Karen Desmond
@karendesmond.bsky.social
Medieval Musicologist. Professor of Music, Maynooth U. 🇮🇪 🇪🇺 Music and the moderni, 1300-1350: The ars nova in Theory and Practice (Cambridge, 2018). PI, BROKENSONG (ERC Consolidator Grant, 2023-28) https://www.maynoothuniversity.ie/people/karen-desmon
Delighted to see this and it was such a great experience working with my co-authors Lisa Colton and Jared Hartt! #fragmentology
Very excited to see our article on a fabulous central European music fragment now out in Plainsong & Medieval Music. Thanks to co-authors Jared Hartt & Karen Desmond! Fully open access. www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
Introducing a central European fragment of medieval polyphonic song | Plainsong & Medieval Music | Cambridge Core
Introducing a central European fragment of medieval polyphonic song - Volume 34 Issue 2
www.cambridge.org
November 14, 2025 at 3:21 PM
Delighted to see this and it was such a great experience working with my co-authors Lisa Colton and Jared Hartt! #fragmentology
Reposted by Karen Desmond
Several years ago, we put a whole bunch of data from a project into Wikidata. Now, as a result, some people who we had no more info for aside from a name or could not disambiguate are actually identifiable. LOD FTW.
November 14, 2025 at 2:03 PM
CFP update! The CFP deadline for the upcoming ERC-BROKENSONG (Maynooth University, Ireland, 15-16 May, 2026),has been extended to Oct 24, 2025. We will cover 2-3 nights' accommodation, and a contribution towards travel. Pls be in touch with questions ahi.maynoothuniversity.ie/brokensong/i...
Call for Papers – BROKENSONG
ahi.maynoothuniversity.ie
October 6, 2025 at 4:58 PM
CFP update! The CFP deadline for the upcoming ERC-BROKENSONG (Maynooth University, Ireland, 15-16 May, 2026),has been extended to Oct 24, 2025. We will cover 2-3 nights' accommodation, and a contribution towards travel. Pls be in touch with questions ahi.maynoothuniversity.ie/brokensong/i...
Reposted by Karen Desmond
"We're going to create superintelligence" How about making outlook search work first. How about that
October 3, 2025 at 5:18 PM
"We're going to create superintelligence" How about making outlook search work first. How about that
Presented yesterday on soundscapes of the alleluya at Worcester Cathedral in the Middle Ages at the En plain air conference in beautiful Siena (second pic is view from open windows in conference rm at U. dI Siena) #brokensong
September 25, 2025 at 8:04 AM
Presented yesterday on soundscapes of the alleluya at Worcester Cathedral in the Middle Ages at the En plain air conference in beautiful Siena (second pic is view from open windows in conference rm at U. dI Siena) #brokensong
Reposted by Karen Desmond
The elephant in the room....🐘🐘🐘🐘🐘🐘
Bodleian Library Arch. G b.6; Historia naturale di Caio Plinio Secondo, tradocta di lingua latina in fiorentina per Christophoro Landino; 1476 CE; Italy (Venice); f.93v @bodleian.ox.ac.uk
Bodleian Library Arch. G b.6; Historia naturale di Caio Plinio Secondo, tradocta di lingua latina in fiorentina per Christophoro Landino; 1476 CE; Italy (Venice); f.93v @bodleian.ox.ac.uk
September 17, 2025 at 9:08 PM
The elephant in the room....🐘🐘🐘🐘🐘🐘
Bodleian Library Arch. G b.6; Historia naturale di Caio Plinio Secondo, tradocta di lingua latina in fiorentina per Christophoro Landino; 1476 CE; Italy (Venice); f.93v @bodleian.ox.ac.uk
Bodleian Library Arch. G b.6; Historia naturale di Caio Plinio Secondo, tradocta di lingua latina in fiorentina per Christophoro Landino; 1476 CE; Italy (Venice); f.93v @bodleian.ox.ac.uk
Outside my office window right now
September 9, 2025 at 3:59 PM
Outside my office window right now
Reposted by Karen Desmond
I'm very pleased to share my new article on the python library undate, which is an ambitious in-progress effort to make it easier to work with incomplete dates and multiple calendars, building on work from Shakespeare and Company Project, Princeton Geniza Project, etc.
doi.org/10.1017/chr....
doi.org/10.1017/chr....
Undate: humanistic dates for computation | Computational Humanities Research | Cambridge Core
Undate: humanistic dates for computation - Volume 1
doi.org
August 29, 2025 at 3:28 PM
I'm very pleased to share my new article on the python library undate, which is an ambitious in-progress effort to make it easier to work with incomplete dates and multiple calendars, building on work from Shakespeare and Company Project, Princeton Geniza Project, etc.
doi.org/10.1017/chr....
doi.org/10.1017/chr....
