Ken Hernden @kenhernden.bsky.social · 12hGandalf did not move. And in that very moment, away behind in some courtyard of the City, a cock crowed. Shrill and clear he crowed, recking nothing of wizardry or war, welcoming only the morning that in the sky far above the shadows of death was coming with the dawn. 150
Reposted by Ken HerndenDoc Pinko @docpinko.bsky.social · 04/10/20263 academics (me, @dbrodbeck.bsky.social and @kenhernden.bsky.social) talk about the intersection of history and fiction. Dubya Dubya 2. @msvuenglish.bsky.social 033
Ken Hernden @kenhernden.bsky.social · 24/09/2026"Your headquarters is the servant of the fighting troops." Field Marshal Viscount William Slim. Good advice to all administrators. 030
Reposted by Ken HerndenDigital Tolkien Project @digitaltolkien.com · 22/09/2026On this Hobbit Day, enjoy the over 100 covers that have been used on the UK editions alone. Which is your favourite? books.digitaltolkien.com/work/hobbit/...books.digitaltolkien.comThe HobbitBibliographic data for The Hobbit. 34118
Reposted by Ken HerndenJames K. Tauber @jtauber.com · 22/09/2026I was proud of this old video, not just because of its analysis of The Hobbit but because of its coverage of narratological concepts like focalization. Of course, now this is relevant to my PhD :-) 0202
Reposted by Ken HerndenDigital Tolkien Project @digitaltolkien.com · 17/09/2026This is such a good example of one of the main things we're trying to do at the Digital Tolkien Project: textual scholarship --> data --> visualization @kenhernden.bsky.social annotations.digitaltolkien.com/viewers/nazg...annotations.digitaltolkien.comThe Nazgûl, together and apartExplore the nine riders’ paths in an interactive tube map based on Ken Hernden’s chronology. 22 September–20 October 3018. 14013
Reposted by Ken HerndenDigital Tolkien Project @digitaltolkien.com · 02/09/2026A thread about our various public sites... 1248
Reposted by Ken HerndenDigital Tolkien Project @digitaltolkien.com · 17/09/2026I have a more compact, graphical visualization coming soon! 073
Reposted by Ken HerndenDigital Tolkien Project @digitaltolkien.com · 16/09/2026And his data in interactive, tabular form: annotations.digitaltolkien.com/viewers/nazg...annotations.digitaltolkien.comMovements of the Nazgûl: 22 September–20 October 3018 | Tolkien AnnotationsMovements of the nine Nazgûl, 22 September–20 October 3018, with quotations and source notes. 054
Reposted by Ken HerndenDigital Tolkien Project @digitaltolkien.com · 16/09/2026An article by @kenhernden.bsky.social on his work tracking down the locations of the Nazgûl from September 22 to October 20, 3018 as part of our annotation efforts. annotations.digitaltolkien.com/articles/ret...annotations.digitaltolkien.comText, meta-text, and ‘canon’: (Re)tracing the Nazgûl (and their horses) from September 22 to October 20, 3018 | Tolkien AnnotationsAnnotation datasets, articles, and interactive viewers from the Digital Tolkien Project. 2146
Reposted by Ken HerndenBodleian Libraries @bodleian.ox.ac.uk · 09/09/2026From 11-13 September, the Bodleian will open up spaces and show off collections not usually accessible to the public, for #OxfordOpenDoors 2026! Enjoy tours, storytelling, a Victorian printing press, and MUCH more. visit.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/event/oxfor… We can't wait to see you! 14621
Ken Hernden @kenhernden.bsky.social · 08/09/2026Constantly amazed by some citizens of the sovereign nation of Canada taking the side of a leader from another country trying to tear us down. If some attempts to bully someone, it’s the bully that is at fault. 000
Reposted by Ken HerndenJim Clifford @jimclifford.bsky.social · 07/09/2026I know this is BlueSky and raising confident concerns about LLMs based on how they failed in 2024 is standard, but I genuinely wonder how we’re going to talk about this technology in 2027. I thought the Hugging Face attack would have changed the discourse and let us focus on the real threat. 111
Ken Hernden @kenhernden.bsky.social · 07/09/2026Off to the @bodleian.ox.ac.uk for my first ever research visit, a bucket list moment! 070
Ken Hernden @kenhernden.bsky.social · 05/09/2026Dr. Michael Drout gives a keynote lecture on “Nine-fingered Sauron and the Ring of Doom: The Evil of Power in J.R.R. Tolkien's Works.” 041
Ken Hernden @kenhernden.bsky.social · 05/09/2026Debate: This house believes that Fëanor was wrong. #Oxonmoot 2026. 0113
