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Joëlle

@realrollo-koster.bsky.social
185 followers 211 following 79 posts

Medieval historian , professor emerita of medieval history at the University of Rhode Island, specialist of the cultures of the Avignon papacy and the Great Western Schism. Interested in all things medieval.

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Joëlle @realrollo-koster.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Pope Leo gave a Golden Rose to Lourdes, I had to say something: theconversation.com/what-1-000-y...
theconversation.com
What 1,000 years of golden roses tell us about popes’ authority and influence, from Leo IX to Leo XIV
Popes have bestowed golden roses on warriors, rulers, women – and, increasingly in recent decades, shrines.
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Joëlle @realrollo-koster.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
My thoughts on medieval rebellions theconversation.com/the-uprising...
theconversation.com
‘The Uprising’ shows how medieval people weren’t so obedient after all
The English Peasants’ Revolt of 1381 wasn’t an isolated outburst. Across medieval Europe, ordinary people challenged the authority of rulers who failed to live up to their end of the bargain.
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Joëlle @realrollo-koster.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
excellent post.... getting no traction.... www.nytimes.com/2026/08/04/o...
nytimes.com
Opinion | I’m Begging You: Never Write With A.I. (Gift Article)
It’s bad for your brain and worse for democracy.
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Joëlle @realrollo-koster.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
more work on smell, this time the papal Golden Rose, appears in the August issue of the prestigious Burlington Magazine, including the cover. August 2026 Vol. 168 | No. 1481
Image of Cluny's Golden Rose (c. 1334) and of Richental's chronicle of the Council of Constance. King Sigismund rides through town holding the Rose.
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Joëlle @realrollo-koster.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
My new article on the use of musk (fragrance) at the medieval papal court is out. storicamente.org/rollo-koster...
storicamente.org
Musk at the Papal Court in the Middle Ages
Questo articolo indaga l’uso cerimoniale del muschio alla corte papale, concentrandosi sul suo ruolo nelle principali tradizioni liturgiche dal Medioevo alla prima età moderna. Il muschio, un aroma ra...
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Joëlle @realrollo-koster.bsky.social · 26/07/2026
Avignon papacy, again bookinlight.com/five-best-bo...
bookinlight.com
Five Best Books on the Avignon Papacy for Serious Readers - Book in Light
A serious guide to the best books on the Avignon Papacy, from modern surveys and classic institutional history to Clement V, Clement VI, and papal authority.
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Joëlle @realrollo-koster.bsky.social · 16/05/2026
My response to everything I read in April on the Avignon papacy ...and made my eyes roll... bsky.app/profile/medi...
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Joëlle @realrollo-koster.bsky.social · 15/04/2026
My long view on pope vs king/president “Trump's clash with the pope reenacts a 1,000-year-old question: What happens when sacred and secular power collide?” theconversation.com/trumps-clash...
theconversation.com
Trump’s clash with the pope reenacts a 1,000-year-old question: What happens when sacred and secular power collide?
From its earliest centuries, Christianity was bound up with politics, with frequent tensions between government power and religious authority.
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Joëlle @realrollo-koster.bsky.social · 13/04/2026
Starting a series on Medievalists.net to highlight the books that framed the new medieval historiography. I started with Marc Bloch's Feudal Society www.medievalists.net/2026/04/marc...
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Joëlle @realrollo-koster.bsky.social · 12/04/2026
My girl was watching the news on Hungary's election....and then celebrated!
my dog, a shepherd mix holding a toy in her mouth...that she has destroyed
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Joëlle @realrollo-koster.bsky.social · 10/04/2026
For anyone who has read about the Pentagon's use of the "Avignon Papacy" against the pope....THEY KNOW NOTHING ABOUT THE AVIGNON PAPACY. And the journalists reporting on it even less. I know about the Avignon papacy....and I am pissed that it is weaponized. newrepublic.com/post/208820/...
newrepublic.com
Pentagon Threatened the Pope After He Criticized Trump
It was so bad that Pope Leo changed his plans to travel to the U.S.
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Joëlle @realrollo-koster.bsky.social · 10/04/2026
Why do I think Nazi architecture when I see this? and being French I should think Arc de Triomphe?
AI rendering image of Trump proposed triumphal arc with golden angels and eagles on top
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Joëlle @realrollo-koster.bsky.social · 23/02/2026
The only happy happy living in RI right now...never seen that much snow....
happy German shepherd in the snow!
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Joëlle @realrollo-koster.bsky.social · 26/01/2026
Notre Dame January 2019 and June 2025. From roughly the same spot across the Seine River. She is still standing. Thats the most important.
Notre Dame Cathedral in January 2019 before the fire that almost destroyed it. Photo was taken from the other side of the Seine River, at end of the day while she was illuminated.More or less the same angle taken from the other side of the Seine river, in June 2025 after she reopened. Crane and scaffolding supporting her.
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Joëlle @realrollo-koster.bsky.social · 25/01/2026
www.medievalists.net/2026/01/mont...
medievalists.net
Montaillou to ICE: The Medieval Roots of Snitching - Medievalists.net
Historian Joëlle Rollo-Koster explores how denunciation and “snitching” helped power the medieval Inquisition, and why similar dynamics of reporting and surveillance still matter today.
