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theul.bsky.social
Cambridge University Library
@theul.bsky.social
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Cambridge University Library @theul.bsky.social · Mar 3
Fascinated by health and wellbeing? So were our medieval ancestors.

Our new exhibition, Curious Cures, takes us back hundreds of years to a world of ritual healing and herbal recipes, stargazing, and surgery.

🔗Book your FREE ticket loom.ly/kVqsPRY

#CuriousCures
Social media graphic with information for the forthcoming Curious Cures exhibition at Cambridge University Library. We see the event logo and a medieval image of a ill man being examined by a doctor.
theul.bsky.social
The archive of enigmatic 19th-century writer Amy Levy has a new home at Cambridge University Library.

Find out more: https://loom.ly/RHh3bbc

Thank you to our supporters, including: @thefnl.bsky.social, Arts Council England, Rothschild Foundation, The Polonsky Foundation, T. S. Eliot Foundation.
November 13, 2025 at 1:25 PM
theul.bsky.social
In Flanders' fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place: and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

John McCrae, In Flanders' Field.

Image: Fuch's herbal (Sel.2.81)

#ArmisticeDay #RemembranceDay
An image of a poppy from a sixteenth century herbal book. The petals of the poppy are a soft red. There are multiple green stems with unopened buds.
November 11, 2025 at 9:04 AM
theul.bsky.social
Laugh out loud at the library! Comedy improv inspired by our latest Curious Cures exhibition 🎭😆

Thursday 20 November. 5.30-7pm. Tickets £5. More info and to book: https://loom.ly/ctOh268

#CuriousCures #CambridgeUniversityLibrary #ImprovNight #CambridgeEvents #ComedyNight
Poster for "Comedy Improv at the UL!" featuring a collaboration between Medieval Manuscripts and The Cambridge Impronauts. Includes images of a medieval illustration and an improv performance. University of Cambridge Libraries and Archives logo at the bottom.
November 10, 2025 at 2:07 PM
Reposted by Cambridge University Library
parkerlibcccc.bsky.social
We're delighted to digitally contribute to @theul.bsky.social Curious Cures project

Curator James Freeman highlights some of way Middle English medical writings have survived to us:
specialcollections-blog.lib.cam.ac.uk?p=30906

One more month to catch the physcial exhibition, do not miss it!
In their own words: medical writings in Middle English – Cambridge University Library Special Collections
specialcollections-blog.lib.cam.ac.uk
November 7, 2025 at 9:34 AM
Reposted by Cambridge University Library
jillwhitelock.bsky.social
Excellent afternoon with second-year History students at @theul.bsky.social today to look at sources for their ‘Women in Cambridge c.1900-1950’ Research Project. @theulspeccoll.bsky.social
Montage showing items from Cambridge University Library’s Special Collections, set out for a class.
November 7, 2025 at 7:45 PM
Reposted by Cambridge University Library
oewordhord.bsky.social
atel, adj: dire, terrible. (AH-tell / ˈa-tɛl)
Image: Bestiary from a didactic miscellany; England, 1220-1240; @theul.bsky.social Kk.4.25, f. 67v.
#OldEnglish #WOTD
Medieval manuscript illustration of a salmon-coloured griffin grasping a man’s entire torso in its beak, gripping a leg with its forefeet; the man is bleeding a lot but appears to be alive.
November 8, 2025 at 8:00 AM
theul.bsky.social
For #DigitalPreservationDay we spoke to Caylin Smith, Head of Digital Preservation, about her team's efforts to foster a culture of digital stewardship that protects our digital heritage for future generations.
#WDPD2025

Read more: https://loom.ly/UFJLE40

💾🖥️
A photo of Caylin Smith in the Catalogue Hall at Cambridge University Library
November 6, 2025 at 1:11 PM
theul.bsky.social
Look no further than John Babington’s Pyrotechnia (London, 1635) for inspiration for your #fireworks display. There are 'fizgigs' and fire-breathing dragons galore!🎆

Adams.4.63.1. #bonfirenight
An illustration from a seventeenth-century book on fireworks showing a fire-breathing dragon on wheels The illustrated title page from a seventeenth-century book on fireworks An illustration from a seventeenth-century book on fireworks
November 5, 2025 at 8:52 AM
theul.bsky.social
A week to go until the Sandars Lectures 2025 📚
Join us in celebrating archival collections in Cambridge and beyond, on 11 & 12 November 2025, 5-6pm. Online spaces still available.
Book your free tickets: https://loom.ly/Du7jSUs
November 4, 2025 at 1:11 PM
theul.bsky.social
How did medieval people treat an anal abscess?

