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Kate Wiles

@katemond.bsky.social

7.6K followers 320 following 230 posts

Medievalist, linguist, manuscript botherer ❧ Co-Editor of History Today ☞ LOST VOICES (Penguin/Stanford, forthcoming, one day) ❧ Posting in a personal capacity ❡

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Kate Wiles @katemond.bsky.social · Nov 10

Hello friends old and new! On the Bad Old Place I did history, language, bad jokes, magazine stuff. Expect largely exactly the same here. I am what I am.

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Peter Tarras @petertarras.bsky.social · 9h

Mind-numbing how many layers of history there can be to a single manuscript page: Syriac upper text (10th c.), Armenian undertext (pre-10th c.), Arabic material used for binding (11-12th c.?), Coptic foliation in the margin (date?), modern foliation at the bottom. Image: Leiden UL Or. 14236, link ⬇️

Opened palimpsest codex (Leiden UL Or. 14236) with Syriac upper text and Armenian undertext. The upper text is written in black and red ink and decorated braided band patterns. There's also a fragment with Arabic on it between the two pages of the opened codex.

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Paintings of London @paintingsoflondon.bsky.social · 1d

'View from Senate House Library' (2014) by Melissa Scott-Miller
chrisbeetles.com/artwork/44604/view-from-senate-house-library

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Kate Wiles @katemond.bsky.social · 2d

Someone really should write a book about the long history of people coming over here and not having an a-level in English

András Forgács W @andraswf.bsky.social · 2d

Well this will certainly do it www.gov.uk/government/n...

Migrants will be required to pass A Level standard of English

Migrants will be required to pass tough new English language requirements under a law introduced in Parliament today.

www.gov.uk

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Kate Wiles @katemond.bsky.social · 2d

Suddenly learning languages is a desirable skill

Kate Wiles @katemond.bsky.social · 2d

jfc

András Forgács W @andraswf.bsky.social · 2d

Well this will certainly do it www.gov.uk/government/n...

Migrants will be required to pass A Level standard of English

Migrants will be required to pass tough new English language requirements under a law introduced in Parliament today.

www.gov.uk

Reposted by Kate Wiles

EMILY WILSON @emilyrcwilson.bsky.social · 5d

My essay collection focused on ancient literature and translation will be available for pre-order in the UK in October.

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☠️deadward niedermurder☠️ @niedermeyer.online · 6d

irresistible new elder millennial bait just dropped

ATIM Instant Messenger @atim.app · 6d

Sneak peek at a new client for Bluesky that is nearly ready for a beta release. atim.app

A classic 90s-style chat window between two users, Peggy and Joan, discussing getting a drink after work.

A classic 90s-style instant messenger friends window showing users, chats, and timelines.

A snapshot of a user's timeline feed in a 90s style window.

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Kate Wiles @katemond.bsky.social · 7d

It must be an issue with my institution then, because I've tried safari and chrome, cleared cookies and a private tab and none of them work. Sigh. Thanks for checking.

Kate Wiles @katemond.bsky.social · 7d

Oh. Hmm. Ever since the redesign I've had problems with it. I'll try clearing the cookies?? Thanks for checking!

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Kate Wiles @katemond.bsky.social · 7d

Is the OED broken again? I already have to use it in a private tab because for some reason the search doesn't work in a normal browser, and now it's not logging me in, even when it seems to accept my login details?

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Keith W. Dickinson @keithwdickinson.bsky.social · 8d

Today is a day when arts degrees are worthless, but the product of those degrees is so valuable it would kill an entire industry if they were made to pay for it.

The Verge @theverge.com · May 26

Nick Clegg says asking artists for use permission would ‘kill’ the AI industry

Paul McCartne, Elton John and others signed an open letter.

buff.ly

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Kate Wiles @katemond.bsky.social · 9d

Beyond Library!

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Paul Haine @paulhaine.bsky.social · 9d

Kemi Badenoch claiming Terry Pratchett as her favourite author is wild

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Michael Erard @michaelerard.bsky.social · 9d

solid language journalism here www.science.org/content/arti...

