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Claire Barnes @clairefromclare.h-net.social.ap.brid.gy · 3h

Cambridge City Council now recognises Rights of the River. Hooray! But what of the growth targets for housebuilding, offices, university expansion? Friends of the Cam & Greens say they're incompatible with water supply limitations […] [Original post on h-net.social]

Idyllic River Cam scene with swans. Photo from Friends of the Cam.

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Claire Barnes @clairefromclare.h-net.social.ap.brid.gy · 3h

Concerns now are pollution due to poor water treatment & agricultural practices, & over-extraction despite water resource limits. Summer 2026 saw "exceptionally low flow". Photos from Friends of the Cam. #RiverCam #pollution #rivers

Protestor snorkelling in River Cam neat King's Chapel with a floating representation of a pile of poo labelled #rivercide

Painting of river with effluent pipe and dying fish. From a series by Julie Kavanagh, Anne Rivington and Charlotte Rivington, for a petition at the Rights of the River Festival.

Painting with phrases about river issues. Central word “POLLUTION”, surrounded by “choked waterways, fertiliser run-off, enteroccoci, over-abstraction, dying chalk streams, e-coli, rising water bills, illegal sewage spills, microplastics, greenwashing, CEO bonuses, company debt”. From a series by Julie Kavanagh, Anne Rivington and Charlotte Rivington, for a petition at the Rights of the River Festival. Source for all photos: Friends of the Cam.

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Claire Barnes @clairefromclare.h-net.social.ap.brid.gy · 4h

The poet George Herbert called on the King & all alumni of the University to protect the health of the River Cam, essential to the Alma Mater, invoking the bonds & duties of kinship. 'Kinship & the River Cam' […] [Original post on h-net.social]

King Charles I in 1632: detail of painting by Van Dyck.

Photo of Charles Prince of Wales (now King Charles III), aged 18. Taken in the Wren Library of Trinity College, Cambridge at matriculation, Oct 1967.

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Claire Barnes @clairefromclare.h-net.social.ap.brid.gy · 8h

Yellow waterlily & water-crowfoot? Plants of the River Cam, each on the side where most prevalent. Water-crowfoot thrives in healthy chalkstreams. Residents worried about river survival, as now, but then due to draining of the fens. #ClareBridge #rivers #StoneCarving

Stone panel of a plant with flowers & fruits on straight upright stems, & crinkly upstanding leaves.

Stone panel showing leaves & flowers of the same plant.

Stone panel with downflowing shapes rather like flames, currently interpreted as the plants water-crowfoot seen underwater in a fast stream.

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Claire Barnes @clairefromclare.h-net.social.ap.brid.gy · 31/10/2026

Arion & Glaucus sport long hair & moustaches consistent with fashion at the time of carving, 1638-40. Maybe the masons had individuals in mind? The article👆 shows the Chancellor of #CambridgeUniversity c.1633; the images below are c.1640.🧵 🎨at […] [Original post on h-net.social]

Head-and-shoulders painting of a man wearing armoured breastplate, expensive leather and silk sashes, and lace collar. Painting c.1640 (after Van Dyck?), in the National Portrait Gallery.

Line engraving of same man, similarly dressed, hair tightly curled with overall shape rounded, face also more rounded. Caption “Henry Earle of Holland | Baron of Kensington.etc.” Engraving c.1640s by William Faithorne, in the National Portrait Gallery.

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Claire Barnes @clairefromclare.h-net.social.ap.brid.gy · 30/10/2026

Here is Arion, the singer-songwriter who leapt into the ocean to escape pirates, & was carried home by a dolphin who loved his music. Is today's #kingfisher also a fan? 🧵 📷 Jamie Clarkson, www.jclarksonphotography.com/kingfi… #ClareBridge #mythology #dolphin

Stone panel showing a mustachioed man with a harp on the back of a stylised dolphin. His body is horizontal, his long hair flowing, and he is holding his harp upright while holding tight to the dolphin which appears to be travelling at speed. On the ledge below the panel, a kingfisher gazes in the direction of travel.

