Abbie Fray (she/her)
@abbiefray.bsky.social
Queer Medievalist 🏳️🌈🏰 PhD student at the University of Bern, researching empathy, dysphoria and transformation in late medieval literature
Pinned
2026 Ceræ Call For Papers
We are pleased to announce that the theme for Volume 13 of Ceræ, as well as for our 3rd annual online Conference, is Fame and Fortune. We invite submissions to both the conference and the journal on this theme. Fame and fortune are slippery things. They can be welcome or…
We are pleased to announce that the theme for Volume 13 of Ceræ, as well as for our 3rd annual online Conference, is Fame and Fortune. We invite submissions to both the conference and the journal on this theme. Fame and fortune are slippery things. They can be welcome or…
2026 Ceræ Call For Papers
We are pleased to announce that the theme for Volume 13 of Ceræ, as well as for our 3rd annual online Conference, is Fame and Fortune. We invite submissions to both the conference and the journal on this theme. Fame and fortune are slippery things. They can be welcome or ironic, tangible or out of reach. Fame could be the due of the martyred saint; fortune could be a punishment, as when the hapless cleric in the Marian
ceraejournal.com
The journal and conference #CFP for Volume 13 of Ceræ is now open!
Please share widely and spread the word to anyone who might be interested.
#medievalsky #earlymodernsky
Please share widely and spread the word to anyone who might be interested.
#medievalsky #earlymodernsky
Reposted by Abbie Fray (she/her)
The journal and conference #CFP for Volume 13 of Ceræ is now open!
Please share widely and spread the word to anyone who might be interested.
#medievalsky #earlymodernsky
Please share widely and spread the word to anyone who might be interested.
#medievalsky #earlymodernsky
2026 Ceræ Call For Papers
We are pleased to announce that the theme for Volume 13 of Ceræ, as well as for our 3rd annual online Conference, is Fame and Fortune. We invite submissions to both the conference and the journal on this theme. Fame and fortune are slippery things. They can be welcome or…
We are pleased to announce that the theme for Volume 13 of Ceræ, as well as for our 3rd annual online Conference, is Fame and Fortune. We invite submissions to both the conference and the journal on this theme. Fame and fortune are slippery things. They can be welcome or…
2026 Ceræ Call For Papers
We are pleased to announce that the theme for Volume 13 of Ceræ, as well as for our 3rd annual online Conference, is Fame and Fortune. We invite submissions to both the conference and the journal on this theme. Fame and fortune are slippery things. They can be welcome or ironic, tangible or out of reach. Fame could be the due of the martyred saint; fortune could be a punishment, as when the hapless cleric in the Marian
ceraejournal.com
January 28, 2026 at 8:19 AM
The journal and conference #CFP for Volume 13 of Ceræ is now open!
Please share widely and spread the word to anyone who might be interested.
#medievalsky #earlymodernsky
Please share widely and spread the word to anyone who might be interested.
#medievalsky #earlymodernsky
Reposted by Abbie Fray (she/her)
3 places left!
Just 7 places left in Wednesday’s FREE workshop on ‘How to Start Learning Grant Writing’ (4-5pm CET / 3-4pm GMT):
www.eventbrite.com/e/1980620828...
www.eventbrite.com/e/1980620828...
PBP ‘How to Start Learning Grant Writing: A Free PhD/ECR Webinar’
This 60-minute beginners’ webinar is intended as an introduction to the process of learning how to write strong research grant proposals.
www.eventbrite.com
January 27, 2026 at 12:09 PM
3 places left!
Reposted by Abbie Fray (she/her)
Next Wed 28 Jan I’ll be running a *free* 60-minute webinar on ‘How to Start Learning Grant Writing’ (4-5pm CET). It’s intended for grad students and ECRs in the arts/humanities planning to apply for their first big grants.
Please share widely!
www.eventbrite.com/e/pbp-how-to...
Please share widely!
www.eventbrite.com/e/pbp-how-to...
