Rosalind Phillips-Solomon

It's so incredibly moving in person!

Tomb chest with effigies of 2 young children, angels as supporters, elaborate Renaissance decoration with cherubs on tomb chest. More detail in linked article.

October's #MonumentoftheMonth is the heartrending tomb of two infant children of Anne, duchess of Brittany churchmonumentssociety.org/monument-of-...

I wrote October's #monumentofthemonth blog post for @churchmonuments.bsky.social ! I'll be giving an online lecture on the tomb in March (also with the CMS), do come along if you found this interesting!
churchmonumentssociety.org/monument-of-...

A light grey grave marker with a curved pediment and faded text. On the pediment is a carving of a dolphin upright and Latin text which translated reads 'Calm in the midst of the waves'.

#31DaysOfGraves Day2 Nautical: At Kilmartin Graveyard a grave marker with a carved dolphin and Latin text that translates as 'Calm in the midst of the waves'.

Also don't forget the all Hallows series of online lectures - deathbeds, funerals, granite and slate monuments and the problem with modern sculpture! Details at churchmonumentssociety.org/events

'A Formless Mass of Flesh': Anne Boleyn and the Monstering of Past Pregnancies Writing about Anne Boleyn’s first pregnancy last week, I was reminded of the volume of controversies and conspiracy theories that swirl around the reproductive lives of Henry VIII’s queens.

This post is about Anne Boleyn, and the strange fascination we have with the reproductive lives of Henry's wives (despite the fact he was over 40 when married to all of them but Catherine of Aragon, which may well be explanation enough). lucyallengoss.substack.com/p/a-formless...

I was thinking with a friend about how to describe the harms of AI, especially in a teaching and labor context, and came up with calling it a “coordinated campaign of mass deskilling” and I feel like that succinctly describes a lot of the problem.

This is amongst the most impactful two minutes of broadcasting I’ve ever seen.

By Emma Murphy, International Editor, ITV News. #Gaza

Israeli protesters holding pictures of starving Palestinian children and calling for an end to the genocide in Gaza clashed with police on Thursday in Tel Aviv.

Accurate.

FTR, I love me some Beneventan.

BREAKING: Israeli attacks across Gaza have killed at least 51 Palestinians, including 23 aid seekers, since dawn, medical sources told Al Jazeera.

🔴 LIVE updates: aje.io/g6lam8

Pain really is all-consuming when its bad, and I spent this morning trying to convince my doctor at the walk in clinic that I am indeed in so much pain I cannot deal with daily life, and as its always the case, I wonder how much he heard and how much he thought was just a hysterical brown woman.

I'm hearing anecdotal reports of trans people being turned away from hospital because there are no "private rooms" and they are refusing to put them in single sex wards.

If this happens to you (physical health)

Ask for a senior nurse, explain things to them

Take all their names

Cont.

‘Creatures of Power: Animals, Ecology and Humanity in the Medieval World’

I had so much fun taking part in this session! 🐋🐖🦢Thank you to the wonderful conference organisers for putting together such a fantastic event! 💕

This is why we demand masks & clean air in healthcare.

No one should get COVID in the place they go to get care.

No one should have precious time ripped away from them.

Too many people say “well they were sick anyways” and completely miss the point.

Sick & disabled people deserve protection too

An illustration showing various skeletons and skulls and religious iconography

This extraordinary piece is entitled "Allegory of the Transience of Life," c.1480. It’s an engraving printed on vellum, with hand-colouring, by Master I. A. M. of Zwolle - an Dutch goldsmith and engraver. It’s currently housed at the British Museum.

Thank you for sharing!

I’ve definitely been persuaded to write something up for a monument of the month post 🥰

We were at the Leeds International Medieval Congress - Glastonbury for medievalists? churchmonumentssociety.org/2025/07/13/l...

Our Grant Programmes - Society of Antiquaries of London Find out how we support research into material culture and the conservation of churches.

Funding klaxon - the Soc of Antiquaries' Morris Fund, helps with conservation of monuments (among other things), deadline for the current year is 31 August www.sal.org.uk/what-we-do/g...

jstor i do not want this

Iconic, I was sorry to miss it!

Thank you! I’m very much looking forward to reading your book!

Ah- I didn’t realise Bluesky wouldn’t let me add alt text after posting! The last three pictures were: a huge stack of books (mostly on death and commemoration), a very partially gilded initial, and the cover of the forthcoming book “towards an accessible academy”.

And finally, before I go back to my post IMC crash, I’ll mention #DisMed7, a roundtable of medievalists with disabilities. I’m still learning how to navigate illness and academia, and this session was really eye opening! And they’ve just released a book based on sessions from previous years! 💕

The entire session felt especially important in this day and age, and I look forward to read upcoming works from all the speakers, but especially Dr Lee’s forthcoming open access book, “The Medieval Womb” ❤️

I was particularly struck by Dr Minji Lee’s paper on Hildegard of Bingen, Abortifacients and menstrual provokers. Dr Lee took this opportunity to discuss current abortion legislation, and its horrifying applications in the case of Adriana Smith.

I went to another history of medicine session on Wednesday: I can’t help myself! The session was “Bodies of Knowledge, II: Gender and Healing”. Lots of fascinating papers on gendered healing and gynaecology, always helpful for thinking about medieval motherhood and pregnancy (as I often do)

On Monday I attended a session on “Palliative Care: Medieval and Modern Perspectives”, as well as the subsequent round table. Fascinating and important conversations between medievalists and medics (and many folks who are part of both fields!).