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Joëlle @realrollo-koster.bsky.social · 22/01/2026
Now Sénanque...I have nothing recent from the Thoronet....
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Joëlle @realrollo-koster.bsky.social · 22/01/2026
Silvacane...so sorry for yesterday's mistake!
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Joëlle @realrollo-koster.bsky.social · 27/12/2025
Sanary sur Mer....
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Joëlle @realrollo-koster.bsky.social · 20/11/2025
Continuing on the medieval potato, in today's "news world" why not! if we repeat an untruth long enough it becomes truth right? Here, the add for "Medieval Times..."
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Joëlle @realrollo-koster.bsky.social · 19/11/2025
I am assuming the US is aware of this: www.franceinfo.fr/internet/elo...
franceinfo.fr
L'enquête sur la plateforme X étendue à des "propos négationnistes" publiés par son IA, Grok
Dans la publication visée, Grok affirme notamment que les chambres à gaz du camp d'extermination nazi d'Auschwitz ont été "conçues pour la désinfection au Zyklon B contre le typhus (...) plutôt qu'à d...
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Joëlle @realrollo-koster.bsky.social · 19/11/2025
I was really looking forward to King and Conqueror...and then, episode 2, at around 28 minutes, appeared...the medieval potato...to accompany rabbit. Ragout de lapin aux pommes de terre à la manière de Flandre!
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Joëlle @realrollo-koster.bsky.social · 27/07/2025
theconversation.com/la-surprenan...
theconversation.com
La surprenante indépendance des femmes du Moyen Âge : ce que nous apprennent leurs testaments
Dans les villes européennes du début du Moyen Âge, les droits des femmes se sont étendus. Les testaments sont parmi les rares documents que les femmes ont quelquefois dicté elles-mêmes au notaire.
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Joëlle @realrollo-koster.bsky.social · 21/05/2025
Windows are the No. 1 human threat to birds – an ecologist shares some simple steps to reduce collisions theconversation.com/windows-are-...
theconversation.com
Windows are the No. 1 human threat to birds – an ecologist shares some simple steps to reduce collisions
Cats aren’t the only bird hazard around your home. More than 1 billion birds die each year from hitting windows, often during migration.
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Reposted by Joëlle
Medievalist.net @medievalists.bsky.social · 18/05/2025
How Popes Died in the Middle Ages: Ritual, Power, and Performance, by @realrollo-koster.bsky.social‬ www.medievalists.net/2025/05/pope... #Papacy #Medieval #History
medievalists.net
How Popes Died in the Middle Ages: Ritual, Power, and Performance - Medievalists.net
What happened when a pope died in the Middle Ages? Behind the closed doors of Rome and Avignon, elaborate rituals unfolded—blending faith, politics, and performance to preserve the illusion that the…
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Joëlle @realrollo-koster.bsky.social · 17/05/2025
In the Middle Ages popes went to war. Today they hit the gym: www.ilmessaggero.it/en/the_pope_...
ilmessaggero.it
The Pope's Secret Workout Regimen
The health of Leo XIV? "For a man of his age, he has an exceptional physical condition, typical of someone who has never stopped playing sports, with an excellent ratio of muscle mass, bone mass, and....
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Joëlle @realrollo-koster.bsky.social · 10/05/2025
#pope #LeoXIV #LeoXIII Am I the only one who sees the resemblance?
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Joëlle @realrollo-koster.bsky.social · 08/05/2025
7 am! Full of it…
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Medievalist.net @medievalists.bsky.social · 08/05/2025
Joëlle Rollo-Koster on Papal Elections www.medievalists.net/2022/07/chal... #Papacy #Popes #History
medievalists.net
“Stop the Steal!”: Challenging an election, medieval style - Medievalists.net
Today, the United States and other democratic countries are dealing with fundamental challenges to their electoral systems. Can events from the year 1378 give us some insights into what is a…
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Joëlle @realrollo-koster.bsky.social · 27/04/2025
Love the live shows at the Leeds ‘ Armoury
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Joëlle @realrollo-koster.bsky.social · 27/04/2025
Having an absolute blast at the Armoury in Leeds. Worth a trip just for it.
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Joëlle @realrollo-koster.bsky.social · 25/04/2025
Le pape François et l'amour des livres : une révolution silencieuse dans l’Église ? theconversation.com/le-pape-fran...
theconversation.com
Le pape François et l'amour des livres : une révolution silencieuse dans l’Église ?
Le pape François a valorisé la pratique de la lecture comme outil d’émancipation et d’ouverture au monde, loin de toute prescription normative.
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Joëlle @realrollo-koster.bsky.social · 25/04/2025
At the airport, flying to Leeds, UK, to discuss conclave pillaging. This happened in Providence yesterday. www.providencejournal.com/story/news/p...
providencejournal.com
ICE activity at Rhode Island Hospital draws protesters. What we know.
A man in ICE custody was brought to the hospital, and the agency's presence drew a crowd of protesters.
