Deadline extended to September 15! There is still time to send us your abstracts, & we look forward to hearing from you.

[Alt text can be found in the replies to the quoted post]

I tried to add the text of the CFP to alt text, but Blueksy kept glitching and wouldn't let me post with it. Thankfully, @networknorse.bsky.social recently posted a text-only version of both CFPs, so please do check out their posts. Apologies for the lack of alt text!

A reminder of the upcoming deadlines for the TWO Norse Hagiography Network panels, one joint with the Celtic Hagiography Network, and the other with the Viking Society

Please note the different deadlines:
24th August (for the joint Viking Society panel) and 31st August (for the joint CHN panel)

CfP for @imc-leeds.bsky.social 2026, organised together with @celtichagiography.bsky.social.

Deadline: August 31.

[Alt text in thread]

CfP @imc-leeds.bsky.social 2026:

New Studies in Old Norse Hagiography

Session Jointly Sponsored by the Norse Hagiography Network and the Viking Society for Northern Research

Deadline: August 24.

[Alt text in thread]

AM 235 fol, f23v (handrit.is), containing the start of the Saga af Fídes, Spes, ok Karítas. The picture shows a dark manuscript page with two columns of text written in black ink. A large red magiscule thorn (þ), with some decoration, begins the seventh line of the right-hand column.

Today is the feast of SS Faith, Hope & Charity (Fides, Spes & Caritas). They may well have been real martyrs, but no one has yet been able to connect them to historical figures. An Old Norse-Icelandic saga tells their story & notes their feast day, but no cult is known in the North. (1/n)

Thank you! But not quite yet - still have to get through the viva!!

Thank you! Haven't had a chance to celebrate properly yet, but there was many a lie down over the weekend!

Thesis title page. The text reads: Incite, Seduce, Martyr: Female Verbal Power in the Texts of AM 226 fol. Natasha A. J. Bradley Lincoln College, University of Oxford Faculty of English A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Trinity Term 2025 Word count: 102,885 (including 4,506 words of translations)

On Friday, I submitted my doctoral thesis - 'Incite, Seduce, Martyr: Female Verbal Power in the Texts of AM 226 fol.'

It still hasn't sunk in. Thanks to everyone who has supported me throughout this process.

Thank you! It was lovely to meet you!

Poster for the conference "Trans Sainthood in Translation, ca. 400-1500", 22-23 May 2025 at German Historical Institute London. More information at www.ghil.ac.uk. In the background behin the title, there is a 13th century depiction of a child looking at a monk (Saint Marina/Marinus) from the manuscript Zwettl, Stiftsbibliothek, Cod. 13, with an added visual effect that makes it look like white light is coming from the child's eyes and being refracted into rainbow colors by the saint's halo. At the bottom, the logos of the sponsors of the conference: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, German Historical Institute London, the Hagiography Society, and the Past&Present Society.

Program for Day 1 of the conference "Trans Sainthood in Translation": 22 May Welcome and Introduction: 9:00–9:30 Stephan Bruhn (German Historical Institute, London) Session 1: 9:30–11:00 Jenny Albani (Greek Ministry of Culture, Athens): The Holy Memory of a Transgender Saint in the Christian East: The Cult and Image of Pelagia the Penitent Julie Van Pelt (Universiteit Gent): Trans Sainthood and Metaphrasis: Re-writing Gender in the Metaphrastic Life of Theodora/-us of Alexandria (BHG 1730) Charles Kuper (University of Tennessee, Knoxville): Translating the Lives of Trans Saints. Crossing Time and Space in the Greek, Latin, and Syriac Lives of Euphrosyne/Smaragdos Coffee Break: 11:00–11:30 Session 2: 11:30–12:30 Michael Eber (Universität zu Köln): Lost in Translation? Defusing the Lives of Trans Saints in Latin Translation Mariana Bodnaruk (Masarykova Univerzita, Brno): Pelagia*us’ Gender Performance in Church Slavonic Versions of the Life Lunch Break: 12:30–14:00 Session 3: 14:00–15:30 Gabrielle Bychowski (Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland): Imago Transvesti: St. Marinos, the Images of a Transgender God Arietta Papaconstantinou (Aix-Marseille Université): Authorial authority. Who defines the gender of Marina/Marinos (and others)? Luis Josué Salés (Scripps College, Claremont): Exporting Greco-Roman Androprimacy? Perils of Translating Trans Saints Lives into Ethiopian and Syrian Contexts Coffee Break: 15:30–16:00 Keynote 1: 16:00–17:00 Roland Betancourt (University of California Irvine): Trans In/visibility in Byzantium: Resistance, Resilience, Refusal Conference Dinner: 19:00

Program for Day 2 of the conference "Trans Sainthood in Translation": 23 May Session 4: 09:00–10:30 Juliette Vuille (Université de Lausanne): “We are Family”: Familial Ties as Gender Correction in Old English Trans Lives Clovis Maillet (Villa Medici, Rome): Eugeni/e, Hiacynth and Prothus between Genders: Images and Texts in Latin, Greek and Old English James Davison (University of Liverpool): Ælfric, Eugenia*us, and Euphrosyne*Smaragdus: Trans saints in early Medieval England Coffee Break: 10:30–11:00 Session 5: 11:00–12:00 Robert Mills (University College London): Eugenia*us in Translation: Art, Liturgy, and Landscape in Iberia Leticia Ding (Université de Lausanne): Dieudonnée, Marine and Eufrosine: Three Shades of Gender Crossing Lunch Break: 12:00–13:00 Session 6: 13:00–14:00 Johannes Traulsen (Freie Universität Berlin): Age and Asceticism in the Medieval German Vitae of Trans Saints Natasha Bradley (Lincoln College, University of Oxford): Cross-Dressing Saints in Old Norse Translation: Marina the Monk and Pelagia the Penitent Keynote 2: 14:00–15:00 Alicia Spencer-Hall (University College London): Trans Monasticism and the Trans Hagiographic Impulse: Genders, Texts, Lives Concluding Remarks: 15:00–15:15 Michael Eber (Universität zu Köln)

