Gemma Hollman

This stunning Book of Hours was made for King Francis I of France in 1532. An illuminated manuscript of 140 pages, it has 16 full-page miniatures and is luxuriously covered in an enameled gold binding decorated with rubies and turquoise gems. It was bought by the Louvre in 2018 for €10 million!

This conference sounds fabulous, make sure to book a place!

Thank you!

A newspaper clipping headed "stuck hatpin into a masher" recounting Leoti Blaker of Kansas' defence of herself in Kansas. Inserted is a phorograph of Leoti and a drawing of the event.

The hats were fastened with long, decorative hatpins - which were also very sharp! Women started using these pins against "mashers", men who would attempt to sexually assault them in public, and this allowed them to confidently move about society unescorted (see one case in this newspaper).

Fashion as Liberation: Edwardian Women’s Hatpins “No man, however courageous he may be, likes to face a resolute woman with a hatpin in her hand.” When you think of fashion, you probably think of a variety of things. Superfluous trend…

“No man, however courageous he may be, likes to face a resolute woman with a hatpin in her hand.”

Did you know the Edwardian fashion for extravagant hats inadvertently became a tool of liberation for some women?

justhistoryposts.com/2018/03/07/f...
#history #fashion #FashionHistory #WomensHistory

Hundreds of medieval medical manuscripts now accessible Over the course of the last three years, and thanks to the generous support of the Wellcome Trust, the Curious Cures in Cambridge Libraries project has been enhancing the discoverability of medieval m...

190 mss, over 7000 pages of medieval medical recipes, 42000 new images, 7700+ texts, new cataloguing, imaging and conservation treatments - oh my!

We're so pleased to have been part of Curious Cures
Congrats to @theul.bsky.social and everyone who worked on it 🎉👏👏
www.lib.cam.ac.uk/stories/curi...

Writing conclusions is the worst!! I just want to be like "in summary: everything I just said"

Something always gets me about historic children's toys. This miniature pewter knight on horseback was made around 1300, and measures just 53x40mm. Held at the Museum of London, many metal toys have been found in London dating to the period, which shows they must have been popular #medieval

A background photograph of Kirkstall Abbey's nave, overlaid with text reading "Castles, Abbeys, and Unicorns" and the URL to the Just History Posts substack.

New newsletter!
This month I'm chatting about my recent trip to the north of England, visiting Kirkstall Abbey and Pontefract. We also look at my latest blog post, and historical news including the long awaited arrival of the Bayeux Tapestry in the UK!
justhistoryposts.substack.com/p/castles-ab...

St Catherine's Oratory, the Isle of Wight, England, built in the 14th century - making it Britain's only surviving medieval lighthouse.

Originally attached to another building, it is 4 storeys high and has 8 walls on the outside, but only 4 on the inside. A priest used to be paid to tend to it.

Mythical Creatures: Medieval Unicorns in Europe Today we return to an old favourite series of mine, looking at the history of mythical creatures. In recent years, the unicorn has experienced a true revival, representing both LGBTQ+ communities and becoming a fan favourite of young children. But the unicorn was just as popular in medieval Europe, appearing countless times in artwork and heraldry. So where did the idea of this creature come from, and why did it have such a hold?

⭐New Post!⭐
Today I look at the mythology of the unicorn in medieval Europe. Where did the stories of these creatures came from, and why was its image so popular in medieval artwork?
#history #medieval

Whereas narwhals were not necessarily as known as rhinos outside of those who would have seen the creatures.

Thank you! Yes, it's certainly a generalisation - obviously Nordic countries would be more acquainted, but stories of rhinos and other African/Asian animals were very widespread in Europe, and those types of animals were often brought over for courtly menageries -

Mythical Creatures: Medieval Unicorns in Europe Today we return to an old favourite series of mine, looking at the history of mythical creatures. In recent years, the unicorn has experienced a true revival, representing both LGBTQ+ communities and becoming a fan favourite of young children. But the unicorn was just as popular in medieval Europe, appearing countless times in artwork and heraldry. So where did the idea of this creature come from, and why did it have such a hold?

⭐New Post!⭐
Today I look at the mythology of the unicorn in medieval Europe. Where did the stories of these creatures came from, and why was its image so popular in medieval artwork?
#history #medieval

I have regrets that I didn't

I was in an antiques shop at the weekend which had a tiny wooden box on the counter with a "do not open" sign on and it took every single one of my brain cells to control me not to do so. I don't think it was fragile, if anything I think it was probably a trick box of some sort, but still...