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Claire Barnes @clairefromclare.h-net.social.ap.brid.gy · 29/10/2026

Glaucus had been portrayed with a twisting flared tail like this in several editions of Ovid's Metamorphoses, dating back to Salomon's woodcuts in 1557 & this one by Solis, 1563. In the article ⬆️ about #ClareBridge, we show an engraving from the Sandys […] [Original post on h-net.social]

Woodcut of Glaucus, with the upper body of a bearded man & the curled lower body of a sea creature with flared tail, emerging from the sea to address his beloved Scilla, here still a normal woman.

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Claire Barnes @clairefromclare.h-net.social.ap.brid.gy · 28/10/2026

@jonathanfoyle.bsky.social I was exploring in the Gloucester-Tewkesbury area due to 'Lady Elizabeth's bell' which now hangs at Clare College, previously hung at Highnam Court, there perhaps since the Reformation. It is quite roughly made, so would probably not […] [Original post on h-net.social]

A 14th century bell, mounted on a roundel explaining 'Lady Elizabeth's Bell', the lettering on black with golden droplets which she used as a heraldic device. Photo under the arch at the entrance to Old Court, Clare College, Cambridge.

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Claire Barnes @clairefromclare.h-net.social.ap.brid.gy · 28/10/2026

@histodons We think this is Glaucus: a repentant fisherman who purified himself by immersion in 100 rivers to become a god of the sea. 100 rivers could be a fun goal... @trishgreenhalgh.bsky.social have you been counting? 🧵 #100rivers #WildSwimming #ClareBridge #RiverCam #rivers

Stone carving: merman wielding a club. Head and upper body of a man, lower body of a sea creature with flared tail, frilly protrusions like fins in the hip area. Luxuriant air and moustache; curved and gnarled club.

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Claire Barnes @clairefromclare.h-net.social.ap.brid.gy · 28/10/2026

@etp Stories include revenge by a mason not paid in full, & the one I've always assumed more plausible: the stone had been repaired with an inserted segment (perhaps due to damage during shaping) & that later fell out. I claim no insight on this! Do you have a view?

One of the decorative stone balls topping the balustrade of Clare Bridge, missing a neatly-cut segment of about one eighth on the outer side.

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Claire Barnes @clairefromclare.h-net.social.ap.brid.gy · 31/08/2026

The cyclists will see the Victorian monument outside Charing Cross station – but underground passengers can see the extensive murals by David Gentleman on the medieval craftsmen & process. The site of the original cross is in Trafalgar Square […] [Original post on h-net.social]

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Claire Barnes @clairefromclare.h-net.social.ap.brid.gy · 30/08/2026

Fragments of the Cheapside Cross survive in the London Museum - found in 1838 during construction of a sewer! The memorial had been destroyed in 1643 after a century of controversy: historyofparliament.com/2021/08/19/… #EleanorCross #Cheapside #iconoclasm

Stone carved with the royal arms of England and of Castile and Leon, one of two surviving fragments of heraldry from the Cheapside cross in the Museum of London.

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Claire Barnes @clairefromclare.h-net.social.ap.brid.gy · 30/08/2026

On Monday the cyclists will visit #StAlbans & #WalthamCross before ending in London. The originals of Waltham’s Eleanor statues are now in the V&A, but were drawn by Stukeley & engraved for the Society of Antiquaries in 1721 […] [Original post on h-net.social]

The three Eleanor statues and other details of the beautiful monument at Waltham Cross, as recorded in the 1721 engraving.

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Claire Barnes @clairefromclare.h-net.social.ap.brid.gy · 29/08/2026

On Sunday the cyclists will tackle their longest hill, & see the stone books at #Hardingstone 📷⬆️ In #Dunstable, a plaque proclaims Eleanor's identity with the arms of Castile and León (her father), England (her husband), & Ponthieu (her mother). #QueenEleanorCycleRide #heraldry #cycling

A plaque in Dunstable with three shields, colourfully painted, and text as follows: ‘At these crossroads stood one of the crosses erected by King Edward I in 1291 to mark the overnight stop of the funeral cortege of his consort, Queen Eleanor, on its way to Westminster Abbey. Her coffin rested in the priory church for the night of 11 December 1290.'

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Claire Barnes @clairefromclare.h-net.social.ap.brid.gy · 28/08/2026

On Saturday the cyclists will visit the two crosses with most roses, at #Stamford (where new info from archives & archaeology recently came to light), & #Geddington. I wrote about these two - link above! #QueenEleanorCycleRide #cycling #EleanorCross

A page from the Antiquaries Journal showing Stukeley's sketch of the Stamford cross fragment decorated with roses, dated 21 December 1745.

