Edward Mills
@edwardmills.bsky.social
Hiya! I'm a postdoc at @exeter.ac.uk (on the 'Learning Anglo-French' project, over at @medievalfrench.bsky.social), working on all things medieval French. Also a brass-band conductor / cornet player, and a cat dad.
Absolutely heartbroken to learn yesterday that my university -- which I love, and is home to many people I adore even more so -- is putting over 500 staff on notice of redundancy, over 85% of whom are in Humanities and Social Sciences. These cuts are unfair, unjustified, and (crucially) unnecessary.
Sign the Petition
Stop Redundancies at the University of Exeter
c.org
Bit of a long shot, but are there any medievalists in Cambridge at the moment who might be able to take pictures of a MS in the UL? Massive gratitude and thanks on offer ...
Emily is far too kind as ever, but yes -- free online classes in medieval French, starting in September! Sign up now! Venez nombreux! Moult alentatifs seez!* (* We'll cover this in session 1.)
Emily Dolmans@edolmans.bsky.social · last yr.PGRs, do you need to read medieval French for your research? CHASE has renewed funding for its Medieval French training, taught by the brilliant @edwardmills.bsky.social - information and sign up form here: www.chase.ac.uk/news-1/medie... Open to all, but priority goes to CHASE-funded students.
This week on the Exeter Medieval Studies blog … me! I’m talking about #Twitter, #MedievalSky, and the future of medievalist social media, with a lot of help from @aspencerhall.bsky.social sites.exeter.ac.uk/medievalstud...
Medieval social media and Twitter's 'zombie corpse'
As the Centre joins Instagram, Edward Mills looks back on the rise and fall of Twitter for medievalists, and asks what might come next.
sites.exeter.ac.uk
Ironically, if one thing needs a raise, it's the person doing the @maryrosemuseum.bsky.social's social media ...
The Mary Rose Museum@maryrosemuseum.bsky.social · last yr.On the anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic, we thought we'd answer a question that's often asked, "If they raised the Mary Rose, why not raise the Titanic?" Allow our scaled diagram to explain...
Medievalists / friends / people with university library access: would anyone be able to help me out with one or two pictures from 'Maugis d'Aigremont : chanson de geste', ed. Philippe Vernay (1980)? I'm looking for Laisse XIV (begins l. 382 and lasts about 30 lines), so it shouldn't be too onerous!
Medievalists / friends / people with university library access: would anyone be able to help me out with one or two pictures from 'Maugis d'Aigremont : chanson de geste', ed. Philippe Vernay (1980)? I'm looking for Laisse XIV (begins l. 382 and lasts about 30 lines), so it shouldn't be too onerous!
🐴 There's an equine theme to the @uniofexeterhass.bsky.social Medieval Studies Blog this week, Ollie Creighton tells us all about five years of research on the medieval horse -- and shares news about the project's upcoming book launch. #medievalsky
Looking back on the 'Medieval Warhorse' project
With the conclusion of the 'Warhorse' project, regular contributor Oliver Creighton looks back on its findings - and forward, to a forthcoming book launch.
sites.exeter.ac.uk
Really interesting news out of the rowing world, as the mixed eight becomes a World Champs event! I wonder whether will take the place of the M2+ (historically used as a development event), or whether we’ll see more established athletes doubling up?
World Rowing - World Rowing Quadrennial Congress 2025: A New Era for the Sport
The World Rowing Quadrennial Congress, held this past weekend in the Olympic Capital of Lausanne, Switzerland, marked a pivotal moment for the sport as delegates from across the globe gathered to shap...
worldrowing.com
Ahead of the Orme Lecture at @uniofexeterhass.bsky.social, we sat down with our speaker, Roberta Gilchrist (@uor-research.bsky.social), to discuss the Medieval Ritual Landscape project, her route to medieval studies, and how religious objects ended up buried! sites.exeter.ac.uk/medievalstud...
'Medieval lived religion': the 2025 Orme Lecture
Roberta Gilchrist, Professor of Archaeology at the University of Reading, talks to us ahead of her 2025 Orme Lecture, 'Medieval Religion: the Complex Lives of Ritual Objects'.
sites.exeter.ac.uk
This week on the Medieval Studies blog at @uniofexeternews.bsky.social / @uniofexeterhass.bsky.social, Camille Vo Van Qui reports on the experience of turning their PhD thesis into ... a picture-book! A must for all fans of horses ...
Turning my thesis into a picture book
Camille Vo Van Qui, a recent PhD graduate from the Centre, shares her experience of producing an altogether-less-common research output.
sites.exeter.ac.uk
‘Language is not an ancillary service. It is crucial for expanding understanding of key issues of our age beyond anglophone perspectives and assumptions.’ A response by @ilcs.bsky.social @ucflangs.bsky.social and St. Andrews School of Modern Languages. www.timeshighereducation.com/opinion/mode...