PBP ‘How to Start Learning Grant Writing: A Free PhD/ECR Webinar’
This 60-minute beginners’ webinar is intended as an introduction to the process of learning how to write strong research grant proposals.
www.eventbrite.com
January 21, 2026 at 10:24 AM
Next Wed 28 Jan I’ll be running a *free* 60-minute webinar on ‘How to Start Learning Grant Writing’ (4-5pm CET). It’s intended for grad students and ECRs in the arts/humanities planning to apply for their first big grants.
Please share widely!
www.eventbrite.com/e/pbp-how-to...
Please share widely!
www.eventbrite.com/e/pbp-how-to...
Ceræ’s Volume 12 is out, featuring an excellent set of articles well worth your time! Check it out here:
#medievalsky #earlymodernsky
#medievalsky #earlymodernsky
Ceræ Volume 12: Published!
2025 has been a year in which the contemporary world has seen immense geopolitical shifts and generational changes. Cultural fault lines globally have deepened and been exploited cynically by a wide variety of different individuals, organisations, and companies.…
2025 has been a year in which the contemporary world has seen immense geopolitical shifts and generational changes. Cultural fault lines globally have deepened and been exploited cynically by a wide variety of different individuals, organisations, and companies.…
Ceræ Volume 12: Published!
2025 has been a year in which the contemporary world has seen immense geopolitical shifts and generational changes. Cultural fault lines globally have deepened and been exploited cynically by a wide variety of different individuals, organisations, and companies. Communities have simultaneously splintered and closed off from outsiders. Institutions and public edifices are being hollowed out at a breakneck speed, even as ever more people rely on their existence and protection.
ceraejournal.com
January 20, 2026 at 3:15 PM
Ceræ’s Volume 12 is out, featuring an excellent set of articles well worth your time! Check it out here:
#medievalsky #earlymodernsky
#medievalsky #earlymodernsky
Reposted by Abbie Fray (she/her)
This miniature shows the medieval author Christine de Pizan presenting her Book of Peace to Louis de Guyenne. The manuscript dates to 1470, and the illustration was painted by the Flemish artist Jean Hennecart. #ChristinedePizan #medievalmanuscripts
January 19, 2026 at 10:33 AM
This miniature shows the medieval author Christine de Pizan presenting her Book of Peace to Louis de Guyenne. The manuscript dates to 1470, and the illustration was painted by the Flemish artist Jean Hennecart. #ChristinedePizan #medievalmanuscripts
Reposted by Abbie Fray (she/her)
An interesting PhD opportunity (i.e. job!) at Oslo on the project POLYCHROME: "Candidates should propose a research project that examines, in one form or another, historical sources that shed light on changing attitudes to medieval objects after the Reformations in the Scandinavian countries."
Doctoral Research Fellowship (SKO 1017) at the Department of Archaeology, Conservation and History (293057) | University of Oslo
Job title: Doctoral Research Fellowship (SKO 1017) at the Department of Archaeology, Conservation and History (293057), Employer: University of Oslo, Deadline: Sunday, March 22, 2026
www.jobbnorge.no
January 12, 2026 at 1:21 PM
An interesting PhD opportunity (i.e. job!) at Oslo on the project POLYCHROME: "Candidates should propose a research project that examines, in one form or another, historical sources that shed light on changing attitudes to medieval objects after the Reformations in the Scandinavian countries."
This is the last week to submit abstracts for Fissures: Gender and Political Crisis! #Fissures2026 #medievalsky
Call for Papers! Fissures: Gender and Political Crisis #medievalsky #Fissures2026
January 12, 2026 at 8:40 AM
This is the last week to submit abstracts for Fissures: Gender and Political Crisis! #Fissures2026 #medievalsky
Reposted by Abbie Fray (she/her)
We hope everyone had a lovely holiday season and will continue having a comfortable beginning-of-semester. CERÆ is preparing the Call for Papers for our thirteenth volume, to be published soon: watch this space!
