Like price-earnings (P/E) ratio for stocks, meetings should have a pointless-relevant (P/R) ratio. People could use the P/R ratio as a metric to determine how infuriating it would be to sit on a committee. I’d rather long meetings with low P/R ratios than a shorter meeting with high P/R ratios.

Like price-earnings (P/E) ratio for stocks, meetings should have a pointless-relevant (P/R) ratio. People could use the P/R ratio as a metric to determine how infuriating it would be to sit on a committee. I’d rather long meetings with low P/R ratios than a shorter meeting with high P/R ratios.

This is an outstanding handout on the differences between readings assigned for high school and university classes. It’s useful for both students and instructors. I highly recommend reading this if you teach first-year university students.

TILT the current CEO of McDonald’s had his first bite of a hamburger in 2026.

Bluesky needs more Rickrolls.

A fluffy dog walking under a horse, c.1230.

This video is both hilarious and infuriating!

Traveling by sea in the Middle Ages! Two bishops (under the watchful eye of a bird) sail to Rome to fulfill Edward the Confessor's oath to go on pilgrimage.

A lovely, svelte dog from the late 13th-century Percy Psalter. (British Library Add MS 70000)

This is an informative, interesting, and well-written piece on medieval Irish and Welsh law codes and manuscripts.

My little one has a new outfit and is giving off strong Freddie Mercury vibes. We love it!

Justice Mettingham's clerk kicked of the crown pleas at the 1287 Gloucestershire eyre by forgetting to include "of the crown (corone)" in the standard heading (pleas of the crown), so he had to add it superscript.

This will be amazing! The pedestrianisation of the Strand in front of King’s is fantastic, and Oxford St will be awesome as pedestrian only!

Come along to our Masters Taster Day on Wednesday 18 March and find out more about our MA in Renaissance and Early Modern Studies. 🦆Explore our campus 🗨️Speak to our staff and students ☕Get advice on accommodation and financing your Masters www.york.ac.uk/.../meet-us/...

Colleagues, I'd be delighted if you might encourage your promising UGs to consider our interdisciplinary MA here at York. It's particularly well-suited for joint honours students with a passion for the period 1500-1700. Any QNs please do let them know to reach out to me directly! #earlymodern 🗃️

I love how this clerk couldn't be bothered to draw more than two large exes to cancel this section of a legal case from Lancashire in 1292, yet he still took the time to add serifs to the letters.

What does SOTU mean? Wrong answers only.

Now available, the British Academy memoir of Dame Jinty Nelson (1942-2024), historian and first female President of the Royal Historical Society: bit.ly/4qUa0ua The memoir is written by Professor Pauline Stafford @pstafford.bsky.social and available via @britishacademy.bsky.social #Skystorians

Sending warm thoughts to those in freezing temperatures. I hope you've got a fire to cozy up to, just like this guy from the c.1260 York Psalter.

I have reposted some old threads. I plan to start writing new ones soon. In the meantime, here’s a creature from the 13th-century Percy Psalter for you to enjoy.

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

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

Medieval Hunting Deaths: A Thread Hunting could be very dangerous (not just for animals) in the Middle Ages. Accidents happened and everyone from kings and earls to lowly peasants could be killed by a stray arrow, a hanging branch or a wild animal defending itself. 🧵7

For escapes in this region of 13th-century England, villages were collectively fined £5. So when Henry and Agnes escaped, the villagers would have raised the hue and cry to notify everyone that they must aid in the pursuit of criminals. I wrote about this here👇 www.cambridge.org/core/books/a... 🧵4/5

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

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...

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

Correcting errors in medieval records: You listed the wrong person as a killer in a court record. What do you do? Well, you could draw a line through the name, as the clerk did in this homicide case from 1255 when he accidentally listed Walter le Stock as the killer instead of Walter Stuttuk. 🧵1/4

Agnes, daughter of Stephen, was accidentally killed when she was struck by the sail of a windmill in Herringswell, Suffolk, sometime around the year 1240. Accidents such as these (death by the arm of the windmill) are not common in the records I use in my research🧵1/3...

Medieval Bear Advice from the 13th-century Rutland Psalter: Taking off your clothes MIGHT help you if you encounter a bear. But don't climb trees. Things won't end well. 🧵1/3

In 13th-century England, lords with the right of infangthief could hang thieves in their jurisdiction who were caught in possession of stolen goods. If the thief was not in possession of stolen goods and the thief did not resist arrest, then the thief would be tried by royal justices. 🧵1/3.

Two very different ways to write an uppercase "M". The image on the left (Manerium) is by Justice Thirkleby's clerk from the 1243 judicial proceedings in Somerset. The image on the right (Matheus) was done by Justice Bath's clerk at the 1250 judicial proceedings in Norfolk. 🧵1/2

Medieval villages were often tasked with transporting people to gaol. This could be dangerous and expensive business. Friends and family of criminals could try to free the person through violence or bribery. And if a captive escaped, then the village would collectively be fined £5–£8! 🧵1/5

Gilbert le Blechere killed Roger Horn in Bodenham, Wiltshire, sometime around the year 1268. What caused the fight that led to this homicide? A fight between 2 dogs! Had the dog following Gilbert been leashed, like Harry the Hayward's dog Talbat, Gilbert might not have killed Roger. 🧵 1/6...

Alphabets in Manuscripts: The Primer of the French princess, Claude of France, was produced in c.1505 and contains an alphabet at the beginning of the manuscript, after which appears the Our Father (i.e. Pater Noster). 🧵1/3

Agnes, daughter of Stephen, was accidentally killed when she was struck by the sail of a windmill in Herringswell, Suffolk, sometime around the year 1240. Accidents such as these (death by the arm of the windmill) are not common in the records I use in my research🧵1/3...

Getting away with crime or getting justice? (Part 2) Localities sometimes hid murders from royal officials when they thought the killing was justified. Priests could even be in on the cover up. This certainly seems to be the case with the death of John the Miller of Pilsgate in 1314. 🧵1/5

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 if they failed to appear at trial. The consequence of waivery was the same as outlawry's: execution (often immediately and without trial). 🧵1/4

For excellent history podcasts try “The Medieval Podcast“ by @5minmedievalist.bsky.social -Danièle Cybulskie “Gone Medieval” by @goingmedieval.bsky.social -Eleanor Janega “Betwixt the Sheets” by @k8lister.bsky.social -Kate Lister BBC Radio 4’s “In Our Time” The @historyextra.bsky.social podcast

For excellent history podcasts try “The Medieval Podcast“ by @5minmedievalist.bsky.social -Danièle Cybulskie “Gone Medieval” by @goingmedieval.bsky.social -Eleanor Janega “Betwixt the Sheets” by @k8lister.bsky.social -Kate Lister BBC Radio 4’s “In Our Time” The @historyextra.bsky.social podcast

York is looking for a medievalist (1100-1450) for a year. You’ll get to work with amazing people and live in a wonderful city. Apply by 19 March. See the link for the details. jobs.york.ac.uk/vacancy/lect...

Godfrey IV (“the Hunchback”) was killed while pooping. Someone should write a book on the topic: “Death by Pooping and Death while Pooping: Shitty ways to Die in the Middle Ages”.

If you’ve got a beard, then you need great tongue-reach to be able to grab all the little food bits caked into it from previous meals.