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Dr Irina Manea

@shieldofskuld.bsky.social
407 followers 143 following 287 posts

Viking historian navigating the seas between precarious academia and public engagement. Uni Signum | Uni Chester

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Dr Irina Manea @shieldofskuld.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Eggers does manage to create a very distinct atmospheric folk horror, although far from Bergman’s philosophical musings - impossible to pull off with today’s audience anyway. #medievalsky
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Dr Irina Manea @shieldofskuld.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
poor Völsi
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Dr Irina Manea @shieldofskuld.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
The questions that truly matter. #medievalsky #vikingsky shieldofskuld.substack.com/p/did-the-no...
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Dr Irina Manea @shieldofskuld.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Yep, the only one I can forgive for turning the Middle Ages into brown smudge is Eggers who uses these tones in a more coherent folk horror concept. #medievalsky
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Dr Irina Manea @shieldofskuld.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
The Dragsholm Mesolithic and Neolithic burials (Zealand, Denmark) are a superb case study of place and memory shieldofskuld.substack.com/p/a-tale-of-... #ancientsky
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Dr Irina Manea @shieldofskuld.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Had to use the unfortunate term "religion" but the conceptual difficulties will be addressed in the very first session :D Lots of fun topics! blackberry.signumuniversity.org/space/module... #medievalsky #vikingsky
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Dr Irina Manea @shieldofskuld.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
No, it's a way to make a penny when you don't have a permanent job ;) And (still) a great platform overall.
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Dr Irina Manea @shieldofskuld.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
I write these essays on Substack so ...
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Dr Irina Manea @shieldofskuld.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
#vikingsky Sorcerous textile workers! shieldofskuld.substack.com/p/women-of-t...
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Dr Irina Manea @shieldofskuld.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
#medievalsky shieldofskuld.substack.com/p/songs-wrap...
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Dr Irina Manea @shieldofskuld.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
I think regardless of what one does. The moment it starts feeling like work (or is work :)) )
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Dr Irina Manea @shieldofskuld.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
When fed up with the Viking age, you try out the prehistoric archaeologist outfit :)) Or at least hold a general class on the topic learning as you go! blackberry.signumuniversity.org/space/module... #ancientsky #medievalsky
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Dr Irina Manea @shieldofskuld.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
Overcoming the "elite warrior cult" rubbish and "people lived healthier back in the day" if you survived blood poisoning from a tooth infection shieldofskuld.substack.com/p/jaws-the-v... #medievalsky #vikingsky
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Dr Irina Manea @shieldofskuld.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
A principle that still stands: “If anything in this book is wrong or omitted, do not blame me, but rather the paucity of the sources.” (prologue to Thietmar of Merseburg’s Chronicon) #medievalsky
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Dr Irina Manea @shieldofskuld.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
15th-century luxury: Flemish book of hours #medievalsky
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Dr Irina Manea @shieldofskuld.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
Exploring the lives of (more or less historical!) Norse women in this Substack series shieldofskuld.substack.com/p/women-of-t... #medievalsky #vikingsky
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Dr Irina Manea @shieldofskuld.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
Rambling about York for almost half an hour! Insights into daily life mostly #vikingsky #medievalsky youtu.be/OCScoRNadFI
youtu.be
The real Viking kingdom of York: a glimpse into daily life in Jorvik
YouTube video by SKULD
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Dr Irina Manea @shieldofskuld.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
sheep search for food on a scorched pasture near Piedralaves, west of Madrid scorched landscape near Vila Vella, in Spain’s València province low-lying vegetation ablaze in Krya Vrysi, Rethymno, Crete
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Dr Irina Manea @shieldofskuld.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
photos (the Guardian): pyrocumulonimbus, or ‘fire cloud’, in the Fontainebleau forest region, France controlled burning to halt a wildfire near Cebreros, Ávila province, Spain
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Dr Irina Manea @shieldofskuld.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
Such stanzas poetically echo the climate disaster into which we’ve been sleepwalking in the past decades. Record after record broken, unbearable heatwaves, irreparable destruction of both natural and human habitat. We’ve endorsed an economic system that is, in the long run, incompatible with life.
