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Mark Empey

@memps2.bsky.social
1.8K followers 318 following 312 posts

Early Modernist to the bitter end #Bookhistory Female Book Owners; Women Writers; British & Irish historical writing; early Stuart peripheral governments Forthcoming book: Sir James Ware: Royalism, History & Antiquarianism (Boydell) Coined #HerBook

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Mark Empey @memps2.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Lovely sketched Irish heraldry by #17c historian, Sir James Ware, incl. coat of arms of Ireland with an argent issuing from triple towered tower. However, the three antique crowns is Munster and the armed hand is Connacht. That featuring a (red) stag walking is actually that of the MacCarthy Mór
Sketch of Irish coat of arms of Ireland with an argent issuing from triple towered tower by Sir James Ware. He mistakes Leinster for Munster, and Munster for Connacht, however. The three antique crowns is Munster and the armed hand is Connacht. Also, the kings of Cork featuring a stag walking is actually that of the MacCarthy Mór
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emherstory.bsky.social @emherstory.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Relieved to send in the page proofs for my Esther Inglis biography yesterday! Should be out by the end of the year 😊
Book cover for biography of Esther Inglis from EUP
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Mark Empey @memps2.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Reminds me when I delivered a lecture on Gilbert in my Tudor Ireland course and a Newfoundland student was in total disbelief about Gilbert’s record in Ireland. He had previously studied in England so my instant reaction was “wait till I tell you about this fella Cromwell” 😂
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Mark Empey @memps2.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
This is an AMAZING manuscript 😍😍 Worth reading this and definitely worth visiting. More pleasingly, the person who wrote the briefing for RTE has noted that the MSS used to be owned by Sir James Ware, one of Ireland’s greatest historians who I’ve had the pleasure of researching. Book forthcoming
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Danielle Clarke @rhetorician.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
Superb review of the groundbreaking anthology of women’s poetry from Scotland, Ireland and Wales, edited by a team of multilingual scholars, led by my former colleague and boss Sarah Prescott and my dear friend @mlcoolahan.bsky.social app.the-tls.com/219115/conte...
app.the-tls.com
Daughter, be splendid
Four centuries of women’s poetryverse from Ireland, Scotland and Wales
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Dr. Nick Posegay @nposegay.northsky.social · 25/08/2026
This is a 12th-century list of property that a fabulously wealthy Egyptian Jewish woman is bringing into her marriage (and what she's owed in case of divorce). Items include a gold tiara (80 dinars), a crystal rooster (4 dinars), a Chinese pen set (13 dinars), and 250(!) dinars' worth of books.
A single dark brown paper manuscript leaf that's been folded into quadrants. Approximately 30 lines of Judaeo-Arabic text in black ink is spread between 2 columns. The leaf sits on a blue background next to a yellow label reading T-S J1.29 (https://cudl.lib.cam.ac.uk/view/MS-TS-J-00001-00029/1)
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Mark Empey @memps2.bsky.social · 16/08/2026
A well used bible but love detailed imagery. This Lutheran Bible (Nuremberg, 1747) was brought to Moncton, New Brunswick #Canada, by Heinrich Stief in 1766. Effectively a new edition at the time but no doubt used for German settler community and possibly a tool to convert the natives #bookhistory
Lutheran Bible (Nuremberg, 1747). Brought to Moncton, New Brunswick, by Heinrich Stief in 1766
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RCP museum @rcpmuseum.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
To celebrate #WorldHoneyBeeDay we thought we’d share a couple medicinal recipes featuring honey in the recipe books of the RCP archive. Kicking off with a classic from Lady Sedley’s 1686 book – ‘To make hayre grow’. . . with helpful accompanying illustration of expected growth 😆. #histmed 1/3
Page from a recipe book with recipe reading:

