let's go down to the waterline - Dire straits

Frisland was one of the islands described in the Voyage of the Zeno brothers, a sixteenth-century literary forgery. This text, & its islands, continues to fascinate us, as demonstrated by a recent issue of Martin Mystère: www.sergiobonelli.it/prodotto/le-....

Want to know the date of the Tremulous Hand of Worcester, or why medieval documentary ‘forgery’ is, more properly, imaginative fiction? My book is now available in paperback! 🥳 www.arc-humanities.org/978180270086...

The season is changing, but the world remains topsy-turvy.

Whatever we calculate, the future in Iran now looks like Iraq or Libya, Bibi’s dream. It’s so hard to imagine Iran, a modern built up country w huge dense cities, amazing architecture, great bookshops, trendy cafes & vibrant people, reduced to a Hollywood-movie “rubbles & ruins” war-torn country.

El martes que viene estaré en @CaixaForum de Barcelona para hablar de la insaciabilidad de la IA con @katecrawford. Nos vemos allí.

🎉 Huge news for BHL: The Field Museum is taking over the hosting of BHL’s website, servers & infrastructure, ensuring long-term stability and access for its 63+ million pages of open biodiversity literature. Learn more: blog.biodiversitylibrary.org/2026/02/tran... #BHLTransition #ILoveBHL 🌍 📚 🧪

Thinking back to a Swedish-Iranian former student of mine, whose encounter with the Shahnameh during her first year at university led her to rekindle the connection to her Iranian heritage. Warmongers can fuck right off.

But why can't I keep him? He followed me home. [Syddansk Universitetsbibliotek RARA M 15, f.38v]

Palaeojackalope.

that's pretty French, hombre - Jamali Maddix, Taskmaster S11E08

paging through the splendid digitization of the early 12th c Vita et miracula s. Quintini-- struck of course by the ecological sensibility of the body feeding the fish (Ms. Basilique Saint-Quentin 1 f. 67r)

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

På Jakob Sande-senteret for fortellekunst driver de med mye kult, blant annet Tidsskriftet Jaja! De ba meg om å skrive noe om KI og fortellinger. «KI» er fortelling, og «KI» består av fortellinger.

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

I also have a contribution in this wonderful volume/special issue, will write a thread about it later.

I am often to be found caring for the unknown dead, who emerge, shattered, from their ancient and forgotten graves. Collecting them, burying them, praying them back to their rest. It makes me think, sometimes, of the transphobic refrain that in a thousand years our bones will somehow betray us.

For those who need some inspiration to slay their own personal dragons today. [Nationalmuseet, Copenhagen, D1267; previously in Stokkemarke Church, c.1500]

Portada de la Iglesia de la Asunción en Perrozo, Liébana, de la que tenemos noticias ya en el siglo X a través de su vinculación con el Monasterio de Piasca por diversos documentos de donaciones. #cantabria #arte #historia #romanico #medieval #patrimoniocultural

The dog was barking so I thought she wanted to be let in. Turns out that what she wanted was an audience for her one-dog performance of Eating From a Bowl.

It’s officially pub day for this incredible work! Thank you to Oscar de la Torre for making this possible!! And thank you to CUNY DSI for research consults and permission to use your images in my work!! www.hup.harvard.edu/books/978088...

Following the earlier Oseberg and Gokstad ship relocations, the Tune ship, snug in its steel rig, has started its journey into the new Museum of the Viking Age (@uio.no) today. Over the course of three days, it will travel a total of 130 metres at a top speed of c. 24 cm per minute.

I know there's a lot going on right now, but don't forget to apply to @calrbs.bsky.social -- priority applications close in April! I'm teaching Pop Bibliography there again, and would love to have you in my class: www.calrbs.org/english-pale...

Hey skystorians and Native studies 👋 American Philosophical Society has an a fantastic grant funding program through the Phillips Fund for Native American research. This fund has supported me several times for Alaska oral history research I’m helping to get the word out to apply by March 2! 🗃️

France hands stolen colonial-era 'talking drum' back to Côte d'Ivoire rfi.my/CSpi.BS

If you ignore the first three minutes where I was nervous and said “you know” like 5000 times, this is a very nice interview about my first book! Thank you to the Shi'a Research Institute for being interested and for the wonderful conversation. shiaresearch.ca/insight-inte...

From Saturday, exploring the highway of foxes.