Detail of rose decoration on the modern Stamford spire

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Claire Barnes @clairefromclare.h-net.social.ap.brid.gy · 27/08/2026

The Queen Eleanor Cycle Ride sets off tomorrow, riding the 200mile route of the Eleanor Crosses over 4 days, supporting the homeless charity The Connection at #StMartinInTheFields. Friday: #Harby to #Grantham via #Lincoln Cathedral […] [Original post on h-net.social]

About 24 cyclists in front of the monument at Waltham Cross

Cyclists with their bicycles in front of the Victorian monument at Charing Cross

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Claire Barnes @clairefromclare.h-net.social.ap.brid.gy · 25/08/2026

Balliol College’s Sept 2025 announcement mentioned that a bookshelf and other allusions remained to be added before a dedication ceremony in spring 2026. Do any readers have photos? […] [Original post on h-net.social]

Sculptor Alex Wenham in front of the new statue and two new residential blocks at Master’s Field, Balliol College.

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Claire Barnes @clairefromclare.h-net.social.ap.brid.gy · 25/08/2026

Dervorguilla of Galloway, who wrote the 1282 statutes & ‘did the practical work’ to establish the Oxford college named after her husband John Balliol, is commemorated in a statue unveiled last year. This article shows the interesting process as well as the […] [Original post on h-net.social]

John Balliol and Dervorguilla are depicted with the college buildings in one of the drawings by Pugin, from a volume in the Balliol College archives.

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Claire Barnes @clairefromclare.h-net.social.ap.brid.gy · 10/08/2026

The choir of Clare College gave a memorable concert in an Essex village, to celebrate a 700th anniversary of significance to both. 🎶 www.barnes1.net/clairefromclare/pos… #ClareCollegeChoir #GreatBardfield […] [Original post on h-net.social]

Graham Ross and the Choir of Clare College face the audience in a beautiful church with spectacular stone rood screen.

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Claire Barnes @clairefromclare.h-net.social.ap.brid.gy · 10/08/2026

In 1359, a woman set out a vision of education: intellectual delights, meritocracy, benefits to individuals and society. Centuries later, the words & imagery of the #LadyOfClare remain resonant. They're celebrated in a new memorial, seen here with the Vicar of […] [Original post on h-net.social]

Revd Alex Shannon, Vicar of Great Bardfield, and Loretta Minghella, Master of Clare College, with the new memorial at the Church of St Mary the Virgin in Great Bardfield, 27 June 2026.

The completed memorial: oval in shape, of Welsh slate, with a central explanatory inscription below the red model of the seal, and its legend lightly engraved again around the outside: 'Aulā Clare Pia Rege Semper Virgo Maria'.
The explanatory inscription reads: 'The statutes of Clare College Cambridge were signed by Elizabeth de Burgh, Lady of Clare, in March 1359 at her home near this church. She wrote of the Precious Pearl of Learning, the development of talent, & meritocracy: a vision of education to benefit all of society. This is an enlarged replica of the beautiful seal made then for Clare College, & first used to ratify the statutes which it depicts. The Lady is presenting the foundation charter & statute book to the kneeling Master, Fellows, & Students. They stand under arches of similar style to the magnificent rood screen here, built around the same time. The Virgin & Child keep watch from above, with St John the Baptist & St John the Apostle. Clare College, like this Church, is dedicated to the Virgin Mary. The text on the seal invokes her protection.'

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Claire Barnes @clairefromclare.h-net.social.ap.brid.gy · 19/06/2026

The Choir of Clare College Cambridge will be singing on Sat 27th June, 7:30pm at the Church of St Mary the Virgin in Great Bardfield. At her house next door, the #LadyOfClare approved the college statutes. The first master, Walter de Thaxted, was her tenant at […] [Original post on h-net.social]

The Choir of Clare College with music director Graham Ross, assembled under the arch leading to the Avenue, with the greenery beyond.

