Carrie Beneš
@cebenes.bsky.social
Medievalist, typography nerd, data wrangler, and occasional costume designer. Secret superpower = toasting the perfect marshmallow. Sfera Project co-PI. Would rather be in Rome.
Due October 10th >> The New College Conference on Medieval & Renaissance Studies returns 5-7 March 2026! Accepting abstracts on all topics in European & Mediterranean history, literature, art, music & religion (4c-17c): www.newcollegeconference.org/cfp
#medievalsky #earlymodern #renaissance #CfP
#medievalsky #earlymodern #renaissance #CfP
September 23, 2025 at 1:06 PM
Due October 10th >> The New College Conference on Medieval & Renaissance Studies returns 5-7 March 2026! Accepting abstracts on all topics in European & Mediterranean history, literature, art, music & religion (4c-17c): www.newcollegeconference.org/cfp
#medievalsky #earlymodern #renaissance #CfP
#medievalsky #earlymodern #renaissance #CfP
The New College Conference on Medieval & Renaissance Studies returns 5-7 March 2026! Abstracts on all topics in European & Mediterranean history, literature, art, music & religion (4c-17c) are due 1 October 2025: www.newcollegeconference.org/cfp
#medievalsky #earlymodern #renaissance #CfP
#medievalsky #earlymodern #renaissance #CfP
June 10, 2025 at 10:06 AM
The New College Conference on Medieval & Renaissance Studies returns 5-7 March 2026! Abstracts on all topics in European & Mediterranean history, literature, art, music & religion (4c-17c) are due 1 October 2025: www.newcollegeconference.org/cfp
#medievalsky #earlymodern #renaissance #CfP
#medievalsky #earlymodern #renaissance #CfP
Detail:
(Painting, btw, is in the Maritime Museum in Genoa, which is amazing.)
(Painting, btw, is in the Maritime Museum in Genoa, which is amazing.)
April 22, 2025 at 9:44 PM
Detail:
(Painting, btw, is in the Maritime Museum in Genoa, which is amazing.)
(Painting, btw, is in the Maritime Museum in Genoa, which is amazing.)
Lest anyone think that life in the Middle Ages was provincial, isolated, and rural... (Medieval Mediterranean port cities like this often had pop. densities ca. 100K/sqmi, which is more than Manhattan or Mumbai today [60-75K].) —Cristoforo de' Grassi, 1597 copy of Genoa in 1481.
April 22, 2025 at 9:43 PM
Lest anyone think that life in the Middle Ages was provincial, isolated, and rural... (Medieval Mediterranean port cities like this often had pop. densities ca. 100K/sqmi, which is more than Manhattan or Mumbai today [60-75K].) —Cristoforo de' Grassi, 1597 copy of Genoa in 1481.
Happy Earth Day from the #sferaproject!
#medievalsky #earlymodern #maphistory #bookhistory
(G. Dati, La sfera/The Globe, early 15c; BNCF Magl. XI.83, f. 7r)
#medievalsky #earlymodern #maphistory #bookhistory
(G. Dati, La sfera/The Globe, early 15c; BNCF Magl. XI.83, f. 7r)
April 22, 2025 at 5:44 PM
Happy Earth Day from the #sferaproject!
#medievalsky #earlymodern #maphistory #bookhistory
(G. Dati, La sfera/The Globe, early 15c; BNCF Magl. XI.83, f. 7r)
#medievalsky #earlymodern #maphistory #bookhistory
(G. Dati, La sfera/The Globe, early 15c; BNCF Magl. XI.83, f. 7r)
Venetian camel, as ordered! Even derpier!!! (Venice, BibNat Marciana Ital. 6279, f. 20v, with helpful "africha" label).
April 17, 2025 at 8:46 PM
Venetian camel, as ordered! Even derpier!!! (Venice, BibNat Marciana Ital. 6279, f. 20v, with helpful "africha" label).
Thanks, David. In appreciation I offer you derpy Sfera camels (Florence, BML MedPal90 16v, "camels laden with spices").
April 17, 2025 at 8:37 PM
Thanks, David. In appreciation I offer you derpy Sfera camels (Florence, BML MedPal90 16v, "camels laden with spices").