It is bad for humans to never interact with people (or entities) that check our egos or force us to consider our own perspectives and desires. The widespread use of these technologies is an existential psychological and sociological threat.

The Tune ship gets moved this week www.vikingtidsmuseet.no/english/news... #viking #ships

Whatever one's faith or conviction, it is important to recognise that to artificially generate a text is to drain that text of its purpose. Whenever I give lectures, they tend to be a lot like homilies in the sense that they contain important points, & they reflect my professional convictions.

Recently, I've had cause to reflect a lot on this phenomenal piece by @karenattiah.bsky.social, which delves into the pernicious legacies of colonialism, & serves as an excellent reminder that we are not that far removed from these times: karenattiah.substack.com/p/the-return....

Yesterday, when walking on the lake ice, we ended up in one of the seven cities of Cíbola. Perhaps because we did not turn left at Albuquerque.

In a C15 calendar from Åbo, the rank is simplex, a low rank. In Breviarium Nidrosiense (1519), the rank is semiduplex, which is higher. In a C15 calendar from Linköping (Sveriges Riksarkiv Fr 27557, the rank is listed as totum duplex, the highest possible rank. (5/n)

In the early Christian Norse sphere, St. Peter’s Chair does not appear to have been an important feast. Later medieval sources indicate that the feast gained greater importance, perhaps as a consequence of the Church’s stronger institutional power. The liturgical rank varied, however. (4/n)

Peter was an important saint in the Norse sphere. In church art, he is often depicted with the keys to Heaven and earth, which in turn symbolise the supremacy of the Church. One example is the door of a C13 altarpiece from Fåberg Church in Norway, where his attribute is prominently displayed.(3/n)

Legenda Aurea outlines the reasons why the feast was instituted, & explains its connection to the other feasts of St. Peter in the calendar (June 29 with Paul; & August 1). The feast thereby serves to bolster the cult of Peter, and, by extension, the status of the clerical class. (2/n)

Today is the feast of Cathedra Petri, St. Peter’s Chair. The feast commemorates Peter as the head - & the rock - of the Christian church, an idea based on Matthew 16:18. By the High Middle Ages, this date commemorated the appointment of Peter as bishop of Antioch. (1/n)

13th century stained glass from St. Mary’s Church at Saxlingham Nethergate in Norfolk depicting a bowman taking aim at St. Edmund of East Anglia - the Anglo-Saxon king who was killed by the Viking Great Army in around 869 AD. 📸 My own. #StainedGlassSunday #SaxonSunday

I think it's educational, in a crazy sort of way - Lee Mack, Taskmaster S11E04 [Beinecke MS 404, f.105v]

Here's a cute little dragon I painted on calfskin (copied from a 13th century bestiary) using traditional medieval techniques and pigments (labelled in second image) #medievalmanuscripts #medievalscriptorium #bookhistory

A hellmouth for your collection, encountered during today's trip on the lake ice.

it was a miracle of rare device: a sunny pleasure dome with caves of ice - Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Kubla Khan

Not all that Kubler wrote has stood the test of time (pun intended) but this is perhaps the most fitting diagnosis of creative endeavors for the times of AI

Mohamed Quassiti @mqassiti.bsky.social forscht zum arabisch-lateinischen #Wissenstransfer. In seinem Gastbeitrag erzählt er die Geschichte von Constantinus Africanus, der als nordafrikanischer Migrant die Medizin des Mittelalters revolutionierte: t1p.de/unun8 #Migration #Digitalisierung #Kulturerbe

www.codicum.eu/news-and-eve... Tuomas Heikkilä is hiring a 4-year fully funded PhD in Medieval Manuscript Studies at the University of Helsinki within the ERC Synergy Project CODICUM. Interested in medieval studies, philology, history, art history, etc!

Beginning with her overview article, "African and Oceanian Objects in French Museums," @transcrireada.bsky.social ( @cnrs.fr ) has introduced us to several vital digital humanities initiatives focused on preserving African history and languages, including:

Forthcoming conference in Dublin 'Sacred Networks: New Perspectives on Hagiography and Saints’ Cults' great line up including @natashaamberjo.bsky.social #medievalsky #nuntastic www.eventbrite.com/e/sacred-net...

I wasn't aware that the famous Forty Martyrs Palimpsest has been fully digitized and put online. But here it is, you can now take a look at the complete manuscript:

Today's view from the home office. I am quite pleased that the sizes of the mountains - as seen from this angle - is represented in miniature form by the towers of books on the desk.