To make Hayre grow

Take an Egg rost it the embers till it be hard 
then take the yolk, and halfe so much fresh butter,
and as much Pepper as will lye on a kniwfes point, add
as much hony as will make it into an ointment 
and soo anonyt the head with it -
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Mark Empey @memps2.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
This is such an enjoyable piece. Well worth the read 👇👇👇
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Elise Watson @ewatson.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
#earlymodern #bookhistory Workshop Call for Papers: Women’s Professional Networks in the Early Modern Book Trade, University of Edinburgh 6-7 May 2027 Please feel free to share with anyone who might be interested!
Call for Papers
Women’s Professional Networks in the Early Modern Book Trade
University of Edinburgh
6-7 May 2027Over the past two decades, women’s book history and feminist bibliography have exploded with renewed interest. Even so, women’s work is still to an extent seen as an exception or curiosity. It examines them from a gender history perspective, asking to what extent their relationships were influenced or determined by constructions of femininity. Proposals should therefore involve a dimension of gender analysis beyond simply the inclusion of female subjects. 

This conference will seek to explore (but is not limited to) to the following themes and questions:

*Gendered Networks. To what extent were professional book trade networks gendered? How did these networks intersect with other types of women’s networks, whether they be familial, friendly, religious, political, or intellectual?
*Identity and Representation. Did women express professional solidarity with other women, and how did this manifest? How did women’s self-representation in imprints and paratext differ from men’s?
 *Legal and Structural Considerations. In what ways were women’s professional networks dependent on legal structures of inheritance in their region, or participation in guilds? How did these networks stretch across economic and class divisions?
*Digital Approaches. Can digital humanities tools such as network visualisation effectively help document these relationships?

The conference will also host the launch of a new collaborative database sourcing biographical information about women in the early modern book trade.

Contributions will be published in a volume of conference proceedings, to be submitted by the end of 2027.