Excited to finally share the program for "Trans Sainthood in Translation, ca. 400-1500" at @ghilondon.bsky.social on 22-23 May 🏳️‍⚧️🌈 If you are interested in trans saints anywhere from late antique Egypt to late medieval Iceland, join us on zoom! Registration at wwwghil.ac.uk/events/confe...

Postdoctoral Opportunity in Digital Humanities & Old Norse I am pleased to share with you a new employment opportunity in the field of digital humanities, with a particular focus on computational philology and Old Norse studies, as part of my current project ...

2-yrs full-time #postdoc position in #digitalhumanities and #oldnorse in Paris at @ecoledeschartes.bsky.social @psl-univ.bsky.social open for applications - there were some issues with the pdf circular, so I published the text on my blog. Please circulate widely.
www.kakapitan.com/post/postdoc...

Detail from a thirteenth-century wooden ciborium, with scenes from the Nativity story. On the left-hand side is the Nativity with Mary lying in bed and attended by a maid, with Joseph sitting at the foot end. Beside the bed is the swaddled Christ-child in a manger, with an ox and an ass inspecting. Above the scene is a drawn curtain with a lamp hanging from its midpoint. On the right-hand side we see Mary enthroned and crowned, with the Christ-child on her left knee. From the right comes an angel holding a thurifer, and on the ground are two of the three holy kings bearing gifts.

The Norse Hagiography Network has now arrived at Bluesky, just in time for the feast of the three holy kings. We look forward to connecting with fellow enthusiasts, & to provide informative insights into the Nordic medieval cult of saints.

[Ål stave church; Museum of Cultural History, Oslo]

So I went for a walk and I can't see any local buildings missing a head. Will resume the search tomorrow...

That's really useful info - thank you!

Yeah could be. Unfortunately in this city that's like finding a needle in a haystack. I'll go for a walk in a bit to see if any of the decorations on the nearby churches and colleges are looking a bit decapitated

I'm just as surprised as you are

Hmm it doesn't say where the photo is from, but based on the others it doesn't look like it was taken in Oxford...

That's our guy!!

Anyone recognise this head? Esp. Oxford folks. It has suddenly appeared in the communal area of my building... if I can figure out where it's from I can try to return it?

Sign the Petition Red de Opleiding Keltisch/Save the Bachelor Celtic!

Petition to try to save Celtic Studies at Utrecht University. Funding cuts by the right wing Dutch government are leading to proposals for the decimation of language & cultural studies programmes in the Netherlands, & Celtic at Utrecht is one such department under severe threat:

chng.it/8KwKPSXwSh

Red and green northern lights above a tree stump

Red and green Northern Lights above a black, white, and brown horse

Red and purple Northern Lights above a white horse

A purple sky over two dark trees. A road is visible with the silhouttes of people walking.

The Northern Lights in Oxford last night were quite something!

I am speaking at a lectern in front of a slide showing a picture of a postmedieval manuscript

The Master Class attendees are stood in front of the title slide 'Mark my Words: The Tradition(s) of Mark the Evangelist in Iceland and Scandinavia'

I had a fantastic time in the Master Class at the Summer School in Icelandic and Scandinavian Manuscripts, researching the literary tradition(s) of St Mark. A great way to round off three years of the summer school! Thanks to the Viking Society for part funding my attendance

For those of you interested, the Norse Hagiography Network has put out a call for papers for Leeds IMC 2025.

#medievalsky

International Medieval Congress University of Leeds, 7-10 Jul 2025 Call for Papers Latin in the Scandinavian Middle Ages The Latin language formed the basis for written culture and learning in the medieval North much like anywhere else on the continent. Classical and early medieval authors were employed as models to shape new works and as authorities to back up the claims thereby contained. Nonetheless, the impact of Latin literacy and its tradition in Scandinavia continues to be understudied. For this strand, we invite 20-minute papers on any of the topics below and beyond. We especially encourage creativity and diverse perspectives. Please submit abstracts of approximately 250 words and a short bio including name, pronouns, and affiliations to Adrián Rodríguez Avila (air27@cam.ac.uk) or Jonas Zeit-Altpeter (zeitaltpeter@uni-bonn.de) by the 5th of September.

Latin in Medieval Scandinavia! Please share freely.

#MedievalSky #IMCLeeds #imc2025

Two spires of the Merton Chapel Tower

A view of Oxford, including quads from Corpus Christi and Christ Church colleges

Took a quick break from thesis writing today to ascend the Merton Chapel Tower and take in the view from one of Oxford's dreaming spires

Panel 1 - full text-only details available at: https://imc-leeds.confex.com/imc/2024/prelim.cgi/Session/5150

Panel 2 - full text-only details available at: https://imc-leeds.confex.com/imc/2024/prelim.cgi/Session/5139

New to this platform but I thought I'd share here the panels I've organised (on behalf of the Norse Hagiography Network) for Leeds IMC this year - one panel looking at the image of the cross in the medieval north and another analysing moments of crisis in ON hagiography