How does the Wikipedia article on the Black Death present the "Siega of Caffa theory" as definitive in 2026, and why does Wikipedia block my IP address from making edits????????

New semester, same tricks. Except I'm adding more banned phrases. (Yes, the worst political climate for me to be banning speech, but an informal poll of me and me alone revealed that phrases like "since the dawn of time" are heinous.) #medievalsky

Students of history will see the parallels between Reza Pahlavi and Napoleon III. Pahlavi might be far less connected, less capable, and less canny than any Bonaparte, but his claim that he'll "step forward" to "lead this transition" via referendum echoes 1848/1852, down to the royalist backsliding.

Have a friend, relative, or anonymous internet adversary complaining about the “historical accuracy” of the costumes in Nolan’s upcoming Odyssey film? Let ‘em see how medieval artists depicted ancient subjects—including Homeric stories! This 14th-c. portrayal of the Trojan war will melt their brains

Have a friend, relative, or anonymous internet adversary complaining about the “historical accuracy” of the costumes in Nolan’s upcoming Odyssey film? Let ‘em see how medieval artists depicted ancient subjects—including Homeric stories! This 14th-c. portrayal of the Trojan war will melt their brains

Who let this slip? Just wait till they discover the truth about the Vikings...

In my third decade of life, I realized that referring to Superman and his love interest by their first names results in Lois and Clark. Intentional or not, this fact has been on my mind without interruption for about 36 hours and counting.

Please pay your comic artists so they can keep drawing panels like this. #AbsoluteBatman

The teachers "mistakenly taught their students about the wrong Roman ruler — Augustus Caesar instead of his predecessor, Julius Caesar." Were the teachers not suspicious of the fact that their Caesar managed to live into old age and died in a much less perforated state? apnews.com/article/aust...

I should be grading, which of course means I have exhausted every possible route on the internet to learn about arrowheads made from meteorites, including the Mörigen Arrowhead, found in Estonia and thought to have been made from one of the Kaali meteorites nearly 3,000 years ago.

Averroes, Commentary on Aristotle's Metaphysics: fragment from a MS of the Latin translation by Michael Scot (Copenhagen, KB, Fragm. 1091) www5.kb.dk/manus/vmanus...

I would like to share my recent discovery that a McDonald's Big Mac combo is not a wise choice as the very first meal after a stomach bug.

Reviving this quote from the historian Marc Bloch, killed in 1944 while resisting the Nazis in France. #medievalsky "I think our country sinks beneath the yoke. It weeps, it bleeds, and each new day a gash Is added to her wounds." (Macbeth, 4.3.45-47)

Game Informer is back! The entire team is returning and we can't wait to reconnect. Come join us to celebrate the best in games, the people who make games, and the people who play games from all around the world. www.gameinformer.com/letter-from-...

I teach a History of Medicine course and insist, following @monicamedhist.bsky.social, that my students distinguish correctly between "Trota" and "Trotula." A French pop media article came up on my feed with a reminder that her erasure endures. #medievalsky www.radiofrance.fr/francecultur...

Is the Early Modern period a black hole of history? As a medievalist, I am frequently exhilarated and dismayed by how often I encounter something seemingly important but totally unknown to me when venturing past my curfew of 1499.

I'm amazed by the efforts of the staff at The Getty Villa @gettymuseum.bsky.social to protect the museum during the Palisades Fire. youtu.be/dbt4p7xMfk8?...

I've finally done it. The instructions for the papers in my undergraduate history courses explicitly prohibit the use of the phrase "throughout human history." But will it be enough? #medievalsky

PROJECT REVEAL! We're a video game podcast where every episode is a slumber party. Tune in every other Monday to hear four women from around the game industry talk games, stories, & life advice. Spotify: tinyurl.com/59rxjh4w Apple: tinyurl.com/276vpwcx YouTube: tinyurl.com/bdcpca4k

Very sorry to learn of the death of medieval historian Walter Goffart, who was a friend and an inspiration.

Bob (R.I.) Moore, Professor @newcastleuni.bsky.social for many years, died this morning. He leaves behind an impressive body of academic work, including his masterpiece “The First European Revolution, c. 970-1215”. He was also a pioneer of comparative world history. We will sorely miss him.

Read Dr. Marie Kelleher's book! #medievalsky

Dr. Marie Kelleher was an incredible scholar who mentored me at CSU Long Beach for ~8 years. I studied under her for my bachelor's and master's degrees in history. Like everyone who knew her, I was devastated by her sudden passing last year. I'm thrilled that her final book, The Hungry City, is out.