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Claire Barnes @clairefromclare.h-net.social.ap.brid.gy · 25/05/2026

The Black Death killed ~100 million people between 1347 and 1353, including half the population of London. * Was the London experience representative? * Impact of London evidence? IHR lecture by Thomas Asbridge, 24 June […] [Original post on h-net.social]

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Claire Barnes @clairefromclare.h-net.social.ap.brid.gy · 28/04/2026

The ‘Lady of Clare’ is back! 🥂 In time for the Mays, in this 700th anniversary year. 🧵 5/ Yellow fire! 🔥 #LadyOfClare #ClareBoatClub #ClareCollege

With champagne at the ready, the flag is being lifted from the bow, revealing the name 'Lady of Clare'.

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Claire Barnes @clairefromclare.h-net.social.ap.brid.gy · 28/04/2026

'Penny Sweet' is still on the river, but 'Elizabeth de Burgh' has retired. It's time for a new boat... 🧵 4/

Two Clare Relics in boat club finery, gentlemen of a certain age, stand with their backs to the river, addressing an audience gathered to see the new eight. Like the 'Adrian Buckmaster' in the background, the new boat is yellow and whiite; the riggers are yellow. Clare Boat Club's flag is draped across the bow. The flag is predominantly yellow and black, with the college arms and the motto 'CAVE ADSUM'.

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Claire Barnes @clairefromclare.h-net.social.ap.brid.gy · 27/04/2026

In 2011, she unveiled an eight named in her honour. In 2020, Penny featured in a series on Twitter as a modern 'Lady of Clare'.🧵 3/

A photo taken in front of Clare Boat Club, with onlookers resplendent in various club blazers, and yellow and black balloons tied to the stairs. Penny, wearing a yellow boat club scarf, is removing covers from the bow to reveal the name 'Penny Sweet'.

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Claire Barnes @clairefromclare.h-net.social.ap.brid.gy · 26/04/2026

Penny Sweet, no3 in the frig-rigged 1978 boat, stroked 'The Lady Clare' to go Head of the River in 1979. She also rowed for the University, and went on to the Moscow Olympics. 🧵 2/ #ClareBoatClub

The same boat, the Lady Clare, a coxed four. Clare Ladies 1st IV paddling home after their 1979 triumph, now flying the club flag.

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Claire Barnes @clairefromclare.h-net.social.ap.brid.gy · 25/04/2026

Clare Boat Club will be launching a new eight today 🥂 Pictured here, a wooden shell four in action for the 1978 May Bumps. #ClareCollege #MayBumps #CambridgeUniversity #LadyOfClare

Black and white photo of a women's coxed four, above a colour photo of the name on the boat's side: "THE LADY CLARE"

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Claire Barnes @clairefromclare.h-net.social.ap.brid.gy · 07/04/2026

All who recognise the distinctive arms of Elizabeth de Burgh, #LadyOfClare, will be surprised to see a man in armour at #LeedsCastle bearing Clare family arms in a border she adopted after extinction of the male line. Meanwhile the horse wears... paisley? In her […] [Original post on h-net.social]

Screenshot notices of two events at Leeds Castle, from the official website. On the left, "Easter at Leeds Castle", with the building in the background, fairies & dragons in the garden. On the right, "The Queen's Joust", showing three mounted knights in play armour of assorted periods, the leading one on a dejected paisley-clad horse carrying a shield of later shape with the arms of the Clare family (Or three chevrons gules, i.e. three red chevrons on gold) within the black border with golden teardrops innovatively adopted by Elizabeth de Burgh, Lady of Clare. However she impaled the Clare arms inside the border with those of de Burgh. No historic figure would have used arms like this, but they are evocative of the Lady of Clare, a granddaughter of Queen Eleanor of Castile, who certainly visited Leeds Castle.

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Claire Barnes @clairefromclare.h-net.social.ap.brid.gy · 07/04/2026

An animated #EleanorOfCastile in a new exhibition at #LeedsCastle, #Vikings in London, & "questions about the ethics of animating (and putting words into the mouths of) real individuals, as well as how to ensure quality control". Feedback welcome if anyone […] [Original post on h-net.social]

Photo of a room with high lancet windows from floor to ceiling, and colourful hangings. On a dais in front of a tapestry is a large LCD screen depicting the standing Queen Eleanor.

