First they came for the languages. In the hope that no one would have the words to say what was happening. 1/9🧵

Hey Bayeux Tapestry fans have I made the platform game for you? I’m sure someone else will have done this before but well now I have too… bayeuxgo.live

The cfp for next year’s MAMO (the Middle Ages in the Modern World) conference is live! We’ve got amazing keynote panels, speakers, and special events- check it out!! themamo.org

A REMINDER! WILL WORK FOR MONEY! joanneedge.co.uk/freelance-wo... #MedievalSky #EarlyModern

Please join us as we take the time machine back 400 years!

Yes: this is a national emergency Wondering if @zackpolanski.bsky.social and @greenparty.org.uk has a position on this dire situation?

After months of gaslighting from my university, which thinks medieval things of little interest in an English Literature degree, it's validating/ extremely annoying to be 49,319th in the queue for tickets to see the Bayeux Tapestry.

This was such a welcoming and beautifully organised conference. Brilliant papers from all the postgraduates there. @unikent-travel.bsky.social should be very proud of the medieval and early modern programme there.

As is my wont, whenever Shabana Mahmood does something downright vile, I give £50 to The Hope Projects which houses destitute migrants. Donate link at the very bottom of the page. hope-projects.org.uk/about-hope/

"Hiring of college grads is down across the board. But certain majors are able to access opportunities in a wider array of industries, new LinkedIn data shows." ENGLISH ENGLISH ENGLISH 69% VISUAL AND PERFORMING ARTS 68% www.forbes.com/sites/courtn...

What all my experience has taught me is that the lifting of the student numbers 'cap' has been a disaster for everyone in UK HE. Places like Nottingham have wilfully over-recruited, creating massive workload pressures with simultaneous job insecurity + stuff the wider effects on student numbers 2/

📣 Call for Applications 📣 History Workshop is seeking to appoint one Editorial Fellow in 2026, with specialism in pre-1800 CE history from any part of the globe. This is a part-time, paid role. Application deadline: 7 August 2026. Please share widely!

Working over the summer to produce 4* REF2029 Impact Case Studies in (say) History? Where to look for paradigms? Well, that would include (for example) Exeter, Lincoln, Hertfordshire, Kent, Sussex, Leicester, Nottingham and other hotspots of staff redundancy. 6/7

can’t believe a narcissist is being so publicly humiliated by a reflecting pool

Not now, tiny particle that could erase the universe at any moment

Glad to be contributing to this very exciting programme today. Teaching medieval storytelling in Canterbury feels very much like carrying coals to Newcastle!

@englishassociation.bsky.social #ywesnesday

Exciting news for anyone interested in the fifteenth century. The UK's annual conference will this year take place in the beautiful city of Canterbury on 3rd-5th September 2026, hosted by MEMS @kent.ac.uk - and registration is now open. Hope you can join us: blogs.kent.ac.uk/memsnews/202...

So sad about the loss of the only artist who understood the awe, beauty and power of a good tree as much Tolkien did.

Exhaustion, grief and impatience at how long it is taking to know. Difficulty focusing on tasks that 'urgently' need doing to set things up for next year, which I may not be there to see. The bit about waste in this article rings very true, too. Beautiful, important things have been trashed.

New post, with a little new reading of Pearl and temporality, which I am quite excited about TBH. What do you think? Does it hold up? substack.com/home/post/p-...

Looking forward to sharing 'Yde and Olive' and teaching storytelling skills using medieval trans and queer saint's tales and romance at this retreat next week. There are still some places left if you would like to join us.

Dear all, I'm proud to present the programme for NOSTALGIA AND RADICAL POLITICS, which is being held in person 15-16 June and online 26 June. We have 26 amazing speakers lined up!! www.northampton.ac.uk/research-blo... 🗃️

🚨 NEW: 27 Members of Parliament have signed a motion to reject the EHRC Code of Practice edm.parliament.uk/early-day-mo... Ask yours to join them: equalrecognition.eaction.org.uk/rejectthecode

So So Angry

This cartoon by Ella Baron from the Guardian today actually made me well up a little. We will keep fighting. Together.