🌹 John Arderne, a 15th-century English surgeon, relieved the pain with a suppository of oil of roses and raw egg yolk.

This manuscript (@trincolllibcam.bsky.social , MS O.2.49) is on display at our Curious Cures exhibition.

Tickets: loom.ly/kVqsPRY
A medieval manuscript featuring handwritten text and hand-drawn anatomical illustrations. There are sketches of human figures and medical instruments related to surgery on the anus. The ink is dark brown, and the pages are aged and yellowed, giving the book a well-used appearance. A medieval manuscript featuring handwritten text and hand-drawn anatomical illustrations. There are sketches of human figures and medical instruments related to surgery on the anus. The ink is dark brown, and the pages are aged and yellowed, giving the book a well-used appearance.
November 3, 2025 at 12:12 PM
theul.bsky.social
A Visit to a Witch!

Giving an account of the hovel she resides in, the fear she occasions in the neighbourhood of it, and the curious charges brought against her before a justice of the peace.

London: J. Evans and Sons, [1814?] (CCD.7.50.28)

#Folklore #Witchcraft #History #Superstition
An old printed woodcut illustration of a witch riding a broomstick over clouds. An old printed pamphlet titled A Visit to a Witch! with a woodcut illustration of a witch riding a broomstick over clouds. The text reads: "A Visit to a Witch! Giving an account of the Hovel she resides in, the Fear she occasions in the Neighbourhood of it, And the curious charges brought against her before a Justice of the Peace." Below the illustration, it says: "London: Printed and sold by J. Evans and Sons, Long Lane, West Smithfield. Price One Penny." The paper is aged and slightly tattered around the edges, with handwritten library markings at the top.
October 31, 2025 at 10:06 AM
theul.bsky.social
Listen to two new choral works from the Timeline Choir inspired by our #CuriousCures exhibition! 🐀

‘A Charm Against Rats’ by composer Charlotte Baskerville is inspired by a 15th-century manuscript (@caiuscollege.bsky.social, MS 457/395, f. 1v).

Hear the full version: https://loom.ly/2fJO_xs
October 29, 2025 at 9:57 AM
theul.bsky.social
Don't forget to join us for this spine-chilling event!
theul.bsky.social Cambridge University Library @theul.bsky.social · 27d
🎃Join us on 30 October for some spine-chilling real-life data horror stories! Open to all research staff, students, and anyone supporting research activities.

📍Thu 30 Oct 2025, 9:30am-2pm at the School of Clinical Medicine

🔗Find out more and book a place: https://loom.ly/QPCAFGk
October 28, 2025 at 10:31 AM
theul.bsky.social
Half-term planning got you hot under the collar?

Fear not, our FREE exhibition on medieval medicine is here to keep you amused with all the leeches, urine flasks and weasel testicles you could ever wish for.

🔗Book now: https://loom.ly/kVqsPRY

Image: MS O.1.20 @trincolllibcam.bsky.social
October 28, 2025 at 10:06 AM
Reposted by Cambridge University Library
forrestpass.bsky.social
This kitty was not a great mouser, but did catch a pear! (Still my favourite design from my days as a herald). #heraldry #catsofbsky

Arms of Diane Marie Cecile Perry, Public Register of Arms, Flags and Badges of Canada, vol. 6, p. 55.

www.gg.ca/en/heraldry/...
October 24, 2025 at 11:57 AM
Reposted by Cambridge University Library
trincolllibcam.bsky.social
Could this be him as a kitten?
B.11.4 13th c Psalter written in a 'large and noble hand' according to M.R. James. mss-cat.trin.cam.ac.uk/Manuscript/B...
A cat in a medieval manuscript holding a mouse in its mouth.
October 24, 2025 at 10:06 AM
Reposted by Cambridge University Library
iamkristine.bsky.social
Autumn days in Cambridge 🍂
@theul.bsky.social @clarecollege @corpuscambridge.bsky.social
looking splendid on a crisp cold day.

