Gabriele Passabì
@gabpassabi.bsky.social
Medievalist. Manuscripts enthusiast.
Film addict.
PhD | University of Cambridge
Research fellowships at PIMS (Toronto), SISMEL (Florence), and Trier University (Germany).
Film addict.
PhD | University of Cambridge
Research fellowships at PIMS (Toronto), SISMEL (Florence), and Trier University (Germany).
Spent the morning at @theul.bsky.social with this remarkable volume from 12 c. Worcester. A fine example of medieval knowledge aggeagation for the community. It also comes with impressive decorations, which is always a plus.
November 12, 2025 at 12:21 PM
Spent the morning at @theul.bsky.social with this remarkable volume from 12 c. Worcester. A fine example of medieval knowledge aggeagation for the community. It also comes with impressive decorations, which is always a plus.
According to their translation, one passage reads: “To him who was twice slain by his enemies and honoured as a martyr. The ruler of the Wallachs, Vlad the Pious, went in peace, ever praising God in the place where he is buried”.
November 10, 2025 at 6:20 PM
According to their translation, one passage reads: “To him who was twice slain by his enemies and honoured as a martyr. The ruler of the Wallachs, Vlad the Pious, went in peace, ever praising God in the place where he is buried”.
Attempts at deciphering the slab have been made since the 1920s. The most recent (serious) study (Palma, 2023) found that the glyphs drew from Old Slavonic, Greek, Latin, Coptic, and Carian scripts. His results produced some coherent snippets in Latin and Hungarian but no full translation.
November 10, 2025 at 6:20 PM
Attempts at deciphering the slab have been made since the 1920s. The most recent (serious) study (Palma, 2023) found that the glyphs drew from Old Slavonic, Greek, Latin, Coptic, and Carian scripts. His results produced some coherent snippets in Latin and Hungarian but no full translation.
And yet, the iconography of the Ferrillo monument is unusual for southern Italy. Even more unusual is a curious marble slab in the sixteenth-century Turbolo Chapel of the same church, which on the right-hand side bears an inscription that has yet to be deciphered.
November 10, 2025 at 6:20 PM
And yet, the iconography of the Ferrillo monument is unusual for southern Italy. Even more unusual is a curious marble slab in the sixteenth-century Turbolo Chapel of the same church, which on the right-hand side bears an inscription that has yet to be deciphered.
Inside, the funerary monument of Count Matteo Ferrillo (15 c.) features unusual symbolism. It includes a dragon helm reminiscent of the Order of the Dragon (associated with Vlad’s father) and two sphinxes, the symbol of Thebes, which should intriguingly resonate with the Romanian Țepeș, Impaler.
November 10, 2025 at 6:20 PM
Inside, the funerary monument of Count Matteo Ferrillo (15 c.) features unusual symbolism. It includes a dragon helm reminiscent of the Order of the Dragon (associated with Vlad’s father) and two sphinxes, the symbol of Thebes, which should intriguingly resonate with the Romanian Țepeș, Impaler.
Existing since the mid 13 c., originally as a Franciscan convent, the Church of Santa Maria La Nova in Naples is now an outstanding example of Neapolitan late Renaissance sacred architecture.
November 10, 2025 at 6:20 PM
Existing since the mid 13 c., originally as a Franciscan convent, the Church of Santa Maria La Nova in Naples is now an outstanding example of Neapolitan late Renaissance sacred architecture.
So… I just learned that the Vlad III Țepeș, also known to later legend as Dracula, may be buried in Naples, Italy.
1) Is this true or clickbait?
2) Should I be worried for Neapolitans?
A short🧵 between history and fiction.
1) Is this true or clickbait?
2) Should I be worried for Neapolitans?
A short🧵 between history and fiction.
November 10, 2025 at 6:20 PM
So… I just learned that the Vlad III Țepeș, also known to later legend as Dracula, may be buried in Naples, Italy.
1) Is this true or clickbait?
2) Should I be worried for Neapolitans?
A short🧵 between history and fiction.
1) Is this true or clickbait?
2) Should I be worried for Neapolitans?
A short🧵 between history and fiction.
Proofs done. Book imminent. Panic level: yes.
November 5, 2025 at 4:40 PM
Proofs done. Book imminent. Panic level: yes.
What a way to launch Project DEGE at UBC with a three-day deep dive into the digital edition of the Generale Historia in stunning Granada! Here are a few glimpses from the Gothic cathedral and the UNESCO-listed Albaycín, the maze-like old Arab quarters of Granada.
