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Edward Mills

@edwardmills.bsky.social
581 followers 315 following 138 posts

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.

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Edward Mills @edwardmills.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
Every redundancy is a tragedy, and this targeting of areas that built the University is doubly so. More is doubtless to come over the coming days and weeks, but for now, it would mean a great deal if you could sign the petition below. www.change.org/p/stop-redun...
change.org
Sign the Petition
Stop Redundancies at the University of Exeter
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Edward Mills @edwardmills.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
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.
c.org
Sign the Petition
Stop Redundancies at the University of Exeter
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Edward Mills @edwardmills.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
Really enjoyed this article by @brackman1066.bsky.social in the new issue of @historytoday.com!
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Edward Mills @edwardmills.bsky.social · 14/12/2025
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 ...
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Edward Mills @edwardmills.bsky.social · 08/10/2025
A small thing, but I love the clear and up-front acknowledgement of what is and isn’t included — so helpful!
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Edward Mills @edwardmills.bsky.social · 12/09/2025
Is this the new UUK head’s speech? Reeeaaalllyyy interested by what precisely ‘unfunded’ means in this context …
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Edward Mills @edwardmills.bsky.social · 22/07/2025
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.)
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Edward Mills @edwardmills.bsky.social · 18/07/2025
But what if they unleash a horror from beyond time? @garybrannan.bsky.social www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Unique ice, 1.5m year old, to be melted to unlock mystery
BBC News went inside -23C freezers to see the ice that could
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Edward Mills @edwardmills.bsky.social · 16/06/2025
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...
sites.exeter.ac.uk
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.
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Edward Mills @edwardmills.bsky.social · 15/04/2025
Ironically, if one thing needs a raise, it's the person doing the @maryrosemuseum.bsky.social's social media ...
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Edward Mills @edwardmills.bsky.social · 02/04/2025
I've managed to source it from someone in Exeter, but thank you for the offer!
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Edward Mills @edwardmills.bsky.social · 02/04/2025
Thank you! Think I'm sorted now, but I'm very grateful :-)
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Reposted by Edward Mills
Edward Mills @edwardmills.bsky.social · 01/04/2025
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!
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Edward Mills @edwardmills.bsky.social · 01/04/2025
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!
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Edward Mills @edwardmills.bsky.social · 29/03/2025
Une pause-café 😊☕️
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Edward Mills @edwardmills.bsky.social · 26/03/2025
No, I really did!
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Edward Mills @edwardmills.bsky.social · 26/03/2025
You know, the first thing I thought when I opened it was, ‘is that Surprised Eel Historian?’
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Edward Mills @edwardmills.bsky.social · 24/03/2025
🐴 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
sites.exeter.ac.uk
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.
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Edward Mills @edwardmills.bsky.social · 19/03/2025
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?
worldrowing.com
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...
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Edward Mills @edwardmills.bsky.social · 17/03/2025
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...
sites.exeter.ac.uk
'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'.
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Edward Mills @edwardmills.bsky.social · 14/03/2025
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 ...
sites.exeter.ac.uk
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.
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Edward Mills @edwardmills.bsky.social · 13/03/2025
THANK YOU for providing references
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Reposted by Edward Mills
Emma Cayley 谷曦 @emmacayley.bsky.social · 12/03/2025
‘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...
timeshighereducation.com
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
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Edward Mills @edwardmills.bsky.social · 12/03/2025
Wow. I hadn’t seen the original article that thus responds to before now, but this addresses it so well — thank you!
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Edward Mills @edwardmills.bsky.social · 11/03/2025
Eh?! Are they possibly referring to some sort of Turnitin similarity report score, which they're weirdly defining as plagiarism?
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Edward Mills @edwardmills.bsky.social · 10/03/2025
Say hi to the students I sent your way! Hope it goes well :-)
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Edward Mills @edwardmills.bsky.social · 04/03/2025
Would love to hear @gheebowman.bsky.social weigh in on this!
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Edward Mills @edwardmills.bsky.social · 03/03/2025