Modern languages departments are neither colonial nor obsolete
Advanced linguistic and cultural skills remain essential for deep insight into how people see themselves in the world, say five modern languages academics
timeshighereducation.com
The Centre for Medieval Studies blog this week welcomes back Jennifer Farrell, fresh from a series of speaking arrangements with Seed Talks. Read on for all things witchcraft and feminism! @uniofexeterhass.bsky.social #MedievalSky
Talking about witchcraft and feminism (to a thousand people)
Here at the University of Exeter we have a particularly strong research and teaching presence in the histories of magic, esotericism, and witchcraft. Only last year we advertised the new MA in Magic a...
sites.exeter.ac.uk
Discussing this 2017 article on digital medieval history with MSc students later. 8 years after publication, 18.5% of its digital links no longer work. What implications does that have? www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/full/10....
The Digital Middle Ages: An Introduction | Speculum: Vol 92, No S1
journals.uchicago.edu
I’m also in this — in amazing company, too! Looking forward to it.
Dr Hope Doherty-Harrison@hdohertyharrison.bsky.social · last yr.Delighted to share the beautiful cover for our volume, Towards An Accessible Academy: Perspectives from Disabled Medievalists, edited by Alexandra R. A. Lee, E. R. P. Champion, and me. Coming soon from @mip-medpub.bsky.social for the Premodern Transgressive Literatures series ✨
Update: it's really good! Particularly enjoyed Chapter 15 on the ways that we sell 'education' to students, and the earlier examination of the primary-to-secondary disjuncture. I have to ask: were the three check-boxes on the front cover *meant* to map so well onto the three sections?
Edward Mills@edwardmills.bsky.social · last yr.Looking forward to a couple of hours with this — picked up earlier at @mrbsemporium.bsky.social! (@sammywright.bsky.social)
This week on the Medieval Studies blog at @uniofexeterhass.bsky.social, we have a fascinating ‘Spotlight’ post featuring Emily Selove. Read on for talismans, parties, and a healthy dose of obscenity … sites.exeter.ac.uk/medievalstud...
Spotlight: magic spells and medieval Baghdad
Our recent 'Spotlight' entries have tended towards broadening definitions of what constitutes the 'medieval'. While Richard Flower's entry took us back in time to late Antiquity, this week's post -- c...
sites.exeter.ac.uk
Had a lot of fun writing this for the @uniofexeterhass.bsky.social Medieval Studies blog -- who remembers 'bardcore'?
'Bardcore': 'medieval' music for modern ears
Medieval music doesn't typically occupy a prominent place on the Radio 1 Breakfast Show. Nevertheless, a couple of weeks ago saw an unexpected collision of the two, as a discussion of new acoustic mus...
sites.exeter.ac.uk
Looking forward to a couple of hours with this — picked up earlier at @mrbsemporium.bsky.social! (@sammywright.bsky.social)
Presenting ... possibly the derpiest horse ever. Bucephalus presented to Alexander, from @labnf.bsky.social, MS français 24364, fol. 4r.
At last, my everyone's favourite journal whose title fits perfectly to the tune of 'Panic' by the Smiths is on BlueSky!
Studies in the Age of Chaucer@sacjournal.bsky.social · last yr.We've landed on BlueSky! (A Chaucer finger puppet "stands" before the front cover of SAC)
I've taught this text! It's great fun ... Here's the relevant illustration of Fauvel being curried ('torché' in Middle French), from MS français 146 in the Bibliothèque national de France.
weird medieval guys@weirdmedieval.bsky.social · 2y agomaybe my favourite etymology: the phrase “curry favour” originates from a medieval french morality poem about a conniving horse named fauvel who amasses a following of sycophantic humans to groom and tend to him. over time, “currying fauvel” eventually became “currying favour.”
Definitely not me plugging my own article on the project account I run … hope it’s not too cheeky!
Learning Anglo-French@medievalfrench.bsky.social · 2y agoAn exciting find in French-of-medieval-Britain studies: a new witness to Walter de Bibbesworth’s ‘Tretiz’! (Sort of.) Do get in touch if you don’t have access and would like a read! #medievalfrench #middleenglish
Question of the day: is there a standard signal for ‘I-see-you-oncoming-bus-but-I’m-waiting-for-a-different-one-so-no-need-to-stop’? The awkward head-shake-and-step-back seems a little over the top …
Humanities people of BlueSky: any advice on how to approach the nitty-gritty of ‘turning-the-thesis-into-a-book’? Context: I have lucked out in all the areas possible (great press, contract signed, generous eleven months to first draft, etc.), but I’m keen to hear as many thoughts as possible.
It feels almost sacrilegious to read this on a bus, but I’m very much enjoying @garethdennis.bsky.social’s wonderful and insightful new book on TRAINS. Absolutely eviscerating Hyperloop …
Do I know any Swedish speakers on here? Have a quick ‘how-to-say-something’ question, and don’t want to rely on Google Translate … 🇸🇪
Well, the contract's signed and countersigned, so time for the obligatory post ... 'Language, Learning, and the French of Medieval England' will be coming out with @boydellandbrewer.bsky.social (scheduled for December 2026)!
