Lucy Allen-Goss
@lucyallengoss.bsky.social
Medievalist, feminist, dabbles in horticulture. Writing more and more about infertility/reproduction. Yorkshire.
https://lucyallengoss.substack.com/
My book is Female Desire in Chaucer's Legend of Good Women and Middle English Romance
https://lucyallengoss.substack.com/
My book is Female Desire in Chaucer's Legend of Good Women and Middle English Romance
Anyone know the etymology of the colour/dye word 'gingeline'? I wondered if, like 'grideline' it comes from a corruption of 'de line' (flax). I am loving this quotation about 'silk grogans, satins, velvet fine/ The rosy-colour'd carnadine/ Your nutmeg hue, or gingerline/ Cloth of tissue or tabine'.
February 7, 2026 at 8:30 PM
Anyone know the etymology of the colour/dye word 'gingeline'? I wondered if, like 'grideline' it comes from a corruption of 'de line' (flax). I am loving this quotation about 'silk grogans, satins, velvet fine/ The rosy-colour'd carnadine/ Your nutmeg hue, or gingerline/ Cloth of tissue or tabine'.
Reposted by Lucy Allen-Goss
Look what arrived today, or at least the ebook did. This is the first encyclopedia devoted exclusively to medieval women’s writing globally,focusing on the thousand-year period between 500-1500. Entries on about 250 women writers plus longer thematic essays. You’re welcome.
February 7, 2026 at 5:49 PM
Look what arrived today, or at least the ebook did. This is the first encyclopedia devoted exclusively to medieval women’s writing globally,focusing on the thousand-year period between 500-1500. Entries on about 250 women writers plus longer thematic essays. You’re welcome.
I'm really proud of this post (so I am correspondingly nervous about sharing it). In it, I'm arguing against the narrative of grief as 'love with no place to go,' which I think is damaging and dismissive.
lucyallengoss.substack.com/p/stob-fobbi...
lucyallengoss.substack.com/p/stob-fobbi...
Stob fobbing women off with 'grief is love with no place to go'
Can we please just acknowledge that sometimes, it hurts for a reason?
lucyallengoss.substack.com
February 7, 2026 at 9:59 AM
I'm really proud of this post (so I am correspondingly nervous about sharing it). In it, I'm arguing against the narrative of grief as 'love with no place to go,' which I think is damaging and dismissive.
lucyallengoss.substack.com/p/stob-fobbi...
lucyallengoss.substack.com/p/stob-fobbi...
Reposted by Lucy Allen-Goss
Wonderful news from Birkbeck's School of Historical Studies. We're hiring not one but TWO open-ended, full-time roles: Medieval Studies, and History of Art! cis7.bbk.ac.uk/home.html#fi...
Current Vacancies - Birkbeck, University of London
Birkbeck
cis7.bbk.ac.uk
January 29, 2026 at 3:20 PM
Wonderful news from Birkbeck's School of Historical Studies. We're hiring not one but TWO open-ended, full-time roles: Medieval Studies, and History of Art! cis7.bbk.ac.uk/home.html#fi...
Reposted by Lucy Allen-Goss
Check out the CFP for the Gender & Medieval Studies conference in Oxford in Sept! Theme is ✨GENDER & CREATIVITY✨ Conf generously support by University College, Oxford; the John Fell Fund (Oxford University); the Society for Medieval Feminist Scholarship; the GMS group; & @guildmedmak.bsky.social
The CFP for the Gender & Medieval Studies conference 2026 is now LIVE! The theme is Gender & Creativity. The conf will be held in Oxford, 8-10 Sept, abstracts due to me by 13 April. Full details on the GMS website (artwork by @hellomizk.bsky.social) medievalgender.co.uk/2026-oxford/
January 26, 2026 at 8:38 AM
Check out the CFP for the Gender & Medieval Studies conference in Oxford in Sept! Theme is ✨GENDER & CREATIVITY✨ Conf generously support by University College, Oxford; the John Fell Fund (Oxford University); the Society for Medieval Feminist Scholarship; the GMS group; & @guildmedmak.bsky.social
Reposted by Lucy Allen-Goss
Very saddened by the death of Deborah Cameron this week—a brilliant linguist, feminist, and colleague, who shone bright light on language and gender in society.
Here she is talking about why people are interested in linguistic differences between men and women:
englishandmedia.co.uk/videos/colle...
Here she is talking about why people are interested in linguistic differences between men and women:
englishandmedia.co.uk/videos/colle...
Professor Deborah Cameron on Language and Gender
Professor Deborah Cameron discusses Language and Gender.
englishandmedia.co.uk
January 24, 2026 at 5:52 PM
Very saddened by the death of Deborah Cameron this week—a brilliant linguist, feminist, and colleague, who shone bright light on language and gender in society.
