Simon John
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simonajohn.bsky.social
Simon John
@simonajohn.bsky.social
Historian of the Middle Ages and their reception, among other things. Cyclist, Germanophile and pun aficionado.
Swansea - in fact right in front of the university - during the recent heatwave. That flaming yellow thing in the sky seems to have vanished again...
July 29, 2025 at 11:38 AM
Submitted to the publisher this morning: 'Contested Histories: Global Perspectives on the Past, Present and Future of Public Monuments', edited by myself, @tomasirish.bsky.social and Hannah Lyons. Could also have been titled 'Colston Five Years On' @swanseahistory.bsky.social
July 18, 2025 at 9:25 AM
#OTD in 1099 the armies of the First Crusade captured Jerusalem, killing thousands as they did so - a fateful event with repercussions stretching down to the present. This is how one C19th French painter imagined the scene.
July 15, 2025 at 9:48 AM
Reposted by Simon John
am so thrilled to announce the publication of Beni Kedar’s beautiful and completely revelatory study of the culture of the Latin East. This book will change the landscape of our scholarship.
July 12, 2025 at 5:15 PM
Me: it would be cool to get students to design an action figure of a person from history as a piece of assessment.

AI: I can do that, here's a Gerald of Wales action figure
June 27, 2025 at 1:48 PM
Reposted by Simon John
👇
We’ve launched a new collection of openly accessible videos, Interviews with Historians, in which prominent 20th century historians reflect on their lives and professional practices. Access the collection here:
www.history.ac.uk/library-digi...
June 27, 2025 at 8:49 AM
Researchers in Germany have opened the tomb of Otto I (d.973) in Magdeburg Cathedral

www.wissenschaft.de/geschichte-a...
Neue Einblicke ins Grabmal Ottos des Großen
Im Magdeburger Dom ruht seit Jahrhunderten eine prägende Figur der europäischen Geschichte, Otto der Große. Jetzt haben Restaurierungsarbeiten einmalige Einb
www.wissenschaft.de
June 26, 2025 at 7:56 AM
While I'm disappointed that the hat of my Innocent III action figure has fallen off inside the package, I'm pleased to learn that Innocent had a shock of jet black hair.
June 25, 2025 at 12:04 PM
Reposted by Simon John
Matthew Stanard reviews Medievalism in Nineteenth-Century Belgium: The 1848 Monument to Godfrey of Bouillon, by Simon John

academic.oup.com/ehr/advance-... @boydellandbrewer.bsky.social
Medievalism in Nineteenth-Century Belgium: The 1848 Monument to Godfrey of Bouillon, by Simon John
This richly illustrated book reveals how elites used medievalism to strengthen the state and create a sense of nationhood in nineteenth-century Belgium. Me
academic.oup.com
February 7, 2025 at 4:41 PM