Hey Bluesky folks. If you’re in education or just follow for my thirst traps, would you please sign this if you can, and share far and wide? c.org/dCKk9vjqxY It’s much appreciated. My university is cancelling all UG humanities degrees. We need support and love right now x

What can one even say any more. The Nothing will eat almost the entire sector if controls aren't brought into force. Hey, government! Anyone there? www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

📢JOB ALERT 📢 We are looking to appoint a F/T open-ended Lecturer in Late Medieval / Early Modern History (1400-1700) @lancasteruni.bsky.social. This is an amazing opportunity that we are very proud to announce, so please spread the word far and wide! www.hr-jobs.lancs.ac.uk/Vacancy.aspx...

twenty years ago people attacked universities by deriding “Mickey Mouse degrees” like media studies in favour of “proper” subjects like history, and now universities are skipping that step and simply abolishing everything that isn’t economics

@labouruk.bsky.social, kindly stop titting about and arguing over who knew what about Mandelson and pay attention to the fact a major industry and mechanism of social mobility is collapsing. We beg you.

The day has finally arrived. You can now *officially* watch puffins live from the Farne Islands, 24 hours a day: bit.ly/4tRz72T Please enjoy these puffins kissing in celebration of this momentous event.

Absolutely lovely Job! Senior Research Associate to join the School of Literature, Drama & Creative Writing from 1 September 2026 until 30 April 2029, to work on the AHRC-funded project Beyond the Essay: Creative-Critical Teaching www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DRJ527/s...

Print club has been one of the best parts of this academic year. Lovely to spend an evening once a week learning different printing techniques from my excellent art colleagues and their students and using the heavy presses. Some side effects, though.

A good summary why UK HE has ended up in such a mess. I’d also add the growth of a managerial layer who refuse to take any responsibility for things they are responsible for; fall in available research funding, which wastes huge amounts of labour; and the pointless hamster wheel of REF! 🫠

GOOD NEWS: we've got some last-minute tickets available for next week's public lecture 'Food for Thought – The Bayeux Tapestry Revisited' in Bristol. Get yours before they're gone! www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/public-lec...

Very tired.

all these universities kept axing medieval history departments as if they thought tyrants beefing with the Pope was going to stop being relevant

Midlands medieval story-loving friends! I'm performing 'Yde and Olive' at Wolverhampton's wonderful Arena Theatre on the 15th April. It is a beautiful performance space and one I often teach in, so it will be a real honour to share this story there. Please share. wlv.ticketsolve.com/ticketbooth/...

FINALLY

Triptych of BBC articles. 24th, 25th, 26th March 2026. (No, I'm not going to watch the thing that funded the other two).

Someone drew a little bird in a hat in this 16th century Welsh manuscript of regulations for bards. British Library, Add MS 19711.

Another university getting rid of things you could only ever do at a university and replacing them with stuff a 13-year-old can do on a phone

Horrified to say that I have at least three stories I could tell on this subject!

Man, one of the most depressing aspects of modern scholarship is finding a great article and then looking up the scholar to see what else they’ve done and just catching a glimpse of an abbreviated career hopping between visiting positions and publishing great pieces before disappearing from academia

Please share: due to withdrawal I have a space on my castles panel for #LeedsIMC. If you’ve an idea needs airing on time and temporalities in castles, give me a shout/submit via link! imc-leeds.confex.com/imc/2026/pre... @imc-leeds.bsky.social @castlestudies.bsky.social Original CfP below ⬇️

London friends! I am giving a talk on medieval drama at the Senate House at 5 today (4th March). If you have ever wondered about the state of table manners in the medieval Fall plays, this is your time to find out. www.sas.ac.uk/news-events/...

Well, this looks worryingly similar to what is happening here, too. At least 8 colleagues I know through gender and medieval studies research are having modules and courses cancelled and jobs threatened. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

It feels like this is worth sharing again. Sir Ian McKellan giving The Strangers Case monologue from Sir Thomas Moore, attributed to William Shakespeare. youtu.be/wXq58BbhCO4?...

This weekend I'm reviving a former show: reworking it with all the new things I learnt through my last storytelling tour. Looking forward to performing 'Bayeux Tapestry: the Full Yarn' at Wolves LitFest in February! wolvesliteraturefestival.ticketsolve.com/ticketbooth/...