Dame Averil Cameron obituary Historian whose sparky, innovative Byzantines challenged the stereotype of a stagnant society with nothing new to offer

A beautiful obituary for the great historian Averil Cameron by @tigerlilyrocks.bsky.social

This bergenia has flowered for the first time since I've lived in this house. I moved in six years ago!

Summer term 2026 schedule for the IHR Earlier Middle Ages Seminar in London.

The IHR Earlier Middle Ages seminar reconvenes in May, with another great line-up of papers for the term! #medievalsky

Stock's assertion here that nobody supporting trans people ever believed what they said, and were just doing it to climb the corporate ladder, is a remarkable admission that people like this don't believe in the possibility of unselfish ideals.

Feminism for them really is "What can I get?"

An article in the Times today by Kathleen Stock in which she claims, incorrectly, that ‘when the gay rights cause first got going, the ideal was toleration’.

To correct the record:
The gay rights movement I was a part of in the 1980s and 90s was not aiming for ‘toleration’.
Mere acceptance was not enough.
How would that help the isolated queer kid?
No. We wanted that child to know they would be loved and celebrated just as they were.

🏛️ On April 17th I'll be giving a talk at Universidad Católica (Santiago de Chile) on "Beyond Weapons and Jewels: Gendered Grave Goods and Social Performance in Early Medieval Italy" ⚔️💍

📍 Sala Seminario 1 – Facultad de Historia, Geografía y Ciencia Política
🕐 12:20 – 13:30

#medievalsky

Publishing today! A beautifully illustrated compendium of LGBTIQ+ life.
'A queer scrapbook' is a rich archive of histories from across Britain & Ireland. Featuring interviews, photographs & flyers, it captures the diversity of queer & trans lives since WW2.
Out now. #booksky

22,000 students told to pay back 'mis-sold' maintenance loans Those affected have been told their courses were never eligible for maintenance or childcare loans

Errors were made by the Student Loan Company (SLC) or universities, not by students

It's the universities' responsibility to give accurate information to SLC

It’s SLC's responsibility to check the information

Whoever's at fault, it's not the 22,000 students

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

A day after the US-Iran ceasefire was declared, Israel dropped 160 bombs on Lebanon in 10 minutes, killing at least 254 people and wounding over 1100. [1/2]

JD Vance praises government censorship in Hungary YouTube video by Femi - F Politics!

JD Vance just told us all he's a fascist.

This is the administration that people like Nigel Farage have been sucking up to for years.
#MAGA

Petition: Launch a public inquiry into the impact of Section 28 on LGBTQ people We call on the Government to launch a public inquiry into the impact of Section 28 of the Local Government Act (1988) which specified that Local Authorities could not intentionally promote, through ma...

Please can you share petition.parliament.uk/petitions/76...

Let's get a proper look into the damage this law caused

The Black Death by Thomas Asbridge review – a medieval horror story A magisterial history of one of the worst ever pandemics focuses on the individuals caught up in the chaos

Uh oh, @guardian, you should take a hint from a lesson @npr learned years ago. If you're going to use a "historical" image in a piece, make sure it actually relates to the history you're talking about. Your Black Death (plague) image is actually leprosy! www.theguardian.com/books/2026/a... 🗃️

Absolutely. Those two books are great.

The great historian of Late Antiquity Averil Cameron, who has died, reminding us that class matters alongside gender in British society wcc-uk.blogs.sas.ac.uk/2017/05/22/s...

I think it’s - in spite of the many and deserved plaudits - under-appreciated what a really remarkable scholar and historian she was. RIP

Yes I agree Guy, a brilliant historian.

Sad news

UK flag-raising group leader arrested on suspicion of causing ‘alarm and distress’ Exclusive: Ryan Bridge is co-founder of Raise the Colours, which has been criticised for anti-immigrant rhetoric

www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

Very encouraged to hear this.

Call for Papers

Hello #MedievalSky and #Antiquity from the #PresentDead!

Here's my #cfp for a hybrid conference on "interacting with the Dead in Antiquity & the Middle Ages", to be held in Graz, Austria on 2-4 Sept., 2026

presentdead.uni-graz.at/en/news/blog...

Please do circulate it to interested parties :)

LRT there's no point telling bsky that we don't want it by replying to the post, they aren't listening. Just block @attie.ai and pass it on. They'll get the message.

Frightening. Rich religious, capitalist, far-right fanatic attempting to undermine our secular, social democratic, socially liberal culture and way of life.

Looking forward to reading a very interesting looking article in this issue on 'Was Einhard a
widower?' by Ingrid Rembold.

Trans lives are more important than Harry Potter.

JKR is using part of her vast fortune to fund legal cases for women who don’t wish to share space with trans women.
There are thousands of other causes that better protect women which that money could be used for.
If you consume Harry Potter produce, you are helping to fund transphobia.

Well done, that's very good news.

Of course he is. Nasty man. Will fight this with everything I’ve got.

Amazing that uni SMTs claiming to be struggling financially, closing courses etc find money down the back of the sofa for senior staff leaving dos. Every time.

The cost of the leaving do won't save the uni. But it's a slap in the face to staff who are told there's no money for research costs.

Manchester University Press - The Carolingian South The Carolingian South - Browse and buy the Hardcover edition of The Carolingian South by Sam Ottewill-Soulsby

The Carolingian South is now available for preorder! Edited by me and @graemeyward.bsky.social and out in May, the book assembles a crack team of scholars (and me) to turn Charlemagne's empire upside down. @manchesterup.bsky.social #medievalsky

manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/978152617630...

Looking forward to this workshop in June, in person and online.

www.nottingham.ac.uk/humanities/i...

this week at the Department of Humanities / Ca' Foscari University of Venice #medievalsky

You’ve done it, folks! We’ve officially ‼️SOLD OUT‼️ All 240 tickets have been claimed. But don’t worry: we’re operating a waiting list in case of cancellations. Thanks to all who signed up. With the Arts & Humanities under constant siege, it’s great to see such interest and enthusiasm! 🙏