📚 Treasures of the Vikings - My new book is out on May 19th!
A Bifröst of a book that bridges Marvel, VIKINGS, The Northman, and academia, it pairs beautiful photos with the latest thinking on the Viking world, all written in an engaging and accessible style.
🛒 Pre-order now! 📖
Bealach na Bà, a winding single-track road through the mountains of the Applecross peninsula.
Apr 21: Feast of Máel Rubai (642-722), founder-abbot of Apor Crossan (Applecross, Wester Ross). He is regarded as one of the most famous Irish saints in Scotland, where confusion with Rufus of Capua led to his feast day being celebrated on 27 August. 📸Brian Gillman
Anglo-Saxon Crypt, Ripon Cathedral. An extraordinary survivor from St Wilfrid's original AD 672 church.
📸2025
People digging small trenches in a mountain landscape with overlaid text that reads: Upcoming conference
UPCOMING CONFERENCE: Archaeological Research in Progress
Tickets are now available for this year's conference hosted by @archscot.bsky.social in collaboration with the Society on 23 May in Dumfries & Galloway and online, with discounts for Fellows: www.archaeologyscotland.org.uk/get-involved...
Channeling this classic XKCD comic (with apologies to Randall Munroe for my edits here) as I review my chapter comments that read "include a map, no one but you knows where these sites are"
And Dame Averil Cameron (1940-2026), historian of the Byzantine empire bit.ly/4ex8POD #Skystorians
The Govan Stones on Sunday! A new Sunday series, featuring your favourite early medieval carved stones from the Viking Age kingdom of the Clyde Britons.
First up: The Sun Stone!
Which stone would you like to see next?
Stone slab inscribed with ‘A prayer for the soul of Flann’ and a Celtic cross.
Apr 20: Feast of Flann mac Maíle Dúin (†891), abbot of Iona. In early 17thC sources he was speculatively identified with the Flann commemorated #OTD. One 9thC stone from Iona reads: ‘A prayer for the soul of Flann’. Máel Brigte mac Tornáin succeeded him. 📸HES
Satellite image of Scotland.
Aedán mac Gabráin, king of Dál Riata, died #OTD in 608. He campaigned in Orkney, the Isle of Man and against the Miathi of the Forth Valley. In 603, he was soundly defeated by Æthelfrith, king of the Bernicians, at the unidentified Degsastán.
Shout out to @hornesupremacy.bsky.social for his great piece on a #viking age death pit!
Check it out on historyextra.com
My hypothesis I’ve been kicking around for 15 years, boosted in 2022 by a study on herring. What’s funny is I’m not a salt guy. I prefer sweets. But not the Vikings if I’m right! Great background for my novels, too.
cjadrien.com/the-viking-s...
#medievalsky #vikingsky #history #writingcommunity
Title page for Paul Kershaw's book "Peaceful Kings: Peace, Power, and the Early Medieval Political Imagination".
Now reading:
I'm delighted to be talking at the 2026 Midlands Viking Symposium on 15 May - sign up link here!
Proofs!
Been a long while since I gave the original keynote for that conference in Freiburg (featuring some raised eyebrows in the audience when I integrated that one movie scene in my PowerPoint...).
Really happy the actual chapter will be finally out.
Paperback of Máel Coluim III book is now available to pre-order from publisher:
birlinn.co.uk/product/mael...
www.visitmalton.com/whats-on/kem...
For those in North Yorkshire on Thursday the 16th, I’ll be talking about my newest book: LITTLE KINGDOMS, with @petejackson.bsky.social at the wonderful and independent Kemps bookshop
The stone engraved with a number of Pictish symbols.
A Pictish carved stone was discovered by archaeologists from the University of Aberdeen in a field at Aberlemno, Angus, #OTD in 2021. It is believed to date from the 5/6thC, and joins six other stones found in the area.
📰 We're in the news!
Prof. Steve spoke to 'A Whole Lot of History' about THAT early medieval posthole, and Dee Manning provided the photos.
🔗 Free to read: open.substack.com/pub/historyh...
⚔️ 9th-century sword hilts ⚔️
Left: Eigg, Inner Hebrides, Sco.
(copper-alloy, silver, gilt)
Right: Søndersø, Jutland, Den.
The immense expense of, and status associated with, the swords owned by Scandinavian elites across the Viking world is self evident here.
My 📷 NMS | NMD
Left Academia dot edu a while back over their AI policy and now building momentum on Knowledge Commons. Please find free access to a range of my publications here: hcommons.org/members/clar... #medievalsky #history #archaeology #Ireland #scotland #vikings
📚‘Embers of the Hands - Hidden Histories of the Viking Age’ by Dr Eleanor Barraclough
Launch of the paperback edition of 'Embers' which looks at Viking history by examing everyday objects
🗓️3:45 pm, Saturday 11 April
🧭Rendall Bdg @liverpooluni.bsky.social
FREE: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1985276873...
Read this this morning! Highly recommend, from @drstamnes.bsky.social et al
We’re beginning to get quite the timeline from Hjortspring to Oseberg on the ‘viking longship timeline’. Also synergises with recent work on maritime power in Avaldsnes by Dagfinn Skre
Well worth a read
The Isle of Eigg pictured from the sea.
Apr 10: Feast of Berchán of Eigg, one of the Small Isles in the Inner Hebrides. 📸LJ Cunningham
📰 We're in the news!
Work to turn 5th Century church into museum to begin
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1...
Today's paper (Russell, 2011 - in response to Schrijver), on the evidence behind a Brythonic / Latin linguistic inversion in the post-Roman period. Very language heavy, but the conclusions (while preliminary) are very useful for building up a wider context.
Just sent my paper on early medieval sculpture in Brittany off to the editors. Curious - is anyone else working on early medieval archaeology in Brittany - particularly ecclesiastical stuff?
Continuing my "meta" arc, this time I'm talking about why its worth reading academic books even if you are not an academic. Also why I think a lot of the criticisms against academic works don't hold up, and how the line between pop and academic work isn't always clear cut. #medievalsky #history
My photo shows a decorative gold brooch against a black background. The gold front plate is attached to a copper-alloy core by 8 silver rivets (not seen). The surface of the gold plate is ornately decorated with looped gold filigree, At the centre of the brooch is a circular blue glass cabochon set in a raised gold cell encircled by cloisonné garnets. Radiating out from the central blue glass cabochon are curved sections inlaid with cloisonné garnet like rays of the sun, forming a swirling pattern on the surface of the brooch. The 71 inlaid garnets come from Bohemia. Around the outer edge are four smaller round blue glass cabochons each set in a raised circular gold cell, alternating with four small square-shaped pieces of green glass set in raised square gold cells, at regular intervals. Overall, the piece is symmetrical, richly colored (gold, red, blue, and green), and highly ornate. This ornate brooch was found during the 2008-2009 excavations ahead of major renovation works at Grand Place in Quaregnon. The excavations uncovered a small Merovingian cemetery. The brooch comes from the tomb of a 7th-century female known as the ‘Lady of Quaregnon’. In addition to the brooch, her other items of jewellery included a necklace, bracelet, copper-alloy pins, and a pair of copper-alloy bow brooches.
Beautiful Merovingian brooch of the ‘Lady of Quaregnon’, AD 660-670.
Found during excavations ahead of construction works at the Grand Place, Quaregnon, Belgium, in 2008-2009. Gold, silver, copper-alloy, garnet, and glass. Diameter 5.6cm. 📷 by me
#FindsFriday
#Archaeology
St Cuthbert's tomb, Durham Cathedral.😇
His medieval shrine would have been in the same location.
📸2025
