This 3-m high statue of a cyclist at the Col du Tourmalet in the Pyrenees was created by Jean-Bernard Métais in 1995. In winter it is transferred to the village of Gerde on the outskirts of Bagnères-de-Bigorre. #lovepyrenees #pyrenees

The monastery of Santa María de Alaón nestles inside a bend of the Noguera Ribagorçana river in the Spanish Pyrenees. Founded under Visigoth rule, the original buildings were destroyed when the Moors took control of the Iberian Peninsula. What we see today dates from the 12th century. #pyrenees

Experience the world’s only prehistoric drive-through at Mas d’Azil in this short video. This cave has a main road running through it, offering travellers a unique drive-through experience, even by bike. youtu.be/eLQDRHwgMuk #pyrenees #prehistoricjourney #caves #lovepyrenees #FrHistory

I recently captured this view of the Châteaux de Foix. In 1930, a certain Monsieur Champseix must have stood on the same spot to find inspiration for the railway company publicity poster that features on the cover of my new book about the Pyrenees. @yalebooks.bsky.social #pyrenees #lovepyrenees

The clocktower and covered market of Revel, resplendent after two years of painstaking restoration. This royal bastide was founded in 1342, and the clocktower has at various times housed the town’s council chamber, prison, museum, tourist office, and the town crier and his family. #FrHistory

The Tribute of the Three Cows claims to be the oldest treaty still in force in Europe today, and it takes place on 13 July every year. I attended the 650th edition last week and made this short video: www.colinduncantaylor.com/videos/v/tri... @yalebooks.bsky.social #pyrenees #lovepyrenees

For UK readers who would like to pre-order my new book, Waterstones is offering 25% off the cover price for all online orders placed by close of play on 24 July. To get the discount, follow the link and use the promotional code SUMMER26: www.waterstones.com/book/the-pyr... @yalebooks.bsky.social

These are bikes are bigger than you might guess from the first photo! One bike for each of the leader’s jerseys in the Tour de France. The race has climbed the Col d’Aubisque in the French Pyrenees 74 times between 1910 and 2022, but not this year. #lovepyrenees #pyrenees

This timeline, taken from John Hardman’s book, The French Revolution: A Political History, traces the key events from the mid-18th century origins of the #FrenchRevolution through to the establishment of the Directory in 1795. yalebooks.co.uk/french-revol... #BastilleDay #FrenchHistory #SkyStorians

French Revolution Timeline: Key Events from 1748 to 1795

This timeline, taken from John Hardman's book, The French Revolution: A Political History, traces the key events from the mid-eighteenth century origins of the French Revolution through to the establi...

yalebooks.co.uk

In this video, I explain the inspiration behind 'The Pyrenees: A Human History'. It will be published by Yale University Press on 25 August and is available for pre-order now. This is a book for history lovers and those who are fascinated by mountains. @yalebooks.bsky.social #pyrenees #lovepyrenees

Who created the ‘Calaveras’ figures that were beloved by Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera? If you enjoyed this printmaking deep dive, you can read more about the global history of the art form in Holly EJ Black’s new book, ‘The Story of Printmaking’. #joseguadalupeposada #mexicanart

Fifteen years in the making, a landmark reinterpretation of the life of a pivotal figure in British and European history from David Bates. #IMC2026

A compelling, authoritative history of how women shaped the Reformations and transformed religious life across the globe from Merry Wiesner-Hanks. #IMC2026

Oh go on then, if we must 😉 Sniff: A History of Smells, out 8th September yalebooks.co.uk/book/9780300...

Sniff - Yale University Press London

A remarkable account of the weird and wonderful history of smellAcross vast periods of time and around the globe, smell has been central to human life. From ...

yalebooks.co.uk

Nino Cipri@ninocipri.bsky.social · 4w ago

authors you should absolutely quote post this with your fall releases, I am finding out about so many cool titles that I hadn't heard about

Both Franco and Hitler built defensive lines in the Pyrenees towards the end of the Second World War. This German bunker is located on the Franco-Spanish border at the eastern end of the Pyrenees. It incorporated the turret of an obsolete tank, the Czech-built Panzer 38. #lpyrenees #pyreneeshistory

Summer reading from @yalebooks.bsky.social. In ‘Walking Europe’s Last Wilderness’, take an evocative voyage through the Carpathian Mountains. Explore the fascination of night music in ‘Nocturnes’. Go to a masked ball in ‘The Masquerade’. Immerse yourself in the history of the Pyrenees.

