29 Mar 1578: John Bennertt of Bryn Canathan, Cwm, Holywell, Flintshire is ordained at #Cambrai #otd. In 1586 he became a Jesuit. Tortured several times in the 1590s, he preached in #Cymraeg #Welsh to large crowds at Holywell. Died in #London, 1625 ministering to plague victims.

bring in the new year by reading *even more* about James VI/I... I've got a piece about James's English 'chapel closets' in the most recent issue of @paulmelloncentr.bsky.social British Art Studies. Read it (and finer pieces on Jacobean image-making) here: britishartstudies.ac.uk/issues/29/co...

On Thursday, 27 Nov 2025, 5:30pm London time, Antonio Pattori (Oxford) will speak about ‘An Early Modern Strategy of Tension? Conspiring with the Ottomans in Mid-Sixteenth Century Italy’. Via Zoom & IHR London All welcome - Please share invitation To register: www.history.ac.uk/news-events/...

It was an honour to speak with @oscarpatton.bsky.social about the Tudor Chapel Royal. Among other things, we discussed the main functions of this important institution, the duties of the individual officers, & the evolution of church music during the Tudor period. Tune in! talkingtudors.podbean.com

OUP's new AI editorial assistant will help in the 'assessment' of manuscripts, apparently. This strikes me as a very bad idea. Peer review is something academics do for free as a service to their discipline, and last time I checked 'Alchemist Review' is not my scholarly peer.

There's no doubt that editors for academic publishing need more help and support to keep things going. But my god, this isn't it. I've published in a number of OUP outlets. This would force me to reconsider. I suspect other #SkyStorians will, too.

OMG!! The ESTC is back!!!! datb.cerl.org/estc/

with news that leave to supplicate has been granted, I'm happy to announce that I passed my viva (in March!) with minor corrections.

Registration is now open for 'Corruption and Scandal in the Early Modern World, 1500-1800' on 5th and 6th June: eventbrite.com/e/corruption... Join us at the IHR or online for what promises to be an exciting conference!

fans of early modern church music, stained glass, and debates over the presence of crucifixes in royal churches, look no further - my new article, in the Journal of Ecclesiastical History, below! Thanks to reviewers, draft-readers, and seminar audiences! doi.org/10.1017/S002...

fans of early modern church music, stained glass, and debates over the presence of crucifixes in royal churches, look no further - my new article, in the Journal of Ecclesiastical History, below! Thanks to reviewers, draft-readers, and seminar audiences! doi.org/10.1017/S002...

a slightly unorthodox celebration of the feast of St Anthony Abbot yesterday, marked by the submission of my DPhil! many thanks to all those who have given advice and listened to me bang on about the Chapel Royal!

and now in print!

If you're interested in religious identity, confessional politics, and sixteenth-century singing-men, click the link below! Very happy to release my first article - with enormous thanks to those who read drafts and offered advice, and to the Society of Court Studies! doi.org/10.1080/1462...

Had forgotten how exciting an excellent in-person conference could be. A joy to see the payoff of efforts by young organising scholars @spparkle.bsky.social @oscarpatton.bsky.social and Sam Teague. Nice to be in town too, and the Linnaean is a great venue.