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Claire Barnes @clairefromclare.h-net.social.ap.brid.gy · 27/03/2026

One day later, 27th March 1359, the statutes were ratified with seals of the Master & Fellows of #ClareCollege & the Chancellor of #CambridgeUniversity. The college seal commemorates the occasion, showing the statutes, which in turn mention the Master, Fellows […] [Original post on h-net.social]

RTI photo of the Clare College seal matrix, inverted, and flipped to show text correctly as in the wax impression. Eleven key elements are highlighted for explanation, with text in the next image.

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Claire Barnes @clairefromclare.h-net.social.ap.brid.gy · 26/03/2026

#ClareCollege is celebrating its 700th anniversary. However it was #OTD 667 years ago, 26th March 1359, that Elizabeth #LadyofClare drew on decades of experience & signed the statutes. Drawing on all her experience, she wrote of education’s value to individuals […] [Original post on h-net.social]

When Lady Clare spoke in 1359 of the lessons of experience, she drew on memories of prestige & persecution, prosperity & famine, peace & war. Her widely varied experience had convinced her of the value & joys of learning, and that this was ‘best acquired in a recognised university community’.

In a land ravaged by plague & riven by political strife, she had come to the rescue of a Cambridge university college. In her introduction to the statutes for its governance, she acknowledged the country’s need to make the most of its remaining human talent, and to develop qualified personnel for spiritual guidance and competent administration. She provided not just for fellows, but for young students, to be ‘chosen from among the poorest that can be found’.

Centuries later, Clare College upholds the spirit of her statutes with a vision of one community of fellows & students, chosen on merit. She wished them all to ‘acquire the precious pearl of learning’, & to take this gift & share it with the world. A glance at the history of Clare College shows that this has been achieved by generations of our alumni. Ensuring that succeeding generations have the same opportunity is the responsibility & great privilege of the Master and Fellows.
...
Clare College has adapted, evolved, & grown enormously. It nevertheless maintains an ongoing commitment to the principles laid down by our remarkable patron.

English-language version of the preamble to the statutes of Clare College, an address by Elizabeth de Burgh in 1359.

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Claire Barnes @clairefromclare.h-net.social.ap.brid.gy · 19/03/2026

The patrons of Cambridge’s 14th century colleges (predecessors of Trinity College, plus Clare, Pembroke, Gonville, Trinity Hall & Corpus) were convinced of universities as a public good, persevering amid war & plague. The #LadyOfClare fought tyranny, & […] [Original post on h-net.social]

Elizabeth de Burgh, Lady of Clare, 1295-1360 – head and shoulders from the 1771 oil painting by Joseph Freeman which hangs in the Hall at Clare College.

Marie de St Pol, Countess of Pembroke, 1303-1376 – head and shoulders from the portrait of her kneeling in a heraldic blue and white striped cloak with red martlets, BNF Latin 4223 B, f 52v.

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Claire Barnes @clairefromclare.h-net.social.ap.brid.gy · 19/03/2026

“A university is here to help students to aim high, to reach further, to find fulfilment in all sorts of ways in and beyond the library and the laboratory. Yes it’s about achieving outstanding academic excellence. It is also however about providing a supportive […] [Original post on h-net.social]

The Chancellor, in black & gold robes, flanked by the two Esquire Bedells, declaring the purpose of a university. Screenshot from the video.

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Claire Barnes @clairefromclare.h-net.social.ap.brid.gy · 19/03/2026

“Universities have to be at the forefront of countering this tidal wave of misleadingness. Universities are where truth and knowledge are discussed, debated, contested, and as a result discovered. It is why the first assault of autocrats across the world is […] [Original post on h-net.social]

Screenshot from the Trump Action Tracker showing monthly charts of actions by category: Undermining democracy, Suppressing dissent, Nationalism, Weakening civil rights, Foreign policy, Attacking science, Controlling information, Attacking education, Corruption, Hollowing state.