Congrats to @maynoothuniversity.ie postdoc Johanna (team member @brokensong2023.bsky.social), awarded a Bodleian Library fellowship! www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/csb/fellowsh...
2025–26 Awarded Visiting Fellowships
Awarded Visiting Fellowships for the Bodleian Libraries, 2025-26
www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk
August 17, 2025 at 10:04 PM
Congrats to @maynoothuniversity.ie postdoc Johanna (team member @brokensong2023.bsky.social), awarded a Bodleian Library fellowship! www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/csb/fellowsh...
Reposted by Karen Desmond
Fantastic find. Medieval slate initially scored for music and reused for accounts in Middle English (cost of ink, 2d; repair of King William’s painting, 1/ 2d). (Abbey gatehouse exhibition.)
August 10, 2025 at 10:23 AM
Fantastic find. Medieval slate initially scored for music and reused for accounts in Middle English (cost of ink, 2d; repair of King William’s painting, 1/ 2d). (Abbey gatehouse exhibition.)
Reposted by Karen Desmond
If you're in Dublin between now and late October, don't miss the Words on the Wave exhibition at the National Museum on Kildare St. Some of our most important medieval Irish manuscripts are on loan from the Abbey of St Gallen & are back in Ireland for the first time in c. 1200 years. #MedievalSky
August 9, 2025 at 5:26 PM
If you're in Dublin between now and late October, don't miss the Words on the Wave exhibition at the National Museum on Kildare St. Some of our most important medieval Irish manuscripts are on loan from the Abbey of St Gallen & are back in Ireland for the first time in c. 1200 years. #MedievalSky
Reposted by Karen Desmond
Nice to see the Song of Wade featured in the newspapers!
I'm happy to be an "academic sleuth" – but I'm not a "scientist". *Humanities scholars can make discoveries too!*
I'm happy to be an "academic sleuth" – but I'm not a "scientist". *Humanities scholars can make discoveries too!*
July 17, 2025 at 9:32 AM
Nice to see the Song of Wade featured in the newspapers!
I'm happy to be an "academic sleuth" – but I'm not a "scientist". *Humanities scholars can make discoveries too!*
I'm happy to be an "academic sleuth" – but I'm not a "scientist". *Humanities scholars can make discoveries too!*
Reposted by Karen Desmond
CFP!! Come to beautiful
@maynoothuniversity.ie
for the #BROKENSONG conference! 14-16 May 2026: 'Fragmented Musical Cultures c.1150–c.1350'. CFP deadline 30 Sept 2025. More info and the full CFP: ahi.maynoothuniversity.ie/brokensong/i...
@erc.europa.eu
@maynoothuniversity.ie
for the #BROKENSONG conference! 14-16 May 2026: 'Fragmented Musical Cultures c.1150–c.1350'. CFP deadline 30 Sept 2025. More info and the full CFP: ahi.maynoothuniversity.ie/brokensong/i...
@erc.europa.eu
July 14, 2025 at 2:18 PM
CFP!! Come to beautiful
@maynoothuniversity.ie
for the #BROKENSONG conference! 14-16 May 2026: 'Fragmented Musical Cultures c.1150–c.1350'. CFP deadline 30 Sept 2025. More info and the full CFP: ahi.maynoothuniversity.ie/brokensong/i...
@erc.europa.eu
@maynoothuniversity.ie
for the #BROKENSONG conference! 14-16 May 2026: 'Fragmented Musical Cultures c.1150–c.1350'. CFP deadline 30 Sept 2025. More info and the full CFP: ahi.maynoothuniversity.ie/brokensong/i...
@erc.europa.eu
Reposted by Karen Desmond
Signed a publication agreement for an article I've co-authored with @karendesmond.bsky.social & Jared Hartt, for Plainsong & Medieval Music this autumn, based on work we shared two MedRens ago (in Munich 2023). Conferences are vital to making good collaborations and sharing our work!
July 8, 2025 at 12:12 PM
Signed a publication agreement for an article I've co-authored with @karendesmond.bsky.social & Jared Hartt, for Plainsong & Medieval Music this autumn, based on work we shared two MedRens ago (in Munich 2023). Conferences are vital to making good collaborations and sharing our work!
Reposted by Karen Desmond
In early June, Karen traveled to London where #BROKENSONG convened a very productive pre-MEC workshop to move forward on encoding pre-mensural notation in MEI - thanks to all involved! She also presented a paper at the 2025 MEC conference #music-encoding @music-encoding.bsky.social
July 2, 2025 at 7:29 PM
In early June, Karen traveled to London where #BROKENSONG convened a very productive pre-MEC workshop to move forward on encoding pre-mensural notation in MEI - thanks to all involved! She also presented a paper at the 2025 MEC conference #music-encoding @music-encoding.bsky.social
NYT: “Ms. Leavitt did not offer any evidence of “D.E.I.” pursuits Dr. Hayden engaged in. She accused Dr. Hayden of allowing “inappropriate books in the library for children.”
