CUSTOMER: Hi, I'd like two tickets to... what's the movie about the walking cadaver that hurts people?

TICKET GUY: We have a 4:45 and a 7:15 for "Michael."

Auckland / Tāmaki Makaurau, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau, Special Collections Glass Case Rack 888.8 GvYa, Spine cover. The Image shows the lower board of a late-sixteenth-century binding, in dark red calf. It may have been chained, as there is a tear in the middle outside of the binding, revealing a leaf from an incunable. Closer inspection shows that it is f. i8 from the Venice 1489 printing of Justinian's Novellae. The attention is drawn immediately, however, to the top half of the photograph, which shows the lower part of an entire bifolium wrapping around the spine. Tehre are two columns to a leaf and the bottom of the recto side has a green initial H with red pen-flourishes. The associated rubrics just above the initial are: I(n) I(=primo) N(octurn)o A(ntiphon) (and then in black: Beatus vir etcetera). Introducing the initial H is the rubric S' beati fulgentii episcopi. The script is Protogothic, and the absence of crossed Tyronian ets point to an earlier script, or more southern France, while the lack of an e-caudata (for example, in the Que on the second-to-last line of the verso, second column) point to later in the twelfth century. Hence why I'm thinking Central France, possibly some place like Chartres or Orléans.

#FragmentOfTheDay: Welcome to the University of Auckland / Waipapa Taumata Rau with this lovely liturgical fragment draped around Petrarch's spine, with a Bonus Novellae incunable. Breviary or Office Lectionary? Pair with a Ventoux or a Sancerre? fragmentarium.ms/overview/F-l...

Every day we reach a new level of crazy.

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The Exsultet, traditionally sung at tonight's Easter vigil, on a leaf from an elegantly written MS, now recycled as a book cover (Trier, Stadtbibliothek, Ad 104)
nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:0...

Same here.

Flyleaves taken from a Carolingian MS of the Easter office with angry faces, used in an Augustine MS (Vendôme, BM, 140)
arca.irht.cnrs.fr/ark:/63955/m...

Another great interview! Jamie's profound knowledge and passion can be seen in all his questions, carefully thought out, which lead to insightful and truly unique interviews. Preparation must take a lot of time, but the payoff is amazing. This is what sets this podcast apart from others.

The fact that a technology that is driving what is presented as the next industrial revolution still lacks proper regulation should make us raise an eyebrow, at the very least.

It’s coming to something when Wikipedia—once synonymous with sloppy research and widely derided by academics—is setting higher intellectual standards than many universities…

This looks rather good… 😉 #medievalsky

The solution, it seems, is to study less, educate yourself less, and work more. No doubt, it would be a society of even better consumers without the basic critical skills needed to realise how they're being framed.

As a side note, I was fascinated by the recent BBC interview with Larry Fink, the CEO of BlackRock. He argues that more blue-collar workers are needed. But how he makes the point is interesting. In essence, he criticises the post-WW2 foundation of education. Too many people went to college.

Social inequality will increase sharply as a result, and the blame will be put on immigrants, so that the rich can get richer.

Multiple layers of annotations of a leaf from a MS of Priscian, showing traces of earlier use in a book binding (Copenhagen, KB, Fragm. 1347)
digitalesamlinger.kb.dk/manus/vmanus/2011/dec/ha/object99943/en/

‘A fascinating discovery’: research challenges Battle of Hastings narrative Harold may have sailed, not marched, in 1066, reshaping explanations for his defeat in England’s historic battle

I’ll reserve judgement on this new hypothesis, but am very pleased to see my brilliant student @tyguson.bsky.social offering the Grauniad her eminently sensible two cents.

A few shots from our recent LA trip. We got to interview some amazing people.

Huge thanks to all the folks that donated to the GoFundMe.

Our Joe Alves documentary has really levelled up!

It depends on the kind of holiday you're planning. I'd recommend going in June or September, as it gets too very over the summer. Alghero is, in my view, the nicest place, but people may challenge this. From there you can take a boat to Asinara, which is really worth it.

This volume may also be of general interest, as we have the Greek model and Apuleius' adaptation. Not a medieval translation, but a fairly important text in the Middle Ages: global.oup.com/academic/pro...

Public Lecture: Food for Thought – The Bayeux Tapestry Revisited A public lecture by Professor Benjamin Pohl (Medieval History, University of Bristol) followed by a free drinks reception.

I’ll be talking about my recent research on the Bayeux Tapestry in a public lecture here in Bristol on Thursday 30 April. Attendance is FREE and includes a drinks reception 🍷 Everybody welcome! Please join us if you can and help spread the word! #medievalsky #skystorians

Fancy knowing more about the Bayeux Tapestry? At a free public lecture and reception?? Look no further! 👁️ 👁️

Such a wonderful initiative! Please, support it if you can.

It was a pleasure to chat with @ecrpodcasters.bsky.social about visiting fellowships and how/why to apply for them. Hopefully folks will find it useful!
@bristolcms.bsky.social @uobrishistory.bsky.social @bristolcmspgr.bsky.social @uobrishistory.bsky.social

The Downfall

Want to impress someone special this Valentines Day? 'Medieval Love Letters' by Myra Stokes and our own Ad Putter has some helpful medieval love letter templates, including 'How to dissuade women from taking the veil' and 'Persuading someone to marry for money'! #medievalsky #skystorians

144 - Randy Thom - Director of Sound at Skywalker Sound Podcast Episode · The Filmumentaries Podcast · 10/02/2026 · 1h 4m

Episode 144 is up! This time I chat with Director of Sound at Skywalker Sound - Randy Thom!

podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/1...

The inflation since 2020 here has been 28.7%. If you also factor in the current USD to GBP exchange, it's easy to see why it's getting unsustainable.

Zürich, Schweizerisches Nationalmuseum, LM 26117, f. 123r – Gradual from St. Katharinental (Thurgau) (https://www.e-codices.ch/en/list/one/snm/LM026117). Lower half of a leaf from a spectacular gradual from the early fourteenth century, with the text and music framed by alternating red and blue triple-cadelles with interhomeochromatic-cadelle nodules (hey, I'm no art historian, and it shows), and medallions featuring grotesques at the corners. Pen flourishes are present, but discreet. Visible are five lines of verse and four lines of text. Dominating the image in the top left is a 6-sline historiated initial S for the mass of Pentecost. Under the top bow of the S is a halo-wearing pigeon, presumably representing the Holy Spirit, sending rays of illumination below - 6 to each side and one in the middle. In the lower compartment of the S are arrayed figures in worship. To count by the halos, seven are on the left and five (plus one standing to the right whose halo is not in view) to the right; one on each side has a beard, and the bearded person on the right also seems to have a tonsure. The rest have long wavy hair. In the middle is a female figure. Underneath the bottom frame, a monk and two simply-cloaked (one green, one pinkish) female figures are praying. The text is, obviously, the introit for Pentecost: Spiritus domini replevit orbem terrarum alleluya et hoc quod con-. Hey, I needed something expressing the immaterial in the human world, while implying inclusivity, and these Dominican nuns delivered. Quod nobis concedat...

Mise au concours/Ausschreibung/call for applications
Doctoral School
Manuscripts and the Challenge of Immateriality
Fribourg, IEM, 7-9 September 2026
French: www.unifr.ch/mediaevum/fr...
German: www.unifr.ch/mediaevum/de...
English (missing details): www.cuso.ch/activity/?p=...