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Joëlle @realrollo-koster.bsky.social · 23/04/2025
My bit in the ProJo www.providencejournal.com/story/news/l...
providencejournal.com
'A shining and powerful example of the mercy of God': RI Catholics react to Pope Francis' death.
Rhode Islanders recall being touched by Pope Francis' advocacy for migrants and victims of the war in Gaza, and his openness to the modern era.
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Reposted by Joëlle
The Conversation France @france.theconversation.com · 23/04/2025
🔑 Le décès du pape François relance le conclave, un rituel né au Moyen Âge. @realrollo-koster.bsky.social décrypte ce système codifié sur The Conversation France. Lire l’article : urlr.me/ET3Msg #Conclave #Vatican #Histoire #Église #TheConversation #Pape
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Joëlle @realrollo-koster.bsky.social · 16/04/2025
Good night! Bonne nuit….
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Joëlle @realrollo-koster.bsky.social · 13/04/2025
For the one interested in the Cambridge History of the Papacy, Cambridge offers a 20% rebate until January 2025, enter CHTP2025 when checking out. Fear not, the editors and contributors are basically getting no royalties.
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Joëlle @realrollo-koster.bsky.social · 13/04/2025
The 3 volumes of the Cambridge History of the papacy are out
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Joëlle @realrollo-koster.bsky.social · 12/04/2025
a doggy in the Rosselli missal...
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Jay Rubenstein @medievaljay.bsky.social · 11/04/2025
Reminds me “young man Lenin” pins, which were quite popular in the USSR.
Lapel pin, red star with the face of a young man (V. I. Lenin), rather rakish hair. I preferred the one where he is wearing a cap, but couldn’t find a picture of that style
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Joëlle @realrollo-koster.bsky.social · 07/04/2025
Blanchisseuses, putains ou nonnes : les femmes dans l’Avignon des papes au Moyen Âge theconversation.com/blanchisseus...
theconversation.com
Blanchisseuses, putains ou nonnes : les femmes dans l’Avignon des papes au Moyen Âge
Quelle place avaient les femmes à la cour papale, au Moyen Âge ? Une étude historiographique montre que si elles n’étaient pas des figures de pouvoir, elles étaient indispensables au quotidien de la c...
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Joëlle @realrollo-koster.bsky.social · 01/04/2025
Is it being truly successful when The Onion basically used some of your historical research? theonion.com/cardinals-be...
theonion.com
Cardinals Begin Placing Stickers On Vatican Relics They Want When Pope Francis Dies
VATICAN CITY—With many remarking that they’d had their eyes on the holy artifacts since they first saw them, cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church reportedly began placing stickers this week on the V...
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Joëlle @realrollo-koster.bsky.social · 28/03/2025
How so medieval!! down to the tiny village looking for fame... apnews.com/article/indi...
apnews.com
It was bacteria — not a miracle — on a Communion wafer in Indiana church
It turns out there's nothing miraculous about red marks found on a communion host at a Catholic church in Indiana. The discovery at St.
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Joëlle @realrollo-koster.bsky.social · 23/03/2025
Lost our Elliott on Thursday. My atheist self hope that he is in the big animal heaven with all of our loved ones...
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Jon Sneider @jonsneider.bsky.social · 06/12/2024
Thread. I feel like most are under-freaking out. The new regime is planning a full-on autocratic attack on our democratic laws, rules and norms from moment one. We're going to see so many bad things happen so fast it's going to be overwhelming...which is the point. "Flood the zone with shit"
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Joëlle @realrollo-koster.bsky.social · 08/03/2025
Gifts that live on, from best bodices to money for bridge repairs: Women’s wills in medieval France give a glimpse into their surprising independence theconversation.com/gifts-that-l...
theconversation.com
Gifts that live on, from best bodices to money for bridge repairs: Women’s wills in medieval France give a glimpse into their surprising independence
European women’s rights expanded in early medieval cities, though they were still limited. Last wills and testaments were some of the few documents women could dictate themselves.
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Joëlle @realrollo-koster.bsky.social · 25/02/2025
Honoring medieval women for the coming Women's History month. theconversation.com/butchers-bak...
theconversation.com
Butchers, bakers, candlestick-makers − and prostitutes: The women working behind the scenes in papal Avignon
Women’s work may not have been glamorous, but it was vital to the workings of the pope’s court and surrounding city.
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Joëlle @realrollo-koster.bsky.social · 25/02/2025
I am officially a debunker! checkyourfact.com/2025/02/21/f...
checkyourfact.com
FACT CHECK: Claimed Prophecy About Pope Francis Is Bunk
Check Your Fact
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Joëlle @realrollo-koster.bsky.social · 08/02/2025
theconversation.com/medieval-eur...
theconversation.com
Medieval Europe was far from democratic, but that didn’t mean tyrants got a free pass
Medieval Europeans thought about politics in terms of leadership and often criticized rulers for ‘tyranny’ − both in government and in the church.
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Joëlle @realrollo-koster.bsky.social · 15/11/2024
If you saw Conclave: theconversation.com/papal-electi...
theconversation.com
Papal elections aren’t always as dramatic as ‘Conclave’ – but the history behind the process is
The conclave system may seem dramatic, but it was developed after centuries of outside interference and looting.
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