iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Neil McGuigan

Jake Stattel @jakestattel.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

An idea on medieval 'Law and Love' that's been on my mind for a few years now, very happy that my first proper foray into legal history is now out OA in @lawandhistrev.bsky.social doi.org/10.1017/S073... #MedievalSky

doi.org

Love or Law: Viking Foundations of Medieval English Dispute Settlement | Law and History Review | Cambridge Core

Love or Law: Viking Foundations of Medieval English Dispute Settlement

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Neil McGuigan @neilmcguigan.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Big beautiful coursebook, for new module. Just completed. 340+ glorious pages!

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Neil Reid @cairngormwanderer.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

Just finished Neil McGuigan's @neilmcguigan.bsky.social doorstep of a book on Mael Coluim III (Malcolm Canmore to you and I) and hoping even some of it will stay in this aged brain. But what a journey! Fascinating! And an abiding awe at the sheer volume of learning and scholarship brough to bear.

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Neil McGuigan @neilmcguigan.bsky.social · 18/06/2026

With Scotland v Morocco coming up, here is an 11th-century connection. About the time the Almoravid ruler Yusuf ibn Tashfin cofounded Marrakesh, the Scottish king Máel Coluim III founded a monastery at Monymusk. And there, in modern times, a gold dinar from Marrakesh, minted c.1097, has been found!

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Neil McGuigan @neilmcguigan.bsky.social · 18/06/2026

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North Ages @northages.bsky.social · 09/06/2026

June 9: Feast of Colum Cille (Columba) (†597), founder-abbot of Iona. Irishman who anointed Áedán mac Gabráin as king of Dál Riata, preached to ‘the tribes of Tay’, became apostle of the northern Picts and reputedly banished a monster from the River Ness. 📸Bodleian Libraries

Columba depicted with mitre and crosier from Bodleian Library MS. Rawl. B. 514.

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Neil McGuigan @neilmcguigan.bsky.social · 04/06/2026

Today, finally, the UK publication of the paperback version of *Máel Coluim III, 'Canmore: An Eleventh-Century Scottish King* with John Donald/ @birlinn.bsky.social .

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Neil McGuigan @neilmcguigan.bsky.social · 28/05/2026

Pterōtón Stratópedon, 'Winged Camp', on a 13th-century Byzantine map(ping of Ptolemy) of Scotland. Suggested identifications have included Burghead and Inchtuthil. The visualization of the fortifications are something else!

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Neil McGuigan @neilmcguigan.bsky.social · 28/05/2026

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Neil McGuigan @neilmcguigan.bsky.social · 09/05/2026

Paperback of the Malkie book, it's finally here (although arriving a bit earlier than expected)!

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Neil McGuigan @neilmcguigan.bsky.social · 09/05/2026

Paperback of the Malkie book, it's finally here (although arriving a bit earlier than expected)!

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Rory Naismith @rorynaismith.bsky.social · 28/04/2026

Officially released TODAY!!!

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Neil McGuigan @neilmcguigan.bsky.social · 23/04/2026

It's a shame the Scotichronicast ended, Kate was doing such a useful thing. Here is my solitary appearance, being interviewed in one of the last episodes, talking about Máel Coluim III and the Anglo-Scottish borderlands (as well as myself!). podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/e...

podcasts.apple.com

Episode 47: Dr. Neil McGuigan and Scottish Borders and Malcolm Canmore

Podcast Episode · Scotichronicast · October 31, 2022 · 48m

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Neil McGuigan @neilmcguigan.bsky.social · 14/04/2026

Paperback of Máel Coluim III book is now available to pre-order from publisher: birlinn.co.uk/product/mael...

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Neil McGuigan @neilmcguigan.bsky.social · 01/04/2026

Fact of the day, did you know that over the last century historians have uncovered evidence that the Roman Empire once sponsored the foundation of a colonial settlement in New England? See the dedicated Wikipedia article for the detail: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Eng...

en.wikipedia.org

New England (medieval) - Wikipedia

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Neil McGuigan @neilmcguigan.bsky.social · 20/03/2026

Happy St Cuthbert's Day. Annual excuse to repost article on 'Cuthbert’s relics and the origins of the diocese of Durham', *Anglo-Saxon England* (2021). Warning: contains some dastardly revisionism about Cuthbert's history (at Chester-le-Street) & the 'Viking Age' Northumbrian church cup.org/4ssGyNq

cup.org

Cuthbert’s relics and the origins of the diocese of Durham | Anglo-Saxon England | Cambridge Core

Cuthbert’s relics and the origins of the diocese of Durham - Volume 48

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Peadar Ó Muircheartaigh @pomuirch.bsky.social · 09/03/2026

Thurs 26 March, Prof. Fiona Edmonds will deliver the 2026 John Bannerman Memorial Lecture (in-person and online), on a topic close to Bannerman's own work: 'Dál Riata and Northumbria, c. 700‒1000: Connections and comparisons'. Tuilleadh fiosrachaidh | More info 👇 hca.ed.ac.uk/john-bannerm...

hca.ed.ac.uk

John Bannerman Lecture 2026 - Professor Fiona Edmonds | School of History, Classics & Archaeology | History Classics and Archaeology

'Dál Riata and Northumbria, c. 700‒1000: Connections and comparisons'. Hybrid.

