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Alex Harvey

@alexharvv.bsky.social

Best-selling author | artist | archaeologist | write and teach about #LateAntiquity, #EarlyMedieval, + #Vikings Views my own. Appears on BBC radio occasionally. LITTLE KINGDOMS out now: https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Little-Kingdoms-Hardback/p/56542

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Alex Harvey@alexharvv.bsky.social · 13h ago

A (belated) cfp for #IMC2027 FORGET THE VIKINGS: Other raids, raiders, & raiding practises of the Early Medieval Period Read below for details, and if you're interested (or know anyone who might be), please submit your proposal of 150 words to the attached e-mail (also in alt text) before 1/9/26

A Call-for-papers for IMC 2027 which reads: 'Forget the Vikings! CFP: Other raids, raiders, and raiding practises of the Early Medieval Period There are good reasons why Scandinavian raiders - or ‘Vikings’ - occupy a much-coveted space in popular perceptions of early medieval warfare. But enough about them. What about everyone else? This CFP is seeking submissions from scholars interested in exploring other, non-Viking raiding groups from c. 400 - 1100. This could include (but is not limited to): Avars, Huns, Hungarians, Slavs, Frisians, Saxon and Frankish pirates, Saracens, Welsh and Irish cattle-rustlers, Balts, Oesellians, Narentanians, Dál Riatans, as well as the military activities of major hegemonies such as the Carolingians, Ottonians, West Saxons, Byzantines, even Normans, and so on. Chiefly, this is to fashion some new notions of how identity, political practice, and belonging were fostered within raiding communities. Of particular interest would be any papers keen to explore how other, non-Viking groups used raiding as part of regular military affairs. Analogies and comparisons with Viking studies are also welcome, if they are used to shine a light on lesser-known groups. Like the Vikings, many other communities engaged in more than just raiding, so explorations of trade, exchange, and other political dynamics alongside raids, would be ideal. Please send proposals (150 words or less) to: alexharvv@gmail.com before 1/9/26'
Alex Harvey@alexharvv.bsky.social · 10h ago

thinking about how the brute / Jiralhanae enemy type in the Halo franchise is a stand-in for that universe's 'barbarians' monstrous mercenaries brought into a religious empire who then usurp leadership from the pre-existing Elites and take over from within would like it if more sci-fi did this

Depiction of Brutes from across several Halo games. From left to right; Halo 2, Halo 3, Halo: Reach, Halo 2: Anniversary, Halo Wars 2, Halo: Infinite. They all look like apes.
DakotaVAdams@toxicmicroceleb.bsky.social · 12h ago

Going to be watching this one with interest. I hope the pirate Princedoms off the Scottish coast get some love, and under appreciated river delta pirates in East Asia.

Alex Harvey@alexharvv.bsky.social · 13h ago

A (belated) cfp for #IMC2027 FORGET THE VIKINGS: Other raids, raiders, & raiding practises of the Early Medieval Period Read below for details, and if you're interested (or know anyone who might be), please submit your proposal of 150 words to the attached e-mail (also in alt text) before 1/9/26

A Call-for-papers for IMC 2027 which reads: 'Forget the Vikings! CFP: Other raids, raiders, and raiding practises of the Early Medieval Period There are good reasons why Scandinavian raiders - or ‘Vikings’ - occupy a much-coveted space in popular perceptions of early medieval warfare. But enough about them. What about everyone else? This CFP is seeking submissions from scholars interested in exploring other, non-Viking raiding groups from c. 400 - 1100. This could include (but is not limited to): Avars, Huns, Hungarians, Slavs, Frisians, Saxon and Frankish pirates, Saracens, Welsh and Irish cattle-rustlers, Balts, Oesellians, Narentanians, Dál Riatans, as well as the military activities of major hegemonies such as the Carolingians, Ottonians, West Saxons, Byzantines, even Normans, and so on. Chiefly, this is to fashion some new notions of how identity, political practice, and belonging were fostered within raiding communities. Of particular interest would be any papers keen to explore how other, non-Viking groups used raiding as part of regular military affairs. Analogies and comparisons with Viking studies are also welcome, if they are used to shine a light on lesser-known groups. Like the Vikings, many other communities engaged in more than just raiding, so explorations of trade, exchange, and other political dynamics alongside raids, would be ideal. Please send proposals (150 words or less) to: alexharvv@gmail.com before 1/9/26'
Alex Harvey@alexharvv.bsky.social · 13h ago

A (belated) cfp for #IMC2027 FORGET THE VIKINGS: Other raids, raiders, & raiding practises of the Early Medieval Period Read below for details, and if you're interested (or know anyone who might be), please submit your proposal of 150 words to the attached e-mail (also in alt text) before 1/9/26

