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Nik Gunn

@nikgunn.bsky.social
858 followers 343 following 412 posts

Medievalist and longbowman. Views mine. nikolasgunn.co.uk

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Reposted by Nik Gunn
Dr Eleanor Baker @eleanormaybaker.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Well...the 'wulf' is out of the bag. Professor Daniel Wakelin and I were the Middle English consultants for Robert Eggers' upcoming film Werwulf, in UK theatres on January 1st 2027!
An image of a screenshot from a webpage from IGN that reads 'Eggers did copious amounts of research on England in the 13th century for the screenplay, he co-wrote with his The Northman collaborator, Sjón. The film’s dialogue is in Middle English, although it’s been altered by dialect coach William Conacher to make it more comprehensible for the modern ear. Eggers also worked with two Middle English scholars at Oxford University, Eleanor Baker and Daniel Wakelin, who helped make the dialogue more period accurate.'
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Jeremy Noel-Tod @jntod.bsky.social · 02/10/2025
On National Poetry Day, the greatest poem I have ever read
A printed poem which reads:

I hav for breakfast Weetabix

I hav for lunch some meat

I have for tea 2 sosajis and thats enuf to eat

Peter Hazel, 5
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The Guild of Medievalist Makers @guildmedmak.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
🍂NEW AUTUMN/WINTER TERMCARD❄️ We are delighted to share our programme of Making Space sessions and workshops taking place between October and January! Want to join the Guild but not yet a member? Fill out the simple form on our website👉https://www.guildmedmak.com/join-the-guild
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Emily✨ @emilyoram.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Liquid Bluesky
National Trust• @nationaltrust.org.uk 
Nobody has ever regretted a scone after a long walk.

Except someone with ceoliac disease
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Nik Gunn @nikgunn.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Reading Middlemarch and it got me thinking about Tolkien's non-medieval reading habits. The main pub is the Green Dragon, Mr Featherstone battling off family from his inheritance, Casaubon working away on a book of myth...
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Nik Gunn @nikgunn.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
Yesterday, one of my fellow archery club members told me that his mate has a theory that King Arthur was from Gumley in Leicestershire and would I like to read his pamphlets, and I have never said “yes” to anything more quickly in my life.
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Graeme Swanson @swansonian.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
Tim Curry should also be remembered for featuring in the best between takes photo of an actor in recorded history.
Tim Curry in full clown make up holding an umbrella between takes during the filming of the tv miniseries of It
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William Shakespeare @shakespeare.lol · 25/08/2026
[Exit Queen.]
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Joel @itsjoels.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
This is the letter kids got at the end of Dolly’s Imagination Library. I defy you to read this and not cry.
Sorry, I can’t type that.
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Kyle Griffin @kylegriffin1.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
Dolly Parton's Imagination Library gifted more than 332,000,000 books since it was first created 31 years ago.
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404 Media @404media.co · 17/08/2026
SCOOP: 404 Media placed a tracking device in a shipment of rare books to see which AI company was buying it. What did we find? It ended up at an Amazon facility where Amazon scans and destroys books. Yes. This is literally the logo outside the Amazon warehouse door. Read now:
404media.co
We Tracked a Shipment of Rare Books. It Ended at an Amazon AI Training Facility
We placed a tracking device in a shipment of rare books to see which AI company was buying it, and found an Amazon facility where Amazon scans and destroys books.
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Medieval Manuscripts @blmedieval.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
Hwæt! A new edition of the Electronic Beowulf has been released by Kevin Kiernan (University of Kentucky). You can explore it here: ebeowulf.uky.edu Beowulf is one of our greatest literary treasures, and the unique manuscript is held at the British Library.
ebeowulf.uky.edu
Electronic Beowulf 5th ed
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Nik Gunn @nikgunn.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
Still think it’s a sort of miracle that I can step on a train in a small coastal town in the south of France at 2pm and walk off the train at 11pm the same day in rural Leicestershire.
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hannah @hannahkateboast.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
'Following the closure of Modern Languages programmes at Leicester from September 2026, if Modern Languages were to disappear from Nottingham, the greater East Midlands would become one of the largest language cold spots in the country.'
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Patch Thompson @patchthompson.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
In my (adult) lifetime we've already gone from 'Extraordinary summer high of 32°C measured at Heathrow Airport' to 'Random towns in the south east of England hitting 36°C in mid-August'. Can't wait to see what the next few decades will bring.
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North Ages @northages.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
Éowyn’s iconic ‘I am no man’ scene from The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King instead with the caption ‘I am no stout man.’
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Prem Sikka @premnsikka.bsky.social · 02/08/2026
Worst we’ve known’: UK turns to imports as drought and heat hit vegetable crops. Food insecurity and higher prices would follow. Poor hit the hardest. Despite warnings, no plan for water shortages. Need reservoirs, water storage, better water management. Companies can't do national planning.
theguardian.com
‘Worst we’ve known’: UK turns to imports as drought and heat hit vegetable crops
Growers in dismay after scorching weather and lack of rain affect yields, sending wholesale prices rocketing
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ALCS @alcs.co.uk · 31/07/2026
Have your say on AI licensing and payment! Macquarie University and the Creative Industries PEC are surveying UK authors and illustrators on their views. Take the survey before 7 Aug: ow.ly/iXGl50ZuA8V
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Richard V. Hirst @richardvhirst.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
Martin Prince with a speech bubble
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John Garrison Marks @johngmarks.com · 27/07/2026
In 2018 I read about universities, libraries, and humanities councils in New England convening veterans to discuss The Odyssey to help them make sense of their own experiences and was blown away by what a good idea it was. Funding the humanities = good. www.concordmonitor.com/2018/03/14/h...
concordmonitor.com
‘Homer can help you’: War veterans use ancient epics to cope - Concord Monitor
The trials of Odysseus are really not that different from the struggles of those learning to readjust after wars of today, modern veterans are finding.A small group of military veterans has been meeti...
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Nute @nutedawn.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
I need the most Tolkien activity you have / No that’s too Tolkien
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Nik Gunn @nikgunn.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
I’ve seen the Odyssey and my overriding feeling is that it is less than the sum of its parts.
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Tex 👺 @trocchio.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
Look if you watched the prequels but are still surprised that the idea of making a movie while sitting at your computer without any collaborators, artists, writers, crew, or techs while being told you're a genius over and over is extremely appealing to Lucas I don't know what to tell you
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Nik Gunn @nikgunn.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
Dan Burn takes to the field looking like he’s already been on for 85 minutes.
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Emily✨ @emilyoram.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