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North Ages @northages.bsky.social · 06/03/2026

Mar 6: Feast of Balthere (Baldred) (†756). Anchorite from Lindisfarne linked with Lothian sites Aldham (Auldhame), whose monastic community he may have founded; the Bass Rock, his likely retreat; and Tinangeham (Tyninghame), whose religious centre eclipsed Aldham by mid-10thC. #medievalsky

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Rory Naismith @rorynaismith.bsky.social · 05/03/2026

Very pleased to receive author’s copies of Offa, King of the Mercians from @yalebooks.bsky.social today. Looking superb, and an excellent publishing experience!

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Neil McGuigan @neilmcguigan.bsky.social · 23/01/2026

For those who don't have the time to read this piece, it includes a new theory about the origins of Earl Harald & the politics of northern Scotland in the later 12th cent. See illustration (by Tom) for modified/suggested genealogical relations between Harald & other members of the Scottish dynasty.

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The Scottish Medievalists @scotmed.bsky.social · 23/01/2026

Details of Steve Boardman's forthcoming *The First Stewart Dynasty: Scotland, 1371–1488*, the long awaited Late Middle Ages volume in the New Edinburgh History of Scotland. Discount code from EUP on flyer.

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The Scottish Medievalists @scotmed.bsky.social · 23/01/2026

See link for detail on the recently published Historical Map of Perth. This & detail about a forthcoming equivalent for St Andrews (see flyer) can be acquired via the website of the Historic Towns Trust: www.historictownstrust.uk

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Neil McGuigan @neilmcguigan.bsky.social · 23/01/2026

New publication from myself, 'Haraldr Maddaðarson and Scoto-Orcadian Politics before 1222': www.academia.edu/149771345/Ha...

academia.edu

Haraldr Maddaðarson and Scoto-Orcadian Politics before 1222

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Scotland's Churches Trust @scotchurchestrust.bsky.social · 14/01/2026

The Church of Scotland has confirmed that the Old Kilpatrick Parish Church, which sits on the northern bank of the Clyde near the Erskine Bridge, is set to close later this year after 214 years of service to its local community. Read the story here 👇 www.clydebankpost.co.uk/news/2575942...

clydebankpost.co.uk

Historic 200-year-old Category B listed church to close this year

A historic 200-year-old church is set to close and it's building put up for sale

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Neil McGuigan @neilmcguigan.bsky.social · 05/12/2025

Demons & the undead reaching up from Hell to grasp the world? Perhaps a metaphor of some kind, or perhaps I've been watching too many horror films #Infantino #PeacePrize #FootballUnitesTheWorld

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Guelph Centre for Scottish Studies @uguelphscottish.bsky.social · 23/10/2025

2025 Frank Watson Book Prize in Scottish History! Catriona M.M. Macdonald, The Caledoniad: The Making of Scottish History. Edinburgh: John Donald, an imprint of Birlinn Ltd., 2024. ISBN: 9780859767200. Congratulations, Dr. Macdonald! 🏆🎉 Read the jury's citation: www.uoguelph.ca/arts/scottis...

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Neil McGuigan @neilmcguigan.bsky.social · 08/09/2025

A recent talk I gave to the Scottish Society for Northern Studies on Earl Harald of Orkney and "12th-century Scoto-Orcadian relations" has been put on YouTube. Includes a new theory about the origins of Harald's branch of the Scottish royal dynasty: www.youtube.com/watch?v=FIDR...

youtube.com

SSNS Seminar - Scoto Orcadian Relations in the Twelfth century, Dr Neil McGuigan

YouTube video by Scottish Society for Northern Studies

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Neil McGuigan @neilmcguigan.bsky.social · 25/08/2025

Day conference celebrating Glasgow's 850th anniversary. Celebrating with scholarship, and doubling as a commemoration of the work of Norman Shead. Thursday 4 September 2025 -- 10.00 am- 4:30 pm, City Chambers.

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Neil McGuigan @neilmcguigan.bsky.social · 16/07/2025

Recently received this exciting new book, I really hope the tourist shops stock it. There aren't many quality books on Gaelic Scotland suitable for this kind of audience from real experts like Coinneach Maclean : acairbooks.com/books/travel...

acairbooks.com

Travels in Another Country; A Guide to Gaelic Scotland | Acair Books

Until relatively modern times Scotland was largely a Gaelic-speaking nation. Areas that were described by Doctor Johnson in 1775 as being as remote and as u ...

