Dr Rory MacLellan
@rorymaclellan.bsky.social
Historian of the Hospitallers, Templars, crusades, and Jews in medieval England. rorymaclellan.com
![Who, Me? was a top secret, sulfurous, non-lethal chemical weapon developed by MIT-graduate Ernest Crocker for the U.S. Office of Strategic Services during World War II.[1][2] Who, Me? smelled strongly of fecal matter, and was issued in pocket atomizers intended to be unobtrusively sprayed on a German officer to humiliate him and, by extension, demoralize the occupying German forces.[3]](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:cyyd366g3hrxp5rynixm2mm3/bafkreig5a4qwpgntp5yvblqc35c35h7gu3eq25yb4shbv57dbuvnxxfuwq)
![Who, Me? had a high concentration of extremely volatile sulfur compounds that were very difficult to control: more often than not, the person who did the spraying also ended up smelling as bad as the one targeted.[4] After two weeks, it was concluded that Who, Me? was a failure.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:cyyd366g3hrxp5rynixm2mm3/bafkreibih3uoda66lpsf4t3oksxyr4e5ppkiu7n6zxp7pzdlfqbp6grehm)
I accidentally spent £17,700 on 400 subscriptions to the LRB for Home Office staff and now the Life in the UK test is asking applicants to rank Derek Jarman films from most to least emotionally resonant?
It’s Michaelmas, the feast of St Michael the Archangel. Here he is on the astonishing doom painting in Wenhaston church, weighing souls in competition with the Devil!
"We should support Moderate Imperials like Thrawn".
Daniel Kennedy@fliglman.bsky.social · last wk.Chewbacca is actually always growling dodgy stuff but Han Solo is too polite to translate any of it
And if people are interested in reading more about Yorkist propaganda, I have an article on their treatment of Henry V, trying to denounce him as a usurper but also co-opt him as a warrior ideal: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.... #medievalsky
The Good Lancastrian? Remembering Henry V in Yorkist England
The Yorkist rhetoric of the Wars of the Roses is full of invective against their Lancastrian rival Henry VI and his grandfather Henry IV. The former was cast as incompetent, the latter as a usurper...
tandfonline.com
History Rage Podcast@historyrage.bsky.social · 2w ago🚨 FESTIVAL EPISODE🚨 Tudor propaganda didn't appear from nowhere. 👀📜 @nathenamin.bsky.social argues the Yorkists were already using political spin, imagery and accusations to justify their power. 🏰⚔️ Nathen was speaking at Gloucester History Festival. 🎧 pod.fo/e/64b4e1 #HistoryRage #Tudors #Yorkists
Call for papers! “Reading Sixteenth and Seventeenth Century Religion and Politics: Marginalia and Manuscripts” @rorymaclellan.bsky.social and I are putting together a panel for next year’s SRS conference in London. Deadline for 200 word abstracts is tomorrow Please get in touch and repost!
CFP: Far-Right Archives in the Digital Age, a collaboration between @wienerlibrary.bsky.social and me (via my @britishacademy.bsky.social grant): 27 November, London: www.northampton.ac.uk/research-blo... Travel funds are available (probably only within UK)!! Please share. 🗃️
CFP: Far-Right Archives in the Digital Age | UON
Wiener Holocaust Library, London. Friday 27 November 2026, 10.30am-4pm Improved digital access to far-right material at archives, libraries, and beyond...
northampton.ac.uk
A more party-trick medieval spell is to make bread 'dance': "Take quicksilver (i.e. mercury) and put it in the dough in the middle of the loaf, then put it to bake and it shall leap about. Likewise, put the quicksilver in a hot loaf of bread and it shall leap about." #medievalsky
Dr Rory MacLellan@rorymaclellan.bsky.social · 3w agoA spell in a 15th-century grimoire for summoning a demon to find buried treasure. Sloane MS 3849, f. 18r. #medievalsky
A spell in a 15th-century grimoire for summoning a demon to find buried treasure. Sloane MS 3849, f. 18r. #medievalsky
With all of the emphasis on the Bayeux Tapestry this week, and with Rosh Hashanah about to start, it's reflecting that the world of William the Conqueror wasn't just a Christian one. The centuries before prior to 1066 had seen Jewish communities gradually expand North through Germany and France. 1/
The myth of the Norman Yoke as requested by @danherb10.bsky.social in the latest of my what do you want to know about the Normans? posts. The Norman Yoke is about legal matters, particularly obligations of tenure, right to plead in various courts and their preceived oppressive nature 1/
Coming to the conclusion of a 2-year long warhammer narrative campaign. Penultimate big battle (18ft table! 5 players each side!) was this Sunday.
