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Dr Gabby Storey

@gabbystorey.bsky.social
2.6K followers 923 following 357 posts

Historian of monarchy, gender, and sexuality. Writer, traveller, feminist, bi (she/her) trans ally always 🏳️‍🌈 #teamberengaria. Book 1: Berengaria of Navarre (Routledge, 2024). Book 2 underway! Rep'd by Georgina Capel Associates

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Reposted by Dr Gabby Storey
Daniel F Gosling @thegozfather.bsky.social · 16/10/2025
Henry VIII's original will (fighting the urge to post this in all caps, because it's so very cool) [TNA E 23/4]
Henry VIII's will [TNA E 23/4]Henry VIII's will [TNA E 23/4]
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Dr Gabby Storey @gabbystorey.bsky.social · 15/10/2025
Great to chat with the North London @histassoc.bsky.social branch this evening about Eleanor of Aquitaine and her contemporary queens - any excuse to talk about Eleanor is a good evening! Very interesting q&a afterwards - one of the main reasons I love doing history 😊
Photograph of the tombs of Eleanor of Aquitaine and Henry II.
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Dr Gabby Storey @gabbystorey.bsky.social · 13/10/2025
#OTD 1399 Henry IV was crowned king of England. If you're interested in more beyond the Substack post, highly recommend Helen Castor's The Eagle and the Hart for the story of Richard II and Henry IV, and Elena Woodacre's biography of Joan of Navarre open.substack.com/pub/gabbysto...
Text reads Monday Monarch: Henry IV of England. 5 Things You Should Know About Henry IV, King of England. Gabby Storey.Substack.com atop image of Henry IV'S coronation
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Tabletop Arts Fund @tabletopartsfund.org · 11/10/2025
Hey there! Couldn't help but notice that you haven't applied for the 2026 TTAF AP Grants yet. It's cool. I get it -- you've been busy. But why not take some time today to give your show a shot at being screened 'round the world? apply.tabletoparts.fund/actualplay2026
Promotional graphic for the Tabletop Arts Fund 2026 Actual Play Grants. At the top center is the Tabletop Arts Fund logo, featuring a stylized book with a red d6 and yellow d10 on its pages, crossed by a pen and paintbrush inside a circle. 

The Text reads:
2026 Actual Play Grants

“Open to any podcast or video actual play with at least three episodes released in 2025. Grants provide entry fees to all festivals in the 2026 Audio Fiction World Cup. Preference for all awards given to first-time festival participants and creators from marginalized backgrounds.”

