Dr Francis Young
@drfrancisyoung.bsky.social
20K followers 3.6K following 4.8K posts
Historian of religion and belief | folklorist | Balticist | indexer | lay canon @stedscath.bsky.social | series editor for @universitypress.cambridge.org
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drfrancisyoung.bsky.social
I’m pleased to say you can now pre-order my next book, ‘Fairies: A History’ (out in February 2026) from
@politybooks.bsky.social. Thank you to Jeremy Harte, Simon Young, Jo Hickey-Hall and Owen Davies for such generous endorsements! 🌿📚 www.politybooks.com/bookdetail?b...
drfrancisyoung.bsky.social
‘Stonehenge, in a very real sense Wiltshire’s Stonehenge…’
megalithic.bsky.social
“Cornwall's Stonehenge?” in the Guardian. Seriously?
Altogether now: AAAAARRRGGH!!!
It’s in quotes but surely this didn’t come from the archaeologists? @olafbayer.bsky.social @cornwallarch.bsky.social /1
Reposted by Dr Francis Young
dancarpenter.bsky.social
A reminder that E. Nesbit wrote the greatest opening to a ghost story ever.
THIS is not an artistically rounded off ghost story and nothing is explained in it; and there seems to be no reason why any of it should have happened. But that is no reason why it should not be told. You must have noticed that all the real ghost stories you ever come close to are like this in these respects: no explanation, no logical coherence. Here is the story.
drfrancisyoung.bsky.social
The only half-decent Lithuanian food I've had was on a plane once. But maybe I've just never been properly introduced to the good stuff
drfrancisyoung.bsky.social
Even if ordinands were informed that they will need to learn all these things on the job it would be a start. At the moment it's as if clergy are starting as junior doctors and not even being told they'll have to teach themselves surgery
drfrancisyoung.bsky.social
If ordination training were truly vocational then it would cover canon law, safeguarding legislation, planning legislation, charities law, events management, fundraising, health and social care... I could go on
drfrancisyoung.bsky.social
I am the Secretary of the British-Lithuanian Society and the country's leading promoter on social media in the UK, and even I would not go so far as to suggest that Lithuanian food is something you should actually eat.
drfrancisyoung.bsky.social
I love that today's top news story on LRT English is a Lithuanian restaurant in Haverhill winning an award - the perfect synthesis of Lithuanian and Suffolk news!
drfrancisyoung.bsky.social
Archival photography not permitted
drfrancisyoung.bsky.social
Only available on microfilm
unenthusiast.com
In honour of spooky month, share a 4 word horror story that only someone in your profession would understand.

rm -rf ~/
hammancheez.bsky.social
"The chancellor approved it"
drfrancisyoung.bsky.social
Just admiring Peter Underwood's turtleneck/bunny ear lapel combo
drfrancisyoung.bsky.social
On #WorldBookshopDay a big thank you to Harris & Harris Books in Clare for selling copies of my books at Bury St Edmunds Literature Festival! 📚
Reposted by Dr Francis Young
earbyfae.bsky.social
Waiting for me when I got home!! Can’t wait to get stuck in!! #folklore
Cover of the book folklore by Owen Davies and Ceri Houlbrook.
drfrancisyoung.bsky.social
Why has no-one written a Latvian-set hardboiled detective novel called ‘Riga Mortis’?
Reposted by Dr Francis Young
grumpyscotsman.bsky.social
@johnnymains.co.uk A little early arrival for the collection.
Reposted by Dr Francis Young
chrisseddon.bsky.social
There's something quite beautiful about Sir Mortimer Wheeler's box-system excavations at Maiden Castle. Such a fantastic photograph!

Image Rights: Society of Antiquaries (held at Historic England Archive)

#archaeology 🏺 #photography
An historic black & white image of the box excavations at Maiden Castle during Sir Mortimer Wheeler's excavations in 1937. Image Rights: Society of Antiquaries (held at Historic England Archive)
drfrancisyoung.bsky.social
On Tuesday 28 October I will be returning to the Baltic, as I lecture at @stockholm-uni.bsky.social's Department of Slavic and Baltic Studies on pre-Christian Baltic Religion - as part of Stockholm's LAMP project 🇸🇪 www.su.se/english/rese...
drfrancisyoung.bsky.social
It is indeed a modern construct, ‘native faith’ is just the term used by anthropologists of religion for the neopagan religions of East-Central Europe
Reposted by Dr Francis Young
drfrancisyoung.bsky.social
An absolute giant, imo; he provided a crucial moral and intellectual victory over the apologists of the Teutonic Knights that was the crucial counterpart to Jogaila and Vytautas's military victory
drfrancisyoung.bsky.social
Although ironically the one thing AI seldom f***s up is spelling, even when it ruins everything else
drfrancisyoung.bsky.social
Flying a Spitfire with new parts feels like cheating, this is the proper way