Jan Machielsen
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janmachielsen.bsky.social
Jan Machielsen
@janmachielsen.bsky.social

Historian of early modern religion, working on witches and saints. Loves hikes and risotto.

History 57%
Philosophy 17%

Glad to see this out! It's a mighty tome, relevant to archaeologists, folklorists, #hextag peeps and more. And an impressive effort even if the functionalist argument doesn't always hold (I think, anyway).

Reposted by Jan Machielsen

“Killing the Dead has laid bare a subject of exceptional importance.” Great to see @janmachielsen.bsky.social’s review of John Blair's Killing the Dead in the latest issue of @thetls.bsky.social. Read more here:
High stakes
A dead body, as anyone who has sat with one will know, is an unsettling marker of the divide between life and death. The body is still the person we knew and loved, and yet no longer them. However much...
www.the-tls.com

Trump is meer Henry VIII dan Filips II.

Thanks, Theo! That was my last Covid project.

Many congratulations, Holly! I really enjoyed our conversation and can't wait to see what you do next. 😊

Reposted by Jan Machielsen

Congratulations @janmachielsen.bsky.social on the publication of The Cambridge Companion to Counter Reformation Sanctity! Great to see this come out! #earlymodern #history #skystorians

Reposted by Jan Machielsen

I passed my viva with minor corrections!

A huge thank you to my examiners @janmachielsen.bsky.social and @profelainechalus.bsky.social for such a positive and constructive experience!

Looks like they are on mushrooms. 😅

Thanks! My partner's 95-year-old grandfather came up with it!

Looking forward to a trip to Cambridge next month!
Early Modern World History Seminar – Lent Term 2026 Programme 🌏
Early Modern World History Seminar – Lent Term 2026 Programme 🌏

This reminds of some of the material in the Jesuit archives where they laminated the pages but it caused the ink to leak…

Not #earlymodern but this abandoned church served a leprosy colony in the 1940s. And the graffiti of the diabolical bishop is delightful!

It's such a profound loss.

Just in case you're going, Katrina Olds and I are organizing an event marking Katie's life and scholarship at the San Francisco RSA.

Highlight of today's home. View of La Gomera and El Hierro from the south side of Teide. The islands almost seem to float in the air.

I've never made a starter pack but I know others have. Anyone can post using the #earlymodern tag!

My mum, partner and I hiked a wonderful stretch of the Wales Coast Path today, in memory of my dad who wanted to complete it. Hopefully one day we will.

Just my sort of Christmas! 🤪

Ha. This feels so predictable somehow...

www.nytimes.com/2025/12/13/b...
U.S.-U.K. Trade Deal Hits Stumbling Block
www.nytimes.com

Very pleased that we got to publish this Comment in the TRHS! And many thanks @chriscampbell1.bsky.social for pitching it.

Further reflections on this and other subjects are certainly welcome. 😊

🗃️
What does Gen AI mean for the work of the historian and the value of historical experience, skills and craft?

'The Historian in the Age of AI' by @chriscampbell1.bsky.social.

New Comment article now available in 'Transactions of the Royal Historical Society' bit.ly/4atErTB #Skystorians 1/2
What does Gen AI mean for the work of the historian and the value of historical experience, skills and craft?

'The Historian in the Age of AI' by @chriscampbell1.bsky.social.

New Comment article now available in 'Transactions of the Royal Historical Society' bit.ly/4atErTB #Skystorians 1/2

If anyone is wondering what the right time is to put up a Christmas tree, the Vatican is still busy putting up theirs.

They have been there for a while but they did work on them ahead of the jubilee!

Another public transport strike so I just had to walk to work today. 😋

(It's all going to be over by the end of next week so just let me be. 😅)

The Milvian bridge just now. No crosses in the sky unfortunately.

This feels very Amazon: the type of payment that doesn't cost anything.

Boo!

Jerome translating the Bible by Hendrick van Somer in the Palazzo Barberini. As the sign says, "the challenge of the text becomes hands-on combat".

One for @tntwining.bsky.social 😊

#earlymodern

Saint Luke healing a child, while painting the Virgin and experiencing some sort of ecstasy. Who says that men can't multitask? 🤪

By Giovanni Lanfranco, in the Palazzo Barberini