October 17, 2025 at 3:14 PM
What a way to launch Project DEGE at UBC with a three-day deep dive into the digital edition of the Generale Historia in stunning Granada! Here are a few glimpses from the Gothic cathedral and the UNESCO-listed Albaycín, the maze-like old Arab quarters of Granada.
Peter Thiel discusses One Piece and the Antichrist, thereby single-handedly enraging both One Piece and Christian eschatology experts. That's quite impressive.
October 12, 2025 at 2:57 PM
Peter Thiel discusses One Piece and the Antichrist, thereby single-handedly enraging both One Piece and Christian eschatology experts. That's quite impressive.
To conclude, albeit not with a MS, no one captured Francis’ life more vividly than Giotto. His fresco cycle in the Basilica of Assisi doesn’t just illustrate the life of the saint, it helped shape how generations imagined the "God's jester". A life and and legacy now set in colour and stone.
October 4, 2025 at 1:44 PM
To conclude, albeit not with a MS, no one captured Francis’ life more vividly than Giotto. His fresco cycle in the Basilica of Assisi doesn’t just illustrate the life of the saint, it helped shape how generations imagined the "God's jester". A life and and legacy now set in colour and stone.
As devotion to Francis grew, so did his impact on art.This stunning leaf comes from a mid-14th c. manuscript of the Golden Legend, a royal commission for Charles II of Hungary and Queen Elizabeth made in Bologna. One wonders if the saint of poverty ever imagined his story told on golden parchment.
October 4, 2025 at 1:44 PM
As devotion to Francis grew, so did his impact on art.This stunning leaf comes from a mid-14th c. manuscript of the Golden Legend, a royal commission for Charles II of Hungary and Queen Elizabeth made in Bologna. One wonders if the saint of poverty ever imagined his story told on golden parchment.
Francis’ radical poverty influenced reformers centuries later. John Wycliffe, for example, engaged deeply with Franciscan texts. The manuscript CCCC MS 296, once believed to be the work of Wycliffe himslef, includes the rule and testament of Francis, though framed within a critique of the friars.
October 4, 2025 at 1:44 PM
Francis’ radical poverty influenced reformers centuries later. John Wycliffe, for example, engaged deeply with Franciscan texts. The manuscript CCCC MS 296, once believed to be the work of Wycliffe himslef, includes the rule and testament of Francis, though framed within a critique of the friars.
Codex 338 also preserves Francis’s Canticle of the Creatures, the first surviving work in a dialect (Umbrian) beginning to resemble modern Italian, which makes it one of the oldest poems in Italian literature. The Canticle also stands as the foundation of Francis’s vision of creation and "ecology".
October 4, 2025 at 1:44 PM
Codex 338 also preserves Francis’s Canticle of the Creatures, the first surviving work in a dialect (Umbrian) beginning to resemble modern Italian, which makes it one of the oldest poems in Italian literature. The Canticle also stands as the foundation of Francis’s vision of creation and "ecology".
Thus began Franciscanism, if not the formal order, at least its lived experience of Christianity. Because of this contact, Franciscans worldwide see the Missal as a relic. Pilgrims travel to Baltimore each year to view the three passages Francis is believed to have opened. You can see them below.
October 4, 2025 at 1:44 PM
Thus began Franciscanism, if not the formal order, at least its lived experience of Christianity. Because of this contact, Franciscans worldwide see the Missal as a relic. Pilgrims travel to Baltimore each year to view the three passages Francis is believed to have opened. You can see them below.
One of the most famous manuscripts connected to Francis is the St Francis Missal (Baltimore, Walters Ms. W.75). Tradition holds that Francis randomly opened this book in 1208 in Assisi looking for an answer as to what was God’s plan for him. Three times, the text urged him to renounce the world.
October 4, 2025 at 1:44 PM
One of the most famous manuscripts connected to Francis is the St Francis Missal (Baltimore, Walters Ms. W.75). Tradition holds that Francis randomly opened this book in 1208 in Assisi looking for an answer as to what was God’s plan for him. Three times, the text urged him to renounce the world.
Today is the feast of St Francis, one of the most celebrated figures of the Christian tradition and a turning point in the medieval West. A radical and poet, a mystic yet deeply engaged with his society, now patron saint of Italy and of ecology. Here’s a look at some of the MSS associated with him.
