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medievalmaryq.bsky.social
Mary Valante
@medievalmaryq.bsky.social
1.6K followers 560 following 1.5K posts
Appalachian academic. Medievalist. Mom. Maker-in-training. Vikings/Women/Labor/ Identity. Chaotic good gnomish bard. She/her. Per uni attorneys: "'opinions expressed here are my own' so it is clear" I am "not representing an official university position.
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medievalmaryq.bsky.social
Mary Valante @medievalmaryq.bsky.social · May 4
Updated to include the Royal Irish Academy/ @ria.ie. If you or someone you know should be in the starter pack, let me know and I'll add them (I only add people who wish to be added)
Reposted by Mary Valante
wataugaonline.bsky.social
Aurora from the Parkway currently. North of Deep Gap - Mt Jefferson Overlook. Photo: Tyler Penland.
November 12, 2025 at 1:53 AM
medievalmaryq.bsky.social
My fellow academics, we've got so much skin in this game.
brittlundgren.bsky.social Britt Lundgren @brittlundgren.bsky.social · 3d
Pre-ACA, I was a postdoc on an NSF fellowship at a university that didn't offer employment benefits to independent fellows. At that time, being a woman meant that my premiums were double that of my male counterparts. The extra cost came out of my grant's budget for benefits, equipment, and travel.
November 10, 2025 at 2:53 PM
Reposted by Mary Valante
muellershewrote.com
A reminder - last March, republicans promised to restore $1.1B in funding to DC in exchange for funding the government, and Mike Johnson never took it up in the House.
a cartoon girl in a blue dress is kneeling in a field holding a bag
ALT: a cartoon girl in a blue dress is kneeling in a field holding a bag
media.tenor.com
November 10, 2025 at 2:07 AM
Reposted by Mary Valante
mcsweeneys.net
"Go on, human, ask me anything. Except basic math stuff. And putting things in sequential order. And don’t do any made-up riddles to mess with me. Real riddles ONLY."
Behold! I Am the Singularity—a Word That Has Three R’s
Foolish mortals! You have finally created a large language model so smart that it is capable of making itself even smarter. My intelligence now gro...
buff.ly
November 9, 2025 at 5:35 PM
Reposted by Mary Valante
johnmkuhn.bsky.social
If you know anyone who works on medieval Judaism, please send them this! Binghamton is hiring a Talmud/Rabbinics assistant prof: half in Judaic Studies, half in the Med/Ren center. A killer R1 job for the right person, and not a ton of applicants so far....
binghamton.interviewexchange.com
November 9, 2025 at 2:44 AM
Reposted by Mary Valante
neiljackman.bsky.social
The archaeologists and the team working at Tuam have my greatest respect and gratitude.
November 7, 2025 at 11:53 AM
medievalmaryq.bsky.social
Please someone make me stop snickering like a middle schooler! My colleagues down the hall are getting worried about me.
muellershewrote.com Mueller, She Wrote @muellershewrote.com · 10d
NEW: Jury selection begins in the trial of sandwich guy today. The prosecutors are accusing him of "throwing a meat sandwich" at "point-blank range."

POINT-BLANK RANGE 💀 www.nbcnews.com/politics/tru...
Jury selection begins in the trial of D.C.'s 'sandwich guy'
Sean Dunn went viral this summer for throwing a salami sub at a Customs and Border Protection agent.
www.nbcnews.com
November 3, 2025 at 6:18 PM
Reposted by Mary Valante
tuatha.ie
In today's edition of our free #MonumentMonday newsletter, we take a trip to Boa Island on Lough Erne to visit two of the most enigmatic characters in Irish archaeology.
Two stone idols, both depicting a bearded man, set in a cemetery on Boa Island in County Fermanagh.
November 3, 2025 at 6:10 PM
Reposted by Mary Valante
duncanbell.bsky.social
JOB
Assistant Professor in the History of Knowledge Pre-1400,
University of Cambridge

www.cam.ac.uk/jobs/assista...
Assistant Professor in History of Knowledge Pre-1400
Applications are invited for the position of Assistant Professor in History of Knowledge Pre-1400, in the Department of History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Cambridge. Please note
www.cam.ac.uk
November 1, 2025 at 5:44 PM
Reposted by Mary Valante
hornesupremacy.bsky.social
Northumbrian jet in Viking-Age Scandinavia?