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Claire Barnes @clairefromclare.h-net.social.ap.brid.gy · 19/03/2026

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Claire Barnes @clairefromclare.h-net.social.ap.brid.gy · 19/03/2026

The Orator explained the Chancellor’s “duty to see that we the officers of the University properly discharge our own, that we continue this long journey toward knowledge, that we never cease to shine the light of wisdom beyond these walls. Today the academy is […] [Original post on h-net.social]

Text in Latin, as delivered. (Alt-text omits detail of past achievements.)
DIGNISSIME domine, Academiae nostrae Cancellarie: quod ut praescribunt statuta et e more prisco suffragiis totius Senatus designatus hoc summum atque antiquissimum munus et officium Cancellariatus Vniversitatis Cantabrigiensis suscipere dignatus es, nos Procancellaria, Magistri et Scholares huius Academiae tibi gratias quam maximas agimus.
...
uoce et vitae ipsius cursu, domine, eo fortiores nos esse admones quo magis hominum et sententiarum uariatione gaudeamus. qui sequimur gratias habemus.

hoc tamen Cancellariatus officium non solum honoris et gloriae causa obtinetur. tui enim est cauere ut nos omnes officia nostra Academiae debita rite praestemus, ut longa per saecula inceptam ad scientiam uiam sedule pergamus, ut sanctissimam ueritatis lucem extra hos muros pro nostra parte communicemus. hoc igitur tempore cum in angustiis uersata Minerua iis hostibus obsidetur qui sanctam hanc lucem restinguere, qui disputantium uoces confutare, qui ipsam ueritatem dolis et fallaciis confusam negare conentur, beatos nos et fortunatos iudicamus qui tua uirtute, integritate, humanitate freti una cum te summa fide hoc iter iam faciamus.

dignissime et nobilissime domine, CHRISTOPHER ROBERT baro SMITH de FINSBURY,
VNIVERSITATIS CANTABRIGIENSIS CANCELLARIVM
te salutamus.

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Claire Barnes @clairefromclare.h-net.social.ap.brid.gy · 19/03/2026

Amid the pageantry of his installation, the new Chancellor of the University of Cambridge made some pointed & interesting comments, & important commitments. 🧵 1/15 #AcademicFreedom #universities #CambridgeUniversity

Photo of the Chancellor speaking in the Senate House after his installation, with all participants in academical dress. The Vice-Chancellor, Professor Deborah Prentice, is seated on the right of the image. The new Chancellor is Chris Smith, Lord Smith of Finsbury.

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Claire Barnes @clairefromclare.h-net.social.ap.brid.gy · 15/03/2026

@chrischirp.bsky.social Your RSS feed is very useful in any case, & yes re batch posting! It's the mismatch between web & RSS that puzzles me. On Feedbro I now see entries to 13th (even after refreshing), v 14th on web. However Vivaldi Feed Reader picks up the […] [Original post on h-net.social]

Screenshot from the feed validation service at validator.w3.org saying "This feed does not validate" and highlighting two lines to check, including lastBuildDate and self-reference v document location. Exact wording of these recommendations follows.

line 8, column 43: lastBuildDate must be an RFC-822 date-time: 2026-03-14T22:00:27.000Z [help]
<lastBuildDate>2026-03-14T22:00:27.000Z</lastBuildDate>
^

In addition, interoperability with the widest range of feed readers could be improved by implementing the following recommendation.

line 9, column 103: Self reference doesn't match document location [help]

... rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
^

Source: https://www.trumpactiontracker.info/feed.xml

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Claire Barnes @clairefromclare.h-net.social.ap.brid.gy · 14/03/2026

@chrischirp.bsky.social The RSS feed now matches the website; here's an example of how it looks. (I'm a recent convert to RSS, which I'd now recommend everyone to consider. 'Why RSS Matters': werd.io/why-rss-matters) #TrumpActionTracker #RSS

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Claire Barnes @clairefromclare.h-net.social.ap.brid.gy · 14/03/2026

@chrischirp.bsky.social Congratulations! The categorisation of actions, and the ability to filter each category by date, will be a great help to future historians, while illuminating the present. #TrumpActionTracker #Trump #policy

Charts of "Actions by domain", tracking these over time: so far 727 undermining democracy, 703 suppressing dissent, 604 nationalism, 468 weakening civil rights, 449 foreign policy, 448 attacking science, 354 controlling information, 202 attacking education, 179 corruption, 177 hollowing state.

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Claire Barnes @clairefromclare.h-net.social.ap.brid.gy · 14/12/2025

David Loggan spent 12 years sketching & engraving the town & colleges of Cambridge before publishing his book of plates in 1690 as 'Cantabrigia Illustrata'. Background: www.museumofcambridge.org.uk/2025/1… Digitised book […] [Original post on h-net.social]

Loggan's views of Cambridge from the east, above, and the west, below. From the east, the foreground comprises ploughed fields, a flock of sheep, and huntsmen on foot and on horseback. From the west, across the river, the harvest is under way. Landmarks like the castle, colleges and churches are numbered and named. King's College Chapel stands out, as it does today.

