Andrew Ayton
@andrewayton.bsky.social
Historian (ret’d Univ of Hull, UK) working on late medieval military, maritime, soc & economic; & Napoleonic. MSS, prosopography, networks. Classical music, wildlife, cinema, coins, postal history, Dorset, France, Hungary. 🦋& #Shugborough Staffs pictures.
Pinned
Andrew Ayton
@andrewayton.bsky.social
· Jun 26
We’ve launched a new collection of openly accessible videos, Interviews with Historians, in which prominent 20th century historians reflect on their lives and professional practices. Access the collection here:
www.history.ac.uk/library-digi...
www.history.ac.uk/library-digi...
This is a splendid resource: just played Moses Finley. An exile from the US, interesting just at the moment.
Reposted by Andrew Ayton
Out in April - more details here:
The Firearm Revolution
A groundbreaking account of how firearms changed Europe and the world
press.princeton.edu
January 20, 2026 at 12:43 PM
Out in April - more details here:
Reposted by Andrew Ayton
Time is ticking and our deadline is looming... Will you help to safeguard the Giant's lair, including Giant Hill, and the surrounding area for wildlife and heritage to flourish?
January 20, 2026 at 9:31 AM
Time is ticking and our deadline is looming... Will you help to safeguard the Giant's lair, including Giant Hill, and the surrounding area for wildlife and heritage to flourish?
Caught up with David Owen Norris’s characteristically brilliant, deeply knowledgeable survey of Elgar Cello Concerto recordings. This is what Building a Library used to be like, until the ‘let’s chat about it’ version was imposed on us.
www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
Record Review - Elgar's Cello Concerto in Building a Library with David Owen Norris and Andrew McGregor - BBC Sounds
The best new classical releases and a top choice for a recording of Elgar's Cello Concerto
www.bbc.co.uk
January 18, 2026 at 10:50 AM
Caught up with David Owen Norris’s characteristically brilliant, deeply knowledgeable survey of Elgar Cello Concerto recordings. This is what Building a Library used to be like, until the ‘let’s chat about it’ version was imposed on us.
www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
Reposted by Andrew Ayton
Stafford’s hexagonal VR for #PostboxSaturday. It’s out of use; an operational dual aperture ERII stands nearby.
January 17, 2026 at 11:40 AM
Stafford’s hexagonal VR for #PostboxSaturday. It’s out of use; an operational dual aperture ERII stands nearby.
Hellebores heralding the new year’s resurgence of life in our Staffs garden.
January 17, 2026 at 11:47 AM
Hellebores heralding the new year’s resurgence of life in our Staffs garden.
Stafford’s hexagonal VR for #PostboxSaturday. It’s out of use; an operational dual aperture ERII stands nearby.
January 17, 2026 at 11:40 AM
Stafford’s hexagonal VR for #PostboxSaturday. It’s out of use; an operational dual aperture ERII stands nearby.
Reposted by Andrew Ayton
A 14th-Century Marvel
Hidden in the church of St Nicholas, Dersingham, Norfolk, is one of England's most remarkable medieval survivals—a spectacular mid-14th century carved oak chest.
Hidden in the church of St Nicholas, Dersingham, Norfolk, is one of England's most remarkable medieval survivals—a spectacular mid-14th century carved oak chest.
January 16, 2026 at 6:18 PM
A 14th-Century Marvel
Hidden in the church of St Nicholas, Dersingham, Norfolk, is one of England's most remarkable medieval survivals—a spectacular mid-14th century carved oak chest.
Hidden in the church of St Nicholas, Dersingham, Norfolk, is one of England's most remarkable medieval survivals—a spectacular mid-14th century carved oak chest.
Reposted by Andrew Ayton
Can also highly recommend this podcast discussion with one of the authors on translating sources from medieval Eastern Europe: www.medievalists.net/2025/01/medi... @5minmedievalist.bsky.social
January 15, 2026 at 9:43 PM
Can also highly recommend this podcast discussion with one of the authors on translating sources from medieval Eastern Europe: www.medievalists.net/2025/01/medi... @5minmedievalist.bsky.social
Reposted by Andrew Ayton
Chilling story of how self-censorship gradually takes hold when state authority is a threat not a protection.
This from former British diplomat @alexhh.bsky.social, who now is now based in the US, really hits home about the nightmare currently playing out in Trump's America
bylinetimes.com/2026/01/15/a...
bylinetimes.com/2026/01/15/a...
A Year of Living Dangerously in Trump's America
I no longer feel safe to speak or act freely in a country where people are being arbitrarily detained and killed and where the truth is becoming whatever Donald Trump says it is, reports Alexandra Hal...
bylinetimes.com
January 15, 2026 at 12:00 PM
Chilling story of how self-censorship gradually takes hold when state authority is a threat not a protection.
Reposted by Andrew Ayton
📰 Newly-discovered medieval cargo ship in Denmark is the largest of its kind yet found ⛵
It could carry ~300 tonnes of cargo, indicating a greater scale of trade across medieval Europe than previously observed.