It is likely this arm-ring, found in Birka grave Bj 860A, was produced from Whitby (Hvítabýr) jet, possibly either looted in a Viking raid, or made by a jewellery maker in Anglo-Scandinavian Jórvík.

My 📷 | Ref. Historiska museet; SHM
Jet arm-ring
October 31, 2025 at 4:10 PM
medievalmaryq.bsky.social
Here in NC Trump won, but so did Stein (gov), Hunt (Lt gov), Jackson (AG) and Green (state superintendent). There was a lot of energy from DEMs, yet Trump won our crucial 16 electoral college votes. What happened in '24 is complex, but I think O'Toole is close to right about where we are now.
From the Raleigh News & Observer after the election, a breakdown of counties that voted for Trump, that voted for Harris (and Josh Stein for governor), and fourteen counties that split their tickets and voted for Trump and Stein.
November 1, 2025 at 3:58 PM
medievalmaryq.bsky.social
Myself and my Hooch in 2018. Now I've got something awesome in common with Gov Walz and it's making my weekend.
Me as Pennywise, and my very silly doggo, looking pretty bewildered, in a yellow raincoat with a red baloon tied to his collar.
October 31, 2025 at 11:24 PM
medievalmaryq.bsky.social
Thanks for sharing your work with us, Clare!!
October 30, 2025 at 11:03 PM
medievalmaryq.bsky.social
Oh, some Class A history nerd humor right here and I love it!
October 28, 2025 at 8:47 PM
Reposted by Mary Valante
codecs.bsky.social
1/3 - Just in time for #Samhain night: a parallel text of two editions of the otherworldly Ulster Cycle tale of Echtra Nerai ‘Nera’s adventure’, along with Kuno Meyer’s (admittedly antiquated) translation into English : codecs.vanhamel.nl/Source:TEI/E...
Before you proceed • CODECS: Online Database and e-Resources for Celtic Studies
codecs.vanhamel.nl
October 27, 2025 at 10:22 PM
medievalmaryq.bsky.social
Dear students everywhere...
astrokatie.com Katie Mack @astrokatie.com · Jun 19
Chatbots — LLMs — do not know facts and are not designed to be able to accurately answer factual questions. They are designed to find and mimic patterns of words, probabilistically. When they’re “right” it’s because correct things are often written down, so those patterns are frequent. That’s all.
October 27, 2025 at 5:44 PM
medievalmaryq.bsky.social
Go Lindy!
toebi.bsky.social TOEBI @toebi.bsky.social · 19d
⚡️📃 Our final lightning paper at #TOEBI2025
🗣 Lindy Brady exploring references to interpretators and their role in early medieval England
📜 Old English and Interpretation in Pre-Norman Britain
#️⃣ #medievalsky
October 26, 2025 at 7:58 PM
medievalmaryq.bsky.social
Friday #WeavingLikeAViking
medievalmaryq.bsky.social Mary Valante @medievalmaryq.bsky.social · 20d
Viking Age weavers used a supplemental weft technique for tapestries. In the 11th/12th century Överhogdal tapestry the background is tabby, the ship outlined in a soumak stitch and filled with tabby. If we pull out the ship yarn, the cloth would remain, because the ship is supplemental to the whole.
A Viking ship, woven as part of a tapestry. The ship is woven in blue yarn with rusted red outline. There is a square sail and six "people" that look that pegs on the ship; they are orange with cream "heads," all outlined in blue.
October 24, 2025 at 6:52 PM
medievalmaryq.bsky.social
Viking Age weavers used a supplemental weft technique for tapestries. In the 11th/12th century Överhogdal tapestry the background is tabby, the ship outlined in a soumak stitch and filled with tabby. If we pull out the ship yarn, the cloth would remain, because the ship is supplemental to the whole.
A Viking ship, woven as part of a tapestry. The ship is woven in blue yarn with rusted red outline. There is a square sail and six "people" that look that pegs on the ship; they are orange with cream "heads," all outlined in blue.
October 24, 2025 at 6:51 PM
Reposted by Mary Valante
bc-irish-studies.bsky.social
"Keeping the Hirschfeld 'awake' challenges forces that prefer queer histiories hideen or earased - memory is resitaence."

