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Posts by Dr Abby Armstrong

Received an email from jobs.ac.uk saying that there have been no new jobs matching my search criteria within the last 3 months and that I should change my criteria to “ensure you don’t miss out on great opportunities”. My niche search criteria: “Historical & Philosophical Studies” and “medieval” 😅

4 days ago 3 1 0 0
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Thinking pilgrimage - Canterbury, Eastbridge and Maison Dieu, Dover - KCHH From the Archbishop's pilgrimage and Eastbridge to Dover at Night, events highlight the value of community.

Thinking pilgrimage – Canterbury, Eastbridge and Maison Dieu, Dover kchh.org/thinking-pil...

3 weeks ago 1 0 0 0

I feel seen by this thread.
(Pleeeeeeease give me this abbreviation in its non-abbreviated form elsewhere 🙏)
*Minus running the manuscript through transkribus because my MSS are usually not hundreds of folios thankfully

5 months ago 2 0 0 0

Thanks Leonie! It brightened my day

6 months ago 0 0 0 0

It’s always great receiving random emails from people who’ve enjoyed your work and found it useful.
Receiving such an email today has made my day 🤗 especially as I’ve been struggling a bit recently

6 months ago 4 0 1 0

Notre Dame is complete and it is beautiful! 😍
Bonus pics to show off how magnificent this set is. So intricate. So detailed.

Annoyingly many typos in this thread but I blame it on the sore fingers and thumbs from trying to stick together all the tiny Lego pieces

8 months ago 4 0 1 0
Notre Dame is complete. Spire has been added to the roof. Also twelve statues representing the apostles look out over Paris. Except the one with the face of one of the main restorers who admires the spire. Greenery also added along the side of Notre Dame.

Notre Dame is complete. Spire has been added to the roof. Also twelve statues representing the apostles look out over Paris. Except the one with the face of one of the main restorers who admires the spire. Greenery also added along the side of Notre Dame.

Bags 33 and 34. The last pieces. Notre Dame is now the tallest building in Paris until the Eiffel Tower is built. Restoration of 1843-60 adds the 12 apostles to the roof. 1 of the statues has the face of Viollet-le-Duc who faces the spire rather than watching over the rest of Paris like the others

8 months ago 1 0 0 0
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Lego Notre Dame cathedral with far more spiky pinnacles added around the rounded east end on the flying buttresses and along the nave

Lego Notre Dame cathedral with far more spiky pinnacles added around the rounded east end on the flying buttresses and along the nave

Bags 31 and 32. Yup fiddly stuff. We jump 100 years to 1350 with pinnacles replaced (or added in the Lego version) on the uprights of the flying buttresses. Jumping even further forward to the 19th century restorations we have tabernacles added atop the flying buttresses along the nave

8 months ago 2 0 1 0
Complete construction of the Lego Notre Dame. Roof completed.

Complete construction of the Lego Notre Dame. Roof completed.

Bags 29 and 30. The roof is done!
We have now reached 1245 with the completion of the overall structure. 🎉
I feel like the remaining bags are now going to be fiddly decorative touches 😬

8 months ago 1 0 1 0
Noblewomen played a central role in medieval society. They cultivated important networks both within their families and wider society, acting as rulers and politicians, as well as cultural and religious patrons and intermediaries. This is an ever-expanding field of research, with scholars exploring the plethora of roles that noblewomen could play in medieval life, and the ways in which they were viewed and represented by wider society. This strand of sessions will bring together scholars who work on medieval noblewomen – to build on and develop the discourse that has developed over the past few decades, with the continued aim of building a global network of scholars working in this vibrant area of research. 
We welcome papers spanning from across the medieval world, as well as across disciplines.
Topics could include, but are not limited to: Noblewomen in time; 	Noblewomen’s involvement in education and learning; Noblewomen’s roles in politics and political life; Noblewomen and society; Noblewomen and the family; Noblewomen and the law; Noblewomen and patronage; Noblewomen and material culture; Noblewomen and literature; Ecclesiastical women and interactions with religious communities; Historiographical approaches to noblewomen.

We invite proposals for 20-minute papers on all aspects of research relating to noblewomen. Expressions of interest and/or queries should be directed to NoblewomenIMC2020@gmail.com by 7pm on Friday 5 September 2025, with an abstract of no more than 250 words and a short biography.

Noblewomen played a central role in medieval society. They cultivated important networks both within their families and wider society, acting as rulers and politicians, as well as cultural and religious patrons and intermediaries. This is an ever-expanding field of research, with scholars exploring the plethora of roles that noblewomen could play in medieval life, and the ways in which they were viewed and represented by wider society. This strand of sessions will bring together scholars who work on medieval noblewomen – to build on and develop the discourse that has developed over the past few decades, with the continued aim of building a global network of scholars working in this vibrant area of research. We welcome papers spanning from across the medieval world, as well as across disciplines. Topics could include, but are not limited to: Noblewomen in time; Noblewomen’s involvement in education and learning; Noblewomen’s roles in politics and political life; Noblewomen and society; Noblewomen and the family; Noblewomen and the law; Noblewomen and patronage; Noblewomen and material culture; Noblewomen and literature; Ecclesiastical women and interactions with religious communities; Historiographical approaches to noblewomen. We invite proposals for 20-minute papers on all aspects of research relating to noblewomen. Expressions of interest and/or queries should be directed to NoblewomenIMC2020@gmail.com by 7pm on Friday 5 September 2025, with an abstract of no more than 250 words and a short biography.

