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Pauline Stafford

@pstafford.bsky.social

1.6K followers 340 following 370 posts

Historian of early Middle Ages, Grandmother, Leftwing, Labour, Leeds, British, European. Emerita Prof University of Liverpool

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Pauline Stafford is Professor Emerita of Early Medieval History at Liverpool University and a visiting professor at Leeds University in England. Dr. Stafford is a former vice-president of the Royal Historical Society. .. more

History 50%

Philosophy 24%

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Reposted by Tom Shakespeare, Martin Paul Eve, Margot C. Finn , and 3 more Tom Shakespeare, Martin Paul Eve, Margot C. Finn, Michael H. Whitworth, Pauline Stafford, Vaughan S. Roberts

Pauline Stafford @pstafford.bsky.social · 13h

And there were free sweets at the end of the Rowntree tour in York - at least in the 1950s.

Reposted by Pauline Stafford

Tim Bale @timbale.bsky.social · 13h

"In reality, ‘hard right’ is less an evolution than a euphemism, effectively sanitising and normalising what it purports to describe."

Why we need to halt ‘hard right’ in its tracks

Far-right parties are doing well – so it’s important that we see them for what they are. Yet, in the UK, the label ‘hard right’ is catching on. Why is debateable. But, argues Tim Bale, it’s a misdescr...

theloop.ecpr.eu

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Reposted by Charles West, Catherine Harper, Pauline Stafford

Medieval Military Medicine @medmilmedicine.bsky.social · 16h

Sunday morning - Doodle in the margins of this 12th century manuscript, Cambridge, Sidney Sussex College - 101, fol. 97v

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Rich Raho @richraho.bsky.social · 1d

Chicago priest Fr. Larry Dowling describes procession to ICE facility: “No one had the courage to speak directly to us. No one from Homeland Security could stand in the presence of the Monstrance holding the Blessed Sacrament. No wonder. Evil is repelled, recoils in the presence of Christ.”

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Pauline Stafford @pstafford.bsky.social · 1d

Obviously they mean ‘know’ in the Biblical sense.

Richard Burgon MP @richardburgon.bsky.social · 2d

Just a reminder that Reform’s former Leader in Wales, Nathan Gill, has admitted taking bribes from Russia while an MEP.

Yet Reform spokespeople have suggested their leaders didn't really know Gill.

So here's a few pictures of him with Nigel Farage.

Various photos of Reform’s former Leader in Wales, Nathan Gill, with Nigel Farage.

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Reposted by Pauline Stafford

Agenda des médiévistes @rmblf.bsky.social · 1d

Offre d’emploi – Assistant Professor in Medieval German Studies

rmblf.be/2025/10/11/o...

Offre d’emploi – Assistant Professor in Medieval German Studies

Deadline : 9th November 2025 The Faculty of Modern and Medieval Languages and Linguistics at the University of Cambridge is seeking to appoint a full-time Assistant Professor in Medieval German Stu…

rmblf.be

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Reposted by Jennifer A. Richeson, Steve Peers, Eric Goldman , and 4 more Jennifer A. Richeson, Steve Peers, Eric Goldman, Alan Richardson, Henry Jones, Pauline Stafford, Federica Genovese

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 1d

Q: How many layoffs have you authorized?

TRUMP: It'll be a lot. And it'll be Democrat-oriented.

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Reposted by Pauline Stafford

Richard Burgon MP @richardburgon.bsky.social · 2d

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Sunder Katwala (sundersays) @sundersays.bsky.social · 2d

It is certainly an arguable point for the law. Though the legal principles ought to be identical, I am certain the Shadow Justice Secretary would surely not attend court to show solidarity for somebody who burned a Bible, the Talmud, a novel, a Remembrance poppy, Union Jack - but will for the Quran

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Reposted by John R. Hutchinson, Patrick Dunleavy, Simon Chapman , and 6 more John R. Hutchinson, Patrick Dunleavy, Simon Chapman, Christopher McCabe, Steven French, Lesley A. Hall, Steven Fielding, Pauline Stafford, Vaughan S. Roberts

Sarah Murphy @13sarahmurphy.bsky.social · 2d

Private Eye offers up an excellently scornful commentary on the relentless polling. It’s become ridiculous and has oversimplified our politics to dangerous levels of stupid and irresponsible.