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Dr Irina Manea @shieldofskuld.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
“Surt comes from the south with branches-ruin, the slaughter-gods’ sun glances from his sword; rocky cliffs clash together, and the troll-women are abroad, heroes tread the hell-road and the sky splits apart.” Völuspá 51, transl. C. Larrington
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Dr Irina Manea @shieldofskuld.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
A compilation of fascinating Viking discoveries 2023-2025! youtu.be/oWz-fWwyr5g
youtu.be
Three years of stunning Viking discoveries | Full series 2023-2025
YouTube video by SKULD
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Dr Irina Manea @shieldofskuld.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
The Odyssey is notoriously difficult to put on screen because of its structure and scope youtu.be/0VEC7HfSnYU?... #ancientsky
youtu.be
You need to know this about the Odyssey before you watch Nolan's movie
YouTube video by SKULD
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Dr Irina Manea @shieldofskuld.bsky.social · 06/07/2026
Medieval football was not for the faint-hearted substack.com/@shieldofsku... #medievalsky
substack.com
Medieval football could get you killed
Not a game for the faint-hearted
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Dr Irina Manea @shieldofskuld.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
#vikingsky #medievalsky
youtu.be
Five Indispensable Objects that Shaped the Viking World
YouTube video by SKULD
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Dr Irina Manea @shieldofskuld.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
Yes, I know the comparison between the discoveries is relatively inadequate because there were different groups in different times, but I was aiming for a more generalist view of Celtic presence. Now I have to do at least two follow-ups :))) youtu.be/cbnsMgbGVeM #ancientsky #medievalsky
youtu.be
Sensational Celtic burial uncovered in central Germany!
YouTube video by SKULD
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Dr Irina Manea @shieldofskuld.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
Weapons! #ancientsky #medievalsky youtu.be/ETNE-gw4AG0?...
youtu.be
Spectacular gold-decorated lances are Denmark's oldest iron objects
YouTube video by SKULD
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Dr Irina Manea @shieldofskuld.bsky.social · 21/06/2026
Exposing THOR with @archaeodeathprof.bsky.social youtu.be/LqF2grehXJw #vikingsky #medievalsky
youtu.be
Thor the Powerhead | A deep-dive into the Norse mythology of THOR!
YouTube video by SKULD
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Dr Irina Manea @shieldofskuld.bsky.social · 19/06/2026
Can't get used to posting here. The amount of socials is too overwhelming and I keep forgetting :( #medievalsky youtu.be/3fIrfmlCY0Y
youtu.be
The incredible Carolingian history hidden in plain sight
YouTube video by SKULD
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Dr Irina Manea @shieldofskuld.bsky.social · 31/05/2026
Horses may have been domesticated much earlier than we thought! I discuss the latest research in this video: #prehistory youtu.be/izDejGnKq4k
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Reposted by Dr Irina Manea
Medievalist.net @medievalists.bsky.social · 26/05/2026
Starting June 10th: Norse Myth and Legend in The Saga of the Volsungs, taught by @shieldofskuld.bsky.social - sign up at medievalstudies.thinkific.com/courses/vols... #norse #vikingsky #medievalsky
medievalstudies.thinkific.com
Norse Myth and Legend in the Saga of the Volsungs
Trace the rise and ruin of a legendary family line in The Saga of the Volsungs in this interactive course. Through chapter reading and discussion each week, explore one of the most powerful and…
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Dr Irina Manea @shieldofskuld.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
6th-century drinking horn mounts found at Taplow, Buckinghamshire. This is what they would have looked like on a large drinking horn. The silver-gilt and niello mounts consist of a bird head terminal with ribbing, and a rim band with human and rosette motifs. #medievalsky
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Dr Irina Manea @shieldofskuld.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
Also started putting together a brief documentation about the historical sites I visit in my region! Here you have one of the best-preserved castles in Germany (and Europe) that you've probably never heard of #medievalsky youtu.be/JGFhaq5ZpZI
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Dr Irina Manea @shieldofskuld.bsky.social · 15/05/2026
Whoever made it was a skilled professional - it may not be clear at first glance (or second or third for that matter) but the middle of the design includes two animal figures in profile facing each other or maybe a human head with an animal body, a popular blend at the time.