🏺 #ArchaeologyNews via @the-independent.com
www.independent.co.uk/news/science...
It could carry ~300 tonnes of cargo, indicating a greater scale of trade across medieval Europe than previously observed.
🏺 #ArchaeologyNews via @the-independent.com
www.independent.co.uk/news/science...
Archaeologists find largest-ever medieval ‘super ship’ longer than two school buses
Archaeologists say ship was built with timber from modern-day Poland and the Netherlands
www.independent.co.uk
January 15, 2026 at 10:45 AM
📰 Newly-discovered medieval cargo ship in Denmark is the largest of its kind yet found ⛵
It could carry ~300 tonnes of cargo, indicating a greater scale of trade across medieval Europe than previously observed.
🏺 #ArchaeologyNews via @the-independent.com
www.independent.co.uk/news/science...
It could carry ~300 tonnes of cargo, indicating a greater scale of trade across medieval Europe than previously observed.
🏺 #ArchaeologyNews via @the-independent.com
www.independent.co.uk/news/science...
Reposted by Andrew Ayton
The wonderful @caitlinrgreen.bsky.social has a hugely interesting new article just out in Early Medieval England & its Neighbours, all about Alfred the Great's embassy to India - free to read here #India #AlfredtheGreat #medieval www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
King Alfred and India: an Anglo-Saxon Embassy to Southern India in the Ninth Century | Early Medieval England and its Neighbours | Cambridge Core
King Alfred and India: an Anglo-Saxon Embassy to Southern India in the Ninth Century - Volume 52
www.cambridge.org
January 14, 2026 at 10:03 AM
The wonderful @caitlinrgreen.bsky.social has a hugely interesting new article just out in Early Medieval England & its Neighbours, all about Alfred the Great's embassy to India - free to read here #India #AlfredtheGreat #medieval www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
Reposted by Andrew Ayton
Finally, 2026 has started properly, with a new issue of Early Medieval Europe! onlinelibrary.wiley.com/toc/14680254...
Early Medieval Europe: Vol 34, No 1
Early Medieval Europe is an interdisciplinary medieval studies journal covering European history from the fall of the Roman Empire up until the 11th century.
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
January 13, 2026 at 9:48 AM
Finally, 2026 has started properly, with a new issue of Early Medieval Europe! onlinelibrary.wiley.com/toc/14680254...
Reposted by Andrew Ayton
The National Trust is halfway to their appeal to buy Giant Hill, one of the UKs top butterfly sites, also rich in insects and flowers. The last good habitat for Duke of Burgundy in Dorset. Please donate if you can @nationaltrust.org.uk www.nationaltrust.org.uk/support-us/a...
Donate to the Cerne Abbas Nature Appeal
Donate to the Cerne Abbas Appeal so together, we can help restore the land, habitats and species that live there.
www.nationaltrust.org.uk
January 12, 2026 at 2:21 PM
The National Trust is halfway to their appeal to buy Giant Hill, one of the UKs top butterfly sites, also rich in insects and flowers. The last good habitat for Duke of Burgundy in Dorset. Please donate if you can @nationaltrust.org.uk www.nationaltrust.org.uk/support-us/a...
Reposted by Andrew Ayton
Big Bellied Oak sits on the side of the road passing through Savernake Forest, Wiltshire. It has been there for around 1000 years, since the time of William the Conqueror.
Run around it 7 times at midnight and you will summon the Devil. 👹And watch out for ghostly monks that sit beneath the tree. 🌳
Run around it 7 times at midnight and you will summon the Devil. 👹And watch out for ghostly monks that sit beneath the tree. 🌳
January 12, 2026 at 2:29 PM
Big Bellied Oak sits on the side of the road passing through Savernake Forest, Wiltshire. It has been there for around 1000 years, since the time of William the Conqueror.
Run around it 7 times at midnight and you will summon the Devil. 👹And watch out for ghostly monks that sit beneath the tree. 🌳
Run around it 7 times at midnight and you will summon the Devil. 👹And watch out for ghostly monks that sit beneath the tree. 🌳
Reposted by Andrew Ayton
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."
Reposted by Andrew Ayton
It's January! Officially the start of 2026! We hope you have amazing things planned. To celebrate, we are offering a huge 50% off selected titles for the whole month. Get shopping! Simply use the code JAN26 at checkout.
T&C's apply buff.ly/GyMv6Rg
#january #newyear #januarysale #sale
T&C's apply buff.ly/GyMv6Rg
#january #newyear #januarysale #sale
January 1, 2026 at 7:45 AM
It's January! Officially the start of 2026! We hope you have amazing things planned. To celebrate, we are offering a huge 50% off selected titles for the whole month. Get shopping! Simply use the code JAN26 at checkout.
