Purim 2026 begins on the evening of 2nd March and commemorates the Jewish people being saved from Haman's plot to destroy them. The initial-word panel at the beginning of Esther: #Purim BL Add 15282; 'Duke of Sussex's German Pentateuch'; 14th c; Germany; f.307v

Purim 2026 begins on the evening of 2nd March. Here is the initial-word panel from Esther. #Purim BL Or 2628; The 'Lisbon Bible', vol. 3.; 1483 CE; Portugal, Central (Lisbon); f.152v

Purim 2026 begins on the evening of 2nd March. Here a micrographical pattern surrounds the initial-word of Esther. #Purim BL Or 2091; Former & Latter Prophets & Hagiographa with masorah magna & parva; 13th century; Germany; f.345v

Purim 2026 begins on the evening of 2nd March. Here is the decorated initial-word panel with birds and hybrids, at the beginning of the book of Esther #Purim Bodleian Library MS. Kennicott 3; Pentateuch with Onkelos, Five Scrolls and Haftarot; 13th century; f.233r @BDLSS

Purim 2026 begins on the evening of 2nd March & commemorates the Jewish people being saved from Haman's plot to destroy them. Here Ahasverus holds out the golden sceptre to Esther. #Purim BL Add MS 11639; 'The Northern French Miscellany'; 1277-1324 CE; f.260v

Initial 'D'(iu) at the beginning of Bk 1 Letter 1 of Sidonius to Constantius of Lyons: "Diu praecipis domine maior summa suadendi auctoritate...." BL Harley 4084; C. Sollius Apollinaris Sidonius, Epistulae; 2nd half of the 12th century; France, S.; f.1r

I'm addicted to these videos from a bakery in Uzbekistan this bread is beautiful

Brighton would be much improved if we had the courage to do this.

“Blast! … The elephants are sick again!”

'R'(everentissimo) with a dragon Dijon, BM, 0168; Gregorius, Moralia in Job; 1111 CE; France (Cîteaux, abbaye Notre-Dame); f.4v

Purim 2026 begins on the evening of 2nd March. Here a micrographical pattern surrounds the initial-word of Esther. #Purim BL Or 2091; Former & Latter Prophets & Hagiographa with masorah magna & parva; 13th century; Germany; f.345v

For St David’s Day, Ciaran Jenkins of Channel 4 News and I play the Welsh song Ar Hyd y Nos (All Through The Night). #StDavidsDay

Purim 2026 begins on the evening of 2nd March. Here is the decorated initial-word panel with birds and hybrids, at the beginning of the book of Esther #Purim Bodleian Library MS. Kennicott 3; Pentateuch with Onkelos, Five Scrolls and Haftarot; 13th century; f.233r @BDLSS

Purim 2026 begins on the evening of 2nd March. Here is the initial-word panel from Esther. #Purim BL Or 2628; The 'Lisbon Bible', vol. 3.; 1483 CE; Portugal, Central (Lisbon); f.152v

Purim 2026 begins on the evening of 2nd March and commemorates the Jewish people being saved from Haman's plot to destroy them. The initial-word panel at the beginning of Esther: #Purim BL Add 15282; 'Duke of Sussex's German Pentateuch'; 14th c; Germany; f.307v

March is the time for digging the beds in the garden. #MedievalCalendar MS M.399; Da Costa hours, illuminated by Simon Bening; ca. 1515 CE; Belgium; f.4v

March is the time for pruning; and there is new grass and flowers for the ram to eat. #Medievalcalendar BnF MS Latin 1156B; Horae ad usum romanum; 15th century; f.3r @gallicabnf.bsky.social

March is the time for blowing a horn! #medievalcalendar BL Lansdowne 383; the 'Shaftesbury Psalter'; 12th century; England; f.4r

March is the time for pruning. #medievalcalendar Bodleian Library MS. Rawl. D. 939; Astrological and ecclesiastical calendar in six pieces; 14th century; England; section 2ar @bodleian.ox.ac.uk

March is the month for pruning. #MedievalCalendar BnF MS 1186; Psalter of St Louis & Blanche de Castille; 13th century; f.3r @gallicabnf.bsky.social

March is the time for digging, raking and sowing. #medievalcalendar BL Cotton MS Tiberius B V /1; 11th century; f.4r

March is the time for digging, raking and sowing. #medievalcalendar BL Cotton MS Tiberius B V /1; 11th century; f.4r

March is the time for digging and sowing #medievalcalendar BL Add MS 18852; the 'Hours of Joanna I of Castile' or the 'Hours of Joanna the Mad'; 1486-1506 CE; Bruges; ff.3v-4r

March is time for pruning and digging. #MedievalCalendar BnF MS Latin 1173; Horae ad usum Parisiensem (Heures de Charles d'Angoulême); 15th century; f.2r @gallicabnf.bsky.social