At the bottom, bold text states:
Submissions close October 31, 2025

Link: https://apply.tabletoparts.fund/actualplay2026
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Jan Marc Morawe @janmarcmorawe.bsky.social · 07/10/2025
Do men rely only on women to prevent pregnancies? How do masculinities, critical consciousness, and contraception intersect? Our project's final paper is part of this month's issue of Culture, Health, and Sexuality. Check it out here: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.... @tandfresearch.bsky.social
tandfonline.com
‘How do I really want to be as a man?’ Masculinities, critical consciousness, and contraceptive decision-making – findings from an interview study in Germany
This paper examines how men in Germany reflect on (their) masculinities in the context of contraception and family planning. Through twelve qualitative interviews, three of which were couple interv...
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Dr Gabby Storey @gabbystorey.bsky.social · 11/10/2025
It has been a very up and down week for writing - you know, when the chapters really get stuck - but I seem to have broken a wall last night and punched out many words on early modern sodomy. Afternoon's aim is to get a rusty draft finished and then some Gallagher Premiership this evening!
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magistraetmater.bsky.social @magistraetmater.bsky.social · 06/10/2025
Interesting comparative paper for those working on medieval queenship: Paula Sabloff: "The Political Agency of Royal Women: A Comparative Analysis of Eight Premodern States According to Societal Rules and Roles" link.springer.com/article/10.1.... Suggests a lot of structural similarities.
link.springer.com
The Political Agency of Royal Women: A Comparative Analysis of Eight Premodern States According to Societal Rules and Roles - Journal of Archaeological Research
Comparative analysis of women rulers and main wives of kings in eight premodern states around the globe reveals similar patterns of political agency, or the opportunity and ability to take political action. Queen rulers, regents, and main wives substituting for their husbands in their absence made policy, but they had somewhat less political agency than male rulers. Main wives’ political agency took the forms of influencing policy and people’s behavior (sometimes through their role as patron to others), interceding between their kin and their husbands, advocating for one party or the other, spying, and conspiring. Therefore, women’s political agency ought to be part of any political study. This study builds on the anthropological/archaeological study of agency by drawing attention to royal women’s political agency and showing how the analysis of structural rules and the roles of kings, queen rulers, and main wives illuminates the societal structure in which agency is embedded. By analyzing premodern societies this way, we learn that there is remarkable similarity of agency behaviors among royal women in the eight sample societies, even though the societies emerged independently of one another.
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Dr Gabby Storey @gabbystorey.bsky.social · 08/10/2025
I've managed so many projects and like to think I'm pretty organised, and yet somehow, every year, trying to organise a Christmas meal with 4 shift workers proves to be the most challenging task of all 😂
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Prof Katherine Schofield 🇬🇧🇦🇺🇪🇺 @katherineschof8.bsky.social · 30/09/2025
I love this.
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Vagina Museum @vaginamuseum.bsky.social · 30/09/2025
*sigh* Bluesky is Blueskying again. Here's that link again, this time visible to everyone. Trans people's experiences are not adult content, mods. www.vaginamuseum.co.uk/communitygal...
A post from the Vagina Museum, labelled as "adult content": The last day to view Trans Ephemera is 5th October. This community-created exhibition explores diversity, medicalisation and experiences of oppression through the medium of things that are normally thrown away. The exhibition is free to visit - plan yours now!
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Dr Gabby Storey @gabbystorey.bsky.social · 29/09/2025
Happy Monday folks! I am absolutely buzzing after the Red Roses win at the weekend but back to what we're here for: other kickass women in history. And who better to look at today than Wu Zetian? Never heard of her? Then find out more on today's Substack- gabbystorey.substack.com/p/monday-mon...
gabbystorey.substack.com
Monday Monarch: Wu Zetian
5 Things You Should Know About Wu Zetian
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Gabino Iglesias @gabino.bsky.social · 26/09/2025
It’s #FridayReads time and Hispanic/Latine Heritage month! Let’s boost all signals. This month is great, but I write with an accent every month. Here’s a (45% off!) novel full of sazón and magic, waves and monsters, storms and revenge, crime and friendship. www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0316...
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Dr Gabby Storey @gabbystorey.bsky.social · 26/09/2025