Here she is talking about why people are interested in linguistic differences between men and women:
englishandmedia.co.uk/videos/colle...
Here she is talking about why people are interested in linguistic differences between men and women:
englishandmedia.co.uk/videos/colle...
Reposted by Lucy Allen-Goss
Such a lovely surprise. Lucy's reading is so perceptive and thoughtful - honestly, if no one ever reads or reviews All My Worldly Joy again, I will be happy with this!
Here's my post, which is about Hamnet, and emotion, and gender, but also about the fantastic new memoir All My Worldly Joy, by Laura Richmond, which totally blew me away. lucyallengoss.substack.com/p/when-women...
When Women Scream Like Hawks: Emotion, Memoir, and the Hamnet Debate
Today’s post was sparked off by a wonderful book I read, far too quickly and far too late into the night (because I couldn’t put it down): Laura Richmond’s All My Worldly Joy. It was also inspired by ...
lucyallengoss.substack.com
January 25, 2026 at 10:53 AM
Such a lovely surprise. Lucy's reading is so perceptive and thoughtful - honestly, if no one ever reads or reviews All My Worldly Joy again, I will be happy with this!
This is going to be wonderful!
The CFP for the Gender & Medieval Studies conference 2026 is now LIVE! The theme is Gender & Creativity. The conf will be held in Oxford, 8-10 Sept, abstracts due to me by 13 April. Full details on the GMS website (artwork by @hellomizk.bsky.social) medievalgender.co.uk/2026-oxford/
January 25, 2026 at 11:04 AM
This is going to be wonderful!
I am, on reflection, genuinely stunned that Jonathan Bate got away with writing a review of Hamnet that basically concludes with 'she should have written the book *I* wanted to read' and 'if only she'd thought of making the main character a man!' Thoughts:
lucyallengoss.substack.com/p/when-women...
lucyallengoss.substack.com/p/when-women...
When Women Scream Like Hawks: Emotion, Memoir, and the Hamnet Debate
Today’s post was sparked off by a wonderful book I read, far too quickly and far too late into the night (because I couldn’t put it down): Laura Richmond’s All My Worldly Joy. It was also inspired by ...
lucyallengoss.substack.com
January 24, 2026 at 5:00 PM
I am, on reflection, genuinely stunned that Jonathan Bate got away with writing a review of Hamnet that basically concludes with 'she should have written the book *I* wanted to read' and 'if only she'd thought of making the main character a man!' Thoughts:
lucyallengoss.substack.com/p/when-women...
lucyallengoss.substack.com/p/when-women...
Reposted by Lucy Allen-Goss
If you are in #NYC next week, come to “Weaving Dreams/#Quilting Community” a panel discussion-sewing demo featuring textile artists/writers/organizers who have inspired me. You’ll get swag to embellish!! #quiltsky #Artsky #Blacksky Pls register by 1/27!
www.eventbrite.com/e/weaving-dr...
www.eventbrite.com/e/weaving-dr...
Weaving Dreams, Quilting Community
Dr. Kim F. Hall in conversation and hands-on demo with fellow quilters Dr. Christa Gilliam, Juandamarie Gikandi, and Jacqueline Johnson.
www.eventbrite.com
January 24, 2026 at 11:35 AM
If you are in #NYC next week, come to “Weaving Dreams/#Quilting Community” a panel discussion-sewing demo featuring textile artists/writers/organizers who have inspired me. You’ll get swag to embellish!! #quiltsky #Artsky #Blacksky Pls register by 1/27!
www.eventbrite.com/e/weaving-dr...
www.eventbrite.com/e/weaving-dr...
Here's my post, which is about Hamnet, and emotion, and gender, but also about the fantastic new memoir All My Worldly Joy, by Laura Richmond, which totally blew me away. lucyallengoss.substack.com/p/when-women...
When Women Scream Like Hawks: Emotion, Memoir, and the Hamnet Debate
Today’s post was sparked off by a wonderful book I read, far too quickly and far too late into the night (because I couldn’t put it down): Laura Richmond’s All My Worldly Joy. It was also inspired by ...
lucyallengoss.substack.com
January 24, 2026 at 11:45 AM
Here's my post, which is about Hamnet, and emotion, and gender, but also about the fantastic new memoir All My Worldly Joy, by Laura Richmond, which totally blew me away. lucyallengoss.substack.com/p/when-women...
Here's today's post, on Shakespeare, Jacobean silk making, and what we do with historical records. lucyallengoss.substack.com/p/spinning-t...
Spinning Tall Tales: Shakespeare's Silk Mulberry and Magical Herbs in 'Hamnet'
I have not yet watched Hamnet. I will - I might post about it - but the general excitement about it has brought me back to the novel behind the film. I found Maggie O’Farrell’s writing spellbinding, b...
lucyallengoss.substack.com
January 14, 2026 at 7:05 PM
Here's today's post, on Shakespeare, Jacobean silk making, and what we do with historical records. lucyallengoss.substack.com/p/spinning-t...