March is time for pruning and setting stocks in the vineyard. #MedievalCalendar BL Yates Thompson MS 3; 'The Dunois Hours'; c 1439 CE-c 1450 CE; France (Paris); f.3r

March is the time for digging the earth. #MedievalCalendar BL Royal MS 1 D X; Psalter; 1200 CE-c.1220 CE; England, Central (Oxford); f.10r

The feast days of March #MedievalCalendar BL Harley MS 2332; Illustrated Almanac; 1411 CE-1412 CE; England; ff.3v-4r

Purim 2026 begins on the evening of 2nd March & commemorates the Jewish people being saved from Haman's plot to destroy them. Here Ahasverus holds out the golden sceptre to Esther. #Purim BL Add MS 11639; 'The Northern French Miscellany'; 1277-1324 CE; f.260v

This has been a slog but I’m pleased to day that I’m currently checking the proofs, which means this book will soon be out in the wild!

Purim begins on the evening of 2nd March. Here are some people in the margins celebrating Purim. #Purim BL Add MS 26968; 'Forli Sidur'; 1383 CE; Italy; f.209v

Somehow, an 8th-c. English liturgical manuscript ended up in Mount Sinai (where it was palimpsested and written over by a Christian Arabic scribe). For more info: Michelle Brown, austriaca.at/0xc1aa5572%2...

Good night! BL Add 16577; Festival prayer book, Italian rite; 3rd quarter of the 15th century; Italy; f.44v

Joseph Ibn Hayyim marks the beginning of Torah portion Tetsaveh (תְּצַוֶּה) with this golden lion. #ParashahPictures Bodleian Library MS Kennicott 1; 'The Kennicott Bible'; 1476 CE; La Coruña, Spain; f.51r @bodleian.ox.ac.uk

In Torah portion Tetsaveh (תְּצַוֶּה) God commands that pure olive oil be used to feed the flames of the menorah, which Aaron is to kindle continually. #ParashahPictures BL Add MS 11639; 'The Northern French Miscellany'; 1277 CE-1324 CE; f.114r

Hare running at the base of the initial-word panel which marks the beginning of Torah portion Tetsaveh (תְּצַוֶּה). #ParashahPictures BL Add MS 15423; Pentateuch; 1441 CE-1467 CE; Italy (Florence); f.54r

The beginning of Torah portion Tetsaveh (תְּצַוֶּה) is marked by this elaborate design. #ParashahPictures BnF Hébreu 29; Bible; 15th century; f.56v @gallicabnf.bsky.social

This dog looks sheepish next to the initial-word at the beginning of Torah portion Tetsaveh (תְּצַוֶּה). #ParashahPictures BL Add MS 11639; 'The Northern French Miscellany'; 1277 CE-1324 CE; f.43r

A floral design marks the beginning of Torah portion Tetsaveh (תְּצַוֶּה) in the 'Lisbon Bible'. #ParashahPictures BL Oriental 2626; the 'Lisbon Bible' with masorah magna & parva; 1483 CE; Portugal, Central (Lisbon); f.82r

Decorated initial-word panel marks the beginning of Torah portion Tetsaveh (תְּצַוֶּה). #ParashahPictures BL Or 2696; Pentateuch with Rash's commentary; 14th century; Germany; f.161v

David, flanked by Wisdom and Prophecy, presents before him the psalter opened on the first verse of Psalm 71. BnF MS Grec 139; Psautier de Paris; 10th century; Constantinople; f.7v @gallicabnf.bsky.social

In this episode of BBCInOurTime Misha Glenny and guests discuss the exchange of cultures and biology across the Atlantic and Pacific after 1492. Called by some the Columbian Exchange, but by others the Great Dying, this is a pivotal moment in history. www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

🙏 yesterday I accepted my first invitation since Trump took over to give a named lecture in the USA 💥 details to follow (lecture in March next year) for now just to say I’m thrilled by the sense that the political climate in America is changing to mean that universities feel they can invite me 🙃

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 first 💯 tickets went in just three days! 🤗 Get yours while you can, folks! And remember: attendance is free, there’ll be a reception afterwards, and everyone‘s welcome!

So, here's the article I have out as of today and it's #OpenAccess. It deals with one of the earliest Christian Arabic scribal workshops in the Sinai monastery, where many of the mss produced there have been preserved to this day. In this 🧵 I do a quick rundown of the most important findings. 1/n

Eating your own words BnF MS Latin 16744; Bible; 12th century; f.81r @gallicabnf.bsky.social

Tilting at windmills BL Stowe MS 17; 'The Maastricht Hours'; 14th century; f.89v

State of the Union Address 2026 BL Stowe 17; 'The Maastricht Hours'; 14th century; f.84r

Secret tools of the common crow

The only surviving original Carolingian "littera formata", like a passport for a priest. Issued in Lucca, now in Pavia. archiviodigitale-icar.cultura.gov.it/it/185/ricer...