SHOCK POLL:
NIGEL FARAGE WILL BE PM TOMORROW
IN an amazing poll conducted
by The Pointless Polling Company, it was revealed that voters' intentions
may well change over the next three and a half years and at present it's 100 percent impossible to guess what the next government might look like.
However, 99 percent of journalists
agree that it would be much more fun if we had an election tomorrow and everybody resigned and everything was chaos and Farage had a go at being PM, just for the hell of it, because it was so much fun when
Brexit happened and then the government kept falling every five minutes and we could write endless pieces about (cont. p94)

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Reposted by Elizabeth Stokoe, Pauline Stafford

Kevin Rothrock @kevinrothrock.me · 3d

another day in very normal times

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Reposted by Stephen M. Walt, Lisa W. Fazio, Margaret Mitchell , and 25 more Stephen M. Walt, Lisa W. Fazio, Margaret Mitchell, Richard S.J. Tol, Brian A. Nosek, Will Jennings, Brendan Nyhan, Garry Peterson, Joshua S. Weitz, Tom Clark, Steve Peers, Jamie Morgan, Elizabeth Stokoe, Henning Melber, Sanford F. Schram, Daniel W. Drezner, Trevon D. Logan, Smith, Alan Richardson, David R. Miller, Lesley Bartlett, Zen Faulkes, Kate Starbird, Henry Jones, Pauline Stafford, Jason Williams, Dana Howard, David Darmofal

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 3d

RFK Jr on Tylenol and autism: "It is not proof. We're doing the studies to make the proof."

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Prof Christina Pagel @chrischirp.bsky.social · 3d

🧵🚨

The UK’s independent scientific bodies are highly vulnerable to politicisation - over the past 5 months I've been working with @martinmckee.bsky.social to map out their vulnerabilities and it's not good news.

Today our report is published!
www.ucl.ac.uk/policy-lab/n...

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UK’s arm’s length public bodies are highly vulnerable to politicisation

Seven in ten Britons say it is important for top scientific institutions to be independent in exclusive new polling.

www.ucl.ac.uk

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Reposted by Ben H. Ansell, Will Jennings, Pauline Stafford , and 4 more Ben H. Ansell, Will Jennings, Pauline Stafford, Federica Genovese, Colm O’Cinneíde, Tim Leunig, José Pina-Sánchez

Rachel Cunliffe @rmcunliffe.bsky.social · 3d

Hollow laughter

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Reposted by Lesley A. Hall, Keith Lilley, Pauline Stafford

Prof. Elaine Chalus @profelainechalus.bsky.social · 3d

Assistant Professor in Irish and/or European Medieval History
Dublin City University - School of History & Geography #skystorians 🗃️www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DOY744/a...

Assistant Professor in Irish and/or European Medieval History at Dublin City University

Discover an exciting academic career path as a Assistant Professor in Irish and/or European Medieval History at jobs.ac.uk. Don't miss out on this job opportunity - apply today!

www.jobs.ac.uk

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Reposted by Pauline Stafford

Charles West @pseudo-isidore.bsky.social · 4d

Enjoyed showing students today the amazing 1063 charter signed by Anna, queen of France, in cyrillic.

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Reposted by Pauline Stafford

Joseph Rowntree Foundation @jrf-uk.bsky.social · 4d

We found:

- Over 6 in 10 people in poverty live in a household where someone works

- Over 4 in 10 people in a family in receipt of a low-income benefit like Universal Credit are in poverty

- 1 in 10 people in rented accommodation are pulled into poverty due to housing costs 2/3

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Pauline Stafford @pstafford.bsky.social · 4d

Let’s go back to the mid 1960s when I was applying to university and the majority of my classmates, already selected by the iniquity of the 11+ , were just discarded.

Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 4d

'The party would introduce caps on funded courses that consistently “lead to poor graduate outcomes”, allowing it to invest further in the “apprenticeship revolution” it started, it said. Remaining funding will be used to support high-quality courses at research-intensive British universities.' 3/3

Reposted by Pauline Stafford

Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 4d

John Pfaff @johnpfaff.bsky.social · 4d

Um, ICE just coldly shot an unarmed PRIEST in the head w a pepper ball when he (and everyone around him) clearly posed no threat.

For the crime of … complaining about government policy.

Core 1A speech.

With cameras rolling, they’re sniping priests for sport.

Kurt @flglchicago.bsky.social · 4d

Here’s video of the incident

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Reposted by Christopher McCabe, Mark Robinson, Pauline Stafford

Ben Ansell @benansell.bsky.social · 5d

A fine piece of writing there from Sam Leith

Sunder Katwala (sundersays) @sundersays.bsky.social · 5d

Party donor Nick Candy says "I cherish the values we grew up with here in the West. But today you are more likely to find the values we grew up with in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.’

Via Sam Leith in the Spectator
www.spectator.co.uk/article/the-...

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Pauline Stafford @pstafford.bsky.social · 5d

Wirksworth still v significant royal holding in the Peak in Domesday with lead mines. Lead from Wirksworth sent by Abbess Cynewaru to Canterbury in 835, so some connection. In Mercia as in Northumbria, stone sculpture v important source for early ecclesiastical history. Here a lost female house? 3/

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Pauline Stafford @pstafford.bsky.social · 5d

Recognition of significance of female figures - two female witnesses of Ascension of Christ in particular- + significant iconography of life and death of Mary taken to suggest female patron or person buried. Abbess? Of a female house linked to the double house at Repton, Mercian royal house. 2/

Top- Dormition and Funeral procession of Mary, again a disputed scene.

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Pauline Stafford @pstafford.bsky.social · 5d

Weekend walking in the Peak gave an opportunity to revisit the Wirksworth slab. Probably late 8C and the coped top of a tomb from which scenes on the left have been lost. The iconography is connected to Eastern Mediterranean and has been much discussed. @ascorpus.bsky.social especially intriguing 1/

Overview of Wirksworth slab. Scenes truncated or lost in left are washing of feet and perhaps Harrowing of Hell.

Wirksworth slab, central section of bottom tier. Ascension with, unusually, only two witnesses, identified by their headgear as female.

Wirksworth slab, disputed scene. Corpus of Anglo-Saxon sculpture suggests the Hypapante - a representation of the Presentation, with Simeon and Anna outside the Temple.

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Reposted by Pauline Stafford

Rob Ford @robfordmancs.bsky.social · 5d

Being reminded that the low level crapness of the West Coast Mainline is as nothing compared to the top tier chaos of the trans-Pennine “express” and indeed any effort to get from one Northern city to another by travelling east-west something God and Whitehall clearly feel should be forbidden.

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Pauline Stafford @pstafford.bsky.social · 5d

If it weren’t the #Conservatives I’d say self-parody. Sad.

Rob Ford @robfordmancs.bsky.social · 5d

Ancestor worship - a comfort for a distressed tribe?

Reposted by Pauline Stafford

Rob Ford @robfordmancs.bsky.social · 5d

The Treasury really is the final boss in British political reform. So many pathologies ultimately stem from its insane level of control over revenue raising and spending

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Reposted by Pauline Stafford

Rob Ford @robfordmancs.bsky.social · 5d

Ancestor worship - a comfort for a distressed tribe?

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Reposted by Elaine Treharne, Pauline Stafford

Helen Gittos @helengittos.bsky.social · 6d

Delighted to be giving a Bede's World / Durham World Heritage Site lecture in @durham.ac.uk on 18 October.

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