iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Sara Charles @saracharles.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Look what my fantastically talented and lovely friend @eleanormaybaker.bsky.social has been up to! This is SO exciting 🙌

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Kenneth F. Duggan 🇨🇦 @kfduggan.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Medieval Hunting Deaths: A Thread Hunting could be very dangerous (not just for animals) in the Middle Ages. Accidents happened and everyone from kings and earls to lowly peasants could be killed by a stray arrow, a hanging branch or a wild animal defending itself. 🧵7

A man in blue awkwardly holds a bow in front of him. He appears to have misfired the arrow, which is up near his face and facing the wrong way.

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Lorraine Mulholland @lorraineelizab6.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Another shout out today on the 1 year anniversary of @saracharles.bsky.social wonderful book in paperback (out 2 years in hardback)! Published by @reaktionbooks.bsky.social. This book really is fantastic. 🥳🎂 #medievalsky

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Sara Charles @saracharles.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

It was very nice to come face-to-face with little Hugo Pictor today (MS Bodl. 717, fol. 287v). Unusually for a medieval scribe, Hugo is depicted as left-handed. He was also on the front cover of my book! #bookhistory #medievalsky

An image of a seated scribe with a quill dipped into an ink pot in his left hand and a knife in his right hand, held over a book on a stand. The scribe is in a blue robe with a tonsure

Full page of medieval manuscript with the image of a scribe in the bottom right

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School of Advanced Study, University of London @sas-news.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

The @ihr.bsky.social, @senatehouselib.bsky.social and SAS are excited to announce that bookings are now open for History Day 2026! 🥳 Save the date for Wednesday 18 November and join us in Senate House for this celebration of all things history. Book your free place: bit.ly/4yw4zWt

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Miles, knitting screaming agony werewolf @queermedieval.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

I love librarians everyone say thank you librarians

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Sara Charles @saracharles.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

That's so interesting, thank you!

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Sara Charles @saracharles.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

Also here is a Very Good Boy preaching to other Very Good Boys (Bodl. Libr., MS Douce 218, fol. 27r)

A dog on its hind legs standing at a lectern, seemingly preaching to other dogs. Surrounded by a letter Q in gold leaf

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Sara Charles @saracharles.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

I don’t know if these are butterflies but I love them ❤️ (Bodl. Libr., MS Douce 218, fol. 16v)

A medieval manuscript miniature showing two winged insects in an an initial C decorated in gold

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Sara Charles @saracharles.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

I just find the thought of Sadiq Khan driving a 2002 Nissan Micra really funny

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Sara Charles @saracharles.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

I always like being reminded of the parchment process - here’s some hair that wasn’t scraped off when it was stretched on the parchment frame (Bodleian Library, MS Digby 226, fol. 99r-v) #bookhistory

Folio from a thirteenth-century manuscript with the corner missing where the skin was cut from the parchment frame

Close up of the corner of the manuscript with animal hair still attached

Reverse side of folio showing animal hair against finger

Animal hair left on parchment shown against folio below

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Ennius @enniusredloeb.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

St. Paul receiving his writing implements Solothurn, Bischöfliches Archiv des Bistums Basel, Hs 1; Missale Basileense – Codex Gressly; second half of the 11th century; f.150v (www.e-codices.ch/en/list/one/...)

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Sara Charles @saracharles.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

Oh god, yes 🙈. Even with completely safe pigments like red ochre my youngest idiot manages to make a complete nuisance of himself

Ragdoll cat with red ochre pigment on face

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Sara Charles @saracharles.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

Well, you probably could before adding the copperas - medieval medical recipes suggest galls for stomach ailments. Galls taste absolutely FOUL so I think it's the old adage that if it tastes nasty it must be good for you. NB I am absolutely NOT endorsing drinking this 😆

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Sara Charles @saracharles.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

Continuing the process. After leaving for 8 days (stirring once a day), I filtered the wine through a linen cloth, discarded the galls and added copperas (ferrous sulphate). It has taken on a distinct sherry bouquet 🍷

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Karl Galle @karlgalle.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

This by @saracharles.bsky.social on medieval manuscript production was an excellent read, including an array of interesting details on inks, colors, fonts, parchments, book bindings, and the people & institutions behind them: bookshop.org/p/books/the-... @reaktionbooks.bsky.social

My paperback copy of Sara J. Charles, "The Medieval Scriptorium: Making Books in the Middle Ages"

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Sara Charles @saracharles.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

I'm so sorry 😿. What a lovely lady ❤️

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Sara Charles @saracharles.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

Crushed oak galls (there is more info in the alt text)

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Sara Charles @saracharles.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

Leaving the safety of the middle ages to try an early modern ink recipe. This one just uses pure wine instead of any rain water 🍾

Crushed oak galls in a mortar with pestle. To the right is a mason jar filled with white wine

Adding the crushed oak galls to the wine

The wine and gall mixture on the windowsill

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Catherine Clarke @cathamclarke.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

Referring you to my (open access) article in the journal Historical Research, which explains exactly why #AI can't do #history. Spoiler: it's about empathy, conscience and ethics (and more). AI tools can help us in our work, especially with big data, but... NO. academic.oup.com/histres/issu...

academic.oup.com

Volume 99 Issue 285 | Historical Research | Oxford Academic

Historical Research is a generalist history journal covering a broad geographical and temporal span. It encourages the submission of articles from a broad variety of appr...

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Ana de Oliveira Dias @ana0dias.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

It’s publication day 🎉🥳🎊 It’s available Open Access for anyone who wishes to read it.

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Sara Charles @saracharles.bsky.social · 01/08/2026

While wearing appropriately-themed attire 👍

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Mateusz Fafinski @calthalas.bsky.social · 29/07/2026

Half the planet is having a massive fight about how to correctly interpret an Ancient Greek poem but go ahead, close some more humanities departments.

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Kat Steiner @kastrel.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

Would people like a light-hearted Story from the Archives? In my case, the Bodleian's special collections reading room, which was at the time in the basement of the science library. It is entitled "Why Have You Given Me This Block of Wood?"

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Sara Charles @saracharles.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

Thank you for inviting me! They were a lovely class 😊

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Dr Eleanor Baker @eleanormaybaker.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

No summer school on book history would be complete without a pigment and illumination workshop from the outstanding @saracharles.bsky.social! The students absolutely LOVED it - look at their beautiful initials!

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Laura Cleaver @laurajcleaver.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

Or as I call it, the office.

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Sara Charles @saracharles.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

Very excited to be part of this international, interdisciplinary workshop on writing as a sacred act www.geschkult.fu-berlin.de/e/judaistik/... #shapingholiness

Conference programme for The Ethics of the Scribe workshop at Freie Universität, Berlin

Conference programme with list of speakers

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Catherine Clarke @cathamclarke.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

I'm delighted & proud that this article, based on my Historical Research Lecture 2025, is now published in its final form in the @ihr.bsky.social journal Historical Research. It's the 'Editor's Choice' (thanks, @saracharles.bsky.social!), so open access for 6 months. academic.oup.com/histres/arti...

academic.oup.com

Abstract. This article, a transcript of the 2025 Historical Research Lecture, re-visits the question of what makes history radical, asking what kind of rad

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Poor Frank Raw @poorfrankraw.co.uk · 11/07/2026

So, it's all about me is back on sale in the shop. One only, Welsh slate, inpainted, finished with slate oil, 25 x 20 x 3 cms. £290 inc UK shipping. www.poorfrankraw.co.uk/shop/index.h...

Hand carved #lettering on black Welsh slate. It's all about me.

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