Lots of history joy this week - two fantastic exhibitions at the V&A yesterday, some wonderful new works to review, and today working through chapter edits for a piece on Eleanor of Aquitaine and rituals. Trying to get all the ducks in a row before the Women's Rugby World Cup final tomorrow!
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Dr Gabby Storey @gabbystorey.bsky.social · 23/09/2025
Such an interesting find - via Ebay of all places! www.theguardian.com/world/2025/s...
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Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 22/09/2025
At last. But not for the two female PhD students informed last week that their families, including children, while eligible for visas, are not eligible for evacuation. Gutting.
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Dr Gemma Masson @glmasson.bsky.social · 22/09/2025
Love a #bookmail day! Finally got my hands on #BerengariaofNavarre by the amazing @gabbystorey.bsky.social #history #skystorians #medieval #queenship #booksky
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Surprised Eel Historian, PhD @greenleejw.bsky.social · 19/09/2025
I hate to talk about Christmas at a time like this (it being only Sept.), but if you're thinking about commissioning a gift map for Christmas...'tis the season! I've done a number of gift maps over the last few years, and they take a while. So now's the time to get in line!
A map of the Society for Creative Anachronism's Loch Soillier barony in Texas, done in a pseudo-medieval style. There are sea monsters!Map of part of New York City. Surrounding the city are black and white drawings of various city landmarks. The drawings are in half circles that look like snow globes, and each has a number that cousins corresponds to a number on the map.A map of a piece of property in Florida, with two ponds, a shed, a trailer, a trehouse, and a lot of trees. The map is labeled, "The Hideout" and there is an oppossum.A map of the area around Seattle, from Tacoma in the South to Whidby Island in the north. It is done in a fantasy style, with different places represented by different icons. The border took me a long time, and is made of abstract shapes on a red background. There are mountains and forests, and the map includes Mt. Rainier in the bottom right and Mt. Backer in the top right. Neither mountain is actually there, but it's close enough.
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Gabrielle A. Perry, MPH @geauxgabrielle.blacksky.app · 17/09/2025
The government has been disappearing whistleblowers and community organizers. Dawn Wooten was disappeared by ICE and hasnt been seen since she started raising alarms about ICE sterilizing women in custody
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Dr Gabby Storey @gabbystorey.bsky.social · 17/09/2025
This is in the news but isn't being talked about enough. I'm glad the Sikh woman who was attacked has spoken of support from her community. More people need to speak about violence against women + girls Man arrested over 'racially aggravated' rape in Oldbury - BBC News share.google/N6fZaTUk2wq5...
share.google
Man arrested over 'racially aggravated' rape in Oldbury
West Midlands Police says a man in his 30s was detained on Sunday evening and remained in custody.
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will pooley @willpooley.bsky.social · 17/09/2025
“Cataclysmically bad” This new series of ECR blog posts on the French History Network makes for grim reading, perhaps grimmer even than some in UK #FrenchHistory might have realised. 1st post, anon ECRs in French History on what it’s like right now out there: frenchhistorysociety.co.uk/6691/ 🗃️
frenchhistorysociety.co.uk
ECR in 2025: Part One- What is it like? – SSFH
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Musa Okwonga @okwonga.bsky.social · 16/09/2025
www.thebookseller.com/news/tribute...
thebookseller.com
Tributes paid to ‘rare and radiant force’ Sareeta Domingo after she died ‘suddenly’
Tributes from across the book industry have been paid to “rare and radiant force” Sareeta Domingo after she died “suddenly” on Friday, 12th September.
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KateW @kateweb.bsky.social · 16/09/2025
Opportunity for writer-performers to create a 5 minute monologue for York Theatre Royal and the Stephen Joseph (it says paid, but doesn't specify the fee). #theatre
rootstouring.com
Queer Spaces Climate Pride Call Out | Roots
Are you a North Yorkshire-based LGBTQIA writer, creator or content maker looking for collaboration and a stage? Then we have an opportunity for you…
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Nathen Amin ✒️📚 @nathenamin.bsky.social · 16/09/2025
On 16 September 1400, Owain Glyn Dwr began what would prove a decade long War of Independence against the English crown. It was a bold gambit that would have devastating consequences for so many but which earned Owain an enduring place in his compatriots' hearts. Link in bio 👆🏾
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Scotland's Churches Trust @scotchurchestrust.bsky.social · 15/09/2025