#medievalsky #earlymodernsky
#medievalsky #earlymodernsky
January 5, 2026 at 11:59 AM
We hope everyone had a lovely holiday season and will continue having a comfortable beginning-of-semester. CERÆ is preparing the Call for Papers for our thirteenth volume, to be published soon: watch this space!
#medievalsky #earlymodernsky
#medievalsky #earlymodernsky
Reposted by Abbie Fray (she/her)
My 2 workshops on academic grant writing start NEXT WEEK—and there are still spaces available! (Pls share!)
You get:
- access to 2 dozen successful applications for major grants (e.g. ERC, NEH, NSF)
- guidance to help you write stronger grant proposals
- 1-year subscription to Page by Page
1/5
You get:
- access to 2 dozen successful applications for major grants (e.g. ERC, NEH, NSF)
- guidance to help you write stronger grant proposals
- 1-year subscription to Page by Page
1/5
January 5, 2026 at 8:00 AM
My 2 workshops on academic grant writing start NEXT WEEK—and there are still spaces available! (Pls share!)
You get:
- access to 2 dozen successful applications for major grants (e.g. ERC, NEH, NSF)
- guidance to help you write stronger grant proposals
- 1-year subscription to Page by Page
1/5
You get:
- access to 2 dozen successful applications for major grants (e.g. ERC, NEH, NSF)
- guidance to help you write stronger grant proposals
- 1-year subscription to Page by Page
1/5
Reposted by Abbie Fray (she/her)
Medievalist friends! Applications are open until end of Feb for a fully-funded PhD in Arthurian Literature with the brilliant Louise D'Arcens @medievalafterlives.bsky.social and myself, based between Sydney (Australia) and Groningen (The Netherlands).
Please share widely!
tinyurl.com/f7su6urv
Please share widely!
tinyurl.com/f7su6urv
Global PhD on Middle English Arthurian romance
The University of Groningen and Macquarie are offering a co-funded scholarship to support a student undertaking doctoral research in medieval literature.
tinyurl.com
December 18, 2025 at 6:58 PM
Medievalist friends! Applications are open until end of Feb for a fully-funded PhD in Arthurian Literature with the brilliant Louise D'Arcens @medievalafterlives.bsky.social and myself, based between Sydney (Australia) and Groningen (The Netherlands).
Please share widely!
tinyurl.com/f7su6urv
Please share widely!
tinyurl.com/f7su6urv
Reposted by Abbie Fray (she/her)
I’ll say to you, my blessed spouse, ‘Welcome to me with all kinds of joy and happiness, to live here with me and never to leave, to always stay with me in joy and bliss, which no eye has seen, no ear has heard, no tongue can tell, and no heart can imagine.’
Margery Kempe, born c. 1373
Margery Kempe, born c. 1373
December 17, 2025 at 6:02 PM
I’ll say to you, my blessed spouse, ‘Welcome to me with all kinds of joy and happiness, to live here with me and never to leave, to always stay with me in joy and bliss, which no eye has seen, no ear has heard, no tongue can tell, and no heart can imagine.’
Margery Kempe, born c. 1373
Margery Kempe, born c. 1373
Reposted by Abbie Fray (she/her)
Call for Papers. Fissures: Gender and Political Crisis. Host and dates: Pembroke College, Cambridge. 17-18 September 2026. Deadline for submissions: 16 January 2026. #essecfp.
👉 essenglish.org/cfp-conferen...
👉 essenglish.org/cfp-conferen...
December 18, 2025 at 6:11 AM
Call for Papers. Fissures: Gender and Political Crisis. Host and dates: Pembroke College, Cambridge. 17-18 September 2026. Deadline for submissions: 16 January 2026. #essecfp.
👉 essenglish.org/cfp-conferen...
👉 essenglish.org/cfp-conferen...
One month left to submit your abstracts for Fissures: Gender and Political Crisis, @pembroke1347.bsky.social (17–18 Sept 2026).
See the full #CFP below.
