Ariella Elema 🍁
@ariellaelema.bsky.social
Reference archivist, legal historian, medievalist. She/her. Knows more than is healthy about the history of trial by combat.
Reposted by Ariella Elema 🍁
These catalogue updates allow me, a serious historian, to search for "fart" and find the case where the accused allegedly said he "cared not a fart for the Lord Mayor of London." What will you find? discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/results/r?_a...
November 9, 2025 at 1:21 PM
These catalogue updates allow me, a serious historian, to search for "fart" and find the case where the accused allegedly said he "cared not a fart for the Lord Mayor of London." What will you find? discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/results/r?_a...
Reposted by Ariella Elema 🍁
It shouldn’t be forgotten that a big piece of Mamdani’s campaign was simply “cities are cool and lots of people enjoy living in them” which in and of itself dismantles alot of rightwing talking points
November 7, 2025 at 12:02 PM
It shouldn’t be forgotten that a big piece of Mamdani’s campaign was simply “cities are cool and lots of people enjoy living in them” which in and of itself dismantles alot of rightwing talking points
Reposted by Ariella Elema 🍁
Toronto harbour, circa 1920s
Artist: Stanley F. Turner
Medium: Goache on illustration board
#1920s #torontoart #art #artist #harbourfront #architecture #torontohistory #toronto #canada #jeremyhopkin
Artist: Stanley F. Turner
Medium: Goache on illustration board
#1920s #torontoart #art #artist #harbourfront #architecture #torontohistory #toronto #canada #jeremyhopkin
November 7, 2025 at 2:07 AM
Toronto harbour, circa 1920s
Artist: Stanley F. Turner
Medium: Goache on illustration board
#1920s #torontoart #art #artist #harbourfront #architecture #torontohistory #toronto #canada #jeremyhopkin
Artist: Stanley F. Turner
Medium: Goache on illustration board
#1920s #torontoart #art #artist #harbourfront #architecture #torontohistory #toronto #canada #jeremyhopkin
Reposted by Ariella Elema 🍁
If you aren't seeing skeets from some of your fave people, they might have been labeled "Rude" by bsky mods. Idk what they are thinking, I don't need a mommy to tell me who to be buddies with. Anyway, go into Settings > moderation > bluesky moderation (advanced) and turn Rude off.
November 5, 2025 at 7:10 AM
If you aren't seeing skeets from some of your fave people, they might have been labeled "Rude" by bsky mods. Idk what they are thinking, I don't need a mommy to tell me who to be buddies with. Anyway, go into Settings > moderation > bluesky moderation (advanced) and turn Rude off.
Reposted by Ariella Elema 🍁
There are strange things done in the desert sun
By the men who chisel stone;
A mocking hand, a sneer of cold command
Lying separate and alone;
Near the wreck’s decay, sands stretch away
But a traveller still can see
‘Pon this cenotaph an epigraph
“My name is Ozy-man-dee”
By the men who chisel stone;
A mocking hand, a sneer of cold command
Lying separate and alone;
Near the wreck’s decay, sands stretch away
But a traveller still can see
‘Pon this cenotaph an epigraph
“My name is Ozy-man-dee”
On a dark desert highway
Cold command in the sneer
Vast and trunkless legs of stone
Rising from the sand ne-e-ear..
Up ahead in the distance
Saw a pedestal grey
Words graven 'round the base
Thought I saw them say
Welcome to the Hotel Ozymandias
Such a lovely place, such a shattered face...
Cold command in the sneer
Vast and trunkless legs of stone
Rising from the sand ne-e-ear..
Up ahead in the distance
Saw a pedestal grey
Words graven 'round the base
Thought I saw them say
Welcome to the Hotel Ozymandias
Such a lovely place, such a shattered face...
[stomp stomp clap
stomp stomp clap
stomp stomp clap
stomp stomp clap]
Ozy you're a boy, makin' big works
Visage in the sand, gonna be a big MANdias
A cold sneer on your face
shattered remains
Nothin' but sand all 'round the decay
singin'
LEGS OF
LEGS OF
ROCK HEWN
LEGS OF
LEGS OF
ROCK HEWN
stomp stomp clap
stomp stomp clap
stomp stomp clap]
Ozy you're a boy, makin' big works
Visage in the sand, gonna be a big MANdias
A cold sneer on your face
shattered remains
Nothin' but sand all 'round the decay
singin'
LEGS OF
LEGS OF
ROCK HEWN
LEGS OF
LEGS OF
ROCK HEWN
November 4, 2025 at 3:15 AM
There are strange things done in the desert sun
By the men who chisel stone;
A mocking hand, a sneer of cold command
Lying separate and alone;
Near the wreck’s decay, sands stretch away
But a traveller still can see
‘Pon this cenotaph an epigraph
“My name is Ozy-man-dee”
By the men who chisel stone;
A mocking hand, a sneer of cold command
Lying separate and alone;
Near the wreck’s decay, sands stretch away
But a traveller still can see
‘Pon this cenotaph an epigraph
“My name is Ozy-man-dee”
I’m flashing back to that time in 2015 we elected a progressive Ismaili candidate of Ugandan extraction, and the entire political establishment did NOT lose their flippin’ minds. NY Repubs & centrist Dems should be embarrassed by the campaigns they’ve run.