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Claire Barnes @clairefromclare.h-net.social.ap.brid.gy · 04/10/2025

4 Oct is the feast of St Francis of Assisi, founder of the Franciscan order. He's the patron saint of animals, the environment, and ecologists - so it's also #WorldAnimalDay. 🎨 #LuttrellPsalter f60v (East Anglia c.1325-35) #StFrancis #medieval #manuscript #14thCentury #BritishLibrary @medievodons

Illumination of St Francis, a monk in long brown robe with a knotted rope for a belt, standing with his hands up. There are wounds in his chest, hands & feet, reflecting those of Christ crucified, ('stigmata'). Another cowled human sits at his feet, looking away, while a lion sits peacefully on the right. They're under a tree with colourful leaves and five large birds, four of which are looking attentively at St Francis. The text above reads "Multa flagella peccatoris".

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Claire Barnes @clairefromclare.h-net.social.ap.brid.gy · 17/07/2025

@leafyhistory.bsky.social And 700 years ago the skate look scary! I assume artist's licence in this image, but do you have any evidence of changing size? 🎨 Macclesfield Psalter, East Anglia 1330s […] [Original post on h-net.social]

Illustration from the lower margin of an illuminated manuscript. A man falls back in surprise as he is approached by a giant skate: the fish is larger than the man.

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Claire Barnes @clairefromclare.h-net.social.ap.brid.gy · 11/05/2025

Another shrine to Our Lady of Good Counsel is at #ClarePriory in England: established 777 years ago under the patronage of Richard de Clare (& his wife Matilda); enlarged by his daughter-in-law Joan of Acre and granddaughter Elizabeth #LadyOfClare. The modern […] [Original post on h-net.social]

Stone relief of a seated Virgin Mary with the Christ-child on her knee, against pink-washed walls in a sunny medieval courtyard garden at Clare Priory in Suffolk.

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Claire Barnes @clairefromclare.h-net.social.ap.brid.gy · 11/04/2025

@trishgreenhalgh.bsky.social This may be doctored? The ICE account on X has the version below - easy to parody, but already noteworthy in the original, and best to be clear which this is?

ICE post showing a poster: "If it crosses the U.S. border illegally, it's our job to STOP IT:
PEOPLE
MONEY
PRODUCTS
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY*"
(* not "IDEAS" as in version above* ).

The text of the post is: "ICE enforces 400+ federal laws to ensure public safety and national security. Our job is to ensure people, money, products and intellectual property. DO NOT enter the U.S. illegally. Learn more about our mission: ICE.gov"

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Claire Barnes @clairefromclare.h-net.social.ap.brid.gy · 09/04/2025

@matthewcollins.bsky.social On Mastodon I see only the first post - but thanks to #Bridgy for that! Fedizens, "see original page" for v interesting thread on #medieval supply chains & possible climate impact, or jump to paper at royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1… @medievodons

Map showing trade routes connecting Greenland, Iceland and the Baltic coasts with medieval France

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Claire Barnes @clairefromclare.h-net.social.ap.brid.gy · 24/01/2025

@philiploring.com The preview card for that link isn't showing up on Bluesky, but it's a great title, & apt cartoon. "Mastodon over Mammon"... where will the butterfly fit in? 4/

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Claire Barnes @clairefromclare.h-net.social.ap.brid.gy · 04/01/2025

Medieval paintings as seen by master conservator Spike Bucklow, through paint samples the size of a dust speck, in his new book 'The Art Beneath': centrecentre.co.uk/products/the-art… #NewBook #medieval #painting #ArtHistory #HamiltonKerr @medievodons

Sample with a vibrant blue layer above an orange one with red and yellow, and a black edge - from an English painting dated 1263, using azurite to depict blue feathers.

Sample with a white layer over a vibrant red one speckled with golden orange, and I think a very thin layer of gold leaf at the top? - from an English painting dated 1335, described as a gold leaf layer using vermilion to depict gilded red.