📅 #onthisday 3 Sept 1120: Blessed Gerardo Salso dies. Long before Templar myths took over, his Knights Hospitaller were building hospitals, power, and longevity. This military order survived for centuries. With @rorymaclellan.bsky.social 🎧 Listen 👉 pod.fo/e/37b7e4 #otd #history #podcast ⛪⚔️
Let’s try again: I’d like to hear about new research from Scottish historians. Especially ECRs whose work may not get much attention. This is because I have a newspaper column where I publicise new work by Scottish historians! Tell me about your research!
as Norway plunges into chaos following death of king, one military strongman is seizing power
I am withdrawing my paper proposal from Warhammer Conference 2026. My reasoning can be found below. In a way, this has been one of the most stressful decisions of my academic career. In one way, the answer was clear to me since I found out about this.
Aasa T 🏳️⚧️ 🇵🇸@rosgakori.bsky.social · last yr.We are go! #warhammerconference #gamestudies #nerdlings
Had to withdraw from this in the end as one of the organisers signed the letter supporting Nathan Cofnas. While the other organiser didn't agree with them, I just don't want to be associated with it, especially in a franchise that already has far-right elements in its fanbase. #warhammercommunity
Dr Rory MacLellan@rorymaclellan.bsky.social · 3mo agoCall for papers for the Warhammer Conference, a free hybrid conference in Germany, 26-27 Sept., deadline 29 June. I presented at the inaugural conference on crusading in 40k (GW follows the Pluralist School, don't @ me). Fun event with a good mix of fields. warhammer-conference.com/call-for-pap...
Gratifying to see that within a day it already has 700 more signatures than the letter supporting Cofnas
Pieter T. L. Beck@ptrbck.bsky.social · last mo.We have written a statement in support of Ghent Uni's decision to suspend Nathan Cofnas. We resist attempts to frame this as a punishment for "whistleblowing" or censorship of "controversial research". We invite all academics who share our views to sign our letter. forms.gle/qwN8xzEM5C7Q...
You know, I would love it if the people in this thread with access to large audiences and the ears of policy makers could shadow a uni admissions team and/or the lecturers responsible for bringing first-year students’ skills up to a reasonable standard across the cohort. 1/
Stephen Bush@stephenkb.bsky.social · 2mo agoReally good piece this. I will be candid, I haven’t watched this documentary because it feels like it is calibrated to depress me, combining the rise in the number of issues where I go “what business is it of yours?” with the number of people who want to undermine our excellent school system.
Had a wonderful time the other week teaching a session for @royalholloway.bsky.social ‘s MA Public History students on creative responses to archival materials @thelondonarchives.bsky.social. Highlights included Eleanor Rykener’s deposition and Ignatio Sancho’s voting record
It ought never to be forgotten that it’s deeply deeply weird for 21st century American public policy questions to revolve around interpretations of the history of 13th century England.
The Catalan newspaper Ara called him Comte Cara de Cubell d'Escombraries, so they're being more precise that it's specifically a rubbish bin, rather than any other sort of storage container.
Josiah Mortimer@josiahmortimer.bsky.social · 3mo agoRounding up some translations of Count Binface that have been appearing in foreign press 🇷🇴 Romanian: Contele Tomberonez 🇫🇷 French: Comte Tête-de-Poubelle (bin-head, more accurate than bin-face) 🇮🇹 Italian: Conte Faccia-da-Bidone 🇪🇸 Spanish: "un hombre con un cubo de basura en la cabeza" (!) Cont...
I would like to know the story of the nun who coined the Spanish phrase: 'Para lo que me queda en el convento, me cago dentro'.
Playlist of talks from the Jewish Square Mile's recent event at the Barbican about medieval Jewish history, including @medievaljews.bsky.social, Natasha Jenman, Emma Cavell, Paul Dryburgh, and me. #medievalsky youtube.com/playlist?lis...
Medieval Jewish London History Day 2026 - YouTube
Discover the hidden history of medieval Jewish London. Recorded live at the Barbican Centre on Sunday 10 May 2026, these expert talks shine a light on the ca...
youtube.com
The cooling system was installed by the village AC technician, Thermodynamix 😊
Standplaats Kraków could really use some cash!@standplaatskrk.pl · 3mo ago
Call for papers for the Warhammer Conference, a free hybrid conference in Germany, 26-27 Sept., deadline 29 June. I presented at the inaugural conference on crusading in 40k (GW follows the Pluralist School, don't @ me). Fun event with a good mix of fields. warhammer-conference.com/call-for-pap...
Call for papers – Warhammer Conference
The third annual Warhammer Conference will take place on 26th–27th September 2026 at FIAS, Germany. Abstract submissions due by 29th June.
warhammer-conference.com