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Alastair Forbes

@areforbes.bsky.social

Medieval historian interested in monasticism, knighthood and social order in the 11th and 12th centuries. Dedicated Orderic Vitalis apologist.

33 Posts97 Follower111 Folgt
Alastair Forbes@areforbes.bsky.social · yesterday

#IMC2027 Call for Papers! @grantosjones.bsky.social and I are proposing a panel for the IMC entitled 'Ordered and Disordered Communities in Clerical Thought'. If you are working on any aspect of order or identity within medieval clerical thought, we would love to hear from you!

Grant Jones@grantosjones.bsky.social · yesterday

CALL FOR PAPERS! Alastair Forbes (@areforbes.bsky.social) and I are seeking papers for our proposed Leeds #IMC2027 session: 'Ordered and Disordered Communities in Clerical Thought' All disciplines and career stages welcome - abstracts due 14 September. @imc-leeds.bsky.social #MedievalSky

A call for papers for Leeds International Medieval Congress 2027 on the topic of 'Ordered and Disordered Communities in Clerical Thought'. This panel examines how medieval clerical and monastic cultures defined communities and situated them within social or religious order. We seek to explore how these cultures understood disorder within or between communities, as well as how their judgements shaped ideas about communal identity and belonging. Communities considered might range from individual institutions to wider social order and communities, across the entirety of Christendom in the Middle Ages. We welcome proposals from colleagues in any discipline of medieval studies and at any career stage, including postgraduate and early career researchers. Although papers should engage substantively with clerical or monastic understandings of order, they need not be confined to clerical communities or clerically authored sources. Please submit abstracts of up to 300 words for a 20-minute paper, along with a short biography, to Dr Alastair Forbes and Dr Grant Jones at: a.r.e.forbes@durham.ac.uk and grant.jones@durham.ac.uk no later than Monday 14 September 2026.
Alastair Forbes@areforbes.bsky.social · 2w ago

Orderic is safely back from the #BattleConference and has rejoined Brother William in the library. 📚 He and I want to thank everyone we met there for a wonderful conference and some very kind and helpful comments on my paper. 📝 We hope to see you again next year!

Two knitted monks sitting on a bookshelf in front of a variety of history books.
Alastair Forbes@areforbes.bsky.social · 4w ago

An amazing find! Gifted very kindly a copy of Marjorie Chibnall's Anglo-Norman England - and contained within is a letter from Chibnall herself to the book's owner, Michael Clanchy, thanking him for a recommendation 📖 What a rare treat! #medievalsky

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Alastair Forbes@areforbes.bsky.social · 4w ago

This morning Orderic has been helping me plan my day for #IMC2026 He is a little concerned that the programme doesn't seem to have built in time for the opus Dei, but assumes that bells will call us to prayer at the appropriate moments 🔔

A knitted monk sitting above a programme for the International Medieval Congress, which lies open.
Alastair Forbes@areforbes.bsky.social · last mo.

I have a lovely helper for this year's #IMC2026! Say hello to Orderic Vitalis - here enjoying a day at Durham Cathedral As my paper is about his Ecclesiastical History, he wanted to come along and enjoy the conference too. I will be sure to document his adventures over the course of the week. ⛪ 📜

A knitted monk pictured in front of Durham Cathedral in the sunshine.
Durham History@durhamhistory.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Congratulations to Alastair on the article! It's also Gold Open Access and based on a recent Durham PhD 🎉🌟⚔️

Alastair Forbes@areforbes.bsky.social · 3mo ago

My new article - examining the implications of the crusader cross as a symbol of group identity within monastic narratives of the First Crusade - is now out (and open access)! ⚔️🛡️✝️ So many thanks to the editors and reviewers for helping bring it to fruition! www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

Alastair Forbes@areforbes.bsky.social · 3mo ago

My new article - examining the implications of the crusader cross as a symbol of group identity within monastic narratives of the First Crusade - is now out (and open access)! ⚔️🛡️✝️ So many thanks to the editors and reviewers for helping bring it to fruition! www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

Symbolic Investiture and Identity-Making in Monastic Accounts of the First Crusade | Studies in Church History | Cambridge Core

Symbolic Investiture and Identity-Making in Monastic Accounts of the First Crusade - Volume 62

cambridge.org

Dr Laura Varnam@drlauravarnam.bsky.social · 12mo ago

I want to write a new blogpost, academic pals! What’s your best advice for sustaining your motivation as an early career scholar, post PhD, without institutional affiliation? How can you feel supported in carrying on with your work? And what can those of us lucky enough to have jobs do to help?

Alastair Forbes@areforbes.bsky.social · last yr.

On the 15th July I passed my viva (with no corrections!) - over 6 years of work is finally at an end🧑‍🎓 Many thanks to Professors Katherine Smith and Len Scales for an enjoyable and stimulating viva! Now, to celebrate with innumerable job applications and rejections... yaay 🍾