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Judith Jesch

@judithjesch.bsky.social
2.3K followers 733 following 1.7K posts

Emeritus Professor of Viking Studies @uoncsva.bsky.social. Visiting Professor @insuhi.bsky.social, FBA. The Saga of the Earls of Orkney: birlinn.co.uk/product/the-saga-of-t… uonenglish.substack.com/s/ragnas-is…

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Reposted by Judith Jesch
Corinna @shroomgirl.bsky.social · 10h
Spending time in Caithness prowling round #OrkneyingaSaga #PlaceNames! Today: Ham (hǫfn 'harbour, safe haven'), Halkirk (hár & kirkja 'church'), Scrabster (perhaps pers name Skári & bólstaðr ‘dwelling, farm’) but we did drive thru Forss (fors ‘waterfall’) & Murkle (myrkr 'muddy’ & hóll ‘hill’) too!
Colour photo of a small sheltered bay with a rocky shore, evidence of a stone built cassie-style pier, cliffs beyond and a blue sky. The place is Ham in Caithness, a simplex place-name from ON hǫfn 'harbour, safe haven'.
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Fair Isle Bird Observatory @fairislebirdobs.bsky.social · 12h
The September Ranger Blog is available to read now to catch up on what Carla has been up to lately over at www.fairislebirdobs.co.uk/ranger_blog....!
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Judith Jesch @judithjesch.bsky.social · 12h
Well, I got two postcards today, so celebrated #WorldPostcardDay appropriately!
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Institute for Medieval Studies Leeds @leedsims.bsky.social · 15h
Delighted to announce our autumn seminars. All welcome! All free and hybrid. To attend the first one online go to forms.cloud.microsoft/e/irxCe8c5mC or join us in Parkinson B.08 #medieval #leedsmedieval
Poster for Autumn research seminars at Institute for Medieval Studies Leeds. All hybrid (online and Parkinson B.08). 
Tuesday 13 October, 5.30 pm
	Cosmin Popa-Gorjanu (Universitatea ‘1 Decembrie 1918’, Alba Iulia, Romania)
‘Ethnic and Political Communities in Transylvania in the Late Medieval Period’

Tuesday 3 November, 5.30 pm
	Matthew Townend (University of York, UK)
	‘Court Poetry in the Viking Age: Performance 	and Reception’

Tuesday 24 November, 5.30 pm
	Ellen  Gallimore (University of Leeds, UK)
	‘Early Medieval Law in Nineteenth-Century Reform Debates: Tithes, the Nation, and the Established Church’
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Orkney Library & Archive @orkneylibrary.bsky.social · 20h
a short poem name like when we meet a bovine and we say 'hi coo' #NationalPoetryDay #Haiku
A black and white archive photograph of a cow standing beside a track leading down to a mill. The cow is looking at the camera.
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Ugly Reykjavik @uglyreykjavik.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
It's time to play: spot the former mini hydro power station. These were sometimes used to generate electricity on farms in the first half of the 20th century. #Iceland #photography #streetphotography #nature #landscape #naturephotography #landscapephotography #abandoned #decay #river #history
If you look closely you can see a what is left of a small hydro power station. There's also a river, a bridge and some greenery.
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Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
'What the islanders discovered were extensive burial grounds, decorated stonework and early buildings – all the features belonging to a major sixth-century monastery, comparable to the much better known site of Iona a little to the south-west.'
theguardian.com
‘Hugely exciting’ finds on tiny Scottish island shed light on spread of Christianity
Community-funded archaeological excavations of ‘really important’ sixth-century monastery also rewrite story of Lismore
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Steffen Hope @hopesteffen.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Since I've worked a bit on local history lately, I wrote up a lengthy account of how I ended up re-enacting part of the historical voyages that my forebears had to undertake when travelling to church in the period c.1600-1876: my-albion.blogspot.com/2026/09/an-u....
View from a wooded shoreline. In the foreground is a fallen tree trunk, behind which is the pebbled shore of a fjord, a green plastic boat fastened to the trunk, and then the placid waters of the fjord itself, stretching towards the other shore. The upper third of image is taken up by the overhanging branches of an ash tree.