Seeking advice: I'd like my undergraduates to read an article-length work about medieval precursors to Early Modern colonialism, esp. in an Iberian context + how Spanish colonialism drew on earlier interactions with Muslims. Something like Fernández-Armesto's *Before Columbus*. #medievalsky

This single manuscript page has writing on it spanning over 1400 years. The base text is 6th century and there are notes from the 13th, 15th, 18th and 19th centuries. There are few objects that remained interactive for longer than medieval manuscripts. BNF Latin 2630, f1r

A local account I follow for the city of Montpellier in France posted the January 2025 meal calendar for school kids. It’s genuinely disorienting comparing the quality of this food to the processed pizza bagels, chicken nuggets, and Hot Cheetos on offer for us at my school in the US in the 1990s.

slate.com/life/2024/12... an honor to join so many in a pilgrimage to Avignon to honor the force that is Gisèle Pelicot. #pelicot #mazan

Here is a grumpy fish creature with a leaf tail drawn by a notary to serve as the letter “I” in 1372. Am I right that the fish has a mustache? #medievalsky

I love medieval notarial signatures. Some are more glamorous than the one pictured, but I like how the notary—named Berengarius Rogarius—embedded his initials into his mark of authenticity. Dated 1284. The document is a mom getting permission to sell her son's property...More below. #medievalsky

My students are often surprised to learn that medieval quills 🪶 typically had no decorative plumes. The barbs were almost completely stripped off, as depicted in this 13th-century manuscript. So, I’m curious: how did the fully plumed quill become a mainstay of pop media? #medievalsky

In 1348, a notary doodled this castle at the bottom of a merchant's will. The doodle had a purpose, though. Notaries in the Middle Ages created personalized symbols to authenticate the documents they drafted. This notary chose a castle because of his name: Johannes de Castello. #medievalsky

This little manuscript is a king’s order from the year 1272 to pay his court jester. King James I of Aragon paid around 100 pieces of silver to Martynus, labeled in the document as a “joculator”—literally, “a person who jokes.” The king’s royal seal is affixed to the back. #medievalsky

#ESR Sorbonne Université quitte X pour Bluesky. www.sorbonne-universite.fr/actualites/s... 1/n

Ever encountered a yellowish blob like this in a medieval book? It's a drop of candle wax. Yup, books were read at night back then, by candle light. (Owl disapproves. Hoo-hoo did that?) Angers, BM, 162 (14th century). Digital pics: https://buff.ly/3VfChhJ.

This is a marriage contract from the year 1260. A notary drafted this for a couple in southern France. The groom, Andreas Delmas; the bride, Ermessand... Notarial contracts are so fun. I've seen thousands. Not often glamorous, they're glimpses into the tantalizingly mundane. (1/2) #medievalsky

In honor of Marc Bloch’s entry into the Panthéon, some encouraging words from The Historian’s Craft, which he wrote nearly 80 years ago while fighting with the French Resistance, just months before the Nazis captured and later executed him. #medievalsky

Marc #Bloch va entrer au #Panthéon. Un professeur d'histoire, un résistant, un penseur décisif et visionnaire du dialogue entre l'histoire et les sciences sociales. www.liberation.fr/sciences/his...

Glad my YouTube algorithm recommended this and not "3+ hours of medieval scholastic polemics concerning nominalist epistemology," which would have had me tossing and turning.

Any fans of Peter the Eater? (Petrus Comestor) I wrote this brief note a couple years ago about an early copy of Petrus Comestor’s Historia scholastica in Yale’s Beinecke library collections. #medievalsky beinecke.library.yale.edu/article/osbo...

Medievalist seeking advice RE World History courses: I teach the 2 halves of World History survey courses (i.e. to/from 1500). My SLAC has close to 0 history majors, and my department suggests we need better course titles than "World History to/from 1500" to draw students. Suggestions? #medievalsky

Medievalists: Is there a theme/topic that really captures the interest of your students from unrelated majors? Most recently, it was convivencia for me. Many, many variables, of course, but that one used to get more engagement. I haven’t had a military/armor/vikings buff in years. #medievalsky

A favorite manuscript from my collection: A law student's diploma from the University of Paris, 1568. The student received a degree in canon law after being "rigorously examined" by the faculty on August 24. The school's wax seal is attached. Faculty signatures under the plica. #medievalsky

The image of Odysseus I will always have in my mind is based on the 1997 miniseries adaptation starring Armand Assante and nothing will change that. www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJmA...

I’m a medieval historian specializing in law & notarial culture in the Mediterranean region. My PhD research focused on the rise of the legal profession in the city of Montpellier, c. 1200-1400. Manuscripts & paleography 📜! Also a professor of World History. Some of my courses below: 🗃️ #medievalsky