@nana_alaouie
In hell you are forced to watch England defend a one goal lead
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EMILY WILSON @emilyrcwilson.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
On the language of Homeric Greek, and the language of a certain forthcoming film: here are a few simple observations.
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Dexerto @dexerto.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
A Norway fan has gone viral for not taking part in their Row celebration after matches and won't do it if they win the World Cup "It’s factually wrong; they didn’t row, they sailed over the Atlantic”
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Charles West @pseudo-isidore.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
The end of a tremendous day at #imc2026 : a collective, international demonstration of the enduring intellectual and cultural value, even urgency, of the study of medieval history in the modern world.
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Marie Le Conte @youngvulgarian.marieleconte.com · 08/07/2026
I mean this explains quite a lot about experiencing social media in the 2020's www.theatlantic.com/magazine/202...
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Shiv Ramdas Mens Rice Activist @nameshiv.bsky.social · 06/07/2026
Jordan Henderson with 0 minutes played one yellow card and a broken arm might be the single greatest statline in WC history
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Sam Freedman @samfr.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
A friend said he always looks like a British solider about to go over the top at Passchendaele and now I can't not see that.
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Mateusz Fafinski @calthalas.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
Who did it better? King David, Stuttgart Psalter, 9th century, f155v Johnny Cash in concert, late 1950s
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Sarah Pyke @sarahpyke.bsky.social · 26/06/2026
How UK higher education -- and education policy/the country in general -- is viewed in Germany. Wie peinlich. What a mess.
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Helen Day @lbflyawayhome.bsky.social · 19/06/2026
Other work by the Ladybird artists. ‘How Scenery Reveals the Nature of Soil’ (1949) Artist: SR Badmin
Three illustrations demonstrating the effect of the nature of soil on geology and farmland around Britain, including South Devonshire and East AngliaThree more illustrations demonstrating the effect of the nature of soil on geology and farmland around Britain, including areas of chalk, sandstone, and granite
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Nik Gunn @nikgunn.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
I regret to say that I’ve found another utterly useless skill that I’m really good at.
An archery boss on a green field with lots of wooden arrows protruding from it.
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christhebarker @christhebarker.bsky.social · 17/06/2026
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Kerry L @kerrymlove.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
For 2024/25, 11% of students studying History are IMD 1 (the most deprived background), yet when you filter for those living with parents, it doubles to 20% of students in the IMD 1 quintile. A clear case for regional unis supporting access to Hums www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/policy-and-r...
thebritishacademy.ac.uk
Who studies SHAPE?
This dashboard provides a system-wide view of student numbers in SHAPE subjects across UK higher education covering the period from 2015/16 to 2024/25, the most recent year for which data are availabl...
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Putri Prihatini @putriprihatini.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
Singaporean artist Leia Ham reimagined LotR as Tale of the Middle Kingdom, since Chinese name for China (Zhōngguó) means "The Middle Kingdom." Her concept art includes the Fellowship, armors, buildings like Bag End, props like Aragorn's banner and Fellowship brooches, and more. #TolkienTrewsday
An illustration of the Fellowship, reimagined with Chinese-style period outfits.An illustration of armors of Gondor, Rohan, and Rivendell Elves, reimagined using different periods of Chinese armors as concepts. On the top right are three side profiles of Rohan man, Gondorian, and Elf with different Chinese hairstyles. On the bottom right is Aragorn's banner redrawn with Chinese influence.A concept art of Bag End reimagined as Chinese court houses, with tall stone gates, round wooden doors, curved roofs, and open courtyard, nestled in a hill.A concept art of Rivendell in the style of Chinese painting. Next to it are several props drawn in Chinese style such as Fellowship brooch based on gingko leaves, lembas in the shape of mooncake, Elfstone as round jade, Galadriel's phial in a green jade bottle, and shards of Narsil.
