com and 6-7 vibes from @lollardfish.bsky.social .

I’m increasingly annoyed with people who think lack of planning on their part necessitates an emergency on mine. It doesn’t. Don’t expect me to stop or delay my work just because you can’t get your shit done in a timely manner. And no, this is not related to students; my students are great.

Getting told I look too young to be teaching at a university is not something I take as an insult – even if it’s intended as one. However, telling the story and hearing someone say “They thought you looked too young?!” is.

What historians see when people claim AI is solving mysteries that have baffled historians for years.

Made a comment about Tennyson today. My wife's response: "Come on; you know no Tennyson. You only know Sendak: I told you once, I told you twice are seasons of the year are nice for eating chicken soup with rice".

Talked about coroners last week in my @viuniversity.bsky.social history of crime class. This week we’re talking about gaol (not “jail” autocorrect!) & bail. I find the topic fascinating a have been reworking a publication on this topic since 2017 (I can’t stop adding to it, but I’ll let it go soon).

"Local Priests in the Latin West, 900-1050 is Open Access 😀. I'm so excited to read this! Link: www.cambridge.org/core/books/l...

Marginalia can be depressing. The marginalia next to this case from Nottinghamshire in 1280-81 has five esses, each of which has an abbreviation mark that looks like a nine. This is abbreviated Latin for "suspensus". In other words, five people were hanged.

If you have a hard copy of the 3-vol (2018) "Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources" and are looking to pass it on to someone (such as a medievalist trying to produce critical editions of 13th-century texts), then please contact me!

I’m increasingly irritated with academics who’ve never studied the Middle Ages yet make claims about the period & tell me their “knowledge” is accurate because, well, they just think it is. They can’t support anything they say with evidence/research and claim “some academics think”. Infuriating! 😡

Super excited about this new arrival!

I just had a Eureka (academic) moment. I’m not going to say what it is – you’ll have to wait some time for it – but it has only happened twice before and I’m damn happy, so I‘m advertising it.

Very interesting post. Definitely worth a read.

Spare a thought for my poor, little Otto, who has hurt his paw badly (we don’t know how) and is now high on medication.

Excited to read this recent publication by @jennisifire.bsky.social (Dr. Jennifer Barry), “Gender Violence in Late Antiquity”. @ucpress.bsky.social

I read your thesis.

Students in my medieval crime class @viuniversity.bsky.social are learning about legal proofs and the ordeal this week. It’s going to be loads of fun! We may even learn about the importance of ducks when determining if a person is a witch.

Coroners in 13th-century England were supposed to view the body of every person who had died unexpectedly BEFORE that person was buried. However, the people of Kent frequently ignored this rule. In fact, between 1248 & 1255 they ignored it no less than 206 times! 🧵 1/3

Could medieval people swim? Some could – if they were sober. On 25 November 1120, Henry's only legitimate son (William Adelin) drowned in the White Ship Disaster when the vessel he was on struck a rock while crossing the English Channel. He and ~300 others on the ship had been drinking heavily.🧵1/4

What's that worth in the Middle Ages? It's not always easy to identify what objects were worth in the Middle Ages, especially the sorts of objects peasants used. Fortunately, legal records provide us with a window into peasants' everyday lives and the objects they used, such as spades. 🧵1/10

Horses appear often in medieval legal records, but seldom are they sketched in court records. This picture of a horse was drawn by a clerk at the court proceedings in Norfolk in 1250. 🧵1/5...

Disney wasn’t too far off with its likeness of King John! John’s effigy on this 13th-century coin looks strikingly similar to the John in Disney’s 1973 “Robin Hood”. 🙃

Each travelling royal justice had his own record of court proceedings in 13th-century England. Many of these records do not survive, especially before 1257. But on 8 December 1257 King Henry III required that legal records be sent to the treasury for safe keeping. 🧵1/3...

When You Stop Caring: Justice Bath's clerk in the year 1250 The clerk finished recording an entry and began a new one. Suddenly, more information surfaced about the case but there wasn't enough space to write it. What should he do? 🧵1/3

Murder at the Medieval Mill Medieval millers were not always well liked and it’s not uncommon to read in criminal court records that a miller had been killed. This person leaving a windmill sure looks like they regret doing something nefarious at the mill with the mallet they're holding. 🧵1/5

Women played an important role in policing 13th-century England. Women couldn't be in frankpledge or sit on juries, but they were still required to raise the hue & cry, they chased criminals when need be, and were required to attend trials when they witnessed crime or discovered bodies. 🧵1/5

Robin Hood had a daughter! I have come across "Robin Hood" written in records from the 1200s. My favourite is this entry from a Northumberland court record in the year 1269. It tells us that a person named Robin Hood had a daughter named Asselina, who was the wife of Ralph, son of Lambert. 🧵 1/4...

Jedi knights existed in the Middle Ages. Here's one with a lightsaber depicted in the 14th-century Luttrell Psalter. 🧵1/2