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Alastair Forbes @areforbes.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

#IMC2027 Call for Papers! @grantosjones.bsky.social and I are proposing a panel for the IMC entitled 'Ordered and Disordered Communities in Clerical Thought'. If you are working on any aspect of order or identity within medieval clerical thought, we would love to hear from you!

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Leonie V. Hicks @lvhicks.bsky.social · 19/07/2026

Normans at #IMC2027! Call for papers sponsored by the Battle Conference. Full details in the alt text and pasted in successive posts. Deadline for abstracts 15 Sept. #medievalsky #archaeology #skystorians @imc-leeds.bsky.social

Communities, Change and Collaboration in Norman History
Organised by Dr Mark Hagger (Lincoln) and Prof. Leonie Hicks (Canterbury Christ Church University)
Sponsored by the Battle Conference on Anglo-Norman Studies

2027 marks two significant anniversaries: the 50th anniversary of the Battle Conference on Anglo-Norman Studies and the millennial anniversary of William the Conqueror’s birth in 2027. It also marks the European Year of the Normans. We hope to organise sessions reflecting communities, change and collaboration in Norman history and welcome proposals that draw on historical, literary, archaeological, and art-historical approaches and sources. Potential contributors might like to think about the following themes although these are not exclusive:

- communities of practice: writing, researching and teaching the Norman past in the middle ages and now
- comparative approaches across different areas conquered and settled by the Normans to communities and change
- communities of different sorts, e.g. financial, administrative, religious, ecological, social and cultural etc.
- landscapes
- tools and theories for understanding change, communities and collaboration as applied to the Normans e.g. digital humanities, knowledge exchange, mapping, etc.
- modelling collaborative approaches to Norman history
- how Norman historiography has change/is changing the way we understand the Normans

Please send abstracts for 20 minute papers (in person or virtual) to Prof. Leonie Hicks (leonie.hicks@canterbury.ac.uk) by no later than 15 September 2026.

Proposals should include
• Title
• Abstract (max 200 words)
• Your name, institution, and role
• Full contact details (these will be used by Leeds IMC to contact you)

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Alastair Forbes @areforbes.bsky.social · 19/07/2026

Orderic is safely back from the #BattleConference and has rejoined Brother William in the library. 📚 He and I want to thank everyone we met there for a wonderful conference and some very kind and helpful comments on my paper. 📝 We hope to see you again next year!

Two knitted monks sitting on a bookshelf in front of a variety of history books.

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Alastair Forbes @areforbes.bsky.social · 17/07/2026

Orderic has engaged with one of the oldest traditions of the #BattleConference!

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Alastair Forbes @areforbes.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

Thank you very much! Hopefully I didn't always look as petrified as you've captured me there!

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Alastair Forbes @areforbes.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

Very excitedly on our way for Battle 2026 and, thus far, all trains appear to be running and on time - hoping to see good omens in this unprecedented happening!

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Alastair Forbes @areforbes.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

An amazing find! Gifted very kindly a copy of Marjorie Chibnall's Anglo-Norman England - and contained within is a letter from Chibnall herself to the book's owner, Michael Clanchy, thanking him for a recommendation 📖 What a rare treat! #medievalsky

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Alastair Forbes @areforbes.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

A well-deserved treat for Orderic to finish #IMC2026. We've seen some stunning papers and met some wonderful people - see you all again next year!

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Alastair Forbes @areforbes.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

Orderic (briefly) made it downstairs for the #IMC2026 disco! I'm not sure that it was *quite* close enough to the repose of the monastery for his taste...

Knitted monk in the foreground of a very full disco dancefloor.

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Alastair Forbes @areforbes.bsky.social · 08/07/2026

Orderic continuing to enjoy panels at #IMC2026 He keeps muttering about having enough material to write an "Historia IMClesiastica" 📖 I'll have him work on the title...

Knitted monk in front of a screen sharing a zoom meeting.

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Alastair Forbes @areforbes.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

Even amid the many excellent papers we have seen at #IMC2026, Orderic still makes sure to spend time in quiet contemplation with the campus rabbits 🐇

Knitted monk looking at a rabbit sitting on a patch of grass.