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
sites.exeter.ac.uk
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...
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Reposted by Edward Mills
Charles West @pseudo-isidore.bsky.social · 03/03/2025
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....
journals.uchicago.edu
The Digital Middle Ages: An Introduction | Speculum: Vol 92, No S1
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Edward Mills @edwardmills.bsky.social · 27/02/2025
I’m also in this — in amazing company, too! Looking forward to it.
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Edward Mills @edwardmills.bsky.social · 25/02/2025
As others have said, not really, but the Middle English Text Series has a volume of great editions! metseditions.org/editions/0pA...
metseditions.org
Robin Hood and Other Outlaw Tales
This comprehensive collection testifies to the enduring popularity of outlaw tales in medieval and early modern England, the legend of Robin Hood foremost among them. As figures of mischief, guile, an...
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Edward Mills @edwardmills.bsky.social · 25/02/2025
Not will-related, but I remember having a great time on 'Understanding the Medieval and Early Modern World' once, explaining to students that participants on the Pilgrimage of Grace, when asked to 'bring their furniture', weren't lugging sofas with them ...
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Edward Mills @edwardmills.bsky.social · 25/02/2025
Wow, this looks cool! I've always loved teaching outside my medieval comfort zone (not that I can imagine you being anything but the consummate expert in any context whatsoever!).
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Edward Mills @edwardmills.bsky.social · 24/02/2025
Hmm ... not certain of any off-hand. Pagin @sebfalk.bsky.social ...
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Edward Mills @edwardmills.bsky.social · 24/02/2025
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?
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Edward Mills @edwardmills.bsky.social · 24/02/2025
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...
sites.exeter.ac.uk
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...
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Edward Mills @edwardmills.bsky.social · 24/02/2025
Ooooh, blimey
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Edward Mills @edwardmills.bsky.social · 24/02/2025
As someone apparently in the other half … mind if I ask what happened? Something to do with mailing lists?
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Edward Mills @edwardmills.bsky.social · 23/02/2025
I might be missing something (and apologies if so), but are you simply reselling the PDF that's already available on the @archumanities.bsky.social website (for slightly cheaper), to support your site? It seems unclear whether the authors are being supported here ...
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Edward Mills @edwardmills.bsky.social · 22/02/2025
Love this!
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Edward Mills @edwardmills.bsky.social · 22/02/2025
Very much not the target audience for this, but I absolutely adore the idea of 'expert interruptions by ...'
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Edward Mills @edwardmills.bsky.social · 22/02/2025
Granted. What about 'back-end-of-horse'? Not a view you tend to see much in MSS ... (this is BnF français 854, fol. 105v)
A historiated initial from a medical manuscript, showing a knight riding a horse directly away from the viewer.
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Edward Mills @edwardmills.bsky.social · 22/02/2025
Yes! For me it's model-making (Airfix kits and so on). Making models is fun, but reading model magazines (with their immaculately-detailed 'builds') can be somewhat depressing
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Edward Mills @edwardmills.bsky.social · 18/02/2025
Had a lot of fun writing this for the @uniofexeterhass.bsky.social Medieval Studies blog -- who remembers 'bardcore'?
sites.exeter.ac.uk
'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...
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Edward Mills @edwardmills.bsky.social · 15/02/2025
Looking forward to a couple of hours with this — picked up earlier at @mrbsemporium.bsky.social! (@sammywright.bsky.social)
The cover of a book: ‘Exam Nation: Why Our Obsession with Grades Fails Everyone and a Better Way to Think About School’.
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Edward Mills @edwardmills.bsky.social · 15/02/2025
Well, now I NEED to know if they do commissions …
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Edward Mills @edwardmills.bsky.social · 13/02/2025
I searched for it as an audiobook after seeing the original post, and have to say that it's really well-narrated, too! A great combination of Gareth Armstrong's narration with a fascinating book -- thank you!
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Edward Mills @edwardmills.bsky.social · 12/02/2025
Presenting ... possibly the derpiest horse ever. Bucephalus presented to Alexander, from @labnf.bsky.social, MS français 24364, fol. 4r.
Alexander (the Great) is made a knight, in a 14th-century manuscript of a medieval French text. His horse, Bucephalus, looks on from left, with comically round eyes and an elongated neck.
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Edward Mills @edwardmills.bsky.social · 10/02/2025
When I was there (late last year) they had a Google Form workaround — couldn’t order anything in advance with my old (pre-cyber-attack) card, but once I’d renewed my card and gone to the Manuscripts Room, I was looking at my first item in about an hour!
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Edward Mills @edwardmills.bsky.social · 10/02/2025
At last, my everyone's favourite journal whose title fits perfectly to the tune of 'Panic' by the Smiths is on BlueSky!
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