Oh, there's another thing about 'backwater' discourse that I dislike even more than all of the above: before c.1500 some parts of the world were much poorer in material terms and much less densely populated than Europe. Some places had no writing tradition and no states.

That's not how it works. You will not truly provincialise Europe in that way. The best way to do that is to cultivate a genuine understanding of places that aren't Europe — learn the languages, read the literature, etc etc

10th-century Muslim historian al-Masʿūdī (trans. Paul Lunde): 'Of all these peoples, the Franks are the most warlike, unassailable, and numerous. They have the most extensive kingdom and many cities, and are the best organized and the most obedient to their rulers...

This is worth reading for those who couldn’t make it last night or for whom the details flew thick and fast. Notably I’ve seen people saying Sobecki et al found Chaumpaigne and Chaucer were co-defendants in the quitclaim, which isn’t so. They were co-defendants in the

Henry I responding to letters from his archbishops regarding the primacy

Crucial point from Carissa Harris. The discovery should not relieve us of discomfort. We still need to reckon with how rape culture shapes Chaucer’s work and how servant women are especially vulnerable in this context.

Really enjoying Sarah Baechle’s call to reorient away from the individual to /structural/ issues of rape culture, and Carissa Harris’ attention to servant women.

#tilesontuesday All Saints, North Street, York

The number of replies saying “hate to see him like that” about MJF’s Parkinson’s is so depressing. It’s intended as sympathy but what it really means is, “I don’t want to see his disability.” Disabled people don’t have to be shut indoors to save non-disabled people’s feelings.

Come and work with us, on our medieval studies list. The Editorial Director is reasonably good-humoured (depending upon the football results).
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ICYMI: tonight, we're delighted to host Dr Francis Young's talk 'The Last Pagans? Paganism in the Medieval Baltic' for the ISMR series! Start time 18:00 GMT on Zoom. Contact me or Dr Emmie Rose Price-Goodfellow if you have any questions. Register here: eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-last-pag…

going to email my HoD to ask when I'm getting my huscarls