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Judith Jesch @judithjesch.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Something to look forward to!
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James Wright @jpwarchaeology.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
It lives! 30 years in the making, a year of writing, and my life for the next year. The Buildings Archaeologist finally exists in print. The book tour starts on 5 October and the official release date is on 8 October. For more info, orders & tickets: triskeleheritage.com/the-building...
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Judith Jesch @judithjesch.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Happy St Michael's day for those who celebrate!
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Judith Jesch @judithjesch.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Proud of my former PhD student @cassidycroci.bsky.social
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University of Nottingham UCU branch @uonucu.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Our massive strike action for the fall begins on Wednesday, but we will be facing some intense financial hardship to do so. Please consider supporting our members by donating to our solidarity fund. www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding...
justgiving.com
Help raise £10000 to support the Nottingham UCU hardship fund – JustGiving Crowdfunding
Iʼm raising money to support the Nottingham UCU hardship fund. Support this JustGiving Crowdfunding Page.
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Durotriges Dig @durotrigesdig.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Orcadian Gothic A Neolithic couple stand before the chambered cairn of Wideford Hill #Orkney Painting by Brian Lee, spotted on the Historic Scotland site interpretation board, in homage to Grant Wood's famous 1930 painting Well played 👏 📷 Aug 2024 #TombTuesday #Archaeology
A woman with yellow hair and man with grey, both dressed in Neolithic textiles and furs, the man holding a shovel, stand infront of a stone built structure with thatched roof. Neither look happy
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Kate Louise Mathis is on strike @drmaudbailey.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
As am I... Solidarity with all my gorgeous colleagues and our amazing, amazing students, today, tomorrow and (hopefully not), every day of the 25 we've notified. #StopTheCuts @ucuedinburgh.bsky.social
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Emile Chabal @emile-chabal.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
I am not given to hyperbole when it comes to university industrial relations, but this feels like an existential event. The heart of the university is being torn out, with long-lasting consequences. These strikes are a last-ditch attempt to stop that. Will anyone listen?
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New-Cleckit Dominie @ncdominie.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Great moments in Scottish engineering history: James Watt tries to work out how his phone attaches to his selfie stick.
Statue of James Watt. In his right hand he holds a telescopic stick with a frame at the top; in his left he holds a flat object about the size of a large smartphone. He is scowling at the possibly-not-a-smartphone as if he is tempted to yeet it into the sea. On that basis, it probably _is_ a phone.
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Judith Jesch @judithjesch.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Gorgeous place-name stile!
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Mart Kuldkepp @martkuldkepp.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
The English version of my book on Estonia’s Nordic identity and the struggle for Estonian independence is coming soon from the University of Wisconsin Press: uwpress.wisc.edu/Books/N/Nord...
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UHI Institute for Northern Studies @insuhi.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
The recording of the Faroes Shetland Research Symposia 'Medieval Religious & Legal Connections across the Norse Atlantic World' held online on 24th September 2026 has now been uploaded to our YouTube channel. youtu.be/pY4X8RpiobU?...
youtu.be
Medieval Religious & Legal Connections across the Norse Atlantic World FSRS Online Symposium
YouTube video by UHI Institute for Northern Studies
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Judith Jesch @judithjesch.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
🧵 A reminder #OTD that 'Hardrada' makes no sense in any language. The Norwegian king who died at Stamford Bridge in #1066 was called Haraldr harðráði in Old Norse. Such bynames or nicknames can (and should) usually be translated. His means something like 'Hard Ruler' or 'Stern Ruler'.