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Richard Jean So @richardjeanso.bsky.social · 15/06/2026
Preprint of essay forthcoming f/ special issue of MFS on Cultural AI edited w/ @aarthivadde.bsky.social that I think is great & articulates a key question for lit studies + AI research: LLMs are built on vast fiction corpora but are terrible at generating good fiction. Why? arxiv.org/abs/2603.13545
arxiv.org
The AI Fiction Paradox
AI development has a fiction dependency problem: models are built on massive corpora of modern fiction and desperately need more of it, yet they struggle to generate it. I term this the AI-Fiction Par...
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John Herreid @herreidjohn.bsky.social · 13/06/2026
St. Anthony preaches to the fish by Arnold Böcklin, 1892.
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Robert Shrimsley @robertshrimsley.bsky.social · 12/06/2026
The same employers who witter on about young people lacking the basic social skills, see nothing wrong with not bothering to tell job applicants that they have not been successful. www.ft.com/content/2af1...
ft.com
Is it ever OK to ghost job applicants?
Businesses that complain it is hard to recruit the right staff should look at themselves too
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George Eaton @georgeeaton.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
Why is the universities crisis being ignored? Essential piece by @gsoh31.bsky.social for Arguably on the “grim dribbling away of one of Britain's great triumphs and economic advantages” – and why so few politicians seem to care. www.arguably.uk/p/the-quiet-...
arguably.uk
The quiet collapse of British universities
One of our great triumphs and economic advantages is fading away
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Gareth Watkins @garethwatkins.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
RIP to John Blanche, the best to ever do it. Before Warhammer was even Warhammer he understood what it was: weird, gross, unsettling, maximalist.
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Donncha O’Connell @donnchalaw.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
University staff say €4.55bn research fund ignores arts and humanities. Almost 2,000 sign open letter criticising Research Ireland for favouring industry and commercial interests. www.irishtimes.com/ireland/educ...
irishtimes.com
University staff say €4.55bn research fund ignores arts and humanities
Letter to Min Higher Ed
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Hildur Knútsdóttir @hildur.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
Throwback to when a TV station in Iceland accidentally aired an episode of Teletubbies with subtitles from the Sopranos 👌🏼
Picture of a TV screen with teletubbies going to bed with the subtitles: I know you were high during my mother-in-laws wake
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Robert Houghton @robehoughton.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
My book, "The Middle Ages in Computer Games" is out in paperback tomorrow (2 Jun). If you've been waiting to get hold of it, now could be a good time! boydellandbrewer.com/book/the-mid...
The book, "The Middle Ages in Computer Games" by Robert Houghton lying on a wooden desk with a computer keyboard visible.
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Stephen Hopkins @phil-lol-ogist.bsky.social · 25/05/2026
Biggest comeback in history? 999: Icelanders convert to Christianity & ditch Norse myth↩️ 1200's: Snorri Sturluson uses the power of euhemerism to make Norse myth biblical↩️ 1930's: a very Catholic Norse scholar pilfers the edda for character names↩️ 2026: Pope quotes a character called Gandalf 🇮🇸👑
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Marc Morris @marcmorris.bsky.social · 27/05/2026
"Most surprisingly, the Norman Conquest of 1066 appears to have been largely an elite process." Scientists once again riding to the rescue of historians, who had previously assumed 1066 was a largely peasant-driven enterprise. theconversation.com/beyond-anglo...
theconversation.com
Beyond Anglo-Saxons, Celts and Vikings: DNA uncovers a dynamic history of migration to Britain
The island’s history was marked by mixture and cultural reinvention.
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Plashing Vole @plashingvole.bsky.social · 27/05/2026
The underlying assumption is that Manchester students are rich enough not to be already working. My own university is bringing in compulsory placements: one of the issues not raised AT ALL is that nearly every single student has a job already, quite often full-time. Are they meant to quit?
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