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Alastair Forbes @areforbes.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

This morning Orderic has been helping me plan my day for #IMC2026 He is a little concerned that the programme doesn't seem to have built in time for the opus Dei, but assumes that bells will call us to prayer at the appropriate moments 🔔

A knitted monk sitting above a programme for the International Medieval Congress, which lies open.

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Alastair Forbes @areforbes.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

Orderic has given my paper a final read through in preparation for my #IMC2026 paper at 4:30 today! I think that smile means he approves..?

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Alastair Forbes @areforbes.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

"And then he heard a sound like the moving of a great army..." ... but it was just the delegates arriving to #IMC2026!

Knitted monk in front of sign welcoming delegates to International Medieval Congress

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Grant Jones @grantosjones.bsky.social · 05/07/2026

All set for #IMC2026 - if you're not too hungover on the Thursday morning come along to Session 1511 by @bodiesandbeing.bsky.social - I'll be talking a load of absolute horse.... allegories!

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Alastair Forbes @areforbes.bsky.social · 05/07/2026

I have a lovely helper for this year's #IMC2026! Say hello to Orderic Vitalis - here enjoying a day at Durham Cathedral As my paper is about his Ecclesiastical History, he wanted to come along and enjoy the conference too. I will be sure to document his adventures over the course of the week. ⛪ 📜

A knitted monk pictured in front of Durham Cathedral in the sunshine.

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Alastair Forbes @areforbes.bsky.social · 05/07/2026

Anyone interested in #soundstudies may be interested in panel 342 on Historical Sound Studies at #IMC2026, Monday 4:30pm. The session examines the place and meaning of sound to medieval societies, with my own paper examining the role of sound in Orderic Vitalis' account of Hellequin's Hunt.

Image of IMC programme for session 342 - Listening to Medieval Life: New Possibilities in Historical Sound Studies, 4:30-6:00pm.
It shows the session description, as well as the titles of the three contributions by Alastair Forbes, Thomas Hendrik Kaal, and Emma Olson.

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Durham History @durhamhistory.bsky.social · 02/06/2026

Congratulations to Alastair on the article! It's also Gold Open Access and based on a recent Durham PhD 🎉🌟⚔️

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Alastair Forbes @areforbes.bsky.social · 22/05/2026

My new article - examining the implications of the crusader cross as a symbol of group identity within monastic narratives of the First Crusade - is now out (and open access)! ⚔️🛡️✝️ So many thanks to the editors and reviewers for helping bring it to fruition! www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

cambridge.org

Symbolic Investiture and Identity-Making in Monastic Accounts of the First Crusade | Studies in Church History | Cambridge Core

Symbolic Investiture and Identity-Making in Monastic Accounts of the First Crusade - Volume 62

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Alastair Forbes @areforbes.bsky.social · 02/04/2026

I'm delighted to be able to share that my paper, 'Monastic Soundscapes and Identities: Symeon of Durham’s ‘Vision of Boso’' has been awarded the Marjorie Chibnall Essay Prize for this year's Battle Conference on Anglo-Norman Studies! battleconference.wordpress.com

battleconference.wordpress.com

Battle Conference on Anglo-Norman Studies

Visit the post for more.

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Dr Laura Varnam @drlauravarnam.bsky.social · 20/08/2025

I want to write a new blogpost, academic pals! What’s your best advice for sustaining your motivation as an early career scholar, post PhD, without institutional affiliation? How can you feel supported in carrying on with your work? And what can those of us lucky enough to have jobs do to help?

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Alastair Forbes @areforbes.bsky.social · 18/07/2025

On the 15th July I passed my viva (with no corrections!) - over 6 years of work is finally at an end🧑‍🎓 Many thanks to Professors Katherine Smith and Len Scales for an enjoyable and stimulating viva! Now, to celebrate with innumerable job applications and rejections... yaay 🍾

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Alastair Forbes @areforbes.bsky.social · 30/04/2025

Happy to say that I finally submitted my thesis today! Now a cup of tea is in *ordo* (tee hee) 🫖

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