China bolsters controversial claim to Pacific languages with new museum

Nationalist narrative holds that Austronesian language and culture originated in China, not Taiwan

www.science.org

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Katie Martin @katie0martin.ft.com · 13d

Please join me in congratulating Woman on her appointment

Sky News @news.sky.com · 13d

Woman named as new Archbishop of Canterbury in historic first

Bishop of London Dame Sarah Mullally, a former nurse, has been named as the next Archbishop of Canterbury - the first time a woman has been appointed to the role in the Church of England's history.

news.sky.com

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Kate Wiles @katemond.bsky.social · 13d

I've just made the longest to-read list

Sophie Coulombeau @sophiecoulombeau.bsky.social · 13d

Literary hivemind: suggestions for excellent creative work (fiction, poetry, other) that engages somehow with the history or literature of the medieval period?

Reposted by Kate Wiles

Emily C. Hughes @emilyhughes.bsky.social · 13d

incredible thread from @masinger.bsky.social on a vintage tale of scented books bsky.app/profile/masi...

Melissa Ann Singer @masinger.bsky.social · 14d

Did anyone ever tell you about the scented westerns?

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Rhys Kaminski-Jones @rhyskamjones.bsky.social · 16d

Sending this round again as I'd like to teach this poem! Irish Revival period specialists, do repost.

Have heard about Easter Rising prisoners making Tara-style brooches out of spoons etc. could that be it? I still find "dish" a weird word for that though

Rhys Kaminski-Jones @rhyskamjones.bsky.social · Dec 17

Any guesses as to what the titular "Shining Dish" is in this poem by Alice Milligan, about visiting Easter Rising prisoners at Frongoch internment camp? Medieval Irish literary reference? Something particular to the prison?

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Clare Downham @downham.bsky.social · 17d

just published on BBC website, an article on #Aethelstan inspired by David Woodman's new book (with a bit of commentary from Sarah Foot and er, me) #medievalsky www.bbc.co.uk/future/artic...

How England misplaced its first king

In his lifetime, the first king of England was renowned throughout Europe. But over the centuries, he has been sidelined by history.

www.bbc.co.uk

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Natasha Simonova @philistella.bsky.social · 16d

Today's cultural theory: I think 'Conclave' is basically a Merchant/Ivory film of the 'yes what is it, Sebastian, can't you see I'm arranging matches' variety and that's why we all loved it so much. The public longs for ARCHITECTURE and MIDDLE-AGED ACTORS in RESTRAINED AGONY.

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Wolfson History Prize @wolfsonhistory.bsky.social · 16d

We're excited to reveal the #WolfsonHistoryPrize 2025 shortlist, celebrating the finest historical non-fiction works from the past year.

Congratulations to all the shortlisted authors! 👏📚

www.wolfsonhistoryprize.org.uk/2025-wolfson...

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Robert Gallagher @hwaetspur.bsky.social · 17d

Interested in letter-writing in early medieval Britain? A three-year postdoc on @francescatinti.bsky.social’s and my project is now available. Apps close on 17th Oct. Let me know if you have any questions and please circulate! 🙂 jobs.kent.ac.uk/Vacancy.aspx...

Job Opportunity at the University of Kent: Postdoctoral Research Associate

Are you passionate about early medieval Britain? Do you have advanced knowledge of Medieval Latin and interested in the analysis of Latin letter-writing? If yes, then you may be interested in this f...

jobs.kent.ac.uk

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Kate Wiles @katemond.bsky.social · 19d

Not very effable

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Andy Arthur💃🏰⚓🦌 Threadinburgh 🧵 @threadinburgh.scot · 21d

Look what we have here then.

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Richard Wells @slipperyjack.bsky.social · 22d

In Intriguing Furniture news: yesterday I visited Lichfield Cathedral and found a new 13 metre long table made from a 5000-year-old oak log discovered perfectly preserved in a peat bog in 2016. The cut planks took 9 months to dry out, losing 2 tonnes of weight in the process. Definitely haunted...

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