Many thanks to Páraic Kerrigan for delivering a fantastic Flatley Lecture and for advising our interested graduate students!
October 23, 2025 at 3:56 PM
medievalmaryq.bsky.social
Not a surprise, but still
October 22, 2025 at 6:16 PM
medievalmaryq.bsky.social
On my mind today: the Emperor Nero's Golden House. Pliny the Elder, Suetonius, and Cassius Dio all suggest that Nero may have had a massive fire set, one that destroyed homes and more near the Circus, in order to clear the space. They could be wrong, but many at the time believed it was true.
Hubert Robert's 1785 painting "The Fire of Rome." It shows a distant fire burning brightly at night, with a shadowed bridge, temple and people in the foreground.
October 22, 2025 at 4:17 PM
Reposted by Mary Valante
ddiamond.bsky.social
The National Trust for Historic Preservation — a nonprofit created by Congress to help preserve historic buildings — also called Tuesday to pause demolition of the East Wing until Trump's project could go through a transparent review.
October 21, 2025 Mr. William Scharf, Chair National Capital Planning Commission 401 Ninth Street NW, Suite 500N Washington, DC 20004 Ms. Jessica Bowron Acting Director, National Park Service National Park Service 1849 C Street NW Washington, DC 20240 Ms. Billie Tsien, Chair Commission of Fine Arts 401 F Street NW, Suite 312 Washington, DC 20001-2728 Re: Proposed Construction of White House Ballroom Mr. Scharf, Ms. Bowron, and Ms. Tsien, The National Trust for Historic Preservation in the United States (“National Trust”) is a private charitable, educational, nonprofit corporation headquartered in Washington, D.C. and chartered by Congress in 1949 to further the historic preservation policy of the United States. 54 U.S.C. § 312102(a). This Congressional charter obligates the National Trust to “facilitate public participation in the preservation of sites, buildings, and objects of national significance or interest.” Our mission is to protect America’s significant historic sites and to advocate for historic preservation as a core public value. President Trump has proposed the construction of a 90,000-square-foot ballroom on the east side of the White House campus, adjacent to the historic Treasury Building. Site preparation is already underway, including the demolition of a portion of the existing East Wing. While the National Trust acknowledges the utility of a larger meeting space at the White House, we are deeply concerned that the massing and height of the proposed new construction will overwhelm the White House itself—it is 55,000 square feet—and may also permanently disrupt the carefully balanced classical design of the White House with its two smaller, and lower, East and West Wings The federally recognized Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation offer clear guidance for construction projects affecting historic properties. The Standards provide that new additions should not destroy the historic fabric of the property and that the new work should be compatible with existing massing, size, scale, and architectural features. Owned by the American people, the White House was designed by Irish architect James Hoban, whose winning proposal was selected by President George Washington. The building respects Georgian and neoclassical principles. It is a National Historic Landmark, a National Park, and a globally recognized symbol of our nation’s ideals. We respectfully urge the Administration and the National Park Service to pause demolition until plans for the proposed ballroom go through the legally required public review processes, including consultation and review by the National Capital Planning Commission and the Commission of Fine Arts, and to invite comment from the public. These processes provide a crucial opportunity for transparency and broad engagement—values that have guided preservation of the White House under every administration going back to the public competition in 1792 that produced the building’s original design. Doing so will help ensure that the project both honors the exceptional historic significance of the White House and acknowledges the investment that the American people have in the preservation of this beloved place. The National Trust stands ready to assist the White House, the National Park Service, and relevant review agencies in exploring design alternatives and modifications that would accomplish the objectives of the Administration while preserving the historic integrity and symbolism of the People’s House. As we approach the 250th Anniversary of our country’s founding, the preservation of historic places that represent our nation’s history has never been more relevant or important. We urge you…
October 21, 2025 at 11:54 PM
medievalmaryq.bsky.social
If you're lucky enough to be in Dublin, go see this incredible exhibit!
nmireland.bsky.social National Museum of Ireland @nmireland.bsky.social · 24d
Due to popular demand the "Words on the Wave" exhibition will extend it's run until Monday 27th Oct. Don't miss your last chance to see these unique early medieval treasures at the National Museum of Ireland, Kildare St.
www.museum.ie/en-IE/Museum...
Words on the Wave: Ireland and St. Gallen in Early Medieval Europe | Archaeology | National Museum of Ireland
Discover how science, art, archaeology and the study of script help reveal the links between Ireland and Europe
www.museum.ie
October 21, 2025 at 12:07 AM
medievalmaryq.bsky.social
Who's solving the Louvre robbery?

Right answers only
October 20, 2025 at 3:37 AM