See the ancient practice of transhumance in action as thousands of sheep bring traffic to a standstill on the main road between France and Spain in the Pyrenees. Read more about it in 'The Pyrenees A Human History' shortly to be published by @yalebooks.bsky.social #pyrenees #lovepyrenees

Medieval warriors are often portrayed as brave, brutal and impulsive, but not strategic. In this blog Steve Tibble shows otherwise. Although few written plans survive, their actions reveal a clear and consistent vision for survival yalebooks.co.uk/the-hidden-s... #MedievalSky @latineast.bsky.social

The Hidden Strategy of the Crusader States

Medieval warriors are often portrayed as brave, brutal and impulsive, but not especially strategic. In this blogpost, Steve Tibble, author of The Crusader

yalebooks.co.uk

Is Querol Castle (or Carol Castle) French or Spanish? A document from 1243 says it belonged to James I, King of Aragon. In 1462, a treaty transferred ownership to France. In 1493, another treaty handed it back to Aragon. Under the Treaty of the Pyrenees in 1659, the French reclaimed it. #pyrenees

The Dolmen de l’Oliva, one of seven prehistoric tombs in the Cabó valley, Catalonia. You can see why the council has erected a warning sign: UNSTABLE DOLMEN: FOR YOUR OWN SAFETY PLEASE DON’T GO NEAR IT! #lovepyrenees #pyrenees

Authors often film themselves opening the package containing the first copies of their new book. Few of them do so by a gorgeous lake 2,000 metres up a mountain. @yalebooks.bsky.social #pyrenees #pyreneeshistory

The Cabó valley’s seven prehistoric tombs inspired an imaginative academic to call it Catalonia’s answer to Egypt’s Valley of the Kings. This is the Dolmen Moli de Favà. #lovepyrenees #pyrenees #pyreneeshistory

SPRINGTIME IN THE PYRENEES In the high Pyrenees at this time of year, snow melts, flowers bloom, the grass is lush and green, and farmers bring their cows, horses and sheep to the high pastures for summer grazing. Last week, I caught up with some of the early arrivals. #pyrenees youtu.be/1wBL2r5BQ-E

Springtime in the Pyrenees

YouTube video by Colin Duncan Taylor

youtu.be

You need patience if you try collecting water from the sacred spring in Lourdes. Discovered by Saint Bernadette in 1858, some of the water is pumped into a cistern and drips out of sensor taps at 18 filling stations a little further along the cliff. #pyrenees #lourdes

As well as being the only surviving star fort in Spain, Jaca’s fortress is home to various museum galleries covering topics such as military medicine, military paintings and mountain regiments. It also hosts a garrison of 32,000 lead soldiers. www.colinduncantaylor.com/blog/jaca-th... #pyrenees

Notre-Dame-du-Bouchet is all that remains of a medieval commandery run by the Knights Hospitaller near the French Pyrenean village of Guchen. Other buildings were destroyed during the French Revolution, and this pretty chapel was rebuilt on the initiative of local priests between 1944 and 1946.

WHY IS NOBODY HOME? In the 1960s, the Spanish village of Otín in the Sierra de Guara was home to 29 people living in 13 houses. Then a new generation decided life would be easier in the cities. #lovepyrenees #pyrenees #pyreneeshistory

WHY IS THIS GERMAN TANK TURRET IN THE PYRENEES? In 1943, the Germans began building their Speerlinie Pyrenäen, or Fortified Front Line of the Pyrenees. Many of the bunkers incorporated a turret and gun from an obsolete tank such as the Panzer I and Panzer II. #lovepyrenees #pyrenees #pyreneeshistory

Where did Britain and France fight their last battle on French soil? Find out more about the Battle of Toulouse 1814, and admire the 80-metre-long mural that commemorates a pointless and bloody fight between two old enemies. #Frhistory #Toulouse

GRAZING AT DAWN IN THE SPANISH PYRENEES / These horses will spend the summer near the Col de la Creueta before returning to their lowland pastures for winter. Nearby, the permanent residents are more nervous. #pyrenees