#Fissures2026 #medievalsky #skystorians #medieval #GenderHistory #PoliticalHistory
See the full #CFP below.
#Fissures2026 #medievalsky #skystorians #medieval #GenderHistory #PoliticalHistory
December 16, 2025 at 9:10 AM
One month left to submit your abstracts for Fissures: Gender and Political Crisis, @pembroke1347.bsky.social (17–18 Sept 2026).
See the full #CFP below.
#Fissures2026 #medievalsky #skystorians #medieval #GenderHistory #PoliticalHistory
See the full #CFP below.
#Fissures2026 #medievalsky #skystorians #medieval #GenderHistory #PoliticalHistory
Reposted by Abbie Fray (she/her)
Pleased to be interviewed for this much needed piece on the rising transphobia in higher education.
www.timeshighereducation.com/news/trans-s...
(Archive link: archive.is/oYqXS)
www.timeshighereducation.com/news/trans-s...
(Archive link: archive.is/oYqXS)
Trans scholars being ‘pushed out of academia’, researchers warn
Universities ‘afraid to be trans inclusive’ after Supreme Court ruling and OfS Sussex fine, leaving staff fearing ‘hostile environment’
www.timeshighereducation.com
December 15, 2025 at 8:34 AM
Pleased to be interviewed for this much needed piece on the rising transphobia in higher education.
www.timeshighereducation.com/news/trans-s...
(Archive link: archive.is/oYqXS)
www.timeshighereducation.com/news/trans-s...
(Archive link: archive.is/oYqXS)
Reposted by Abbie Fray (she/her)
The semesters are rattling to a close, the winter is bearing down, and we at Ceræ are still accepting non-themed articles by postgraduate students and early career researchers! #medievalsky #earlymodernsky ceraejournal.com/submissions/
Submissions
Author Guidelines Ceræ: An Australasian Journal of Medieval and Early Modern Studies invites submissions for original and engaging articles of approximately 5000–8000 words, varia of up to 3000 wor…
ceraejournal.com
December 3, 2025 at 5:52 PM
The semesters are rattling to a close, the winter is bearing down, and we at Ceræ are still accepting non-themed articles by postgraduate students and early career researchers! #medievalsky #earlymodernsky ceraejournal.com/submissions/
Reposted by Abbie Fray (she/her)
Attention creative medievalists! Eleanor Barraclough & I are co-editing a special issue of Public Humanities entitled CREATING THE MEDIEVAL NOW! See the cfp for details: essays of 2,000-3,000 words due 1 May 2026. (Amazing artwork by @hellomizk.bsky.social). 1/ www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
December 5, 2025 at 9:35 AM
Attention creative medievalists! Eleanor Barraclough & I are co-editing a special issue of Public Humanities entitled CREATING THE MEDIEVAL NOW! See the cfp for details: essays of 2,000-3,000 words due 1 May 2026. (Amazing artwork by @hellomizk.bsky.social). 1/ www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
Can I even call myself a medievalist when medieval was only 4th on my Spotify wrapped?
December 4, 2025 at 4:14 PM
Can I even call myself a medievalist when medieval was only 4th on my Spotify wrapped?
Bern is starting to feel so Christmassy, I love it 🎄♥️
December 3, 2025 at 10:35 AM
Bern is starting to feel so Christmassy, I love it 🎄♥️
Reposted by Abbie Fray (she/her)
On this Trans day of remembrance, let’s think about Rolandina Ronchaia, cruelly executed in 14th-c Venice middleagesforeducators.princeton.edu/resource/cas...
The Case of Rolandina Ronchaia, a 14th - century transwoman?
In this video three historians of gender and sexuality examine the legal case of Rolandina Ronchaia, a transwoman in mid-fourteenth century Venice
middleagesforeducators.princeton.edu
November 20, 2025 at 9:44 PM
On this Trans day of remembrance, let’s think about Rolandina Ronchaia, cruelly executed in 14th-c Venice middleagesforeducators.princeton.edu/resource/cas...
