Seb Falk
@sebfalk.com
Historian of science ||
Admissions Tutor at Girton College, University of Cambridge ||
Singer, sailor, runner, father ||
"Always generous" – The New Yorker
Admissions Tutor at Girton College, University of Cambridge ||
Singer, sailor, runner, father ||
"Always generous" – The New Yorker
Pinned
Seb Falk
@sebfalk.com
· Nov 19
Since "La Luz de la Edad Media" came out in September, there are now 8 editions of #TheLightAges!
I'm fascinated by each publisher's different approach to design – but thrilled by the results in every case. Feel free to judge this book by its covers!
I'm fascinated by each publisher's different approach to design – but thrilled by the results in every case. Feel free to judge this book by its covers!
Brilliant opportunity to work in a fascinating and important role at @girtoncollege.bsky.social!
Come & work with us at Girton College, Cambridge University! We're seeking a Head of Governance & College Registrar. Here's a half-minute glimpse into life at beautiful Girton ... so check out the job details here:
www.girton.cam.ac.uk/job-vacancie...
@girtoncollege.bsky.social
www.girton.cam.ac.uk/job-vacancie...
@girtoncollege.bsky.social
August 20, 2025 at 8:14 AM
Brilliant opportunity to work in a fascinating and important role at @girtoncollege.bsky.social!
Reposted by Seb Falk
New podcast episode with the fascinating @sebfalk.com explaining how people in the Middle Ages knew a lot more than we give them credit for shows.acast.com/willy-willy-...
Summer Book Club - The Light Ages | Willy Willy Harry Stee...
with Seb Falk
shows.acast.com
August 2, 2025 at 8:13 AM
New podcast episode with the fascinating @sebfalk.com explaining how people in the Middle Ages knew a lot more than we give them credit for shows.acast.com/willy-willy-...
Reposted by Seb Falk
…and this one’s out too: «So, Who Killed the Elephant?» Tracing African-European Entanglements in the ‘Global Middle Ages’!
An essay adaptation of my 2023 @imc-leeds.bsky.social keynote — two case studies, four thoughts on how we might move forward in telling more global medieval (hi)stories.
An essay adaptation of my 2023 @imc-leeds.bsky.social keynote — two case studies, four thoughts on how we might move forward in telling more global medieval (hi)stories.
July 21, 2025 at 1:09 PM
…and this one’s out too: «So, Who Killed the Elephant?» Tracing African-European Entanglements in the ‘Global Middle Ages’!
An essay adaptation of my 2023 @imc-leeds.bsky.social keynote — two case studies, four thoughts on how we might move forward in telling more global medieval (hi)stories.
An essay adaptation of my 2023 @imc-leeds.bsky.social keynote — two case studies, four thoughts on how we might move forward in telling more global medieval (hi)stories.
@bookscribbler.bsky.social's "Media and the Mind" is a great book!
Shout-out to my colleague @bookscribbler.bsky.social in @sebfalk.com's keynote talk "(How) Did Medieval People Do Science?" at the @durhammemsa.bsky.social conference.
July 21, 2025 at 11:42 AM
@bookscribbler.bsky.social's "Media and the Mind" is a great book!
I had great fun thinking through these questions.
(I love writing, but am not sure I'm very good at reading!)
Always interested to hear other people's answers to these things!
(I love writing, but am not sure I'm very good at reading!)
Always interested to hear other people's answers to these things!
New on The Writer’s Bookshelf: eight questions about writers, books, and reading with the brilliant @sebfalk.com. open.substack.com/pub/mathewly...
The writer's bookshelf: Seb Falk
Eight questions about writers, books, and reading…
open.substack.com
July 21, 2025 at 11:40 AM
I had great fun thinking through these questions.
(I love writing, but am not sure I'm very good at reading!)
Always interested to hear other people's answers to these things!
(I love writing, but am not sure I'm very good at reading!)
Always interested to hear other people's answers to these things!
Reposted by Seb Falk
Our exhibition, Curious Cures, is closed today (21 July).
The Conservation team will spend the day checking the manuscripts and will do a page turn to protect them. This gives you the perfect excuse to come back and see what's new!
Book your FREE tickets: https://loom.ly/kVqsPRY
The Conservation team will spend the day checking the manuscripts and will do a page turn to protect them. This gives you the perfect excuse to come back and see what's new!
Book your FREE tickets: https://loom.ly/kVqsPRY
July 21, 2025 at 7:52 AM
Our exhibition, Curious Cures, is closed today (21 July).
The Conservation team will spend the day checking the manuscripts and will do a page turn to protect them. This gives you the perfect excuse to come back and see what's new!