Proposals for papers of maximum 20 minutes, including title, an abstract of up to 300 words, and a biography of up to 150 words should be sent to Dr Elise Watson, elise.watson@ed.ac.uk, by 20 December 2026. While all papers will be delivered in person, virtual attendance will be available as well.
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Mark Empey @memps2.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
It’s the annual Tudor and Stuart Ireland conference this week with its usual fabulous array of papers and speakers. Of particular note is session 3 on #earlymodern Irish women. Details and registration here: tudorstuartireland.com/2026-confere...
Programme of Tudor and Stuart Ireland conference day 1Programme of Tudor and Stuart Ireland conference day 2
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National Library of Ireland @nlireland.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
'Irish Migrants in Early Modern Europe' 💻 Online talk by Prof Marian Lyons. ⌚ 25 Aug, 3-4pm Opening lecture of the 'Strangers to Citizens' talk series, part of the official Cultural Programme for Ireland’s Presidency of the European Council. Register: www.nli.ie/exhibitions-...
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Mark Empey @memps2.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
This is a fantastic blog that examines how we should think about #earlymodern marginalia & #bookhistory. Of the examples provided there are also two by women who owned works by Shakespeare #herbook. Paging @martinevanelk.bsky.social @rossmith.bsky.social @franceswolfreston.bsky.social
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John McCafferty @jdmccafferty.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
4 Aug 1633: Preaching at Christ Church #Dublin #otd on the text 'Tu es Petrus', John Bramhall, Lord Deputy Wentworth's chaplain causes consternation by suggesting that the Church of #Rome might be a 'real' church, just in error, rather than no church (Sidney Sussex/NLI)
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Elizabeth (Liz) Lehfeldt (she/her/hers) @lizlehfeldt.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
Giving this cfp a boost: please consider submitting something. Our Forum feature is a great home for shorter pieces. #earlymodern
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Mark Empey @memps2.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
This is one of those editions that will stand the test of time. Students, academics and general readers will be forever grateful. Big shoutout to co-editors: my former boss @mlcoolahan.bsky.social & fun colleague Wes Hamrick. Most importantly it’s OPEN ACCESS: www.cambridge.org/core/books/w...
cambridge.org
Women's Poetry from Ireland, Scotland, and Wales, 1400–1800: An Anthology
Cambridge Core - Literary Texts - Women's Poetry from Ireland, Scotland, and Wales, 1400–1800: An Anthology
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UCD Archives @ucdarchives.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
If anyone is considering editing something from our collections, we will happily supply a digital copy at no cost. Please contact Kate (archives at ucd dot ie).
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Kelly Watson @kellylwatson.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
My short essay about two 17th century Powhatan women in London and Bermuda is finally out! commonplace.online/article/the-...
commonplace.online
The Other Elizabeth and Mary: Anglo-Powhatan Marriages and the Virginia Company of London - Commonplace
By employing marriage as a technology of imperialism, the Virginia Company hoped to turn its struggling overseas colonies into stable, productive English communities.
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reedproject.bsky.social @reedproject.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
The Records of Early English Drama is delighted to announce the open access publication of the tenth digital edition in the REED series. The dramatic records for the Swan Playhouse, edited by Sally-Beth MacLean, are now available on REED Online (ereed.org/collections/...).
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Mark Empey @memps2.bsky.social · 19/07/2026
Earlier this week I was informed that “The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Early Modern Women's Writing” is now published. It's a phenomenal effort by the editors but selling at a phenomenal price too. I've published some stuff in it so if any one doesn't have access happy to share my work #earlymodern
Feature-length article on early modern female book ownership (c. 1500-1700)Biographical entry on seventeenth-century French novelist Madame de La Fayette
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Mark Empey @memps2.bsky.social · 19/07/2026
And if you're not in Galway you can hear Prof Steven Ellis discuss St Nicholas's Church during the reformation here: podcasts.apple.com/eg/podcast/p... OR read his superb open access article published here: er.ceres.rub.de/index.php/ER...
podcasts.apple.com
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Milda Kvizikevičiūtė @mildakviz.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
We often say that books hide stories. This time, one quite literally did. Secret compartment was hollowed out in this collection of sermons. 🕵️ #earlymodern #rarebooks #secretcompartment
Open eighteenth-century printed book showing a title page with a large rectangular cavity cut through hundreds of pages. The hollowed-out compartment, carved into the paper block to conceal a small object, reveals the layered edges of the pages and creates a hidden compartment within the book.
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Royal Historical Society @royalhistsoc.org · 20/06/2026
This week we also published 'The Correspondence of Katherine Jones, Viscountess Ranelagh, 1640–1691', edited by Evan Bourke: bit.ly/4ouSa1l This is the latest volume in @royalhistsoc.org's Camden Series of primary source editions, published online & print by CUP: bit.ly/4oxm5Ga #Skystorians 1/2