A Call-for-papers for IMC 2027 which reads: 'Forget the Vikings! CFP: Other raids, raiders, and raiding practises of the Early Medieval Period There are good reasons why Scandinavian raiders - or ‘Vikings’ - occupy a much-coveted space in popular perceptions of early medieval warfare. But enough about them. What about everyone else? This CFP is seeking submissions from scholars interested in exploring other, non-Viking raiding groups from c. 400 - 1100. This could include (but is not limited to): Avars, Huns, Hungarians, Slavs, Frisians, Saxon and Frankish pirates, Saracens, Welsh and Irish cattle-rustlers, Balts, Oesellians, Narentanians, Dál Riatans, as well as the military activities of major hegemonies such as the Carolingians, Ottonians, West Saxons, Byzantines, even Normans, and so on. Chiefly, this is to fashion some new notions of how identity, political practice, and belonging were fostered within raiding communities. Of particular interest would be any papers keen to explore how other, non-Viking groups used raiding as part of regular military affairs. Analogies and comparisons with Viking studies are also welcome, if they are used to shine a light on lesser-known groups. Like the Vikings, many other communities engaged in more than just raiding, so explorations of trade, exchange, and other political dynamics alongside raids, would be ideal. Please send proposals (150 words or less) to: alexharvv@gmail.com before 1/9/26'
Alex Harvey@alexharvv.bsky.social · yesterday

The Northman (2022) felt incredibly immersive because everyone in the movie stuck to the bit; they're all acting as they would in an Icelandic saga. There's no modern quips, barely any laughs actually, and most of the characters are singularly obsessed with their goals

A still from The Northman showing a blood-splattered Alexander Skarsgard looking suitably angry in front of a timber settlement of possible Slavic origin. Grey skies overhead.
Alex Harvey@alexharvv.bsky.social · yesterday

Very abridged comparison of The Northman / Odyssey Both movies are historical epics about war and what it does to a man One commits to being as immersive and authentic as possible at the sacrifice of mainstream appeal; the other strives to be accessible, but may have lost something in the process

Alex Harvey@alexharvv.bsky.social · yesterday

The Northman (2022) felt incredibly immersive because everyone in the movie stuck to the bit; they're all acting as they would in an Icelandic saga. There's no modern quips, barely any laughs actually, and most of the characters are singularly obsessed with their goals

A still from The Northman showing a blood-splattered Alexander Skarsgard looking suitably angry in front of a timber settlement of possible Slavic origin. Grey skies overhead.
Alex Harvey@alexharvv.bsky.social · yesterday

The Northman (2022) felt incredibly immersive because everyone in the movie stuck to the bit; they're all acting as they would in an Icelandic saga. There's no modern quips, barely any laughs actually, and most of the characters are singularly obsessed with their goals

A still from The Northman showing a blood-splattered Alexander Skarsgard looking suitably angry in front of a timber settlement of possible Slavic origin. Grey skies overhead.
Sooz Kempner@soozuk.bsky.social · 2d ago

It's weird when people bristle at the idea of abolishing billionaires. Are you a billionaire? Is your mum one? Why do you care? It would be good to abolish billionaires. More money for public services, less money for them to buy rape islands.

Jon Hawke@archaeohawke.bsky.social · 2d ago

This exquisite 6thC brooch features an oval sardonyx stone cameo with a female portrait bust positioned in the centre of a #gold disc. This is decorated with a cabled border and circles and shapes made of fine wire, or filigree. 💜 Disc #brooch with cameo, 6th century CE. Amethyst, gold, sardonyx.

💜 Disc brooch with cameo, 6th century CE. Amethyst, gold, sardonyx. AN1909.816 See the brooch on display in Gallery 30 on Level 1. Ashmolean Museum Collection. AN1909.816 In Late Antiquity, disc brooches were used for fastening cloaks, but a piece of jewellery as finely wrought and valuable as this brooch would have been more decorative than practical. The helmet worn by the central figure suggests an identification of either the Roman goddess of wisdom – and war – Minerva (Greek Athena), or Roma, the personified city of Rome. Polished amethysts and a garnet stone are suspended pendant-like from the base, marking the owner out as a wealthy and educated patron of the arts.
Alex Harvey@alexharvv.bsky.social · 3d ago

guide to world domination: 1. defund all major humanities departments 2. fund masses of public and priv money into AI 3. ensure said machines are controlled by the 1% 4. spread bollocks across the internet with future generations incapable of critical thinking 5. do whatever you like

Rocío Gomez@historyrocio.bsky.social · 3d ago

Inspired by the summer film and Discourse, some freshman are going to show up to register for classes in Ancient Greek and Ancient History only to find that those courses and faculty no longer exist.

