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Natalie Hopwood @nrhopwood.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

One month left to submit! #medievalsky #oldnorse

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Clare Downham @downham.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

50 percent discount deadline 22 August #medievalsky

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Early Medieval China Group @earlymedievalchina.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

#newbook on early medieval China: Xiaofei Tian. Writing Empire and Self: Poetic and Cultural Transformation in Early Medieval China. Columbia University Press, 2026. cup.columbia.edu/book/writing... #china #medieval #history #literature #poetry

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Reposted by Journal of the Australian Early Medieval Association

Charles West @pseudo-isidore.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

What can relic labels tell us about early medieval nuns' relationship to the holy - and to the written word? Liven up your Monday with the latest EME podcast: @michaelajaneruth.bsky.social interviewing @ana0dias.bsky.social about her brand new EME article: rss.com/podcasts/ear...

rss.com

Whose bones are these? Labelling relics in early medieval Francia | Podcast Episode on RSS.com

Everyone knows the importance of relics for early medieval Christianity. But a relic is only valuable if it's identifiable, otherwise it's just a fragment of bone, cloth or stone. In other words, ever...

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Medieval Art Research @medartres.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

Heather Pulliam's new publication, ‘Art, Nature and the Body in Early Medieval Britain and Ireland,’ explores how early medieval art objects shaped spiritual experiences and interactions with the natural world through phenomenological and eco-critical lenses.

medievalartresearch.com

New Publication: ‘Art, Nature and the Body in Early Medieval Britain and Ireland’, by Heather Pulliam

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Journal of the Australian Early Medieval Association @jaema.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

Just over a week until the abstract proposal deadline closes for AEMA2026! We're looking for papers on the faces of the early medieval world - whether faces carved in stone or metal, on church walls or passing through the hands of merchants; animal faces, human faces; imagined or real. 👇🏻CfP below👇🏻

The mosaic portraits of Justinian I and Empress Theodora, from Ravenna

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Journal of the Australian Early Medieval Association @jaema.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

The 2026 World Cup is over, and so is my posting streak, but something that interested me throughout is how fans call back to the Late Antique and Medieval periods (a thread) 👇🏻 This video shows the arrival of a Peruvian superfan dressed as the "Inca king" (Sapa Inca), although Peru did not qualify.

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Journal of the Australian Early Medieval Association @jaema.bsky.social · 19/07/2026

#ESPvsARG The Condorhuasi and Tufi cultures flourished in early medieval northwestern Argentina. The Condorhausi were pastoralists, raising llama in permanent settlements, while the Tufi were agriculturalists. Condorhausi zoo- & anthropomorphic pottery and Tufi menhirs survive from c700.

A Tufi menhir depicting a human face, and a Condorhausi offering plate in an anthropomorphic form.

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Journal of the Australian Early Medieval Association @jaema.bsky.social · 19/07/2026

#ESPvsARG The Visigoths had been settled in southern Gaul as Roman foederati, and expanded across the Pyrenees. In the early medieval period, they lost their Gaulish holdings to the Franks. Their rule in Spain collapsed the legal distinction between Goths and Romans in Iberia; both became Hispani.

Detail of a Visigothic column capital, from an 8th century church in Zaragoza, San Pedro de la Nave. The column depicts God's intervention during the Binding of lsaac episode from Genesis 22:1-19

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Journal of the Australian Early Medieval Association @jaema.bsky.social · 18/07/2026

#FRAvsENG Dumnonia, a Brythonic kingdom in southwest Great Britain, was closely tied to Éire & Brittany. Part of the West Atlantic trade network, archaeologists have found luxury goods from West Asia & Africa at Tintagel, the early medieval capital. The last independent king, Donyarth, died in 875.

Menkov Donyerth Ruw (King Doniert's Stone) is the remains of a 9th century stone cross near St Cleer on Bodmin Moor.

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Journal of the Australian Early Medieval Association @jaema.bsky.social · 18/07/2026

#FRAvsENG After the death of Louis the Stammerer in 879, Boso, whose sister Richilde married Charles the Bald, refused to recognise Carolingian authority. Instead, Boso proclaimed himself king of Provence. Provence was independent for 50 years, beset by Carolingian, Islamic and Magyar forces.

The remains of the tenth century Chateaux of Les Baux-de-Provence.