CfP: The Noblewomen Network @imc-leeds.bsky.social 2026. If you're working on medieval noblewomen, we'd love to hear from you! Please share widely.

Deadline for abstracts: 5 September.

#IMC2026

8 months ago 32 28 0 0
Bell towers added on top of the west end

Bell towers added on top of the west end

Bags 26, 27 and 28. Back to the bell towers. Accidentally put the ‘bells’ in upside down on the first one and had to redo it 😅

8 months ago 3 0 1 0
Roof added over the nave of Lego Notre Dame

Roof added over the nave of Lego Notre Dame

Bag 25. What? Not finishing the towers?! Adding on the roof over the nave instead

8 months ago 2 0 1 0

Okay I’ve left it on the coffee table this afternoon post build and every time I’ve walked past it I have to admit that those wand pillars look really good. Worth the faff and fiddlyness

8 months ago 8 0 0 0

Only the LEGO versions 😅

8 months ago 1 0 0 0

It’s a beauty!

8 months ago 1 0 0 0
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It’s a beauty! I love all the tidbits of historical and architectural information provided by the instructions too

8 months ago 1 0 1 0
Towers now a level higher than the nave. Lots of columns

Towers now a level higher than the nave. Lots of columns

Bag 24. Another level of the towers. Still no bells but a whole load of columns.

Less fun bag this one. Those lovely columns were made using 40 tiny wands which had to be set at different angles.

8 months ago 3 0 3 1
The two towers starting to protrude from the west end

The two towers starting to protrude from the west end

Bag 23. The towers continue. We’re somewhere between 1225 and 1245 (when the towers were complete).
Towers up another level with sturdy to supports to hold the weight of the bells on the next level (I assume)

8 months ago 1 0 1 0
Continuing building the towers of the west entrance higher to the level of the nave. Another rose window added

Continuing building the towers of the west entrance higher to the level of the nave. Another rose window added

Bag 22. Another rose window added. Up we continue to build.
Sadly the galley of kings represented by cones and other round elements rather than mini figures. To be honest the minifigs would have been very mini and would have had to hold a reasonable load as the towers continue up in the next bag

8 months ago 2 0 1 0
Returning to the west facade building up those towers and adding in some more windows

Returning to the west facade building up those towers and adding in some more windows

Returned from Leeds IMC to find the Notre Dame on display in its 1225 unfinished glory.
Taking that as a hint, construction has resumed 😅

Bag 21. Returning to the west end. Building up the towers above the main portals

8 months ago 1 0 1 0

Thanks for chairing Leonie! It was a great panel

9 months ago 1 0 0 0
Abby holding a copy of Approching Records of the Household and Wardrobe in front of the Routledge stand at the book fair

Abby holding a copy of Approching Records of the Household and Wardrobe in front of the Routledge stand at the book fair

Just little old me and my little new book at Leeds IMC.

A free copy was available at the stand when I stopped by!

9 months ago 25 1 0 1
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Jumbo flying buttresses lining the nave of Lego Notre Dame

Jumbo flying buttresses lining the nave of Lego Notre Dame

Bag 20. Adding in a whole load more flying buttresses. The pieces actual have holes in them mimicking the water channels in the real thing. We’ve made it to 1225 now

9 months ago 4 0 1 0
Ribbed vaulting ready to hold up the roof of Lego Notre Dame

Ribbed vaulting ready to hold up the roof of Lego Notre Dame

Bag 19. Adding in the ribbed vaults and more arched windows. Such attention to detail that they follow the original with a transverse rib at every second capital

9 months ago 1 0 1 0
Minimal additions visible from birds eye view of Notre Dame as all attention of large round rose windows to the north and south

Minimal additions visible from birds eye view of Notre Dame as all attention of large round rose windows to the north and south

View from the south side of Notre Dame. Large round rose window above a doorway. Lots of flying buttress action on display (both big and small)

View from the south side of Notre Dame. Large round rose window above a doorway. Lots of flying buttress action on display (both big and small)

Bag 18. All about the north and south rose windows.
Made an exception and included a picture from the side to show these beauties. Sadly lacking in colour though. May have to get my coloured pens out 😅

10 months ago 5 0 1 0
Roof added over pillars of first floor of Lego Notre Dame

Roof added over pillars of first floor of Lego Notre Dame

Bag 17. More pillars went in to hold up the roof. Also added in the arches over the west doors

10 months ago 4 0 1 0
Lego notre dame. More roof aspects added

Lego notre dame. More roof aspects added

Bag 16. Been a busy few couple of weeks so I’m happy to be able to get back to this for a little bit this afternoon.
Working on building up the roof and adding more mini flying buttresses

10 months ago 2 0 1 0

If anyone is interested in working at CSMC and has any questions, I’m happy to try and answer them

10 months ago 2 1 0 0
Building up the front of the west end and starting to build the next floor up on top of all the supporting pillars

Building up the front of the west end and starting to build the next floor up on top of all the supporting pillars

Bag 15. Building up the front of the west end with the arches (not the best angle for this) and already putting another level on top of all those pillars

10 months ago 3 0 1 0
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Pillars added to the nave and starting to build up and enclose the west end

Pillars added to the nave and starting to build up and enclose the west end

Bag 14. We’re up to 1208 with work continuing on the nave and preparing the foundations of the west towers. Lots of pillars gone in.

10 months ago 5 0 1 0