Alex Harvey@alexharvv.bsky.social · 3d ago

guide to world domination: 1. defund all major humanities departments 2. fund masses of public and priv money into AI 3. ensure said machines are controlled by the 1% 4. spread bollocks across the internet with future generations incapable of critical thinking 5. do whatever you like

Dan Conway@magisterconway.bsky.social · 5mo ago

Update: it gets so much worse. All of Bede's letters have no basis in the original Latin at all. This one reads like a modern email! (Original Latin, real translation, fake "translation")

Desideratissimo et reverendissimo patri Albino, Beda Christi famulus, salutem. Dedicatio Gratantissime suscepi munuscula tuae dilectionis, quae per venerabilem fratrem nostrum Nothelmum presbyterum mittere dignatus es, et maxime litteras, quibus me iam secunda vice in ecclesiastica gentis nostrae historia, ad quam me scribendam iamdudum instigaveras, creber adiuvare atque instituere curasti. Propter quod et ipse tibi rectissime eandem historiam, mox ut consummare potui, ad transcribendum remisi. Sed et aliud, quod te partim desiderare comperi, volumen tibi vice remunerationis aeque ad transcribendum destinavi, videlicet, illud quod de structura templi Salomonis atque allegorica eius interpretatione nuper edidi. Teque, amantissime pater, supplex obsecro, ut pro mea fragilitate cum his, qui tecum sunt, famulis Christi, apud pium Iudicem sedulus intercedere memineris: sed et eos, ad quos eadem nostra opuscula pervenire feceris, hoc idem facere monueris. Bene vale, semper amantissime in Christo pater optime.I HAVE thankfully received the testimonies of your love which you have condescended to send me by the hands of our venerable brother Nothelm the priest, and especially your letter, in which you have shown so much solicitude, this second time, to give me aid and information for my Ecclesiastical History, a work which I first undertook at your instigation. Wherefore also I have with great propriety sent it to you, as I was able to finish it, to be copied.* But I intend to repay you by forwarding to you another volume for the same purpose, as I find, also, is consistent with your own wishes, namely, that which I have lately published on the building of Solomon's temple, and its allegorical signification. And I humbly beseech you, most loving father, and Christ's servants who are with you, to intercede fervently with the righteous in behalf of my frailty; and to admonish those, to whom you shall show my work, to do the same. Fare you well, my good and ever loving father in Christ.Bede, servant of Christ and priest, to the most reverend and learned Abbot Albinus, greetings. The Ecclesiastical History is complete, or at least I have completed it as fully as my sources allow — and here I must thank you, whose generosity in sharing the Canterbury archives has made a large part of the work possible. The history of the southern English church — the Augustinian mission, the archbishops of Canterbury, the councils and controversies of the seventh century — is documented in your archives in ways it is not documented anywhere in Northumbria. Without your assistance in providing copies of documents, narrative accounts from knowledgeable informants, and the episcopal lists that I needed for the chronology, I would have been writing the history of the north only and leaving the south as a shadow. What I still lack — and I write partly to acknowledge the gap and to ask whether anything can be done about it — is reliable documentation for certain events in the history of the East Anglian and Middle English churches. The informants I have consulted have been helpful but incomplete, and I am aware that what I have written about those regions is thinner than I would like. If you know of any further sources — letters, narrative accounts, episcopal records — that bear on those churches and that could be shared, I would be grateful to receive them even if the History is already complete. They could inform a revised edition if the work is widely enough copied to justify one. With all gratitude, Bede
skyrsix@skyrsix.bsky.social · 4d ago

Microsoft wants to build three massive AI data centres in Leeds. It’ll drain thousands of litres of water from the River Aire and become the city's biggest carbon emitter. We can still stop the council's final sign-off, but we need more voices. Add your name: you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/pr...

Stop the Microsoft AI megasite in Leeds!

Microsoft want to build three huge AI data centres at Skelton Grange. It would drain the River Aire and become the city's biggest carbon emitter. We can still stop it - add your name to the petition.

you.38degrees.org.uk

Alex Harvey@alexharvv.bsky.social · 3d ago

Given the later heterogeneity of the kingdom(s) of Suthsaxa (South Saxons, Sussex), its quite possible a centre of power or lordship converged on North Bersted, and near to Bognor Regis The Iron Age > Early Med. continuity of ceremonial landscapes and funerarybsites can also be seen in Wiltshire

Carausius@carausius286.bsky.social · 3d ago

This elaborate bronze helmet with its fantastical crest belonged to ‘North Bersted man.’ He lived in late Iron Age England though he was likely a Gaul. The helmet was buried with him. I also post a reconstruction & imagined drawing of this elite warrior 🏛️Novium Museum, Chichester 📷mine