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Medievalist.net @medievalists.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Medieval Norse Church Discovered in Greenland www.medievalists.net/2026/09/medi... #Greenland #archaeology
medievalists.net
Medieval Norse Church Discovered in Greenland - Medievalists.net
The archaeologists were overjoyed when the grave and thus the church were finally confirmed on the second-to-last day of the excavation. In the middle is Christian Edelfelt Koch Madsen. Photo: Ellen…
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Norse in the North @norseinthenorth.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Norse in the North 2027: Life and Death Abstract deadline: 1st February 2027 We welcome proposals from postgraduate students for papers in any area of Old Norse, medieval Scandinavian, and Viking studies relating to the theme. We look forward to reading your proposals! #callforpapers #oldnorse
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Sunder Katwala (sundersays) @sundersays.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
The BBC news report simply says Mr Thomas broadcast a livestream. This seems highly inadequate in quite a lengthy report, leaving out such key details: what he did; the French stating the behaviour was unlawful www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Dozens of migrants taken to Dover after more than 30 hours at sea
Protesters had earlier gathered in Gosport after an initial report that the small boat would be brought further west.
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Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
To understand and counter disinformation, language skills, area studies expertise, historical knowledge and a wide range of arts, humanities & social science disciplines are requisite. SHAPE subjects are strategically vital for national interests. Is it strategic to let 'the market' shrink them?
thebritishacademy.ac.uk
Mapping SHAPE provision in UK higher education
This new project from the British Academy maps changing provision of SHAPE subjects in UK higher education institutions. It uses data to visually depict contractions and expansions in provision by a v...
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Judith Jesch @judithjesch.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
The @britishlibrary.bsky.social could do with a Leo.
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Natalie Hopwood @nrhopwood.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Reminder to all Old Norse PGRs and ECRs! The next NECRON event is happening NEXT WEEK! Hope to see many of you there 🌟
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Charles West @pseudo-isidore.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Great news, and looking forward to a book historian becoming Chief Exec of the UK Space Agency sometime soon in this brave new world!
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UoN English @uonenglish.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Join us for the next TOEBI conference at UoN! Find out more and register online via our UoN online store, or go to our events page (www.nottingham.ac.uk/english/even...).
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Corinna @shroomgirl.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
Spent a lovely windswept day delivering the Ragna's Islands Project #NorthRonaldsay booklets (saga-stories, poetry and place-names) to islanders. It is wonderful to be here again! #Orkney #OrkneyingaSaga #Placenames
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Helen Day @lbflyawayhome.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Other work by the Ladybird artists ‘September’ (1958) Artist: Ronald Lampitt
In a walled Orchard, which seems to belong to a large, half timbered house, a couple stand on ladders or reach up with a fruit picker to pick apples 
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Elizabeth Boyle @thecelticist.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Fantastically interesting article by the brilliant @francescatinti.bsky.social out now in English Historical Review on language and identity in early medieval England. #OpenAccess #MedievalSky academic.oup.com/ehr/advance-...
academic.oup.com
Languages, Identities and Communication in the Age of Bede*
Abstract. This article seeks to address the underexplored role of language as a marker of identity in the early medieval period by focusing on England in t
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Papay ranger - Jonathan Ford @papayranger.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Selkie 1 and Selkie 2 at Leaper’s geo on yesterday’s Papay Tour. The watchers, watched.
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Judith Jesch @judithjesch.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Vintage lorry joy orcadian.co.uk/historic-ork...
orcadian.co.uk
Historic Orkney lorry roars into life for first time in 51 years - The Orcadian Online
A vintage lorry that stood stationary in a wartime hut has seen the light of day for the first time in over 50 years. The Albion Claymore lorry was built in 1951 and used up to around 1974 by John Jol...
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Corinna @shroomgirl.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
A #NorthRonaldsay stile (L) for @lakesstiles.bsky.social & @judithjesch.bsky.social near Roofed Geo, formerly Sodlis Geo from ON söðull m. 'saddle' with gjá 'coastal gully, inlet', both apt #PlaceNames! #Orkney
Colour photo of a stone wall with a wooden stile very close to a rocky shore with a covered coastal gully giving it a roofed appearance. The sea is foaming and rushing into the gully.
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Ugly Reykjavik @uglyreykjavik.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
I really like this old office chair that was left outside Toppstöðin. #Iceland #Reykjavik #photography #streetphotography #abandoned #decay #chair
An old office chair outside of an abandoned building.