Book your FREE tickets: https://loom.ly/kVqsPRY
The Conservation team will spend the day checking the manuscripts and will do a page turn to protect them. This gives you the perfect excuse to come back and see what's new!
Book your FREE tickets: https://loom.ly/kVqsPRY
Some highlights from a brilliant access-all-areas tour of Durham Castle, courtesy of @durhammemsa.bsky.social Chair @charrathompson.bsky.social.
Wish me luck with my keynote this morning!
Wish me luck with my keynote this morning!
July 21, 2025 at 7:51 AM
Some highlights from a brilliant access-all-areas tour of Durham Castle, courtesy of @durhammemsa.bsky.social Chair @charrathompson.bsky.social.
Wish me luck with my keynote this morning!
Wish me luck with my keynote this morning!
Shocking that #BBCRadio4 #Today runs a long piece on ransomware attacks (incl discussion of M&S, Co-op etc) & DOESNT ONCE MENTION THAT A KEY PIECE OF NATIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE, the @britishlibrary.bsky.social, is still suffering after-effects from a cyber-attack in *2023*
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Weak password allowed hackers to sink a 158-year-old company
Transport company KNP forced to shut down after international hacker gangs target thousands of UK businesses.
www.bbc.co.uk
July 21, 2025 at 6:48 AM
Shocking that #BBCRadio4 #Today runs a long piece on ransomware attacks (incl discussion of M&S, Co-op etc) & DOESNT ONCE MENTION THAT A KEY PIECE OF NATIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE, the @britishlibrary.bsky.social, is still suffering after-effects from a cyber-attack in *2023*
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Reposted by Seb Falk
Shaimaa has a scholarship to do a PhD on Palestinian literature with me at @uoe-llc.bsky.social, but she's stuck in Gaza because the foreign office won't help. Please share. www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2...
I should be at Cambridge, but I’m trapped in Gaza
Home Office red tape strands dozens of Palestinian scholarship winners in war zone
www.telegraph.co.uk
July 19, 2025 at 10:03 AM
Shaimaa has a scholarship to do a PhD on Palestinian literature with me at @uoe-llc.bsky.social, but she's stuck in Gaza because the foreign office won't help. Please share. www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2...
Reposted by Seb Falk
#Openaccess ftƿ!
If you caught me & James Wade (no relation) in the newspapers or on the radio & were wondering where's the real academic article, wonder no longer!
Here it is, complete with the full transcription & translation so you can decide for yourself what it's all about
academic.oup.com/res/advance-...
Here it is, complete with the full transcription & translation so you can decide for yourself what it's all about
academic.oup.com/res/advance-...
The Lost Song of Wade: Peterhouse 255 Revisited
Abstract. Short verses from the Song of Wade survive in an early-thirteenth-century sermon collection found in Cambridge, Peterhouse MS 255. They constitut
academic.oup.com
July 19, 2025 at 11:15 PM
#Openaccess ftƿ!
Nice write-up of The Song of Wade in @cnn.com
Highlight has to be my co-author deploying the classic teacher response to a wacky student suggestion when asked if he might be related to a fictional character 😁
edition.cnn.com/2025/07/18/s...
Highlight has to be my co-author deploying the classic teacher response to a wacky student suggestion when asked if he might be related to a fictional character 😁
edition.cnn.com/2025/07/18/s...
Corrected error in long-lost medieval saga suggests that its hero fought wolves, not elves | CNN
Two researchers are proposing a new reading of the Song of Wade, a once widely known epic from the 12th century, thanks to a scribe’s error they unearthed.
edition.cnn.com
July 19, 2025 at 9:05 AM
Nice write-up of The Song of Wade in @cnn.com
Highlight has to be my co-author deploying the classic teacher response to a wacky student suggestion when asked if he might be related to a fictional character 😁
edition.cnn.com/2025/07/18/s...
Highlight has to be my co-author deploying the classic teacher response to a wacky student suggestion when asked if he might be related to a fictional character 😁
edition.cnn.com/2025/07/18/s...
Wow, it seems 13th-century wolves are hot right now!
Willem Dafoe has been cast in Robert Eggers’ next film ‘WERWULF’
Described as a werewolf movie set in 13th century England with dialogue true to the time period.
Described as a werewolf movie set in 13th century England with dialogue true to the time period.
July 18, 2025 at 11:37 AM
Wow, it seems 13th-century wolves are hot right now!
This is a really great write-up of the Song of Wade in @404media.co
www.404media.co/the-800-year...
Thanks for your interest and meticulous reporting @beckyferreira.bsky.social !
www.404media.co/the-800-year...
Thanks for your interest and meticulous reporting @beckyferreira.bsky.social !