We've been preserving, promoting and protecting Scotland's sacred spaces for almost fifty years. To support our vital work, do please consider becoming a 'Friend of Scotland's Churches Trust' and following us on our various social media channels 👇 www.scotlandschurchestrust.org.uk/become-a-fri...
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Dr Gabby Storey @gabbystorey.bsky.social · 15/09/2025
Happy Monday folks! Today, let's talk about one of the big scandals of the twelfth century: Eleanor of Aquitaine. Why has her name been dragged through the mud with charges of incest? Head over to Substack to find out more.. gabbystorey.substack.com/p/eleanor-of...
gabbystorey.substack.com
Eleanor of Aquitaine: The Scandal of the Twelfth Century
Today I want to talk about two matters close to my heart: queens and sex.
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Greg Jenner (Historian) @gregjenner.bsky.social · 14/09/2025
We don’t all share the same internet. The personalised algorithm has siloed us into parallel worlds
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Dr Kate Farrant Shaw @katefarrantshaw.bsky.social · 13/09/2025
Some amazing books on display at York book fair today including this stunning 15th century illuminated manuscript
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Tom Hulme @tomhulme.bsky.social · 12/09/2025
For Dublin-based folks: I’m giving an afternoon talk next month (15 Oct) at Trinity about my forthcoming book (available for preorder for twenty quid). www.tcd.ie/trinitylongr...
tcd.ie
Belfastmen: An Intimate History of Life before Gay Liberation
A lecture by Dr Tom Hulme (Queens University Belfast) as part of the Modern and Contemporary Irish History Seminar Series.
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Dr Elena (Ellie) Woodacre @ewoodacre.bsky.social · 10/09/2025
If you missed @hnewsome-chandler.bsky.social ‘s book launch today, don’t despair—for a limited time her excellent edition of Margaret Tudor’s holograph letters is free to download, such a fantastic resource for queenship/Tudor/Scottish history scholars! www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
cambridge.org
Latest volume | Royal Historical Society Camden Fifth Series | Cambridge Core
Royal Historical Society Camden Fifth Series
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Fabian Krautwald @fkrautwald.bsky.social · 08/09/2025
Happy to share the launch of the new, hybrid African History Seminar @ihr.bsky.social . Check out our fall program here: history.ac.uk/news-events/... If you're in London and want to present new research on Africa, get in touch!
history.ac.uk
Institute of Historical Research
The Institute of Historical Research is the UK's national centre for history
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Francois Soyer @fsoyer.bsky.social · 18/08/2025
Receiving my author’s copies of my latest book: always a wonderful feeling but this time also a bittersweet one.
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John Garcia @jgarc.bsky.social · 08/09/2025
Please spread the word—The Scholars’ Workshop in Early African American Print at AAS Jan. 12-15, 2026. A writing workshop and intro to archives for junior scholars working on the dissertation or first book. Fully funded. Apply by Oct. 15 2025. PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD
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may @maysuser.name · 08/09/2025
sabrina carpenter's vmas performance is absolutely everything
screencap from sabrina carpenter's vmas performance for tears in which a number of backup dancers are holding protest signs including "protect trans rights", "dolls dolls dolls", "support local drag", "if you hate you'll never get laid", "gay rights are human rights", "tip the dolls", and "for the shes the gays and the theys"
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Hallie Rubenhold @hallierubenhold.bsky.social · 08/09/2025
Chances that the 4 eras being represented are Medieval, Tudor, Victorian and WWII? 100%. The likelihood there will be some spooky Jack the Ripper element in the Victorian village? Also 100%
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Dr Elizabeth Norton @enortonhistory.bsky.social · 05/09/2025
#womenwhoruledtheworld book launch last night @gabbystorey.bsky.social @historywithjackson.bsky.social Kirsten Claiden-Yardley @ericanela.bsky.social
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Amy Maxmen, PhD @amymaxmen.bsky.social · 05/09/2025
The CDC has been decapitated. In my latest newsletter, I wrote about how most of the agency's division directors are gone. RFK's stated priorities for the CDC directly contradict his actions. Newsletter @kffhealthnews.org @healthbeat.org healthbeat.beehiiv.com/p/the-cdc-as...
The director of the CDC’s chronic diseases center is gone. So are the heads of the centers on HIV, viral hepatitis, and tuberculosis; on birth defects and disabilities; on public health infrastructure; and on occupational health and safety. So are the directors of the CDC’s office of science, office of health equity, and the office handling Freedom of Information requests. These leaders have been laid off by HHS or pressured to leave. 