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Dr Irina Manea @shieldofskuld.bsky.social · 15/05/2026
A hiker found this richly decorated 1,500-year-old gold sword scabbard in southwest Norway! It once adorned the sword of an elite warrior and is worn, a clear sign it was used many times before. #vikingsky #medievalsky
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Dr Irina Manea @shieldofskuld.bsky.social · 13/05/2026
So did it work? Yeah, not really. In a tragic-comical paradox of history, the Vikings found them so appealing that they equipped them with loops to wear them as jewellery. Photo: Søren Greve/National Museum of Denmark
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Dr Irina Manea @shieldofskuld.bsky.social · 13/05/2026
On the obverse, we can see the lamb of god pierced by a cross, symbolising Christ’s sacrifice, also featuring the letters alpha and omega; while on the reverse, the ascending dove stands for the Holy Spirit.
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Dr Irina Manea @shieldofskuld.bsky.social · 13/05/2026
Worn out by Viking raids, King Aethelred attempted at the beginning of the 11th century to mobilise society by minting some very special and extremely rare coins with Christian motifs. Two of them have been found in Jutland, Denmark.
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Dr Irina Manea @shieldofskuld.bsky.social · 13/05/2026
they're Viking age but more specific than that ...
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Dr Irina Manea @shieldofskuld.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
Two magnificent gold brooches from Hornelund, southwestern Jutland, Denmark, about 9 cm in diameter. The imagery is definitely intriguing: on the left, vines and leaves, which are quite common in Christian art, on the right, very Norse-looking animal heads. #medievalsky
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Dr Irina Manea @shieldofskuld.bsky.social · 25/04/2026
Animals and face masks intertwined. Morphing into one another. Artistic and spiritual union. Silver-gilt square-headed brooch from Grave 22, early 6th century, Chessell Down, Early Anglo-Saxon, Isle of Wight #medievalsky
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Dr Irina Manea @shieldofskuld.bsky.social · 24/04/2026
Are sunstones a wee bit overrated? If they existed at all in the Viking age. shieldofskuld.substack.com/p/how-did-th...
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Dr Irina Manea @shieldofskuld.bsky.social · 24/04/2026
A 7th-century horse-shaped fibula from the Uppåkra site in Sweden. Symmetry seems to have played a central part in ornamentation. Notice the doubled animal that tends to shape an eight form. #medievalsky
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Reposted by Dr Irina Manea
Ursula K. Le Guin Bot @leguinbot.bsky.social · 13/04/2026
We live in capitalism. Its power seems inescapable. So did the divine right of kings. Any human power can be resisted and changed by human beings. Resistance and change often begin in art, and very often in our art, the art of words.
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Dr Irina Manea @shieldofskuld.bsky.social · 24/04/2026
The greater fibula of the 5th-century Gothic hoard found at Pietroasele (Buzau county, Romania). #medievalsky
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Dr Irina Manea @shieldofskuld.bsky.social · 20/04/2026
This was never meant to be an instrument to “democratise” education and research. It is the wrecking ball of the tech oligarchy that’s destroying the very fabric of society.
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Dr Irina Manea @shieldofskuld.bsky.social · 20/04/2026
But alas, a new opportunity has arisen in gig economy. Not only has this abomination been feeding off the knowledge we’re providing freely, now we can just digitally dig our own graves by selling human expertise until the AI is considered suitable enough to replace it entirely.
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Dr Irina Manea @shieldofskuld.bsky.social · 20/04/2026
Plenty of us with a history PhD are confined to precarious positions or had to do smth else entirely while trying to remain relevant academically, especially when choosing very small fields with extreme competition, and a difficult system if you don’t have the “right” prerequisites and connections.
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Dr Irina Manea @shieldofskuld.bsky.social · 20/04/2026
My blood is boiling.
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Dr Irina Manea @shieldofskuld.bsky.social · 18/04/2026
This might be the oldest ship burial in Scandinavia youtu.be/CJPmBP1Dm_o
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