The 800-Year-Old Mystery of a Lost Medieval Legend Is Solved, Researchers Say
The Song of Wade was a popular legend that survives in only one enigmatic text. Now, researchers think they have solved a longstanding puzzle about its meaning.
www.404media.co
July 17, 2025 at 10:03 PM
This is a really great write-up of the Song of Wade in @404media.co
www.404media.co/the-800-year...
Thanks for your interest and meticulous reporting @beckyferreira.bsky.social !
www.404media.co/the-800-year...
Thanks for your interest and meticulous reporting @beckyferreira.bsky.social !
Almost as satisfying as seeing an article I've co-written finally published: reading a brilliant blogpost -- by a scholar I hugely admire -- responding to our article & building on it really creatively 😍
Thank you @karlsteel.bsky.social!
medievalkarl.com/general-cult...
Thank you @karlsteel.bsky.social!
medievalkarl.com/general-cult...
Alexander Neckam on quasi-humans (in re: Seb Falk and James Wade on the “Lost Song of Wade”) – Medieval Karl
medievalkarl.com
July 17, 2025 at 9:57 PM
Almost as satisfying as seeing an article I've co-written finally published: reading a brilliant blogpost -- by a scholar I hugely admire -- responding to our article & building on it really creatively 😍
Thank you @karlsteel.bsky.social!
medievalkarl.com/general-cult...
Thank you @karlsteel.bsky.social!
medievalkarl.com/general-cult...
Some useful replies to this -- and very well timed for the plenary I'm giving on Monday!
#medievalsky What do you think a good *plenary talk* at a conference can/should do? What are your top tips if you've given one? What do you find useful/engaging (or a turn off!) as an attendee? (It's predictably For a Thing which is also a blogpost, haha!). Thanks all!
July 17, 2025 at 9:49 PM
Some useful replies to this -- and very well timed for the plenary I'm giving on Monday!
Reposted by Seb Falk
This is a fun discovery, and congrats to Wade and Falk for it! I'm of course interested most of all in Alexander Neckam's calling Adam (the fella from Eden) "as if non-human" 1/6
After 130 years, Cambridge #scholars have decoded a Chaucerian mystery – the frequently referenced Song of Wade was not a monster-filled epic but a chivalric romance.
Drs James Wade and @sebfalk.com from @girtoncollege.bsky.social reveal all: www.cam.ac.uk/stories/song...
#Latin #English
Drs James Wade and @sebfalk.com from @girtoncollege.bsky.social reveal all: www.cam.ac.uk/stories/song...
#Latin #English
Lost English legend decoded, solving a Chaucerian mystery and revealing a medieval preacher’s meme
Decoding a lost English legend, solving a Chaucerian mystery, and revealing a medieval preacher’s meme
www.cam.ac.uk
July 16, 2025 at 2:34 PM
This is a fun discovery, and congrats to Wade and Falk for it! I'm of course interested most of all in Alexander Neckam's calling Adam (the fella from Eden) "as if non-human" 1/6
Reposted by Seb Falk
July 17, 2025 at 5:52 PM
I didn't pay John* to say this
(but I once brought a bag of treats for his dog, which is probably the best thing I've ever done for anyone)
*the nicest man in early modern history, in case you were in any doubt
(but I once brought a bag of treats for his dog, which is probably the best thing I've ever done for anyone)
*the nicest man in early modern history, in case you were in any doubt
Delightful new Chaucerian discovery by the nicest man in medieval history, @sebfalk.com! (and James Wade who I believe is very nice too) share.google/TIyActPEZIvl...
Lost English legend decoded, solving a Chaucerian mystery and revealing a medieval preacher’s meme
Decoding a lost English legend, solving a Chaucerian mystery, and revealing a medieval preacher’s meme
share.google
July 17, 2025 at 1:00 PM
I didn't pay John* to say this
(but I once brought a bag of treats for his dog, which is probably the best thing I've ever done for anyone)
*the nicest man in early modern history, in case you were in any doubt
(but I once brought a bag of treats for his dog, which is probably the best thing I've ever done for anyone)
*the nicest man in early modern history, in case you were in any doubt
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 Seb Falk
If you caught me & James Wade (no relation) in the newspapers or on the radio & were wondering where's the real academic article, wonder no longer!
Here it is, complete with the full transcription & translation so you can decide for yourself what it's all about
academic.oup.com/res/advance-...
Here it is, complete with the full transcription & translation so you can decide for yourself what it's all about
academic.oup.com/res/advance-...
The Lost Song of Wade: Peterhouse 255 Revisited
Abstract. Short verses from the Song of Wade survive in an early-thirteenth-century sermon collection found in Cambridge, Peterhouse MS 255. They constitut
academic.oup.com
July 16, 2025 at 8:49 PM
If you caught me & James Wade (no relation) in the newspapers or on the radio & were wondering where's the real academic article, wonder no longer!