It's a Hamnet post for me today - book, not film - because I stumbled across a reference to silk-making in Greer's biography of Hathaway (which O'Farrell cites as an influence), and it got me thinking about the way women's work, and practicality, are portrayed.
open.substack.com/pub/lucyalle...
open.substack.com/pub/lucyalle...
Spinning Tall Tales: Shakespeare's Silk Mulberry and Magical Herbs in 'Hamnet'
I have not yet watched Hamnet. I will - I might post about it - but the general excitement about it has brought me back to the novel behind the film. I found Maggie O’Farrell’s writing spellbinding, b...
open.substack.com
January 14, 2026 at 1:25 PM
It's a Hamnet post for me today - book, not film - because I stumbled across a reference to silk-making in Greer's biography of Hathaway (which O'Farrell cites as an influence), and it got me thinking about the way women's work, and practicality, are portrayed.
open.substack.com/pub/lucyalle...
open.substack.com/pub/lucyalle...
Reposted by Lucy Allen-Goss
Lysander: but what about Demetrius and HELENA? #MoonMad #SlowShakespeare
www.english.cam.ac.uk/research/slo...
Disdainful Demetrius & doting Helena in a still from the opening of the BBC Animated Tales Dream; adapted by Leon Garfield, the storytelling stands up well www.dailymotion.com/video/x7umt8z
www.english.cam.ac.uk/research/slo...
Disdainful Demetrius & doting Helena in a still from the opening of the BBC Animated Tales Dream; adapted by Leon Garfield, the storytelling stands up well www.dailymotion.com/video/x7umt8z
January 13, 2026 at 9:21 AM
Lysander: but what about Demetrius and HELENA? #MoonMad #SlowShakespeare
www.english.cam.ac.uk/research/slo...
Disdainful Demetrius & doting Helena in a still from the opening of the BBC Animated Tales Dream; adapted by Leon Garfield, the storytelling stands up well www.dailymotion.com/video/x7umt8z
www.english.cam.ac.uk/research/slo...
Disdainful Demetrius & doting Helena in a still from the opening of the BBC Animated Tales Dream; adapted by Leon Garfield, the storytelling stands up well www.dailymotion.com/video/x7umt8z
Reposted by Lucy Allen-Goss
Monday bump for my workshop 15-16 June Nostalgia and Radical Politics, Past and Present - send in your abstracts! :) www.northampton.ac.uk/research-blo... 🗃️ #skystorians
Call For Papers: Nostalgia and Radical Politics, Past and Present | UON
Centre for Historical Studies, University of Northampton, UK Monday 15 – Tuesday 16 June 2026 Nostalgia, defined most simply as a wistful or...
www.northampton.ac.uk
January 12, 2026 at 4:43 PM
Monday bump for my workshop 15-16 June Nostalgia and Radical Politics, Past and Present - send in your abstracts! :) www.northampton.ac.uk/research-blo... 🗃️ #skystorians
Reposted by Lucy Allen-Goss
'I like to live spaciously, but rather plainly, in large halls with great spaces and quiet libraries...': my writing round-up of 2025, including posts on the classical Cambridge scholar, Jane Ellen Harrison and her literary influence on Virginia Woolf.
My Substack year
A few things I've written about & photographed in 2025
open.substack.com
January 11, 2026 at 4:10 PM
'I like to live spaciously, but rather plainly, in large halls with great spaces and quiet libraries...': my writing round-up of 2025, including posts on the classical Cambridge scholar, Jane Ellen Harrison and her literary influence on Virginia Woolf.
This discovery is absolutely fascinating and wonderful, but we still need to talk about male fertility - the implication this article gives is that paternal age is irrelevant, and sadly, it is not.
www.theguardian.com/science/2026...
www.theguardian.com/science/2026...
Human eggs ‘rejuvenated’ in an advance that could boost IVF success rates
Exclusive: Research suggests supplementing eggs with a key protein reduces age-related defects, raising hopes of improved IVF for older women
www.theguardian.com
January 9, 2026 at 9:13 AM
This discovery is absolutely fascinating and wonderful, but we still need to talk about male fertility - the implication this article gives is that paternal age is irrelevant, and sadly, it is not.
www.theguardian.com/science/2026...
www.theguardian.com/science/2026...
A little post on Petrus Christus' spellbinding 'The Madonna of the Dry Tree,' his wife Gaudicine, and the value of quiet, uncertain, ambivalent new beginnings. lucyallengoss.substack.com/p/winter-lig...
January 8, 2026 at 10:21 PM
A little post on Petrus Christus' spellbinding 'The Madonna of the Dry Tree,' his wife Gaudicine, and the value of quiet, uncertain, ambivalent new beginnings. lucyallengoss.substack.com/p/winter-lig...