Sample with white layer over a thin layer of gold, above greeny-blue, then black, and a thick white substrate. From an English painting dated 1390, described as a gold leaf layer with chalk ground, depicting gilded blue.

Sample with a bright yellow base layer, topped by a green layer which darkens towards the top, and what looks like a glassy or burnt layer on top. From an English painting dated 1390, described as a gold leaf layer with copper glaze, depicting gilded green.

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Claire Barnes @clairefromclare.h-net.social.ap.brid.gy · 25/12/2024

The choir of Clare College Cambridge posted has been touring in Europe, returned exhausted but happy, and posted these reflections from music director Graham Ross on Why They Do It. #choral #music #why #ClareCollege #choir #CambridgeUniversity #ClareCollegeChoir

The first of 3 pages of text from the Director of Music, Graham Ross. Summary:

It's Christmas Eve, and I woke this morning at my in-laws in Belfast after a considerably more comfortable night's sleep than our marathon 20-hour journey home through the night yesterday from the snow-laden Black Forest, via every conceivable mode of transport...

Festive touring in December requires energy and commitment. Over the last month we have given 12 performances in the UK, Switzerland, Germany, and the Netherlands, after a full academic term of 25 services and concerts on our home turf, as well as 2 BBC broadcasts.

Why do we do tour? Sharing our music making around the globe has always been an important part of our schedule, and something that I've always firmly believed in. Over 15 years of international tours with different generations of Clare Choir I've seen time and time again the direct benefits for the group as a whole and for its individual members. Unlike professional choirs and consorts on the circuit, a Collegiate Chapel choir that is part of an academic institution has a change of personnel every year. It's perhaps easy to forget that just twelve weeks ago the Clare Choir of 2024/25 hadn't even met.

This year there were 17 new members of the Choir. Those first few weeks of the academic year are absolutely crucial: there is a need for real focus and hard work from the word go; a need to hone and shape the collective sound into the Clare model; a need to develop a group that listens to and respects each other; and a need to create an outfit that can deliver day in, day out, in an incredibly short period of time. The Choir comprises around 30 individuals, but we are very much a team, and this is nowhere more apparent than when on tour.

It's hard to put into words what it is to nurture and witness the musical journey that my students make from that first rehearsal together in October to standing ovations like those we received this last month. Our music making hopefully brings something special to our audiences. I think this is particularly important at this time of year, which can be difficult for some. One audience member came to me in tears after one of our concerts last week, explaining personal circumstances as to why our performance meant so much to them. If one person feels moved by our performances, then we are doing something right. If perhaps 6000 people can feel something similar, then for me that perfectly sums up why we do what we do. Touring helps to develop life-long friendships, and | have in my students a fantastically close-knit group who care deeply about what they do and who look out for each other (snowball ferocity notwithstanding).

I owe a huge amount of thanks to all those behind the scenes who enable us to do what we do: our agents, our overseas promotors, our recording label, Mark our Dean, Gabrielle our Head of Chapel Office, and, in particular, Daniel our brilliant Choir Administrator who navigated us all so smoothly from country to country. But, as ever, it's my singers and organists who should accept most of the praise here for delivering night after night performances of outstanding musicianship, for serving as ambassadors for Clare College, and for creating life- long memories for both performers and audiences alike.

And so now for some much-needed rest before it all starts again next month. Thank you to all our friends and supporters around the world who joined us this year; we look forward to seeing you again in 2025. I'll be starting my New Year about as far away from Cambridge as it gets, as Scott Polar Research Institute’s Musician in Residence in Antarctica, but already know that on my return to Clare in February I will be reunited with one of the most gifted, hardworking and talented university Choirs in the land. I can't ask for more than that.

Graham Ross (Director of Music)

Smiles all round in this photo of the Clare College Choir with Graham Ross, December 2024.

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Claire Barnes @clairefromclare.h-net.social.ap.brid.gy · 06/12/2024

For a change from our current leaders, shall we try a #BoyBishop? Celebrating #OTD 6Dec the feast of #StNicholas & traditions explored in last year's thread: 🧵 h-net.social/@ClaireFromClare/11153… 🎨 Stowe Breviary, painted in Norwich c.1322-25.

Decorated manuscript initial "D", showing St Nicholas in his bishop's mitre with crozier, blessing three boys emerging from a tub after rescue.

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