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Rachel A. Fletcher

@rafletcher.bsky.social

1.3K followers 288 following 131 posts

Leiden University. Working on the reception of Old English in 19th-century Europe. Dictionary enthusiast.

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Rachel A. Fletcher @rafletcher.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

Interested in the history of #OldEnglish scholarship? @emgallimore.bsky.social, Thijs Porck and I will be editing a volume on OE in the long 19th century; if you'd like to contribute a chapter, the deadline for abstracts is 1 Sept 2026, first full drafts due Sept 2027. Spread the word! #medievalsky

Call for Contributions
Dynamics of Old English Scholarship in the Long Nineteenth Century: Discoveries, Disputes and the Development of a Discipline
ed. Rachel A. Fletcher, Ellen Gallimore & Thijs Porck
The long nineteenth century (1786–1914) was a dynamic and transformative period for the scholarly study of Old English.
The legacies of nineteenth-century scholarship remain deeply embedded in the study of Old English today. As a result, contemporary scholars must engage not only with early medieval language and literature itself, but also with the intellectual and ideological lenses through which nineteenth-century scholars recovered, edited and interpreted this material.
We hope to bring together a peer-reviewed edited volume with papers on various aspects of the scholarly study of Old English in the long nineteenth century, with an additional focus on European continental
contributions in line with the ERC-project EMERGENCE (‘Early Medieval English in NineteenthCentury Europe’). Proposals for chapter contributions of c. 8000 words are welcome from scholars from all academic backgrounds. First drafts full drafts are due at the end of September 2027.
Possible topics/themes include but are not limited to:
- Discoveries of Old English texts
- Disputes about linguistic or literary interpretations of Old English
- Developments in the discipline of Old English studies
- Personal, religious, political and ideological motivations for the study of Old English
- Biographical contributions about scholars of Old English
- Scholarly correspondence on Old English matters
- Editing and printing of Old English texts
- Teaching of Old English
Please send an abstract (500 words) and short bio (150 words) to Rachel A. Fletcher
(r.a.fletcher@hum.leidenuniv.nl), Ellen Gallimore (ellen.gallimore@york.ac.uk) and Thijs Porck (m.h.porck@hum.leidenuniv.nl) before 1 September 2026.

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Rachel A. Fletcher @rafletcher.bsky.social · 25/02/2026

Like Old English, dictionaries, and/or nineteenth century scholarship? Save the date for an online event celebrating Joseph Bosworth and his Old English dictionary. Register (free!) here: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

Joseph Bosworth & Old English Studies:
Then, Now and the Future
(21 May 2026, 16:00-19:00 CEST / 10:00-13:00 EDT)
An online academic memorial event reflecting on the continuing impact of Joseph
Bosworth († 27 May 1876) and his Old English dictionary on the field of Old English
Studies. The programme will consist of a series of 20-minute papers and a roundtable.
Confirmed speakers include:
• Dabney Bankert (James Madison University)
• Rachel A. Fletcher (Leiden University)
• Thijs Porck (Leiden University)
• Christine Rauer (University of St Andrews)
• Ondřej Tichý (Charles University, Prague)
• Madeleine Thompson (Anthropic, author of the Bosworth-Toller smartphone app)
For more information (or joining the roundtable) you can contact the organisers by
sending an e-mail to Rachel A. Fletcher (r.a.fletcher@hum.leidenuniv.nl ).
Attendance is free, but please let us know you are coming by filling out this registration form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScj3hMvrYe6vVzQlTWsFyNmgQ44jWkTUyL8ZDlxnF6E6btZJg/viewform
Organisers: Rachel A. Fletcher, Thijs Porck, Christine Rauer and Ondřej Tichý
This event is is part of a project that has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon Europe
research and innovation program (EMERGENCE, Grant agreement No.101115867, https://doi.org/10.3030/101115867 ). Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Research Council Executive Agency. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.

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Rachel A. Fletcher @rafletcher.bsky.social · 14/12/2025

Speaking as a linguist, I just feel this knock-off Labubu should be spikier, somehow...

The packaging for a "Surprise Makiki Doll with keychain". In defiance of the bouba-kiki effect, the Makiki has large round eyes and rounded features.

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Rachel A. Fletcher @rafletcher.bsky.social · 06/07/2025

Have made it to @imc-leeds.bsky.social - if you're following me here, come and say hello if you see me! (Also, obligatory self-promotion: I and my excellent colleagues are speaking on Thursday if you are interested in the 19th-century reception of Old English.)

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Rachel A. Fletcher @rafletcher.bsky.social · 29/01/2025

Delightful serendipitous discovery this afternoon: dictionary-themed lightbox art! (By Alexej Tchernyi, at Grimmwelt, Kassel)

An artwork made from backlit cut paper, with a bright background and dark foreground. On the left of the image, lexicographers are working in a room full of books; on the right is a landscape with trees.

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Rachel A. Fletcher @rafletcher.bsky.social · 06/09/2024

Guess who got to see a real life book wheel today and is unreasonably excited about it?

The interior of a 17th-century library featuring a wooden book wheel, consisting of four revolving shelves.

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Rachel A. Fletcher @rafletcher.bsky.social · 13/08/2024

Just stopping by to share the joy of tiny library with tiny books (including tiny dictionary-in-a-locket). In Huis van het Boek, The Hague.

A glass-fronted wooden cabinet containing a doll's-house-sized library.

A tiny red book, maybe 2-3cm tall, with "Bryce's English Dictionary" in gold letters on the cover, sitting in an open rectangular metal case. Below is a similar case, closed. Both cases have rings at the top and round windows in the front.

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Rachel A. Fletcher @rafletcher.bsky.social · 20/07/2024

Moving to a new country is incredibly stressful and incredibly expensive, but I am a 40min bike ride away from this view, which helps a fair bit.

A view of the sea in evening light, photographed from the top of a sand dune.

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Rachel A. Fletcher @rafletcher.bsky.social · 21/04/2024

For the egg-loving mediaevalist in your life. (I have not stopped giggling at their little faces ever since I saw it this afternoon.)

An egg-holder shaped like a group of six monks with cartoonish expressions. The top of each monk figure has an indentation to hold an egg, so that the egg forms the prominent bald head of the monk above his tonsure.

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Rachel A. Fletcher @rafletcher.bsky.social · 27/01/2024

No fruit stall on the market today, but I'll accept unexpected Molly dancers as a fair substitute.

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Rachel A. Fletcher @rafletcher.bsky.social · 10/01/2024

Very excited for the (very expensive) present to myself that arrived this afternoon! (I spent most of my PhD in a state of mingled anticipation and dread of its eventual publication because I really wanted to read it but was terrified of how much rewriting it would prompt.)

The front cover of a book, titled "Philology in Turbulent Times: Joseph Bosworth, His Dictionary, and the Recovery of Old English", by Dabney A. Bankert.

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Rachel A. Fletcher @rafletcher.bsky.social · 07/11/2023

Pictured: normal things to be contemplating of an evening. (Photo courtesy of my mother, whose text updates about the progress of her medlars started me on this.)

Two trays of small medlars, round brown fruits with a large open calyx.

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