Ken Hernden @kenhernden.bsky.social · 04/09/2026Very grateful to have been able to attend table talks with Dr. Michael Drout and Dr. Dimitra Fimi today at #Oxonmoot 2026. Amazing to meet such incredible scholars. 120
Ken Hernden @kenhernden.bsky.social · 03/09/2026Happy to chat about @digitaltolkien.com at Oxonmoot in person. Please come find me! 071
Ken Hernden @kenhernden.bsky.social · 02/09/2026All checked in for #Oxonmoot at St. Anne’s College, Oxford! Really looking forward to the line up of talks and other activities planned this year. Also, I get to remember what living like a first-year student was like. 😂 020
Reposted by Ken HerndenDoc Pinko @docpinko.bsky.social · 22/08/2026New podcast alert! Nre podcast alert! With me, @dbrodbeck.bsky.social and @kenhernden.bsky.social talking about The Winds of War! @msvuenglish.bsky.social 034
Reposted by Ken HerndenDave Brodbeck🇨🇦🇺🇦 @dbrodbeck.bsky.social · 08/08/2026Today @kenhernden.bsky.social and I just talked about Sharpe's Company, and recorded it www.tangentialconvergence.com/2026/08/rifl...tangentialconvergence.comRifles Make Ready - Episode 3 - Sharpe's CompanyYou might have noticed that as these episodes progress the thing that Sharpe gets is bigger and bigger... (Now a company, soon a regiment, w... 021
Reposted by Ken HerndenJim Clifford @jimclifford.bsky.social · 27/06/2026It took me months to figure out how to extract 30,000 careers from the Colonial Office List; it took a little over a day to repeat the full process for the Indian Office List. The visualization now shows the very different global geography of these two bureaucracies in the British Empire. 613550
Reposted by Ken HerndenQueen's University Archives @quarchives.bsky.social · 27/03/2026Resisting Erasure Recently, students in a new Department of History course "LGBTQ Lives and Archives" worked with the Kingston LGBTQ2S+ Collection at Queen's University Archives. Their efforts were highlighted in an article in the Queen's Journal. The students have each taken on a mini-history…queensarchives.wordpress.comResisting ErasureRecently, students in a new Department of History course "LGBTQ Lives and Archives" worked with the Kingston LGBTQ2S+ Collection at Queen's University Archives. Their efforts were highlighted in an article in the Queen's Journal. The students have each taken on a mini-history project to explore, and summaries of their findings have been posted on our Instagram page. 032
Reposted by Ken HerndenSwen Steinberg @swensteinberg.bsky.social · 21/04/2026Nice prep at Queen's Archives today, Heather Home @quarchives.bsky.social and I @queenshistory.bsky.social picked objects for a exhibition about refugee-chemist Alfred Bader for the International Historic Chemical Landmark Ceremony at Queen’s on May 8 qacsstudentchapter.wixsite.com/q-acs/bader-... 122
Reposted by Ken HerndenSwen Steinberg @swensteinberg.bsky.social · 15/05/2026Congrats to Queen's @acs.org Student Chapter for organizing the Historic Chemical Landmark honoring refugee chemist Alfred Bader. Glad to contribute research insights, speak at the ceremony, and presenting “A Journey in 15 Objects” with Heather Home @quarchives.bsky.social tinyurl.com/mrzubfbrthewhig.comFrom refugee to innovator: Queen’s alumnus Alfred Bader honoured with rare landmark designationMore than eight decades after arriving at Queen’s University, Alfred Bader returned in spirit Friday as the institution unveiled a rare international scientific honour recognizing a life that reshaped... 022
Ken Hernden @kenhernden.bsky.social · 07/06/2026Off to my first Digital Humanities Summer Institute in Montréal. Looking forward to learning something for a week instead of doing administrivia! 😂 #tei #text-encoding 020
Reposted by Ken HerndenJim Clifford @jimclifford.bsky.social · 23/04/2026ESRI killed their original StoryMap platform and one of my earliest digital history interactive maps in the process. I managed to rebuilt it with some help from Claude Code. jimclifford.ca/london_indus... 0144
Reposted by Ken HerndenTolkien Society @tolkiensociety.org · 25/03/2026On 25 March in Middle-earth: in the year T.A. 3019, Frodo and Gollum reach the Cracks of Doom. Gollum steals the Ring and falls. Sauron is defeated! Cuio i Pheriain anann! Aglar'ni Pheriannath! Eglerio! Image: "At the Cracks of Doom" by Ted Nasmith #LOTR #TolkienReadingDay #BookSky 19126
Ken Hernden @kenhernden.bsky.social · 03/03/2026Current status: reading Tolkien on the beach. Perfection. 010