October 4, 2025 at 1:44 PM
Today is the feast of St Francis, one of the most celebrated figures of the Christian tradition and a turning point in the medieval West. A radical and poet, a mystic yet deeply engaged with his society, now patron saint of Italy and of ecology. Here’s a look at some of the MSS associated with him.
Later in the 15th–16th c., pilgrims brought back new treasures for the library, such as decorared volumes (like the stunning Cod. 45, a late 15 c. Book of Hours) and the first printed books. Today, the Abbey’s collection boasts 124 early print editions, including a rare copy of Petrarch’s Trionfi.
October 1, 2025 at 1:57 PM
Later in the 15th–16th c., pilgrims brought back new treasures for the library, such as decorared volumes (like the stunning Cod. 45, a late 15 c. Book of Hours) and the first printed books. Today, the Abbey’s collection boasts 124 early print editions, including a rare copy of Petrarch’s Trionfi.
A gem from the Cava scriptorium is De septem sigillis by monk Benedetto of Bari (Cod. 18, 13 c.). Benedetto of Bari drew himself with two heads, one young & another old, handing his book to Abbot Balsamo of Cava. Nothing says “I worked on this my whole life” like literally showing your whole life.
October 1, 2025 at 1:57 PM
A gem from the Cava scriptorium is De septem sigillis by monk Benedetto of Bari (Cod. 18, 13 c.). Benedetto of Bari drew himself with two heads, one young & another old, handing his book to Abbot Balsamo of Cava. Nothing says “I worked on this my whole life” like literally showing your whole life.
One of the most famous manuscripts preserved at Cava library is Cod. 4 (11 c.). It contains the Codex Legum Longobardorum, the earliest and best preserved collection of Lombard laws. It also comes with astonishing illustrations proving that legal texts were not always just dense walls of words.
October 1, 2025 at 1:57 PM
One of the most famous manuscripts preserved at Cava library is Cod. 4 (11 c.). It contains the Codex Legum Longobardorum, the earliest and best preserved collection of Lombard laws. It also comes with astonishing illustrations proving that legal texts were not always just dense walls of words.
Where there’s power, there’s money - and where there’s money, in a monastery usually there are books. The Abbey of Cava preserves the largest medieval archive and one of the most important monastic libraries in southern Italy, which today looks like this:
October 1, 2025 at 1:57 PM
Where there’s power, there’s money - and where there’s money, in a monastery usually there are books. The Abbey of Cava preserves the largest medieval archive and one of the most important monastic libraries in southern Italy, which today looks like this:
The Abbey of Cava began with Alferius, a courtier-turned-hermit in a deep gorge of Mount Finestra near Salerno. By 1025, Prince Guaimar III made it official and issued the foundation charter. Since then the abbey rose fast as a major monastic hub in the region. Below: King Roger’s confirmation.
October 1, 2025 at 1:57 PM
The Abbey of Cava began with Alferius, a courtier-turned-hermit in a deep gorge of Mount Finestra near Salerno. By 1025, Prince Guaimar III made it official and issued the foundation charter. Since then the abbey rose fast as a major monastic hub in the region. Below: King Roger’s confirmation.
This year marks 1000 years since the foundation of the Abbey of Cava dei Tirreni (1025)! Holy Trinity at Cava was one of southern Italy’s most important Benedictine abbeys in the 11th–12th centuries and home of one of the largest libraries in the region. A millennium history deserves some 🎉
October 1, 2025 at 1:57 PM
This year marks 1000 years since the foundation of the Abbey of Cava dei Tirreni (1025)! Holy Trinity at Cava was one of southern Italy’s most important Benedictine abbeys in the 11th–12th centuries and home of one of the largest libraries in the region. A millennium history deserves some 🎉
The much-anticipated news is now here. I am very excited to announce that my book, soon out with York Medieval Press, is now available for pre-order! Hats off to @boydellandbrewer.bsky.social and the awesome Mont-Saint-Michel design team for the cover!
boydellandbrewer.com/book/robert-...
boydellandbrewer.com/book/robert-...
September 23, 2025 at 4:39 PM
The much-anticipated news is now here. I am very excited to announce that my book, soon out with York Medieval Press, is now available for pre-order! Hats off to @boydellandbrewer.bsky.social and the awesome Mont-Saint-Michel design team for the cover!
boydellandbrewer.com/book/robert-...
boydellandbrewer.com/book/robert-...