Mary Boyle

Two volume edited collection with my chapter highlighted in the open contents page

Look what arrived today! Lovely to be in the company of all these wonderful people!

My son brought this home from school. I think he might go back tomorrow and tell his teacher where the dismemberments are missing.

A screenshot of the introduction to our open access journal issue of the journal of the Walter’s art museum. The title is seeing codicologically: new explorations in the technology of the book. On the page is an opening from a die cut manuscript the parchment pages of which look like lace.

I’m revising my graduate seminar on medieval manuscripts and was wracking my brain trying to think of an enticing short reading to intro my students to a case study in codicology before remembering that I co-edited a journal issue devoted to the topic. Enjoy!

journal.thewalters.org/volume/76/

To add context, the quote is from Weinhold's Die deutschen Frauen in dem Mittelalter (German women in the Middle Ages) (1851), and the content is, well, exactly what you would expect.

C19 medievalism🤝C21 far right
'[The nation's] women will reform [the nation's] men and will have to rescue our history, not through Amazonian traits, but through the power of noble hearts & powerful femininity. In family life, in marriage, lies our hope, which madmen want to destroy' (Karl Weinhold)

OMG - f*ck AI for ruining the em-dash for writers. I use them all the time. Of course, what a shock that AI uses them since they were trained off my voice and other authors' voices.

There are many good reasons why your department should hire a medievalist. Teaching the actual history of the Crusades and debunking "feudalism" so you don't wind up with trends like this is one of them.

Translators work hard to make sure that the translated words, sentences, paragraphs, chapters, etc, not only convey the author's meaning, but also the author's *style.*

Translators are alchemists. They are artists, and poets, and researchers, and editors. They are magicians and wizards.

a man in a suit is walking through an office with binders on the shelf . ALT: a man in a suit is walking through an office with binders on the shelf .

I think there's something aspirational in this 19th-century description of Chaucer 'so derb, daß Einem Hören und Sehen vergeht’ (so crude that you lose your hearing and sight). At least, I can think of someone who would find it aspirational.

Or to me, after seeing how many different versions of the Nibelungenlied I own.

The Duolingo bear asking if you need new hobbies in Italian and English

Duolingo to Karl Simrock, after seeing his 28th “improved translation” of the Nibelungenlied.

‘The Super Extender’, for when you need a little extra help getting to the point - 14th/15th century, University of Cambridge, Gonville and Caius College, MS 609/340, f. 5v

Cheerful-looking man with a leaf stuck on his book, bathing unconcernedly in a lake a blood, with the caption: Siegfried. Bathed in dragon's blood, which protected him from attack, but a leaf fell on his back and that patch became his weak spot.

I got a little over-excited when I found Siegfried mentioned in this children’s book about the Middle Ages (Time Travel Sleepover, 2024). Readers are left to wonder about the consequences of the weak spot (spoiler: not good).

Terrible news. Universities are being decimated.

📣 BSR / Early Medieval Europe Fellowship – Call for Applications!

Are you a PhD student or early career researcher in early medieval European history?
Apply now!

⏳ Deadline: 30 January 2026
More info here: bsr.ac.uk/awards-resid...

A screenshot of a tumblr post from user kleinergeist, reading "Oh, so when YOU grab a Danish for a quick snack, it's a guilt-free, tasty little treat. But when I, Grendel,"

shoutout to tumblr user kleinergeist for this post which is going straight into my powerpoint for Grendel day in my monster class this week

Just over one week left to submit your abstracts! Come join @rafletcher.bsky.social, Dr Thijs Porck, and me at #IMC2026 talking about "Old English in the Long Nineteenth Century".

Are you a late stage doctoral or postdoctoral reasearcher with expertise in medieval and/or early modern landscape history & an interest in working with or in the heritage sector? This opportunity with the University of Oxford and West Horsley Place may be for you: www.tss.ox.ac.uk/vacancies/19...

Astrolabes and quadrants return to display in the Upper Library at Merton College with special thanks to Nikki Tomkins, Oxford Conservation Consortium, Khris Watts, Harriet Campbell Longley, and @stephenaj.bsky.social It took many hands! #astronomy #astrolabes

12-week research post available in medieval and early modern landscape, focusing on West Horsley near Oxford: www.tss.ox.ac.uk/vacancies/19...

Congratulations, Sian! Can’t wait to hear more about this!

We are devastated and enraged by the murder of Awdah Hathaleen by Israeli settler Yinon Levi earlier today. Awdah was a writer, teacher, and activist in his village of Umm al-Khair in Masafer Yatta, and a friend of Vashti Media. May his words resound through the entire world:

I entirely agree.

This is disastrous for access to the Humanities for all but the independently very wealthy. My own doctorate was a student-led AHRC-funded project (ie I came up with the project). It’s awful to see these opportunities taken from the next generation, especially given the huge increase in tuition fees

Now just under two months to get your abstracts in for Borders, Boundaries, and Barriers: Real and Imagined in the Middle Ages. Do get your thinking caps on because we've already received some great abstracts and are look forward to reading everybody's proposals in September!

Yes! Ant would also love that. @sianwitherden.bsky.social couldn’t believe that you and I somehow hadn’t actually met when I told her!

I can’t believe I missed yet another opportunity to meet you in person!

Quality of scientific papers questioned as academics ‘overwhelmed’ by the millions published Widespread mockery of AI-generated rat with giant penis in one paper brings problem to public attention

Love it when what is presented as "academic publishing" is really just "publishing in STEM fields" :/

basically none of this is true for humanities publishing, and especially for humanities books

www.theguardian.com/science/2025...