Reposted by Abbie Fray (she/her)
I'm glad to have signed this statement in support of queer and trans staff at the National Library of Scotland, who by the sounds of it are going through an awful time at the moment: docs.google.com/document/d/e...
November 19, 2025 at 10:15 AM
I'm glad to have signed this statement in support of queer and trans staff at the National Library of Scotland, who by the sounds of it are going through an awful time at the moment: docs.google.com/document/d/e...
Reposted by Abbie Fray (she/her)
Today is Trans Day Of Remembrance
#TransLivesMatter #TDoR #TDoR2025 #TransDayOfRemembrance #TransAwarenessWeek #SayTheirNames
*** Trigger warning for the following thread: Violence against trans people (especially TWOC) * * *
#TransLivesMatter #TDoR #TDoR2025 #TransDayOfRemembrance #TransAwarenessWeek #SayTheirNames
*** Trigger warning for the following thread: Violence against trans people (especially TWOC) * * *
November 20, 2025 at 6:58 AM
Today is Trans Day Of Remembrance
#TransLivesMatter #TDoR #TDoR2025 #TransDayOfRemembrance #TransAwarenessWeek #SayTheirNames
*** Trigger warning for the following thread: Violence against trans people (especially TWOC) * * *
#TransLivesMatter #TDoR #TDoR2025 #TransDayOfRemembrance #TransAwarenessWeek #SayTheirNames
*** Trigger warning for the following thread: Violence against trans people (especially TWOC) * * *
Reposted by Abbie Fray (she/her)
One for urban historians... The new Cambridge Urban History of Europe is out soon, including chapters by Durham historians Christian Liddy (vol. 2) and Markian Prokopovych (vol. 3):
www.cambridge.org/core/books/c...
www.cambridge.org/core/books/c...
@cambridge.org
www.cambridge.org/core/books/c...
www.cambridge.org/core/books/c...
@cambridge.org
The Cambridge Urban History of Europe
Cambridge Core - European Studies - The Cambridge Urban History of Europe
www.cambridge.org
November 17, 2025 at 2:41 PM
One for urban historians... The new Cambridge Urban History of Europe is out soon, including chapters by Durham historians Christian Liddy (vol. 2) and Markian Prokopovych (vol. 3):
www.cambridge.org/core/books/c...
www.cambridge.org/core/books/c...
@cambridge.org
www.cambridge.org/core/books/c...
www.cambridge.org/core/books/c...
@cambridge.org
Very excited to announce this CfP! Please share widely with anyone who might be interested! #medievalsky #skystorians #cfp #histmed #Fissures2026
Call for Papers! Fissures: Gender and Political Crisis #medievalsky #Fissures2026
November 11, 2025 at 3:06 PM
Very excited to announce this CfP! Please share widely with anyone who might be interested! #medievalsky #skystorians #cfp #histmed #Fissures2026
Reposted by Abbie Fray (she/her)
Well this is awful news: tinyurl.com/yr65mjkx
'All modern language and music courses are being suspended for new students at the University of Nottingham.'
Nottingham friends: please be assured that we will join you in protesting against this decision in the strongest possible terms. Solidarity.
'All modern language and music courses are being suspended for new students at the University of Nottingham.'
Nottingham friends: please be assured that we will join you in protesting against this decision in the strongest possible terms. Solidarity.
Music and modern languages courses suspended at University of Nottingham
In a statement the institution also says it is
www.bbc.co.uk
November 6, 2025 at 11:36 AM
Well this is awful news: tinyurl.com/yr65mjkx
'All modern language and music courses are being suspended for new students at the University of Nottingham.'
Nottingham friends: please be assured that we will join you in protesting against this decision in the strongest possible terms. Solidarity.
'All modern language and music courses are being suspended for new students at the University of Nottingham.'
Nottingham friends: please be assured that we will join you in protesting against this decision in the strongest possible terms. Solidarity.