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sgrd @selveste.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
#skutterudite is still the only contestant with a Norwegian type locality and we are very proud that our mineral made it to round 2 - please help it advance a little more! The museum in the old cobalt mines at Modum is well worth a visit!
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Judith Jesch @judithjesch.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Some great books available from @dgplacenames.bsky.social
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Making a Warrior @makingawarrior.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Today's vikingism: 'Viking Day', a 2020 Peppa Pig episode, featuring horned helmets, dragon heads, boat hijackings, viking shanties, and a raided food stall ⚔️🥪 Full(ish) episode here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dFF...
Peppa, Granny and others in 'viking' garb on their stolen vessel, presumably on their way to loot and plundering.
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Tube Mapper- Luke Agbaimoni @tubemapper.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
All I see is Mondrian when I'm waiting for a train at Green Park!
Green park station looking like a Mondrian painting Mondrian painting
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Will Jennings📉🗳️ @drjennings.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
We live in a poll-driven political age, but it's important for all politicians to remember that they can lead/influence public opinion through leadership and communication.
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Adam Bienkov @adambienkov.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Time to deport all these fighting age men terrorising our patriotic lifeboat volunteers www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...
theguardian.com
Lifeboat station in Portsmouth forced to temporarily shut after far-right action
RNLI facility had been targeted by activists trying to stop asylum seekers landing in boats from the Channel
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Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
To be eligible to apply for Elevate, first join the BA's ECRN. It's free and not complicated to join: you simply need to be a UK-based, postdoc within 10 years of your PhD (or equivalent, excluding career breaks) in the Arts, Humanities or Social Sciences: www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/early-career...
thebritishacademy.ac.uk
Early Career Researcher Network
An inclusive, researcher-led network for UK-based early career researchers working in the humanities and social sciences
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Elizabeth Tutty @tutty352.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
#AdoorableThursday from Morland House, Westmorland.
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Yaroslava @strategywoman.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Culture matters. The UK is a great example. Yesterday, the British Council announced £2 million in new funding over three years to support Ukrainian cultural organisations. The funding will go directly to them. Thank you 🇬🇧
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Ian Dunt @iandunt.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
She was brilliant and sharp and warm - three things that very rarely go together. We were Twitter friends for years and she was one of those steadfastly moral and compassionate voices who made every day online nicer place to be. I am so deeply sorry to read this www.theguardian.com/books/2026/s...
theguardian.com
Bonnie Greer, writer and cultural commentator, dies aged 77
The British-American novelist and playwright who regularly appeared on panel shows will be remembered for her ‘warmth, humour and generosity’, says her husband
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Judith Jesch @judithjesch.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Some cool #placenames on the shortlist for naming two new freight ferries to #Orkney and #Shetland www.shetnews.co.uk/2026/09/15/n...
shetnews.co.uk
Names of new freight ferries will be decided by public vote
THE PUBLIC will get a chance to help name two new freight ferries set to be built for the Northern Isles. Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited (CMAL) and Serco...
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Judith Jesch @judithjesch.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
See also www.marcmorris.org.uk/2026/03/did-... by @marcmorris.bsky.social
marcmorris.org.uk
Did King Harold Really Sail to the Battle of Hastings?
Headline news in all the papers this weekend: historians have got 1066 all wrong! Previously they had thought that King Harold, who was famo...
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Jo Wolff @jowolff.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
The fallacy that University leaders pushing AI are falling into is thinking that the point of undergraduate research is to find things out. It isn't. What students find out is typically already generally known. The point of undergraduate research is to learn how to find things out.
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Claire Cullingworth @ccullingworth.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
This made me smile, attached to an ordinary cast iron drainpipe on a house in Durham. #TinyJoys
A cast iron drain pipe going down the side of a white-painted house.  A crest of red feathers and a bright orange beak made from something solid have been attached around it.  It looks remarkably like "Feathers McGraw", the evil criminal penguin from The Wrong Trousers.
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