Also, isn't our work-in-progress gorgeous? 👀👀
lasfera.rrchnm.org
(with mad props to @jasonheppler.org)
lasfera.rrchnm.org
(with mad props to @jasonheppler.org)
April 17, 2025 at 8:26 PM
Also, isn't our work-in-progress gorgeous? 👀👀
lasfera.rrchnm.org
(with mad props to @jasonheppler.org)
lasfera.rrchnm.org
(with mad props to @jasonheppler.org)
Like many other #NEH -funded projects. the #sferaproject received notice yesterday that our grant has been cancelled. It's not yet clear what that means for the project, but we hope to have more info soon. Meanwhile, here's a screenshot of what they cancelled (our website-in-development):
April 4, 2025 at 11:18 AM
Like many other #NEH -funded projects. the #sferaproject received notice yesterday that our grant has been cancelled. It's not yet clear what that means for the project, but we hope to have more info soon. Meanwhile, here's a screenshot of what they cancelled (our website-in-development):
Also this map of Dead Emperors in the 3c Crisis invariably gets a response from students (credit wildeastmofo/reddit):
April 3, 2025 at 1:15 AM
Also this map of Dead Emperors in the 3c Crisis invariably gets a response from students (credit wildeastmofo/reddit):
San Vitale, Ravenna. You could just show them the mosaics of Justinian and Theodora, but why would you stop there when they occur in such a magnificent setting?
April 1, 2025 at 9:30 PM
San Vitale, Ravenna. You could just show them the mosaics of Justinian and Theodora, but why would you stop there when they occur in such a magnificent setting?
Oh, goodness. So much to choose from! I'm going to give you one object and one location shot. The object (Diocletian's tetrarchs, now in Venice except for the single detached foot still in Istanbul), because it's fabulous and made of porphyry, and also has a crazy afterlife.
April 1, 2025 at 9:20 PM
Oh, goodness. So much to choose from! I'm going to give you one object and one location shot. The object (Diocletian's tetrarchs, now in Venice except for the single detached foot still in Istanbul), because it's fabulous and made of porphyry, and also has a crazy afterlife.
Last call! Sat March 8th in Sarasota @lauramorreale.bsky.social and I will be offering a PD teacher workshop on pre-modern maps and mapping, based on our NEH-funded work on the #sferaproject. Pls see details tinyurl.com/sferamar25 — we have extended the sign-up deadline to Wed March 5th.
March 3, 2025 at 10:22 PM
Last call! Sat March 8th in Sarasota @lauramorreale.bsky.social and I will be offering a PD teacher workshop on pre-modern maps and mapping, based on our NEH-funded work on the #sferaproject. Pls see details tinyurl.com/sferamar25 — we have extended the sign-up deadline to Wed March 5th.
#skystorians #earlymodern Please see and share the attached CFP for #AHA26 on Histories of Nostalgia.
(A topic near and dear to my heart. cf. 2011 Urban Legends, etc.)
(A topic near and dear to my heart. cf. 2011 Urban Legends, etc.)
January 27, 2025 at 3:06 PM
#skystorians #earlymodern Please see and share the attached CFP for #AHA26 on Histories of Nostalgia.
(A topic near and dear to my heart. cf. 2011 Urban Legends, etc.)
(A topic near and dear to my heart. cf. 2011 Urban Legends, etc.)
Working on deleting my formerly-known-as-bird account, and came across this absolute gem. Yes, I still need this dress. (John Bright Collection, 1880s).
January 22, 2025 at 8:27 PM
Working on deleting my formerly-known-as-bird account, and came across this absolute gem. Yes, I still need this dress. (John Bright Collection, 1880s).
Also, as someone who has had no access to work files for 3 wks (dead laptop security-locked by IT which was closed for break; diagnosed with major failure i.e. everything is GONE; backup is too big for former laptop to load), I'm going to celebrate 2025 and my return to BlueSky with this (Torcello):
January 8, 2025 at 2:23 PM
Also, as someone who has had no access to work files for 3 wks (dead laptop security-locked by IT which was closed for break; diagnosed with major failure i.e. everything is GONE; backup is too big for former laptop to load), I'm going to celebrate 2025 and my return to BlueSky with this (Torcello):
#Historians: I'm on the program committee for the 2026 #AHA in Chicago! Anyone who might be interested in presenting, please get in touch via email [last-name-no-diacritic at ncf full-stop edu] or DM. I'll also put a few idea in the replies.
#medievalsky #earlymodern #maphistory #academicsky
#medievalsky #earlymodern #maphistory #academicsky
January 8, 2025 at 1:19 PM
#Historians: I'm on the program committee for the 2026 #AHA in Chicago! Anyone who might be interested in presenting, please get in touch via email [last-name-no-diacritic at ncf full-stop edu] or DM. I'll also put a few idea in the replies.
#medievalsky #earlymodern #maphistory #academicsky
#medievalsky #earlymodern #maphistory #academicsky
PUBLIC EVENT! @lauramorreale.bsky.social, Jessica Maier, Chet Van Duzer, & I are hosting "Imagining the World in the Renaissance": fountains, mountains, camels, & sea monsters!
At NCF, Thurs 12/5, 5-7pm:
www.eventbrite.com/e/1076710904...
Via Mellon & nehgov.bsky.social
(MS here BNCF II.II.69)
At NCF, Thurs 12/5, 5-7pm:
www.eventbrite.com/e/1076710904...
Via Mellon & nehgov.bsky.social
(MS here BNCF II.II.69)
December 2, 2024 at 2:49 PM
PUBLIC EVENT! @lauramorreale.bsky.social, Jessica Maier, Chet Van Duzer, & I are hosting "Imagining the World in the Renaissance": fountains, mountains, camels, & sea monsters!
At NCF, Thurs 12/5, 5-7pm:
www.eventbrite.com/e/1076710904...
Via Mellon & nehgov.bsky.social
(MS here BNCF II.II.69)
At NCF, Thurs 12/5, 5-7pm:
www.eventbrite.com/e/1076710904...
Via Mellon & nehgov.bsky.social
(MS here BNCF II.II.69)
I also love that the official welcome includes a quick history of Bamberg’s urban development, with multiple historical maps!#spathum2024
September 25, 2024 at 11:13 AM
I also love that the official welcome includes a quick history of Bamberg’s urban development, with multiple historical maps!#spathum2024
This conference has amazing break food. I love Bavaria.
September 25, 2024 at 11:02 AM
This conference has amazing break food. I love Bavaria.
For any fellow attendees, I’m “The Analysis and Presentation of Global Knowledge in the Manuscript Tradition of Dati’s Sfera”, Thurs @ 9am (here Tunis)…
September 24, 2024 at 5:30 PM
For any fellow attendees, I’m “The Analysis and Presentation of Global Knowledge in the Manuscript Tradition of Dati’s Sfera”, Thurs @ 9am (here Tunis)…
Greetings from Bamberg (here in post-pluvial evening light)! Looking forward to spreading the #sferaproject good news and learning A LOT at the #spathum2024 conference. 🤓
September 24, 2024 at 5:26 PM
Greetings from Bamberg (here in post-pluvial evening light)! Looking forward to spreading the #sferaproject good news and learning A LOT at the #spathum2024 conference. 🤓
One of the fun aspects of my sabbatical job chasing down #sferaproject manuscripts last year was alllllll the different libraries I ended up in. Here are 2 selfies from the Österreichisches Nationalbibliothek in Viennal (left) and at the Biblioteca Braidense in Milan (right).
September 20, 2024 at 7:59 PM
One of the fun aspects of my sabbatical job chasing down #sferaproject manuscripts last year was alllllll the different libraries I ended up in. Here are 2 selfies from the Österreichisches Nationalbibliothek in Viennal (left) and at the Biblioteca Braidense in Milan (right).
Favorite nerd medievalist moment: that time I wrote my "Introduction to Medieval Manuscripts" syllabus as a glossed book (oh yes I DID).
September 20, 2024 at 2:03 AM
Favorite nerd medievalist moment: that time I wrote my "Introduction to Medieval Manuscripts" syllabus as a glossed book (oh yes I DID).