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Nathan Melson

@nsmelson.bsky.social

61 followers 57 following 52 posts

Historian of late medieval Marseille, Provence, saints, relics, and religious economy; adjunct

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Nathan Melson @nsmelson.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

Candidate for the most frustrating word to transcribe in 14th c. notarial Latin handwriting:

A word in Latin that consists of the letter i followed by fifteen minims.

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Nathan Melson @nsmelson.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

Ever since @sarahebond.bsky.social posted a photo earlier this year from Guillerat, Schid, and Melocco, _Ancient Rome: Infographics_, I've become slightly obsessed with recreating some of their fantastic graphs/charts in Powerpoint for a new Ancient Civ course I'm teaching next year.

Infographic depicting the Roman imperial budget during the reign of Augustus (27 BCE-14 CE) based on Nicolas Guillerat, John Scheid, and Milan Melocco, Ancient Rome: Infographics (Thames & Hudson, 2021), 74-75. It shows income from tax revenues on the left and expenditures on the right for things like public works, the annona grain dole, the Praetorian Guard, loan repayment, the military, administration, and public games and entertainments.

Infographic showing the various objects of a Roman legionary's equipment that would be carried on march in the 1st and 2nd c. CE, based on an infographic from Nicolas Guillerat, John Scheid, and Milan Melocco, Ancient Rome: Infographics (Thames & Hudson, 2021), 91

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Nathan Melson @nsmelson.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

Procopius's Secret History, but only if it's directed by Armando Iannuci.

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Nathan Melson @nsmelson.bsky.social · 29/07/2026

One thing I love about Marseille's notaries—especially this one, Laurent Aycard—is that they tend to doodle or decorate their registers and the initial capitals of their acts (in the long-form extensoirs, at least). Aycard organized his registers w/ letters. This is the beginning of "Register O."

A capital O that looks a bit like a woman wearing a headscarf, but has consummate-V teeth and stippling on the chin and around the mouth, suggesting the stubble of a beard. Beneath is a second, less ornamented and longer face, similarly decorated.

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Nathan Melson @nsmelson.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

For many years, I had this image of a 'stereotypical medieval manor' from William Shepherd's Historical Atlas (1923) in my teaching powerpoints. A few years ago, I decided that I wanted something clearer and more hi-res, so I pulled it into Adobe Illustrator and rebuilt it.

An image of a "stereotypical" medieval manor from William R. Shepherd, Historical Atlas, (Henry Holt and Company, 1923), showing a three-field system, common pasture, meadow, woodland, and waste land.

Modernized version of the "stereotypical" medieval manor from William Shepherd's Historical Atlas (1923) showing a three-field system, common pasture, meadow, woodland, and waste land.

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Nathan Melson @nsmelson.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

I did this years ago on Twitter, but, here's a list of tools/utilities that every medievalist show know about and have bookmarked: #medievalsky

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