T&C's apply buff.ly/GyMv6Rg
#january #newyear #januarysale #sale
T&C's apply buff.ly/GyMv6Rg
#january #newyear #januarysale #sale
Reposted by Andrew Ayton
Many records of the Priory of England of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem were destroyed during the English Reformation, but several medieval parchments at the Museum of the Order of St. John in London are currently being digitized by HMML's Malta Study Center. Learn more: https://bit.ly/4qf7kHp
January 11, 2026 at 1:40 PM
Many records of the Priory of England of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem were destroyed during the English Reformation, but several medieval parchments at the Museum of the Order of St. John in London are currently being digitized by HMML's Malta Study Center. Learn more: https://bit.ly/4qf7kHp
Reposted by Andrew Ayton
A National Treasure: England's Best-Preserved Medieval Wooden Effigy
St Andrew, Fersfield (Norfolk) houses the oak effigy of Sir Robert du Bois (d.1333), carved c.1340 and retaining its original paint.
St Andrew, Fersfield (Norfolk) houses the oak effigy of Sir Robert du Bois (d.1333), carved c.1340 and retaining its original paint.
January 7, 2026 at 6:26 PM
A National Treasure: England's Best-Preserved Medieval Wooden Effigy
St Andrew, Fersfield (Norfolk) houses the oak effigy of Sir Robert du Bois (d.1333), carved c.1340 and retaining its original paint.
St Andrew, Fersfield (Norfolk) houses the oak effigy of Sir Robert du Bois (d.1333), carved c.1340 and retaining its original paint.
Since this has been reposted by an old friend…
Another case of an inky-pawed cat walking across an open codex? Remember the Croatian example, noticed by Emir Filipovic? This one is 100+ yrs older: I suspect the incident occurred after Roger Waltham, former Keeper of the Wardrobe, delivered his account to the Exchequer for audit in May 1330.
January 4, 2026 at 11:01 PM
Since this has been reposted by an old friend…
Reposted by Andrew Ayton
Our choice for Book of the Year is The Hungry City: A Year in the Life of Medieval Barcelona, by Marie A. Kelleher www.medievalists.net/2025/12/medi... #BookoftheYear #Books #medieval
Medieval Book of the Year: The Hungry City - Medievalists.net
Medievalists.net's choice for the Book of the Year! This book offers a compelling account of the famine that struck Barcelona in 1333–34, reconstructed through the records of the city’s government.…
www.medievalists.net
December 28, 2025 at 11:36 PM
Our choice for Book of the Year is The Hungry City: A Year in the Life of Medieval Barcelona, by Marie A. Kelleher www.medievalists.net/2025/12/medi... #BookoftheYear #Books #medieval
We thought, let’s rewatch the recent French version of ‘The Count of Monte Cristo’; it’s great stuff & quite a ride; culminating sword fight is brutal rather than ‘let’s spin this out’ Scaramouche-style (you know, the one with Stewart Granger that goes on for ages).
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cou...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cou...
The Count of Monte Cristo (2024 film) - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
December 28, 2025 at 12:29 AM
We thought, let’s rewatch the recent French version of ‘The Count of Monte Cristo’; it’s great stuff & quite a ride; culminating sword fight is brutal rather than ‘let’s spin this out’ Scaramouche-style (you know, the one with Stewart Granger that goes on for ages).
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cou...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cou...
Reposted by Andrew Ayton
A neat little nugget of medieval coal history as we come to the end of a year where the UK has just finished it first 15 months freed from coal power, but the US has slid backward on so many energy fronts. www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1... #Speculations #MedievalSky
December 27, 2025 at 7:06 PM
A neat little nugget of medieval coal history as we come to the end of a year where the UK has just finished it first 15 months freed from coal power, but the US has slid backward on so many energy fronts. www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1... #Speculations #MedievalSky
Reposted by Andrew Ayton
Another great collection is The Hockey Museum (for field hockey 🏑) hockeymuseum.org/what-we-do/c... My PhD student @emmyailish.bsky.social is working on a history of women’s field hockey clothing but there is so much research for #sporthistory & British history & more held there #skystorians 🗃️
December 26, 2025 at 6:26 PM
Another great collection is The Hockey Museum (for field hockey 🏑) hockeymuseum.org/what-we-do/c... My PhD student @emmyailish.bsky.social is working on a history of women’s field hockey clothing but there is so much research for #sporthistory & British history & more held there #skystorians 🗃️
Reposted by Andrew Ayton
The Bearsden shark and calls for better promotion of it so people know about it. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
The prehistoric shark found in a suburban town in Scotland
The fossil was so complete experts could see remains of the last meal it ate, 330 million years after it died.
www.bbc.co.uk
December 27, 2025 at 11:24 AM
The Bearsden shark and calls for better promotion of it so people know about it. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
We’ve had a rather subdued Anglo-Hungarian Christmas Eve this year, owing to illness, but this caught my eye:
it's Christmas Eve but it's also the 16 year anniversary of the time an art historian for the Hungarian National Gallery spotted a long lost painting while watching Stuart Little with his 3-year-old daughter, recognizing it in the movie set
December 24, 2025 at 11:39 PM
We’ve had a rather subdued Anglo-Hungarian Christmas Eve this year, owing to illness, but this caught my eye: