Yvonne Seale
@yvonneseale.bsky.social
Historian of medieval women, especially the nuntastic kind; lover of tea; associate professor of history at SUNY Geneseo. yvonneseale.org
In class today, a student asked me how many Holy Prepuces (the supposed circumcised foreskin of the infant Jesus, venerated as a relic) were floating around in medieval Europe. I didn't know the exact number, looked it up, and stumbled across this fun fact.
Surely one of history's weirder jobs?
Surely one of history's weirder jobs?
![Screenshot containing the text "This was not the only test of the relic's legitimacy: as anthropologist Eric Silverman writes, "A common test for foreskinned authenticity [in medieval times] was taste. A physician, supervised by a priest, sampled the skin for the flavor of genuine holiness. The taster was called a croque-prépuce, or 'foreskin cruncher.'""](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:okq36hobnwkyak6v6c4fpnsn/bafkreicwezxgjbyx4j7rm3yndptnte6zdtpik7pd53ijatygkdy7374wai@jpeg)
November 20, 2025 at 7:48 PM
In class today, a student asked me how many Holy Prepuces (the supposed circumcised foreskin of the infant Jesus, venerated as a relic) were floating around in medieval Europe. I didn't know the exact number, looked it up, and stumbled across this fun fact.
Surely one of history's weirder jobs?
Surely one of history's weirder jobs?
So pleased to have contributed to this article in the latest issue of JMMS on cartulary editing and analysis!
doi.org/10.1484/J.JM...
doi.org/10.1484/J.JM...
The Past, Present, and Future of Cartulary Studies: JMMS at IMC 2024: Journal of Medieval Monastic Studies: Vol 14
This joint article presents in published form papers delivered at the Leeds International Medieval Congress in 2024 as well as expanding on aspects of the roundtable discussion that complemented the p...
doi.org
November 20, 2025 at 5:17 PM
So pleased to have contributed to this article in the latest issue of JMMS on cartulary editing and analysis!
doi.org/10.1484/J.JM...
doi.org/10.1484/J.JM...
My current (Catherine Connolly, second from left) and former presidents (Mary McAleese, Michael D. Higgins, Mary Robinson) displayed a real commitment to colour coordination at today's presidential inauguration.
November 11, 2025 at 11:17 PM
My current (Catherine Connolly, second from left) and former presidents (Mary McAleese, Michael D. Higgins, Mary Robinson) displayed a real commitment to colour coordination at today's presidential inauguration.
Thrilled to have written something for "Childhood and the Irish" (ed. @salvadorryan.bsky.social), a collection which explores so many aspects of growing up in Ireland over the centuries. My contribution is about piecing together the life of a foundling ancestor.
wordwellbooks.com/index.php?ro...
wordwellbooks.com/index.php?ro...
November 10, 2025 at 6:12 PM
Thrilled to have written something for "Childhood and the Irish" (ed. @salvadorryan.bsky.social), a collection which explores so many aspects of growing up in Ireland over the centuries. My contribution is about piecing together the life of a foundling ancestor.
wordwellbooks.com/index.php?ro...
wordwellbooks.com/index.php?ro...
Would you say that in Ireland we have a "tea-ceful" transfer of power?
... I'll see myself out.
... I'll see myself out.
A Dublin woman who has crocheted thousands of 'Michael Tea Higgins' tea cosies is preparing for a new presidency
Orders pour in for 'Catherine Connoll-Tea' tea cosies
A Dublin woman who has crocheted thousands of 'Michael Tea Higgins' tea cosies is preparing for a new presidency.
www.rte.ie
November 8, 2025 at 1:36 PM
Would you say that in Ireland we have a "tea-ceful" transfer of power?
... I'll see myself out.
... I'll see myself out.
Something I do at least once a year, before I teach a class on a specific topic in the history of antisemitism in medieval Europe: check to see if a certain archdiocese's website still has a page stating that one of the blood libel myths is a historical event.
Yup, still there! It's November 2025.
Yup, still there! It's November 2025.
November 4, 2025 at 5:21 PM
Something I do at least once a year, before I teach a class on a specific topic in the history of antisemitism in medieval Europe: check to see if a certain archdiocese's website still has a page stating that one of the blood libel myths is a historical event.
Yup, still there! It's November 2025.
Yup, still there! It's November 2025.
Built in the early 13th century for the Conti di Segni (the family of Pope Innocent III), the Torre has survived multiple earthquakes—will it survive this? I very much hope the injured and trapped workers are all rescued and recover speedily. The video is so unnerving to watch.
A worker was hospitalised with serious injuries following the partial collapse of a medieval tower under renovation in central Rome near the Colosseum, Italy's ANSA news agency reported.
Workers injured in partial collapse of tower in Rome
A worker was hospitalised with serious injuries following the partial collapse of a medieval tower under renovation in central Rome near the Colosseum, Italy's ANSA news agency reported.
www.rte.ie
November 3, 2025 at 3:04 PM
Built in the early 13th century for the Conti di Segni (the family of Pope Innocent III), the Torre has survived multiple earthquakes—will it survive this? I very much hope the injured and trapped workers are all rescued and recover speedily. The video is so unnerving to watch.
Autocorrect: saving you from a dire fate at the hands of the scribe-tormenting Tutivillus?
"Tutivillus complains that “I muste eche day [...] brynge my master a thousande pokes full of faylynges, & of neglygences in syllables and wordes… else I must be sore beten."
daily.jstor.org/tutivillus-i...
"Tutivillus complains that “I muste eche day [...] brynge my master a thousande pokes full of faylynges, & of neglygences in syllables and wordes… else I must be sore beten."
daily.jstor.org/tutivillus-i...
Tutivillus Is Watching You - JSTOR Daily
For medieval scribes, mistakes couldn’t be easily shrugged off, as Tutivillus, the stickler demon, was always looking over their shoulders.
daily.jstor.org
October 30, 2025 at 7:17 PM
Autocorrect: saving you from a dire fate at the hands of the scribe-tormenting Tutivillus?
"Tutivillus complains that “I muste eche day [...] brynge my master a thousande pokes full of faylynges, & of neglygences in syllables and wordes… else I must be sore beten."
daily.jstor.org/tutivillus-i...
"Tutivillus complains that “I muste eche day [...] brynge my master a thousande pokes full of faylynges, & of neglygences in syllables and wordes… else I must be sore beten."
daily.jstor.org/tutivillus-i...
And with a bigger percentage of first-preference votes than even Dev managed back in the '50s.
#Breaking Independent Catherine Connolly to become tenth President of Ireland after resounding election victory | Watch and follow live
Catherine Connolly to become 10th President of Ireland
Follow live updates as counts begin to come in from constituencies around the country with Catherine Connolly set to become the tenth President of Ireland.
www.rte.ie
October 25, 2025 at 6:50 PM
And with a bigger percentage of first-preference votes than even Dev managed back in the '50s.
A neat tool I just came across: Viabundus, a digital road map of northern Europe 1350-1650, that lets you calculate contemporary travel routes/times. In 1500, going Amiens → Köln by horse took almost 7 days and 13 toll payments.
#medievalsky
www.landesgeschichte.uni-goettingen.de/handelsstras...
#medievalsky
www.landesgeschichte.uni-goettingen.de/handelsstras...
October 24, 2025 at 10:58 PM
A neat tool I just came across: Viabundus, a digital road map of northern Europe 1350-1650, that lets you calculate contemporary travel routes/times. In 1500, going Amiens → Köln by horse took almost 7 days and 13 toll payments.
#medievalsky
www.landesgeschichte.uni-goettingen.de/handelsstras...
#medievalsky
www.landesgeschichte.uni-goettingen.de/handelsstras...
Sometimes a translator's name will make you pause and blink at the title page.
October 17, 2025 at 9:19 PM
Sometimes a translator's name will make you pause and blink at the title page.
A heads up: the platform I've been using to host my searchable database of #medieval Premonstratensian sisters is ending its free hosting plan on short notice. Since I can't justify spending $100/month (!) on this, or find a viable alternative, it'll go away on Oct 1.
yvonneseale.org/atlas/sisters
yvonneseale.org/atlas/sisters
The Sisters of Prémontré: A Prosopographical Database
A Premonstratensian Atlas is a directory of communities and properties relating to the Premonstratensian Order in the Middle Ages (ca. 1120-ca. 1550). Entries may be filtered by country, diocese, circ...
yvonneseale.org
September 29, 2025 at 10:59 PM
A heads up: the platform I've been using to host my searchable database of #medieval Premonstratensian sisters is ending its free hosting plan on short notice. Since I can't justify spending $100/month (!) on this, or find a viable alternative, it'll go away on Oct 1.
yvonneseale.org/atlas/sisters
yvonneseale.org/atlas/sisters
One of my all-time favourite series of books!
“…some of the most compelling women characters you’re likely to find in print. […] Dunnett’s female characters have both feet firmly planted in a sixteenth-century world.”
Historian @yvonneseale.bsky.social’s appreciation of the women of THE LYMOND CHRONICLES
💙📚
5/6
yvonneseale.org/blog/2019/05...
Historian @yvonneseale.bsky.social’s appreciation of the women of THE LYMOND CHRONICLES
💙📚
5/6
yvonneseale.org/blog/2019/05...
The Women of the Lymond Chronicles
Dorothy Dunnett's Lymond Chronicles may be one of the most influential series of novels that most people have never heard of. The books follow nobleman Francis Crawford of Lymond on his high-stakes ad...
yvonneseale.org
August 25, 2025 at 3:31 PM
One of my all-time favourite series of books!
Reposted by Yvonne Seale
It was always a "real thing," it just turns out to be a little bit older - and therefore more important - than originally thought. This article demonstrates how the word "copy" can be misinterpreted, especially in the context of medieval manuscript studies. 1/2
May 15, 2025 at 12:24 PM
It was always a "real thing," it just turns out to be a little bit older - and therefore more important - than originally thought. This article demonstrates how the word "copy" can be misinterpreted, especially in the context of medieval manuscript studies. 1/2
"The papal privilege issued in 1195 by Pope Celestine III is one of the few sources that allows for an insight into the history of St Mary’s, Clonard, and Agnes Ní Máelshechlainn’s tenacity in defending her monastery from expropriation during the English conquest of Ireland."
Meet 'The Great Nun' who won papal protection in Medieval Ireland
Agnetha Ní Máelshechlainn was a clever political negotiator who defended her monastery from expropriation during the English conquest of Ireland
www.rte.ie
May 9, 2025 at 10:08 PM
"The papal privilege issued in 1195 by Pope Celestine III is one of the few sources that allows for an insight into the history of St Mary’s, Clonard, and Agnes Ní Máelshechlainn’s tenacity in defending her monastery from expropriation during the English conquest of Ireland."
Going down a series of rabbit holes following yesterday's events led me to the discovery that as well as the more well known "Conclave" (2024) there is also "The Conclave" (2006), an intensely early 2000s made-for-TV-on-a-shoestring-budget movie about the papal conclave of 1458.
May 9, 2025 at 2:53 PM
Going down a series of rabbit holes following yesterday's events led me to the discovery that as well as the more well known "Conclave" (2024) there is also "The Conclave" (2006), an intensely early 2000s made-for-TV-on-a-shoestring-budget movie about the papal conclave of 1458.
I don't think anyone had Prevost very high on the lists of the papabili—wow. What a moment to get to witness, the first pope from the United States. (The first pope to be a baseball and/or American football fan?)
May 8, 2025 at 5:38 PM
I don't think anyone had Prevost very high on the lists of the papabili—wow. What a moment to get to witness, the first pope from the United States. (The first pope to be a baseball and/or American football fan?)
I've updated my " #Premonstratensian Order in the Middle Ages" bibliography site. It now contains 6,250 entries & covers:
— Secondary lit on the order, 1480s-2025
— 22 languages from Basque to Swedish
— Array of digital & print sources
— Themes, houses & individuals
www.geneseo.edu/researchweb/...
— Secondary lit on the order, 1480s-2025
— 22 languages from Basque to Swedish
— Array of digital & print sources
— Themes, houses & individuals
www.geneseo.edu/researchweb/...
May 7, 2025 at 1:59 PM
I've updated my " #Premonstratensian Order in the Middle Ages" bibliography site. It now contains 6,250 entries & covers:
— Secondary lit on the order, 1480s-2025
— 22 languages from Basque to Swedish
— Array of digital & print sources
— Themes, houses & individuals
www.geneseo.edu/researchweb/...
— Secondary lit on the order, 1480s-2025
— 22 languages from Basque to Swedish
— Array of digital & print sources
— Themes, houses & individuals
www.geneseo.edu/researchweb/...
Today at Geneseo, a community rally in support of science and higher ed in general—3:30-6pm in Bailey Hall! History Department faculty will be there.
April 22, 2025 at 3:55 PM
Today at Geneseo, a community rally in support of science and higher ed in general—3:30-6pm in Bailey Hall! History Department faculty will be there.
"Switzerland’s Abbey of Saint Gall has agreed to lend 17 manuscripts to the National Museum of Ireland ... for a landmark exhibition that will combine artefacts and parchments to recreate a sense of Ireland’s golden age as the “land of saints and scholars." #medievalsky
On my summer to-see list!
On my summer to-see list!
Millennium-old monks’ manuscripts return to Ireland for exhibition
Books include religious scriptures and scribbled jokes, giving glimpse of daily lives of early medieval Irish monks
www.irishexaminer.com
April 18, 2025 at 2:58 PM
"Switzerland’s Abbey of Saint Gall has agreed to lend 17 manuscripts to the National Museum of Ireland ... for a landmark exhibition that will combine artefacts and parchments to recreate a sense of Ireland’s golden age as the “land of saints and scholars." #medievalsky
On my summer to-see list!
On my summer to-see list!
The May 2025 issue of BBC History Magazine @historyextra.bsky.social is out, and includes a piece by me on the famed relationship of Abelard and Heloise, and why it can't just be simply summed up as a love affair.
www.historyextra.com/magazine/cur...
www.historyextra.com/magazine/cur...
April 18, 2025 at 1:43 PM
The May 2025 issue of BBC History Magazine @historyextra.bsky.social is out, and includes a piece by me on the famed relationship of Abelard and Heloise, and why it can't just be simply summed up as a love affair.
www.historyextra.com/magazine/cur...
www.historyextra.com/magazine/cur...
Agree with the author at a minimum that a Battle of Clontarf movie or miniseries would be wonderful, but I feel like so much would depend on whether they truly get that Beard looking Silken.
Why Sitric Silkenbeard is the greatest Dubliner of all time
He may be seen as one of the baddies of Irish history thanks to the Battle of Clontarf, but Silkenbeard built Dublin into a cosmopolitan city
www.rte.ie
April 17, 2025 at 2:59 PM
Agree with the author at a minimum that a Battle of Clontarf movie or miniseries would be wonderful, but I feel like so much would depend on whether they truly get that Beard looking Silken.
Reposted by Yvonne Seale
Get thee to a nunnery ✝️
January 19, 2025 at 9:48 AM
Get thee to a nunnery ✝️
Reposted by Yvonne Seale
"The 15th-century Arma Christi was found in a shoebox filled with leaflets from the 1980s at Bar Convent, by Dr Hannah Thomas, while she was cataloguing the religious order's collection."
www.bbc.com/news/article...
www.bbc.com/news/article...
Rare medieval scroll found in shoebox goes on display in York
The 15th-century Arma Christi, one of only 11 copies, is the focus of a new gallery at Bar Convent.
www.bbc.com
April 7, 2025 at 12:17 PM
"The 15th-century Arma Christi was found in a shoebox filled with leaflets from the 1980s at Bar Convent, by Dr Hannah Thomas, while she was cataloguing the religious order's collection."
www.bbc.com/news/article...
www.bbc.com/news/article...