Ken Hernden @kenhernden.bsky.social · 30/01/2026In the spirit of Gresham's Law, I would like to propose Hernden's Law of University Leadership whereby bad leaders are attracted to leadership and then drive out or convince potentially good leaders not to seek out leadership opportunities. 010
Reposted by Ken HerndenDigital Tolkien Project @digitaltolkien.com · 15/12/2025www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEki...youtube.comDigital Tolkien Project 2025 Year in ReviewYouTube video by Digital Tolkien Project 03212
Reposted by Ken HerndenDigital Tolkien Project @digitaltolkien.com · 15/12/2025new video dropping later today 062
Reposted by Ken HerndenDan Sinykin @dan-sinnamon.bsky.social · 12/12/2025A hard problem with literary data is navigating btwn editions of books and what the "work," or the theoretical text that unites all editions. I've been lucky to work with @thisismattmiller.com and @mellymeldubs.bsky.social, who built a tool to address this + do much more arxiv.org/abs/2512.10165arxiv.orgBookReconciler: An Open-Source Tool for Metadata Enrichment and Work-Level ClusteringWe present BookReconciler, an open-source tool for enhancing and clustering book data. BookReconciler allows users to take spreadsheets with minimal metadata, such as book title and author, and automa... 46422
Ken Hernden @kenhernden.bsky.social · 09/12/2025I'm fairly certain that 50% of work emails appear in my inbox between 5:00 and 6:00 in the evening. 000
Reposted by Ken HerndenDave Brodbeck🇨🇦🇺🇦 @dbrodbeck.bsky.social · 01/12/2025In this #CNDOP extravaganza, @kenhernden.bsky.social and I discuss Sharpe's Eagle www.tangentialconvergence.com/2025/11/rifl...tangentialconvergence.comRifles Make Ready Episode 2 - Sharpe's EagleNow that we've established who Sharpe is we can get him into all kinds of fun. Fun like dealing with Sir Henry Simmerson. Simmerson is playe... 011
Ken Hernden @kenhernden.bsky.social · 11/11/2025Queen's Remembers queensarchives.wordpress.com/2025/11/11/q...queensarchives.wordpress.comQueen’s RemembersEvery year on November 11, Canadians pause in a silent moment of remembrance for the men and women who have served and continue to serve our country during times of war, conflict and peace. Remembr… 000
Reposted by Ken HerndenQueen's University Archives @quarchives.bsky.social · 05/11/2025In 2016, Ontario passed legislation for the first week of November to be known as Treaties Recognition Week. In partnership with the Archives of Ontario, the Daniel George MacMartin Diary was on display for dignitaries and visitors alongside the original Treaty 9 document.queensarchives.wordpress.comGeorge MacMartin’s Diary and Treaties Week 2025In 2016, Ontario passed legislation for the first week of November to be known as Treaties Recognition Week. This week was developed to highlight the importance of treaties and provide further education on treaty rights and relationships. This year, Queen’s University Archives was invited to participate in Treaties week events at Queen’s Park in the Lieutenant-Governor’s suite. In partnership with the Archives of Ontario, the Daniel George MacMartin Diary was on display for dignitaries and visitors alongside the original Treaty 9 document. 011
Reposted by Ken HerndenTolkien Society @tolkiensociety.org · 26/10/2025Join the Tolkien Society at www.tolkiensociety.org The Society is a worldwide community where you can meet others, share your love of #Tolkien and learn more about the Professor. And you get 6 copies of our magazine Amon Hen a year! We have postal and digital memberships, and we ship worldwide. 02910
Ken Hernden @kenhernden.bsky.social · 13/10/2025On the 10 hour drive from Sault Ste. Marie to Kingston, Ontario, I would say that High Falls Road is the most Tolkienesque sounding of the various highways and roads travelled. If only it were “High Falls Pass.” 000
Reposted by Ken HerndenClare Moore @clarelmoore.bsky.social · 12/10/2025If you’re not signed up yet, don’t forget to register for the @tolkiensociety.org seminar on October 18! It’s free and online! www.tolkiensociety.org/events/semin...tolkiensociety.orgTolkien Society Seminar 2025 – Arda’s Entangled Bodies and EnvironmentsThe Tolkien Society Seminar is a short conference of both researcher-led and non-academic presentations on a specific theme pertaining to Tolkien scholarship. After the seminar, all paper recordings f... 1114