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Journal of the Australian Early Medieval Association @jaema.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

#ENGvsARG The Aguada culture of early medieval Argentina extended its influence throughout the northwest, over cultures such as the Ciénaga, Condorhuasi, and Candelaria The Aguada are thought to have emerged from the Alamito culture, and were a hierarchical chiefdom influenced by Imperial Tiwanaku

Artefacts from the La Ciénaga (left) and La Candelaria (right) cultures of early medieval Argentina

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Journal of the Australian Early Medieval Association @jaema.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

#ENGvsARG In 631, the Jutish kingdom on the Isle of Wight was invaded, captured, & forcibly converted by Wulfhere of Mercia. The Wihtwara soon recanted; according to Bede, it was the last stronghold of non-Christian religion in early medieval England until Cædwalla of Wessex conquered Wight in 686

The Chessel Down brooch, early sixth century, discovered in a woman's grave on the Isle of Wight. It presents both Scandinavian and Roman influence.

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Journal of the Australian Early Medieval Association @jaema.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

#FRAvsESP Spain, like France, also has overseas territories The Canary Islands were settled by the Guanches, a Berber people, from Late Antiquity, with the site of Cañada de Los Gatos inhabited during the early medieval period. Spain also holds a number of territories on the African coast.

The Cañada de Los Gatos site, on the Canary Islands

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Journal of the Australian Early Medieval Association @jaema.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

#FRAvsESP While it may seem unusual, the French Overseas territories, or DROM, are France. The current World Cup team includes a number of players of DROM descent. Below is a funerary urn from the Aristé culture, which began in the early medieval period and survived until after European arrival.

a funerary urn from the Aristé culture, c800–1200

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Journal of the Australian Early Medieval Association @jaema.bsky.social · 12/07/2026

#ARGvsSUI When Otto I defeated Magyar armies at the Battle of Lechfeld in 955, early medieval Switzerland was incorporated into the Holy Roman Empire. This victory finally halted Magyar incursions westward. Their leader, the Harka Bulcsú, was captured and hanged at the eastern gate of Regensburg.

Detail from the Basel Antependium, made in 1019 as a gift from Holy Roman Emperor St Henry II and his wife, St Cunigunde of Luxembourg.

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Journal of the Australian Early Medieval Association @jaema.bsky.social · 12/07/2026

#ARGvsSUI The ruins of Quilmes, in northwestern Argentina, represent the largest early medieval settlement in the country Founded by the Diaguita in c850, Quilmes has defensive structures, terraced fields, and advanced irrigation systems. Quilmes resisted both Inca and Spanish invasions until 1667

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Journal of the Australian Early Medieval Association @jaema.bsky.social · 11/07/2026

#NORvsENG Early medieval England saw many viking raids, and in the late ninth century the various English kingdoms were overwhelmed by the Great Heathen Army. Initially they offered payments, like the Danegald. In ~10 years, only Wessex remained, and Alfred gave the invaders the Danelaw to settle.

Detail of coins found in the Vale of York hoard, interred in the 10th century. This hoard includes coins from as far afield as Afghanistan.

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Journal of the Australian Early Medieval Association @jaema.bsky.social · 11/07/2026

#NORvsENG Early medieval Norwegians ruled parts of the British Isles, like Suðreyjar and Norðreyjar (Mann & the Hebrides, Orkney & Shetland) and Jórvík (York). Rollo, first Duke of Normandy, may have been Norweigan; and his descendant, William (Bastard/Conqueror), went on to conquer England in 1066

Detail of a bucket discovered in the Osberg Ship burial, ninth century. The Osberg Ship burial was for two women.

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Journal of the Australian Early Medieval Association @jaema.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

#ESPvsBEL Early medival Belgium was also under the control of a Germanic people, the Franks under Clovis, who may have been former foederati like the Visigoths. When the Franks defeated the Gallo-Roman king Syagrius, he fled to the Visigoths. Clovis demanded his return, and Alaric II acquiesced.

The gold and garnet sword hilt and scabbard ornamentation of Childric I, found in his grave at Tournai

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Journal of the Australian Early Medieval Association @jaema.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

#ESPvsBEL The early medieval Visigothic Kingdom emerged after the Visigoths claimed lands earned by defending Rome. Amid civil war, Athanagild sought Byzantine aid; the Romans instead kept the captured territories. Civil war was a continual problem in Visigothic Spain, eventually causing its fall.