#CambridgeUniversityLibraries
October 24, 2025 at 4:56 PM
theul.bsky.social
May this black cat bring you good fortune and fill your Monday morning with positive energy. ✨

#NationalBlackCatDay

Image: Black Cats are Lucky by A. Fielding (1937.7.2763)
A person is holding a 1930s crime fiction book in its original dust jacket. The cover artwork shows an illustration of a glamorous woman in a green evening dress. A black cat sits on her shoulder.
October 27, 2025 at 8:52 AM
Reposted by Cambridge University Library
akennedysmith.bsky.social
Highly recommended!
theul.bsky.social Cambridge University Library @theul.bsky.social · 24d
⌛Time is running out for #CuriousCures!

Don't miss your chance to see these fascinating medieval medical books and manuscripts, which are rarely on display together.

📍Open 6 Dec 2025 at the UL
🔗Book your FREE ticket: https://loom.ly/kVqsPRY

Image: @caiuscollege.bsky.social, MS 336/725
We see an open medieval manuscript on display. On one page, there is a series of rotating discs with detailed measurements and markings, including the sun and moon. On the opposite page, we see a medical diagram of a man.
October 21, 2025 at 11:08 AM
theul.bsky.social
When your cat is knighted for gallantry in mouse-catching and commissions a new coat of arms. 🐈🐁

Actually, these arms belonged to Sir Isaac Pennington (1745-1817). They were charmingly sketched by Richard Relhan (1797-1838).

Cambridge Antiquarian Society / CUL (Views.Relhan.78)
A detail from a traditional coat of arms. We see a silver tabby cat sitting atop a helmet.
October 24, 2025 at 9:04 AM
theul.bsky.social
October was a busy time in the medieval agricultural calendar. It was the season to sow new crops, an essential job to ensure a plentiful harvest in the following year.

Image: 14th-century East Anglian Book of Hours (CUL MS Dd.4.17).

See it in the #CambridgeDigitalLibrary: https://loom.ly/IxlTgO8
Medieval manuscript illustration showing a man wearing a red tunic, black hat, and black shoes, standing within an architectural frame with a gold background. He is holding a bag or basket at his waist, sowing seeds with one hand. The image is part of a calendar manuscript page with red text visible on the right.
October 23, 2025 at 9:06 AM
theul.bsky.social
Ttakjibon (딱지본) are pocket-sized Korean novels featuring colorful illustrated covers. The name 'Ttakjibon' derives from 'Ttakji' (딱지),' a small disk used in a traditional children's game, which you might remember from Squid Game!

Pictured:
Ongnangja 옥낭자. FE.264.37
Sŏul, : Hyangminsa, 1978.
October 22, 2025 at 9:01 AM
theul.bsky.social
Get ready for a night of laughter and leeches! 😂🎭

Join us at the UL on 20 November for an evening of improv with The Cambridge Impronauts — inspired by our exhibition Curious Cures: Medicine in the Medieval World.

5.30-7pm. Tickets £5.
Book now: https://loom.ly/ctOh268
Poster for "Comedy Improv at the UL!" featuring a collaboration between Medieval Manuscripts and The Cambridge Impronauts. Includes images of a medieval illustration and an improv performance. University of Cambridge Libraries and Archives logo at the bottom.
October 21, 2025 at 1:05 PM
theul.bsky.social
⌛Time is running out for #CuriousCures!

Don't miss your chance to see these fascinating medieval medical books and manuscripts, which are rarely on display together.

📍Open 6 Dec 2025 at the UL
🔗Book your FREE ticket: https://loom.ly/kVqsPRY

Image: @caiuscollege.bsky.social, MS 336/725
We see an open medieval manuscript on display. On one page, there is a series of rotating discs with detailed measurements and markings, including the sun and moon. On the opposite page, we see a medical diagram of a man.
October 21, 2025 at 10:53 AM
Reposted by Cambridge University Library
jillwhitelock.bsky.social
Cassell crime, 1960. In the Tower at @theul.bsky.social.

📷 #WeekQforQuiet #AlphabetChallenge
Book spines of crime fiction, in dust jackets, including ‘So quiet a death’ by Nigel Morland, ‘A Mrs Pym mystery’.
October 20, 2025 at 7:56 PM