November 4, 2025 at 5:16 PM
I’m flashing back to that time in 2015 we elected a progressive Ismaili candidate of Ugandan extraction, and the entire political establishment did NOT lose their flippin’ minds. NY Repubs & centrist Dems should be embarrassed by the campaigns they’ve run.
There are strange things done in the desert sun
By the men who chisel stone;
A mocking hand, a sneer of cold command
Lying separate and alone;
Near the wreck’s decay, sands stretch away
But a traveller still can see
‘Pon this cenotaph an epigraph
“My name is Ozy-man-dee”
By the men who chisel stone;
A mocking hand, a sneer of cold command
Lying separate and alone;
Near the wreck’s decay, sands stretch away
But a traveller still can see
‘Pon this cenotaph an epigraph
“My name is Ozy-man-dee”
On a dark desert highway
Cold command in the sneer
Vast and trunkless legs of stone
Rising from the sand ne-e-ear..
Up ahead in the distance
Saw a pedestal grey
Words graven 'round the base
Thought I saw them say
Welcome to the Hotel Ozymandias
Such a lovely place, such a shattered face...
Cold command in the sneer
Vast and trunkless legs of stone
Rising from the sand ne-e-ear..
Up ahead in the distance
Saw a pedestal grey
Words graven 'round the base
Thought I saw them say
Welcome to the Hotel Ozymandias
Such a lovely place, such a shattered face...
[stomp stomp clap
stomp stomp clap
stomp stomp clap
stomp stomp clap]
Ozy you're a boy, makin' big works
Visage in the sand, gonna be a big MANdias
A cold sneer on your face
shattered remains
Nothin' but sand all 'round the decay
singin'
LEGS OF
LEGS OF
ROCK HEWN
LEGS OF
LEGS OF
ROCK HEWN
stomp stomp clap
stomp stomp clap
stomp stomp clap]
Ozy you're a boy, makin' big works
Visage in the sand, gonna be a big MANdias
A cold sneer on your face
shattered remains
Nothin' but sand all 'round the decay
singin'
LEGS OF
LEGS OF
ROCK HEWN
LEGS OF
LEGS OF
ROCK HEWN
November 4, 2025 at 3:15 AM
There are strange things done in the desert sun
By the men who chisel stone;
A mocking hand, a sneer of cold command
Lying separate and alone;
Near the wreck’s decay, sands stretch away
But a traveller still can see
‘Pon this cenotaph an epigraph
“My name is Ozy-man-dee”
By the men who chisel stone;
A mocking hand, a sneer of cold command
Lying separate and alone;
Near the wreck’s decay, sands stretch away
But a traveller still can see
‘Pon this cenotaph an epigraph
“My name is Ozy-man-dee”
Reposted by Ariella Elema 🍁
The subway on Halloween night is one of the greatest things about NYC.
The music cuts off awkwardly before the end, but this is an incredible NYC Halloween costume compilation.
November 1, 2025 at 8:09 AM
The subway on Halloween night is one of the greatest things about NYC.
Reposted by Ariella Elema 🍁
it's me, unnamed critter from bosch's triptych of the temptation of anthony!
November 1, 2025 at 12:16 AM
it's me, unnamed critter from bosch's triptych of the temptation of anthony!
Reposted by Ariella Elema 🍁
thinking about potato house this halloween
October 31, 2025 at 7:51 AM
thinking about potato house this halloween
Reposted by Ariella Elema 🍁
i think if you ride public transit enough you learn that most weird behavior is not dangerous, and conversely i think driving a car teaches you that everyone is trying to kill you at all times
October 29, 2025 at 4:49 PM
i think if you ride public transit enough you learn that most weird behavior is not dangerous, and conversely i think driving a car teaches you that everyone is trying to kill you at all times
Reposted by Ariella Elema 🍁
Something I love about archival films is that when someone had a couple feet of film left on a roll they'd often use it to film their cat. So many films finish with a few seconds of cats
So, here's some cats from the 1950s and 60s. They were loved
Scanned from 8mm films
#Film #History #Cats
So, here's some cats from the 1950s and 60s. They were loved
Scanned from 8mm films
#Film #History #Cats
October 27, 2025 at 8:07 PM
Brundage’s flowchart of medieval sexual decision making as a computer program.
For reasons too complex to explain here, I wrote an Apple II program designed for Early Modern Age Catholics to determine if they're allowed to have sex with their wife, or if it'd be a sin.
Here's the video of it running.
Here's the video of it running.
October 25, 2025 at 8:13 PM
Brundage’s flowchart of medieval sexual decision making as a computer program.