A sixth century Visigothic eagle fibula brooch, discovered at Badajoz, Spain.

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Mohamed Qassiti @mqassiti.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

Thank you! 1. Two parallel accounts have been mixed together here. The Gesta episcoporum Autisiodorensium report that Odo married a daughter named Lampagia to a certain Aimo, King of Zaragoza (Aimonem Cesarauguste regem), not to Uthman ibn Naissa (Munuza). www.dmgh.de/mgh_ss_13/#p...

dmgh.de

MGH SS 13

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Journal of the Australian Early Medieval Association @jaema.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

FRAvMAR Early medieval Morocco was closely linked to Iberia and southern France. In ~730, the Moroccan wali of Cerdanya, Uthman ibn Naissa, rebelled and married the daughter of Odo of Aquitaine, Lampegia. The rebellion was crushed, and ibn Naissa killed. Lampegia was enslaved and sent to Damascus.

Visigothic ring, discovered in Toulouse, dating to the sixth century

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Journal of the Australian Early Medieval Association @jaema.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

#FRAvsMAR As well as infighting & viking raids, the Carolingians also faced an invasion across the Pyrenees. Islamic armies were first stalled at Toulouse in 721 & at Tours in 732. This was not the end of their European ambitions, as Islamic influence continued throughout the early medieval period.

Charles Martel, who defeated the armies of ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʿAbd Allāh al-Ghāfiqī at Tours. Here seen in a 14th century miniature, Grandes Chroniques de France. Bibliothèque Nationale, Ms. fr. 2615, fol. 72.

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Dr Matt Firth @mattfirth.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

The @jaema.bsky.social conference is coming up at the end of September, to be hosted at University of Newcastle(Aus). Themed 'faces of the early medieval world', submissions are invited for in-person or online papers that speak to the topic in the broadest possible sense.

CFP for the conference of the Australian Early Medieval Association conference. The CFP closes at the end of July. Proposals can be sent to aemaconference2026@gmail.com.

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Journal of the Australian Early Medieval Association @jaema.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

#SUIvsCOL The Ciudad Perdida, or "Lost City", an early medieval settlement founded in 800 CE by the Tairona people . Despite its impressive size - 169 terraces carved into the mountainside - it was not rediscovered until 1972, when looters came across the stairs rising from the jungle floor.

The start of the 1,200 step staircase that leads to the Ciudad Perdida.

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Journal of the Australian Early Medieval Association @jaema.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

#SUIvsCOL In 746, at the Blood Court of Cannstatt, Carloman, son of Charles Martel, murdered the Alemanni nobility and seized their territory, including what is now Switzerland Early medieval Switzerland was turbulent, it wasn't until 955 that Otto I could reintegrate it into the Holy Roman Empire

A detail from the Löhningen Disc, discovered in a seventh century grave. It is thought that the central figure of the disc represents Odin.

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Journal of the Australian Early Medieval Association @jaema.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

#ARGvsEGY An early medieval gold rush in Wadi al-'Allaqi, south of Aswan, saw the city's population swell. It became a major hub for trade between Egypt, Arabia, and Christian Nubia As Aswan boomed, Egypt changed too: the ninth century saw Islam surpass Coptic Christianity as the majority religion

One of the many mausoleums in the Fatimid cemetery of Aswan (9th 10th century)

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Journal of the Australian Early Medieval Association @jaema.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

#ARGvsEGY The early medieval Tiwanaku collapse (c1000) led to instability in the Andean region & the construction of fortified Pucarás settlements. The Pucará de Tilcara, near the confluence of the Rio Grande and the Huasamayo, was captured by the Inca, becoming an important city on the Qhapaq Ñan

A long distance photo of the Pucará de Tilcara, whose earliest elements date to c1000CE

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Journal of the Australian Early Medieval Association @jaema.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

#USAvsBEL Baldwin I, first Count of Flanders, so the story goes, eloped with Judith, widow twice over and teenaged daughter of Charles the Bald. Enraged, Charles had them excommunicated. They fled to the court of Yorik of Dorestad, before pleading their case to the pope. Charles eventually relented

Necklaces found as part of elite Merovingian female grave goods, c 500. Some beads in burials in Belgium have been found to have originated in India.

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Journal of the Australian Early Medieval Association @jaema.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

#USAvsBEL Contemporaries of the Pueblo Peoples, the Mimbres culture lived in the early medieval southwest US and north Mexico. In ~900 the Mimbres set their underground kivas (great houses) alight and moved into pueblos. Their black-on-white pottery dates from ~1000, and looks surprisingly modern.

A piece of Mimbres black-on-white pottery, c 1000–1250. This piece is decorated with a stylised bat and geometric patterns on its wings.

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Journal of the Australian Early Medieval Association @jaema.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

#PORvsESP Asturias is often seen as the start of Reconquista, but early medieval Iberia was more complex than that. Rather than religious ideology, pragmatism was the driving force of Christian-Muslim relations. Friendships, families, and alliances straddled religious lines and were not uncommon.

The Church of Santa María del Naranco, originally constructed as a palace by Ramiro Iof Asturias in 842, before becoming a church in the twelfth century.

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Journal of the Australian Early Medieval Association @jaema.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

#PORvsESP In 718, following the Islamic conquest of Iberia, the Kingdom of Asturias was founded in the north of the peninsula following a rebellion. While some argue that it was in protest of Islamic rule, or an increase in taxation, similar rebellions were common in the preceding Visigothic period

An 11th century fragment of architectural decoration, found at the Palácio das Varandas of Silves, Portugal. It shows a stylized vine and palmette decoration common to early medieval lberia.

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Journal of the Australian Early Medieval Association @jaema.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

#MEXvsENG On January 5 1066, Edward the Confessor died. Ed's mum, Emma of Normandy, had married Æthelred the Unready and then Cnut, the man who seized his kingdom Edward - traditionally seen as piously celibate - left no heirs. The crown passed to Harold Godwinson, king from January until October

Detail of the Bayeux Tapestry, showing a man with an arrow in his eye, traditionally understood to be Harold Godwinson. Medieval sources disagree with the popular belief that Harold was killed by an arrow through the eye.

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Journal of the Australian Early Medieval Association @jaema.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

#MEXvsENG The Remojadas culture of Veracruz flourished during the early medieval period. Part of the larger Classic Veracruz cultural complex, little is known of the Remojadas subculture. The Remojadas are famed for the production of "Smiling Man" figurines, many of which were also ocarinas.

A Remojadas "Smiling Man", or "Sonrientes", figure, c seventh-eighth century CE. These figures are particularly unusual as emotion is rarely depicted in pre-Columbian Mesoamerican art.

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Journal of the Australian Early Medieval Association @jaema.bsky.social · 05/07/2026

#BRAvsNOR Cnut's early medieval Empire collapsed upon his death in 1035, but it was already fragile. Of the kingdoms of his Empire, Norway was particularly fractious His Jarls conspired against him, and before Cnut's death had returned Magnus, son of St Olaf, to claim the Norweigan crown at age 11

The sixth century Åkur buckle, with Norse-Germanic animal motifs and embedded garnets surrounding a man's face.

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Journal of the Australian Early Medieval Association @jaema.bsky.social · 05/07/2026

#BRAvsNOR This figurine, from c400–1200, offers an insight into the Marajoara culture. The figure is female, yet clearly phallic; dual-sexed figures are a recurring motif in Marajoara artefacts. The geometric patterns are thought to represent both tattoos, and snakes, important in their religion.

A phallic Marajoara figurine from the early medieval period (c400–1200), which some argue represents the importance of a female mythical ancestor in Marajoara culture

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Journal of the Australian Early Medieval Association @jaema.bsky.social · 04/07/2026

#PARvsFRA In the mid 9th century, Viking raiders turned their attention to France, taking advantage of early medieval Carolingian infighting In 845 a 120 ship fleet, carrying 5000+ men, sailed up the Seine and sacked both Rouen and Paris. They returned in 885, besieging Paris, only to be repulsed.

Archaeologists working in the forecourt of Notre Dame cathedral following the devastating fire of 2019. In June of this year, a number of intact pottery jugs and early medieval graves were discovered.

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Journal of the Australian Early Medieval Association @jaema.bsky.social · 04/07/2026

#PARvsFRA The Mbayá people of the Gran Chaco subjugated the Guaná, a Chané people of the Gran Chaco, in the early medieval period. The ruins below are a Chané site in Bolivia Along with the Payaguá peoples, who lived along the Paraguay River, the Mbayá often raided agricultural Guarani settlements

A Chané site, known as El Fuerte de Samaipata, occupied by Bolivian Chané from c 350 until they were conquered by the Inca in the late 15th and early 16th century. The Inca used the site as a provincial capital

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Journal of the Australian Early Medieval Association @jaema.bsky.social · 04/07/2026

#CANVSMAR Prior to the Islamisation of Africa, early medieval Morocco saw communities of Jewish, Roman polytheist, traditional Amazigh believers, and multiple Christian sects. The founding of Fez in 789 led to a golden age of Judaism in Morocco; the beginning of the end was the Fez Massacre of 1033

The ruins of the Gate of Sijilmassa (founded 757CE), an important stopping point on the trans-Saharan trade routes.

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Journal of the Australian Early Medieval Association @jaema.bsky.social · 04/07/2026

#CANvsMAR During the early medieval period, the Point Peninsula peoples transitioned to a Three Sisters agricultural lifestyle in fortified communities. This culture's grave goods, like silver pan pipes and conch shells from Mesoamerica, show that they were connected to the Hopewell trade networks

An antler effigy comb, one of the oldest discovered thus far, from the Lawson Village site. This site is Iroquoian (c 1500); it is thought that the Point Peninsula peoples were the ancestors of the Iroquoian people.

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Journal of the Australian Early Medieval Association @jaema.bsky.social · 04/07/2026

#COLvsGHA Bono-Manso and Begho were important early medieval towns, linking the trans-Saharan trade routes to networks further south. Bono-Manso and Begho traded gold, kola nuts, salt, and leather for luxury goods, and finds of cowrie shells show they were linked to Indian Ocean trade routes.

Koma dolls from northern Ghana. The sites are dated between the sixth and thirteenth centuries, although little is known of the people who lived there during this period.

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Journal of the Australian Early Medieval Association @jaema.bsky.social · 04/07/2026

#COLvsGHA The Muisca culture of early medieval Colombia were skilled goldsmiths, perhaps because they believed that gold had religious value, not economic value. Their coronation rituals involved coating the new zipa with gold dust at Lake Guatavita, leading to Spanish beliefs in El Dorado.

A Muisca offering vessel, c 600-1200. This one is significant not only because of its creepy looking form, but because it was found holding the golden Muisca Raft.

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Journal of the Australian Early Medieval Association @jaema.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

#ARGvsCBO Cape Verde was undiscovered until the late medieval period, when the Portuguese settled the islands in 1462. Below is one of the oldest standing structures in the archipelago, the pillory erected in c 1512 for the punishment of slaves, now a monument to those enslaved by the Portuguese.

The Pelourinho of Cidade Velha, Cape Verde. It stands as a monument to the enslaved people of the Portuguese colony, and is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

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Journal of the Australian Early Medieval Association @jaema.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

#ARGvsCBO The Aguada culture flourished in early medieval Argentina but suddenly collapsed in ~1000, in part due to repeated forest fires. They had a complex social structure, with a religion involving pyramid construction and human sacrifice. The yaguareté (jaguar) represented power and status.

An Aguada ceramic vessel, depicting a jaguar. c600–900 CE

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Journal of the Australian Early Medieval Association @jaema.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

#AUSvsEGY In 868 a Mamluk dynasty gained control of Egypt after continual weakening of Abbasid control in the early medieval Under Aḥmad ibn Ṭūlūn, the Tulunids captured the Levant, Cyprus, & Crete. He was prevented from taking Baghdad as his son, Al-ʿAbbās, tried to seize Ifrīqiya from his father

The Mosque of Aḥmad ibn Ṭūlūn, constructed between 876 and 879, and, according to primary sources, was designed by a Christian architect.

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Journal of the Australian Early Medieval Association @jaema.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

#AUSvsEGY Makassan trepang harvesting in Australia was first noted in the 1700s, but it wasn't one-way traffic. Some Indigenous people went with the visiting ships, and Makassan imams journeyed to Australia - one Yolŋu dreaming includes an Arabic devotion, and Yolŋu funerary rites praise Allah.

An image of Ŋalarrk, or "Lonely Island", in Yolŋu Country, in Australia's Northern Territory

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