bit.ly
Letters of Lady Ranelagh (1640-91): new Camden volume published - RHS
The latest volume in the Society's Camden Series of primary source materials is The Correspondence of Katherine Jones, Viscountess Ranelagh, 1640–1691, edited by Evan Bourke. Published on 11 June, thi...
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STEMMA: Systems of Transmitting Early Modern Manuscript Verse @stemma.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
As promised! The @uniofgalwaycasscs.bsky.social has generously provided support for two days of public-facing ms activities this July. The events will be free of charge, and there is funding for ECR travel (defined as ≤7 years post-PhD, with preference for those not yet in permanent employment). 1/
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Elizabeth (Liz) Lehfeldt (she/her/hers) @lizlehfeldt.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
Super-niche query based on my ongoing research on #earlymodern women and accounting: is there any work that's been done on Spanish women and numeracy--or even numeracy in Spain more generally? I'm thinking of something similar to @afroide.bsky.social and @jmotis.bsky.social 's work on England.
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Mark Empey @memps2.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
I missed this earlier but it’s yet another terrific #HerBook piece by @franceswolfreston.bsky.social. I’ve done a small bit of work on female gift giving (out soon!) but more needs to be done. And come on, how can you not resist a read by an owner named Dulcibella Dunch??? #earlymodern
byfranceswolfreston.bsky.social
Bluesky
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Dictionary of Irish Biography @dib.ie · 30/06/2026
#DIBLives #OTD 1922 a huge explosion at the Public Records Office in the Four Courts destroyed centuries of Irish administrative, legal & genealogical records. @virtualtreasury.bsky.social has spent years recreating many of these records & made them freely available to the public. virtualtreasury.ie
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Erin Grievances @erinbartram.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
It feels like this is the inevitable culmination of "hidden histories" and "untold stories" combined with "we can't footnote your work, that would be awkward for the reader." But at its core, it's just the result of an utter lack of respect for the labor and expertise of an entire field.
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Society of Antiquaries of Scotland @socantscot.bsky.social · 08/05/2026
NEW OPEN ACCESS E-BOOK: 'Atlas of Scottish History to 1707' Almost 15 years in the making, the atlas contains maps, diagrams, plans, charts and tables covering the history of Scotland from the earliest times up to 1707, along with explanatory texts: books.socantscot.org/digital-book...
Black illustration on a blue background with overlaid text: New Open Access E-book
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Krista Kesselring @kjkesselring.bsky.social · 22/04/2026
My new post, on the Elizabethan 'Case of Mines', which turns out to have lots of interesting bits just below the surface. legalhistorymiscellany.com/2026/04/22/t...
legalhistorymiscellany.com
The Most Excellent Things are the King’s? The Case of Mines (1568)
Who owns what lies within the ground beneath our feet? This post explores the answers offered in a 1568 case that has both analogues and legacies today.
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Mark Empey @memps2.bsky.social · 21/04/2026
The #manuscript copy of Sir James Ware's Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland 1169-1272. He'd never published this meticulous #earlymodern work, though his annals for the Tudor period were printed in 1664 #bookhistory. Given this glorious penmanship by a #17thc scribe, why would you publish it?
Sir James Ware's manuscript copy of the annals of the kingdom of Ireland from the first coming of the English under King Henry II to the end of the reign of Henry III. This work would never be published.The opening chapter of Ware's annals of the kingdom of Ireland which relays the coming of the Normans following the invitation of Diarmait Mac Murchada, king of Leinster, in 1169.
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sakura christmas @prof-christmas.bsky.social · 21/04/2026
#CFP Female Networks of Knowledge: Natural History between Private and Public Spaces (Vienna, November 19-20, 2026), due May 30. Conference explores how women shaped scientific knowledge via networks that crossed the domestic, social, and institutional from early modern to 19th c. #envhist #histstm
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Early Modern Women: An Interdisciplinary Journal @emwjournal.bsky.social · 17/04/2026
Our spring 2026 issue is out! Featuring four articles, the annual Conversations on Early Modern Women and Race, three exhibition reviews, and twenty-five book reviews www.journals.uchicago.edu/toc/emw/curr... #EarlyModern
journals.uchicago.edu
Early Modern Women: An Interdisciplinary Journal | Vol 20, No 2
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Dr. Barry Torch @barrytorch.bsky.social · 16/04/2026
#CFP for #earlymodern folks! @hannah-historian.bsky.social and I are putting together a special edition of the Journal of Epistolary Studies on "Letters as Paratexts in the Early Modern World"!
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The Bibliographical Society of America @bibsocamer.bsky.social · 17/04/2026
The Bibliographical Society of America is participating in a social media campaign with ACLS this week, and we invite you to join in! The message is simple and proactive: we need more humanities and social sciences scholars and research. #TalkAboutHumanities
Two hands hold an open book with printed and handwritten text, accompanied by a promotional banner from The Bibliographical Society of America.

Transcribed Text:

Left Page: THE HIGH TREASVRE... (text continues further down) Imprinted at London, for Gabriell Simson and William White.

Right Page: I hate not, having a real note book, but when you order one you, note write...

Banner Text: We Need More Bibliographers
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Mark Empey @memps2.bsky.social · 18/04/2026
What a fabulous mid #16thc portrait with a clear inscription statement: “Sophonisba Angussola Virgo made it herself 1554”. My guess is that this was a personally drafted meditational book by the then 22-year old with an unambiguous #herbook statement? @martinevanelk.bsky.social
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Kate Ozment @grubstreetwomen.bsky.social · 17/04/2026
The Women's Print History Project collects bibliographic data on printed objects associated with women's production. I've been itching to query the data not limited by the UI, and ✨ I finally get to ✨ Here are some things I've been able to surface... womensprinthistoryproject.com
womensprinthistoryproject.com
Making sure you're not a bot!
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Irish Studies at QUB @irishstudiesqub.bsky.social · 17/04/2026
Next Friday at 12, PhD candidate Michael O'Connor will speak about his work on Irish slaveholders in Jamaica in an event hosted by the Centre for 18th-Century Studies at QUB
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Mark Empey @memps2.bsky.social · 09/04/2026
A clash of personalities that still waits for someone to write about. All the more interesting as it’s a v rare admission by Wenworth that he may have gone too far when it was suggested Mountnorris could be even executed for charges laid against him
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Jonathan Healey @jonathanhealey.bsky.social · 07/04/2026
Thomas Fairfax on 3 June 1645, promising that his army would never treat women as cruelly as the royalists had done at Leicester. A grim irony given what would happen a few days later at Naseby.
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Peadar Ó Muircheartaigh @pomuirch.bsky.social · 03/04/2026
A piece of collage from a late 17th century Irish manuscript. A manuscript made in Dublin but grafted with an image of the crucifixion (probably) from a Netherlandish printed book.
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Dr Bryony Coombs @bryonycoombs.bsky.social · 02/04/2026
✨I could not be more excited to see what arrived in the post today. Not only because it is good to see 2 chapters reach the light of day, but because of the immense scholarship that has gone into this enterprise, with 69 scholars &2 vols my hat goes off to @ilikeoldbooks.bsky.social & other editors✨
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emherstory.bsky.social @emherstory.bsky.social · 02/04/2026
Wonderful early modern marginalia, including a woman riding a horse astride. #bookhistory @emwjournal.bsky.social
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Mark Empey @memps2.bsky.social · 30/03/2026
Not holding back 😬
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Sarah Moran @lc-beguines.bsky.social · 30/03/2026
The Journal Religions is putting together a special issue: " Women in the Christian Tradition: Paradigms and Expressions of Religious Life in Early Modern Western Contexts" Submissions due Sept 1. www.mdpi.com/journal/reli...
mdpi.com
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Mark Empey @memps2.bsky.social · 29/03/2026
Uncovering the work of female artists in Dutch Golden Age or readdressing decades-long imbalance of how art/history is studied? Whatever your view 'Unforgettable: Women Artists from Antwerp to Amsterdam 1600-1750' exhib in Washington DC looks fab @martinevanelk.bsky.social www.ft.com/content/7a53...
ft.com
These women were Golden Age masters — why have they been ignored by art historians?
An ambitious exhibition highlights the glory of Low Countries artists still ripe for rediscovery, centuries after their first fame
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Centre for Early Modern Studies, Limerick @cemslimerick.bsky.social · 25/03/2026
Join us for the annual Máire Ní Chrualaoich lecture taking place at the People's Museum, Limerick, 14 April, from 6pm to 8pm to hear Dr Emma Nic Cárthaigh's lecture on the subject of ‘Prudentia versus politia: bardic encouragement in a poem by Tadhg Mac Bruaideadha for the fourth earl of Thomond’.
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Tamara Atkin @tamarajatkin.bsky.social · 26/03/2026
Long in the making….here’s my new article about second-hand books and the Bodleian www.liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk/doi/10.3828/...
liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk
The Bodleian Daybook and the Purchase of Second-Hand Books | The Library
Oxford, Bodleian Library, Library Records e. 9 (the Daybook) is a ‘Book of Accompts for the Librarie’ that covers the seven-year period following the death of Sir Thomas Bodley. It contains details of two consignments of second-hand books purchased by ...
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Erika Gaffney @erikagaffney.bsky.social · 24/03/2026
Society for the Study of Early Modern Women & Gender welcomes award nominations for the 2026 Book Awards, Editions Award(s) & Collaborative Project Award For more info &/or to nominate a work, see docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F... Deadline: May 25, 2026
docs.google.com
Society or the Study of Early Modern Women & Gender 2026 Awards Nominations
The Society seeks nominations for awards for English-language scholarly work on women and gender in the early modern period (ca. 1450-1750) published/completed between June 2023 and May 2026. Items pr...
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Mark Empey @memps2.bsky.social · 19/03/2026
How such a brilliant resource is restricted to so few continues to baffle me. For what good? You only have to look at the amazing *freely accessible* Irish History Online database, hosted and maintained by @ria.ie, to truly grasp what scholars are missing out on #dh Check it out here: www.iho.ie
iho.ie
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