Amid an outbreak of measles, HHS fired CDC scientists who specialize in respiratory diseases and infectious diseases. In June, Kennedy fired all the scientists who advise the CDC on vaccines and replaced them with researchers who lack relevant credentials and have spread misinformation. And even after the Covid pandemic exposed the critical need for data modernization at the CDC, the agency’s information center is now gutted, and funds for disease surveillance are cut.  

“CDC offices already have been closed and work has already ceased,” warned Fleming and other members of the advisory committee in a letter to Congress, obtained by KFF Health News. “Resources already appropriated by you for FY25 are not reaching states and localities, resulting in significant and ongoing disruption” of programs, it added.

Such realities fly in the face of a new editorial from Kennedy, which explains the changes by arguing that the agency was overly bureaucratic, politicized, and “corroded” by “mission creep.” 

Kennedy lists priorities for the CDC moving forward: strengthening infrastructure to detect and respond to outbreaks; modernizing data systems; investing in the public health workforce; applying gold-standard science to vaccine recommendations; and empowering state and local health departments.

Each of these stated priorities is contradicted by the drastic measures above, and cuts to public health funding more broadly.
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Dr Gabby Storey @gabbystorey.bsky.social · 06/09/2025
My first Substack post is live! It's all about whether the Empress Matilda can really be seen as queen of England looking at some underdiscussed pieces of evidence - find out more at the link below: gabbystorey.substack.com/p/was-the-em... #HistorySky #MedievalSky
Yellow background with brown text: 'Was the Empress Matilda (1102-67) queen of England?' Top and centre right. Bottom left text reads 'gabbystorey.substack.com'
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Greg Jenner (Historian) @gregjenner.bsky.social · 05/09/2025
We have a very funny episode of BBC YOU’RE DEAD TO ME about Sake Dean Mahomed if you’d like to know more! www.bbc.com/news/article...
bbc.com
Man who brought curry and shampoo to UK honoured - BBC News
Mr Mahomed, who lived in Brighton, passed away in 1851 and was buried at St Nicholas' Churchyard.
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Greg Jenner (Historian) @gregjenner.bsky.social · 05/09/2025
New on BBC YOU’RE DEAD TO ME we explore the controversial life and political career of Queen Marie Antoinette of France 🇫🇷 Our guests are Professor @100days1815.bsky.social and comedian Jen Brister This ep is only available in the UK on BBC SOUNDS for now, but comes to other apps in 1 month
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Hetan Shah @hetanshah.bsky.social · 04/09/2025
At a time of pressure on higher education here is one bright spot. Our @britishacademy.bsky.social Early Career Researcher Network now has national coverage and provides a free support network to humanities & social science researchers across the UK! www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/news/early-c...
thebritishacademy.ac.uk
Early Career Researcher Network now UK-wide after expanding to South East, East of England and Yorkshire & Humber
The British Academy’s Early Career Researcher Network (ECRN) is now UK-wide with the South East, East of England and Yorkshire & Humber regions added in September 2025.
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Kate Ash-Irisarri @kateai.bsky.social · 05/09/2025
Congratulations to @hdohertyharrison.bsky.social on the publication of her book. This launch at @iashedinburgh.bsky.social looks fabulous. It’s running as a hybrid event on 7 October. Remember to book your place!
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David Rothschild @davmicrot.bsky.social · 04/09/2025
If your thing is “free speech” but you only worry about right-wing extremist access to universities while cheering Republicans as they ban research & discussion about anything they deem “woke” (1) your thing is not “free speech” it’s right-wing extemism (2) congrats on your new job running CBS News.
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Monica H Green @monicamedhist.bsky.social · 03/09/2025
And it's live! www.history21.com/owit-module/...
history21.com
The Black Death: The Medieval Plague Pandemic – NEW! – History for the 21st Century
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Dr Gabby Storey @gabbystorey.bsky.social · 01/09/2025
I've joined the Substack world! Please come and join me for articles, notes, and discussions about all things history - lots of messy, sexy, premodern history coming your way. More details via the link! gabbystorey.substack.com Photograph credit: Eden Slidel.
Photograph of Gabrielle Storey, a white woman with purple hair wearing a black dress and black leather jacket, sidewards facing the camera against an Abbey wall. Text reads 'Welcome to Queens, Kings, and Sexy History - a substack about some of the history you don't know. Gabbystorey.substack.com'
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Dr Gabby Storey @gabbystorey.bsky.social · 01/09/2025
Happy Monday folks! Tickets are now on sale for my talk at Newark Civil War Centre on'The Hidden Histories of Newark Castle' on 19th September at 6pm. As part of Heritage Open Days it is free to attend (as are all the other amazing events in the area)! Booking 👇🏻 www.palacenewark.com/whats-on/ins...
Photograph of the curtain wall of Newark Castle from across the river Trent.
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Dr Gabby Storey @gabbystorey.bsky.social · 01/09/2025
I've joined the Substack world! Please come and join me for articles, notes, and discussions about all things history - lots of messy, sexy, premodern history coming your way. More details via the link! gabbystorey.substack.com Photograph credit: Eden Slidel.
Photograph of Gabrielle Storey, a white woman with purple hair wearing a black dress and black leather jacket, sidewards facing the camera against an Abbey wall. Text reads 'Welcome to Queens, Kings, and Sexy History - a substack about some of the history you don't know. Gabbystorey.substack.com'
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Dr Gabby Storey @gabbystorey.bsky.social · 01/09/2025
Happy Monday folks! Tickets are now on sale for my talk at Newark Civil War Centre on'The Hidden Histories of Newark Castle' on 19th September at 6pm. As part of Heritage Open Days it is free to attend (as are all the other amazing events in the area)! Booking 👇🏻 www.palacenewark.com/whats-on/ins...
Photograph of the curtain wall of Newark Castle from across the river Trent.
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Richard Nevell @richardnevell.bsky.social · 26/08/2025
And the article on the Gesta Stephani has a paragraph on gender based on the excellent work of @kateweikert.bsky.social (hopefully I haven't grossly oversimplified things) en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gesta_S...
en.wikipedia.org
Gesta Stephani - Wikipedia
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Martin Calladine @uglygame.bsky.social · 30/08/2025
Amazing story: one of the organisers of the group putting Union Flags up around Manchester previously did time for being part of a people smuggling gang. manchestermill.co.uk/manchester-f...
manchestermill.co.uk
Manchester’s chief flag-raiser has put his people smuggling days behind him
Flags protesting unchecked immigration have gone up across the city, led by a man caught smuggling migrants into the country in the back of a van
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