Reposted by Lucy Allen-Goss
This is a lovely and moving piece of writing by @lucyallengoss.bsky.social. I especially recognise the minimisation of the 'reality' of the Tudor Queen Mary's pregnancy, still prevalent today, and the invisibility of the hard work of IVF. And thank you for the shout out, Lucy.
I wrote this post in recognition of the introduction of bereavement leave for pregnancy losses up to 24 weeks, which is long overdue and vital. Thanks to @almiddlemiss.bsky.social for her amazing book, which makes the case more strongly that I ever could. lucyallengoss.substack.com/p/why-not-ha...
Why Not Having a Baby is Hard Physical Work: Thoughts on IVF, Mary I, and Changing Laws
I sat down yesterday evening thinking I would write a really good Christmas post.
lucyallengoss.substack.com
January 5, 2026 at 9:10 AM
This is a lovely and moving piece of writing by @lucyallengoss.bsky.social. I especially recognise the minimisation of the 'reality' of the Tudor Queen Mary's pregnancy, still prevalent today, and the invisibility of the hard work of IVF. And thank you for the shout out, Lucy.
If you would like to lighten up Boxing Day with a little feminist ranting, please enjoy. I'm responding to Johannes de Weck in today's Guardian, who inspired me to write with his unholy union of Kant, the phrase 'the dark ages' and a sexist anecdote. lucyallengoss.substack.com/p/kant-and-a...
Kant, and a Bro's Defence of Pure Reason: Why What is Taking us Back to the 'Dark Ages' is Unquestioning Sexism, not AI
Thoughts on Johannes de Weck in Today's Guardian
lucyallengoss.substack.com
December 26, 2025 at 5:39 PM
If you would like to lighten up Boxing Day with a little feminist ranting, please enjoy. I'm responding to Johannes de Weck in today's Guardian, who inspired me to write with his unholy union of Kant, the phrase 'the dark ages' and a sexist anecdote. lucyallengoss.substack.com/p/kant-and-a...
This is just embarrassing, isn't it? www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Our king, priest and feudal lord – how AI is taking us back to the dark ages | Joseph de Weck
Since the Enlightenment, we’ve been making our own decisions. But now AI may be about to change that, says Joseph de Weck, a fellow with the Foreign Policy Research Institute
www.theguardian.com
December 26, 2025 at 4:18 PM
This is just embarrassing, isn't it? www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
I wrote this post in recognition of the introduction of bereavement leave for pregnancy losses up to 24 weeks, which is long overdue and vital. Thanks to @almiddlemiss.bsky.social for her amazing book, which makes the case more strongly that I ever could. lucyallengoss.substack.com/p/why-not-ha...
Why Not Having a Baby is Hard Physical Work: Thoughts on IVF, Mary I, and Changing Laws
I sat down yesterday evening thinking I would write a really good Christmas post.
lucyallengoss.substack.com
December 19, 2025 at 8:03 PM
I wrote this post in recognition of the introduction of bereavement leave for pregnancy losses up to 24 weeks, which is long overdue and vital. Thanks to @almiddlemiss.bsky.social for her amazing book, which makes the case more strongly that I ever could. lucyallengoss.substack.com/p/why-not-ha...
I'm writing here about Brilliana Harley and her letters to her student son at Oxford in the seventeenth century. There is a paywell, but only for the last little bit - and Brilliana's letters are absolutely delightful and worth knowing if you don't already. lucyallengoss.substack.com/p/a-seventee...
A Seventeenth-Century Mother Preparing for Christmas: Brilliana Harley's Letters
On December 6th, 1639, a mother sat down to write to her son.
lucyallengoss.substack.com
December 6, 2025 at 1:58 PM
I'm writing here about Brilliana Harley and her letters to her student son at Oxford in the seventeenth century. There is a paywell, but only for the last little bit - and Brilliana's letters are absolutely delightful and worth knowing if you don't already. lucyallengoss.substack.com/p/a-seventee...
The fabulous @laurakalas.bsky.social talking about toughness and Margery Kempe with Ray Winstone on Radio 4. Absolutely wonderful. www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
History's Heroes - History's Toughest Heroes - Margery Kempe: Ministry of Tears - BBC Sounds
A medieval woman finds superhuman strength in her tears.
www.bbc.co.uk
November 19, 2025 at 7:46 PM
The fabulous @laurakalas.bsky.social talking about toughness and Margery Kempe with Ray Winstone on Radio 4. Absolutely wonderful. www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
Reposted by Lucy Allen-Goss
Somewhat astonishingly, here it is, a book, a thing in the world... More, including acknowledgements, soon❤️
October 31, 2025 at 2:27 PM
Somewhat astonishingly, here it is, a book, a thing in the world... More, including acknowledgements, soon❤️