Female kings have always been a rarity, an oddity, or an undesirable outcome. Across the globe a male ruler was preferred to a woman, with female inheritance vanishingly rare and frequently disputes. In spite of this, women have secured crowns - or fought for them - over several millennia
Out 4 Sept

Oh this sounds great 😍

Oohh I'm so envious!

Review: Royal Witches by Gemma Hollman: although it would not be a snappy title at all, this book would more appropriately be called “Royal Ladies Unjustly Accused of Witchcraft”. Only two of the four women accused were actually queens historicalfictionblog.com/review-royal...

A view from the old cloisters, showing a grass-filled courtyard and the old walls and tower.

Some ruined rooms, with arches and pillars still standing but the roof missing.

Another view of the ruins, showing some walls, doors, windows and pillars open to the sky.

A view of the exterior of the main church, still standing a few storeys high.

A surprising amount of the ruined complex still stands, and was lovely to walk around. There was some graffiti on the pillars in the main church, as incredibly for a period after the church was ruined, one of Leeds' main roads went right through the middle!

A view from a doorway of a small, arched stone room, only a few metres in size

I loved the tiny library off the cloisters - the picture doesn't do justice to how small it was! Books were obviously very expensive as they all had to be handmade, and so the monastery library was not a vast space.

A view of the main body of the church, with pillars on either side and the ruins open to the sky

A view of the vaulting above one aisle of pillars, with the sky visible above the middle of the church

Another view of the vaulting down one of the aisles of pillars

A view through an arched doorway in the church

At the weekend I had the pleasure of visiting Kirkstall Abbey. There was a festival/funfair on so the place was filled, but it was a great chance to see the space. It's stunning and so much remains. Originally founded in 1152, it was one of the victims of the Dissolution #medieval #history

One of my favourite objects is this gorgeous frog purse made between 1650-1680. A gap below the face allows an opening with a drawstring, and the legs are formed with wire covered in padding. The body is silver-gilt thread, whilst the eyes are formed from black beads. Held at the Museum of London.

Wordly Women: Gemma Hollman In a new edition of my Wordly Women series, I chat with historian Gemma Hollman…

I had such a great time chatting with @thehistorybits.bsky.social for her 'Worldly Women' series. Such fun questions to dive into, about who my favourite historical figures are, how I got into writing, and much more. Take a look! 👇
historytheinterestingbits.com/2025/07/05/w...

For when one book won't do 📖 💅

This Bible created in Oxford, England, in 1756 is designed so that the reader can see the Old & New Testaments simultaneously. The cover of the book opens in the middle, creating the effect of two separate books joined together. Held at Chetham Library, Manchester.

An apocalyptic painting with text overlaid saying "Website redesign and a new Book Hub" with the Just History Posts substack URL

Time for this month's newsletter (just squeezed it in) and I go over my website redesign and the new Book Hub, as well as chatting about my latest blog post, and some fun pieces of historical news: justhistoryposts.substack.com/p/website-re...
#history #newsletters #HistoryBlogs

Book Hub Welcome to Just History Posts’ Book Hub! Over the years we have had dozens of historical authors on the blog, answering interview questions and writing fantastic guest posts for us about their rese…

So excited to share a project I've been working on for a little while: a special Book Hub for Just History Posts!

Over the years I've featured so many authors and books, I thought I should compile everything into one handy place to explore:
justhistoryposts.com/book-hub/

#history #authors #books

Book Hub Welcome to Just History Posts’ Book Hub! Over the years we have had dozens of historical authors on the blog, answering interview questions and writing fantastic guest posts for us about their rese…

So, if you're looking for your next historical fix, or you're wondering what to buy for someone's birthday present, please check out Just History Posts' Book Hub and see what takes your fancy: justhistoryposts.com/book-hub/
#tbr #HistoryBooks

Featuring medieval authors such as @thehistorybits.bsky.social, @5minmedievalist.bsky.social and @princessburton.bsky.social, Tudor authors such as @sylviabso.bsky.social and @historyaimee.bsky.social, women's history from @historyroyalwmn.bsky.social and @louisewyatt.bsky.social, there's plenty!