Here it is, complete with the full transcription & translation so you can decide for yourself what it's all about
academic.oup.com/res/advance-...
Here it is, complete with the full transcription & translation so you can decide for yourself what it's all about
academic.oup.com/res/advance-...
Reposted by Seb Falk
Scribes are human too. And let's be honest: who among us hasn't confused wynn [ƿ] with [y]? Well done, @sebfalk.com! www.nytimes.com/2025/07/15/w...
A 900-Year-Old Typo May Unravel a Chaucer Mystery
www.nytimes.com
July 16, 2025 at 9:29 PM
Scribes are human too. And let's be honest: who among us hasn't confused wynn [ƿ] with [y]? Well done, @sebfalk.com! www.nytimes.com/2025/07/15/w...
If you caught me & James Wade (no relation) in the newspapers or on the radio & were wondering where's the real academic article, wonder no longer!
Here it is, complete with the full transcription & translation so you can decide for yourself what it's all about
academic.oup.com/res/advance-...
Here it is, complete with the full transcription & translation so you can decide for yourself what it's all about
academic.oup.com/res/advance-...
The Lost Song of Wade: Peterhouse 255 Revisited
Abstract. Short verses from the Song of Wade survive in an early-thirteenth-century sermon collection found in Cambridge, Peterhouse MS 255. They constitut
academic.oup.com
July 16, 2025 at 8:49 PM
If you caught me & James Wade (no relation) in the newspapers or on the radio & were wondering where's the real academic article, wonder no longer!
Here it is, complete with the full transcription & translation so you can decide for yourself what it's all about
academic.oup.com/res/advance-...
Here it is, complete with the full transcription & translation so you can decide for yourself what it's all about
academic.oup.com/res/advance-...
They don't call him the Vice Mistress of @girtoncollege.bsky.social for nothing
Look, disappointed as I am to be deprived of a “monster-filled epic”, is no one going to talk about the fact that the guy translating this has the same name as the title character and science tells us this means he’s an immortal who guards the doors between earth and the realm of shadows?
After 130 years, Cambridge #scholars have decoded a Chaucerian mystery – the frequently referenced Song of Wade was not a monster-filled epic but a chivalric romance.
Drs James Wade and @sebfalk.com from @girtoncollege.bsky.social reveal all: www.cam.ac.uk/stories/song...
#Latin #English
Drs James Wade and @sebfalk.com from @girtoncollege.bsky.social reveal all: www.cam.ac.uk/stories/song...
#Latin #English
July 16, 2025 at 12:06 PM
They don't call him the Vice Mistress of @girtoncollege.bsky.social for nothing
Reposted by Seb Falk
Medieval preacher invoked chivalric hero as a meme in sermon. "This is very early evidence of a preacher weaving pop culture into a sermon to keep his audience hooked." It also resolves a long-standing Chaucerian mystery. arstechnica.com/science/2025...
Medieval preacher invoked chivalric hero as a meme in sermon
“This is very early evidence of a preacher weaving pop culture into a sermon to keep his audience hooked.”…
arstechnica.com
July 16, 2025 at 11:20 AM
Medieval preacher invoked chivalric hero as a meme in sermon. "This is very early evidence of a preacher weaving pop culture into a sermon to keep his audience hooked." It also resolves a long-standing Chaucerian mystery. arstechnica.com/science/2025...
Reposted by Seb Falk
After 130 years, Cambridge #scholars have decoded a Chaucerian mystery – the frequently referenced Song of Wade was not a monster-filled epic but a chivalric romance.
Drs James Wade and @sebfalk.com from @girtoncollege.bsky.social reveal all: www.cam.ac.uk/stories/song...
#Latin #English
Drs James Wade and @sebfalk.com from @girtoncollege.bsky.social reveal all: www.cam.ac.uk/stories/song...
#Latin #English
Lost English legend decoded, solving a Chaucerian mystery and revealing a medieval preacher’s meme
Decoding a lost English legend, solving a Chaucerian mystery, and revealing a medieval preacher’s meme
www.cam.ac.uk
July 16, 2025 at 10:42 AM
After 130 years, Cambridge #scholars have decoded a Chaucerian mystery – the frequently referenced Song of Wade was not a monster-filled epic but a chivalric romance.
Drs James Wade and @sebfalk.com from @girtoncollege.bsky.social reveal all: www.cam.ac.uk/stories/song...
#Latin #English
Drs James Wade and @sebfalk.com from @girtoncollege.bsky.social reveal all: www.cam.ac.uk/stories/song...
#Latin #English