The Library of Congress does not lend books to adults or children”
www.nytimes.com/2025/05/09/u...
The Library of Congress does not lend books to adults or children”
www.nytimes.com/2025/05/09/u...
Trump Fired Librarian of Congress Over D.E.I.
www.nytimes.com
May 10, 2025 at 6:31 AM
NYT: “Ms. Leavitt did not offer any evidence of “D.E.I.” pursuits Dr. Hayden engaged in. She accused Dr. Hayden of allowing “inappropriate books in the library for children.”
The Library of Congress does not lend books to adults or children”
www.nytimes.com/2025/05/09/u...
The Library of Congress does not lend books to adults or children”
www.nytimes.com/2025/05/09/u...
Reposted by Karen Desmond
"Designing sustainable Digital Editions", Dr Pádraic Moran, University of Galway. 17.00-18.00, Tuesday 27 May 2025. Iontas seminar room 1.33, Maynooth University. All welcome - no booking required.
May 9, 2025 at 4:21 PM
"Designing sustainable Digital Editions", Dr Pádraic Moran, University of Galway. 17.00-18.00, Tuesday 27 May 2025. Iontas seminar room 1.33, Maynooth University. All welcome - no booking required.
Reposted by Karen Desmond
lots of layers to this chant fragment:
-Lenten collects in writing that suggests it was made in Ireland, possibly in the 8th century
-Musical notation added several centuries later, possibly in Germany somewhere? but it doesn't match the words?
fragmentarium.ms/view/page/F-...
-Lenten collects in writing that suggests it was made in Ireland, possibly in the 8th century
-Musical notation added several centuries later, possibly in Germany somewhere? but it doesn't match the words?
fragmentarium.ms/view/page/F-...
November 8, 2024 at 9:45 PM
lots of layers to this chant fragment:
-Lenten collects in writing that suggests it was made in Ireland, possibly in the 8th century
-Musical notation added several centuries later, possibly in Germany somewhere? but it doesn't match the words?
fragmentarium.ms/view/page/F-...
-Lenten collects in writing that suggests it was made in Ireland, possibly in the 8th century
-Musical notation added several centuries later, possibly in Germany somewhere? but it doesn't match the words?
fragmentarium.ms/view/page/F-...
Reposted by Karen Desmond
Scans of 18 ancient papyri that were buried by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius look ‘very promising’, and there are plans to digitally unroll many more.
#ClassicsBluesky 🏺
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
#ClassicsBluesky 🏺
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Inside the quest to digitally unroll ancient scrolls burnt by Vesuvius
Mission to decipher Herculaneum scrolls using high-resolution scanning and artificial intelligence scales up rapidly.
www.nature.com
April 25, 2025 at 2:15 PM
Scans of 18 ancient papyri that were buried by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius look ‘very promising’, and there are plans to digitally unroll many more.
#ClassicsBluesky 🏺
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
#ClassicsBluesky 🏺
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Yes it is insulting, to say the least (said as a NEH reviewer and awardee): ‘NEH has also taken programmatic steps to ensure that all future awards will, among other things, be merit-based…’
I ran grant programs at @nehgov.bsky.social for over a decade. With colleagues, oversaw review of thousands of grant applications. Witnessed care & thoughtfulness of hundreds of reviewers. This statement is insulting to all of them. Whoever wrote it should be ashamed.
www.neh.gov/news/update-...
www.neh.gov/news/update-...
An Update on NEH Funding Priorities and the Agency’s Recent Implementation of Trump Administration Executive Orders
www.neh.gov
April 24, 2025 at 10:09 PM
Yes it is insulting, to say the least (said as a NEH reviewer and awardee): ‘NEH has also taken programmatic steps to ensure that all future awards will, among other things, be merit-based…’
Reposted by Karen Desmond
Proud to share the latest work from our group! We liberate musicological data from their printed form and provide a novel machine-readable resource for computational analysis! #digitalhumanities #musicscience
www.linkedin.com/posts/timeip...
www.linkedin.com/posts/timeip...
Corpus Troporum Dataset: A Digital Catalog of Trope Elements in Medieval… | Tim Eipert
Excited to share that my paper on a Dataset I created with Corinna Bongartz and Fabian C. Moss has just been published! It could be interesting to everyone who works with medieval chant, tropes, and m...
www.linkedin.com
April 24, 2025 at 9:39 AM
Proud to share the latest work from our group! We liberate musicological data from their printed form and provide a novel machine-readable resource for computational analysis! #digitalhumanities #musicscience
www.linkedin.com/posts/timeip...
www.linkedin.com/posts/timeip...