New etiquette rule: if you email someone a question, please actually state the question. Please do not make them read a 5 pages of copy-and-pasted transcript of your convo with a slop bot to find out what you want. It’s rude, and it wastes everyone’s time.
October 17, 2025 at 10:56 PM
New etiquette rule: if you email someone a question, please actually state the question. Please do not make them read a 5 pages of copy-and-pasted transcript of your convo with a slop bot to find out what you want. It’s rude, and it wastes everyone’s time.
Reposted by Ariella Elema 🍁
Getting people to understand how LLMs work is a safety and health emergency
October 16, 2025 at 10:50 AM
Getting people to understand how LLMs work is a safety and health emergency
Reposted by Ariella Elema 🍁
Much #charterrific fun to be had on the new Fiscus website, dedicated to fiscal lands in the regnum Italiae! #medievalsky
fiscus.unibo.it/en/
fiscus.unibo.it/en/
Fiscus
fiscus.unibo.it
October 14, 2025 at 2:25 PM
Much #charterrific fun to be had on the new Fiscus website, dedicated to fiscal lands in the regnum Italiae! #medievalsky
fiscus.unibo.it/en/
fiscus.unibo.it/en/
Reposted by Ariella Elema 🍁
One of my favorite medieval dudes is a guy named Sir Hugh Eland, a knight who started his career by pillaging his neighbors and ended it as a noble advocate for prison reform (from behind the bars of Nottingham jail).
Medieval story time!
Medieval story time!
just found out that about a week ago, while george santos has been in solitary confinement, that he wrote that due to the inhuman conditions he is facing he is now pro prison reform. just unreal stuff honestly
October 13, 2025 at 10:27 PM
One of my favorite medieval dudes is a guy named Sir Hugh Eland, a knight who started his career by pillaging his neighbors and ended it as a noble advocate for prison reform (from behind the bars of Nottingham jail).
Medieval story time!
Medieval story time!
If they invade Toronto, do we go with inflatable trash pandas, or Mel Lastman-style artsy moose?
Chicago needs some cow suits.
October 11, 2025 at 11:10 PM
If they invade Toronto, do we go with inflatable trash pandas, or Mel Lastman-style artsy moose?
Reposted by Ariella Elema 🍁
Photos from today's walk at the Seattle Japanese Garden (thread). I was quite taken with these red leaves, dangling by a bit of spiderweb in a way that made them look like they were falling.
#photography #PNW #autumn #FallColors #nature #red #31DaysOfHalloween #SeattleJapaneseGarden
#photography #PNW #autumn #FallColors #nature #red #31DaysOfHalloween #SeattleJapaneseGarden
October 9, 2025 at 8:03 PM
Photos from today's walk at the Seattle Japanese Garden (thread). I was quite taken with these red leaves, dangling by a bit of spiderweb in a way that made them look like they were falling.
#photography #PNW #autumn #FallColors #nature #red #31DaysOfHalloween #SeattleJapaneseGarden
#photography #PNW #autumn #FallColors #nature #red #31DaysOfHalloween #SeattleJapaneseGarden
The internet is NOT forever.
Yikes. Just got a message from my child’s school: some children’s books by Andrew Cope (inc. Spy Dogs, Spy Cats, and Spy Pups series) have a printed URL at the back. This used to go to the author’s website, but now goes to an “adult content” site.
So, yeah… be careful with that URL 😳
So, yeah… be careful with that URL 😳
October 8, 2025 at 5:05 PM
The internet is NOT forever.
Aww, look at that little cutie!
From our rare books collection we have this illustration of Vampyroteuthis infernalis, also known as the vampire squid from hell. In an order of its own, we don't really think the vampiric moniker is fair either as they actually feed on detritus and not blood #EYAMonsters
October 7, 2025 at 6:07 PM
Aww, look at that little cutie!
Reposted by Ariella Elema 🍁
In addition to the report below, a new report shows that a vehicle belonging to a Ford government cabinet minister was caught driving 50km/h over the limit *twelve times* over the past three years.
October 7, 2025 at 3:46 PM
In addition to the report below, a new report shows that a vehicle belonging to a Ford government cabinet minister was caught driving 50km/h over the limit *twelve times* over the past three years.
The word on the street is that the WOTS is good this year, but don’t just take my word for it.
September 27, 2025 at 8:45 PM
The word on the street is that the WOTS is good this year, but don’t just take my word for it.
Reposted by Ariella Elema 🍁
The white supremacist conceit that everyone in antiquity was living under some kind of global jim crow segregation is just complete bullshit news.harvard.edu/gazette/stor...
Pure bloodlines? Ancestral homelands? DNA science says no. — Harvard Gazette
Geneticist explains recent analyses made possible by tech advances show human history to be one of mixing, movement, displacement.
news.harvard.edu
September 25, 2025 at 10:13 AM
The white supremacist conceit that everyone in antiquity was living under some kind of global jim crow segregation is just complete bullshit news.harvard.edu/gazette/stor...