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North Ages @northages.bsky.social · 11/07/2025

July 11: Feast of Drostan († early C7th), founder-abbot of the Pictish monastery of Deir (Deer). Several dedications to him in NE Scotland including Episcopal church at Old Deer. The old church at Aberdour, Aberdeenshire, claimed his relics. Also Dec 15. The C10th Book of Deer #medievalsky

The Book of Deer, a pocket gospel-book, lying open.

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Neil McGuigan @neilmcguigan.bsky.social · 01/07/2025

Recently published, myself reviewing Ben Hudson's *Macbeth before Shakespeare*. Behind paywall, but in summary a good read that would have been a much better piece of scholarship had the author engaged significantly with research produced after the 90s: www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...

journals.uchicago.edu

Benjamin Hudson, Macbeth before Shakespeare. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2022. Pp. xvii, 293; black-and-white figures. $37.99. ISBN: 978-0-1975-6753-1. | Speculum: Vol 100, No 3

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Neil McGuigan @neilmcguigan.bsky.social · 27/06/2025

Review of *Reigns of Edmund, Eadred and Eadwig*, eds Blanchard and Riedel, incl. my own contribution on 'Revisiting the End of Northern [English] Independence' in the latest issue of @royalstudies.bsky.social : rsj.winchester.ac.uk/articles/499...

rsj.winchester.ac.uk

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Neil McGuigan @neilmcguigan.bsky.social · 14/06/2025

Founders of Poland, 'Pictish Piasts'? 'The male skeletons almost all carry a single, rare group of genetic variants on the Y chromosome...today found mainly in Britain. The closest known match belongs to a Pict buried in eastern Scotland in the 5th or 6th cent.' www.independent.co.uk/news/science...

independent.co.uk

Secrets of medieval kings revealed by DNA from 900-year-old skeletons

New DNA evidence unsettles a nation’s founding myth

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Neil McGuigan @neilmcguigan.bsky.social · 09/06/2025

New publication from myself today: "The fame and significance of Dunkeld in the tenth and eleventh centuries" clog.glasgow.ac.uk/ojs/index.ph...

clog.glasgow.ac.uk

View of The fame and significance of Dunkeld in the tenth and eleventh centuries

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Neil McGuigan @neilmcguigan.bsky.social · 09/06/2025

Happy St Columba's day. Today is released a new volume commissioned to mark the 1500th anniversary of the birth the saint. Features greats like Thomas Charles-Edwards, John Carey, Thomas Owen Clancy and Simon Taylor among others. I am also there. clog.glasgow.ac.uk/ojs/index.ph...

clog.glasgow.ac.uk

2025: Ì Chaluim Chille: Interdisciplinary Studies on Iona and Columba on the 1500th anniversary of the birth the saint | Foillseachaidhean Rannsachaidh Oilthigh Ghlaschu

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St Andrews School of History @standrewshist.bsky.social · 10/04/2025

Our very own Alex Woolf is on In Our Time on Radio 4 this morning, talking about the Battle of Clontarf. You can listen to it on BBC Sounds here: www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...

bbc.co.uk

BBC Radio 4 - In Our Time, The Battle of Clontarf

Brian Boru's celebrated defeat of Hiberno-Norse forces and allies outside Dublin in 1014.

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Neil McGuigan @neilmcguigan.bsky.social · 02/04/2025

Does anyone have access/ a copy of the following: GWS Barrow, 'The origins and early history of Edinburgh and Glasgow: two Scottish cities contrasted', in Ekonomiczne i pozaekonomiczne czynniki' rozwoju miast (Akademia Ekonomiczna w Krakowie, Kraków, 1986), pp. 5-22

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Neil McGuigan @neilmcguigan.bsky.social · 24/03/2025

I recently realised that there appears to be a 6 month period in 1306 when the heir to the Scottish throne is called Neil/Niall. It would have few things to go differently, but it seems that Scotland could have had a King Neil I in the 14th century!

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Neil McGuigan @neilmcguigan.bsky.social · 24/03/2025

A thesis on Scottish heritage and tourism that should be more widely read -- even though it is a bit depressing : theses.gla.ac.uk/5178/1/2014M... Author is a blue-badge tour guide and a historian/archaeologist (and also the nephew of the great poet).

theses.gla.ac.uk

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Neil McGuigan @neilmcguigan.bsky.social · 21/03/2025

Merry St Ælla's day, the feast of Ælla the blood-eagled, martyr of York, slain by heathens #OTD in 867. My first published article, 10 years old this month, was about the life and afterlife of the king. www.academia.edu/10247408/%C3...

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Allan Kennedy @allankennedy.bsky.social · 26/02/2025

So, so devastated to see History Scotland magazine come to an end with the Spring 2025 issue. It has been a pleasure to work on the magazine over the past 10 years, and its loss is a big blow to those working on, or interested in, Scottish History.

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