Michael Edward Stewart

I have one superpower: I can add fantastic books—like the one below by
@laurysarti.bsky.social
- to my university library with the press of a button, good thing it does not work for chocolate bars.

Too close for comfort.

Belisarius & Antonina: Love and War in the Age of Justinian. By David Alan Parnell. New York: Oxford University Press. 2023. 260 pp. £19.99. ISBN 9780197574706. Click on the article title to read more.

Belisarius & Antonina: Love and War in the Age of Justinian. By David Alan Parnell. New York: Oxford University Press. 2023. 260 pp. £19.99. ISBN 9780197574706. - Kennedy - 2025 - Early Medieval Europe - Wiley Online Library onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Unedited Proof: “Finding Mr or Mrs Right: Marriage Alliances in the Age of Theodora”, in Masculinities in Early Medieval Europe Tradition and Innovation, 450–1050 10, eds. Francesco Borri, Cristina La... Unedited Proof: “Finding Mr or Mrs Right: Marriage Alliances in the Age of Theodora”, in Masculinities in Early Medieval Europe Tradition and Innovation, 450–1050 10, eds. Francesco Borri, Cristina La...

www.academia.edu/45617512/Une...

bmcr.brynmawr.edu/2025/2025.07...

A fine review of Rollinger's epic and landmark work of Byzantine ceremonial...

bmcr.brynmawr.edu/2025/2025.07...

This article examines the demonological discourse in Procopius’s Secret History with a focus on internal and inter-textual evidence from Procopius’s corpus, particularly his treatment of demons in relation to the 542 bubonic plague pandemic, as described in the Wars. While previous scholarship by Rubin, Cameron, and Denson has convincingly demonstrated that the depiction of Justinian as a demonic figure draws on broader cultural and literary contexts, this study investigates Procopius’s demonological rhetoric within the Wars and Secret History, specifically in the context of his plague narrative. This approach complements Cameron’s inter-textual methodology but leads to additional conclusions, diverging from Kaldellis’s view of demonological elements as literary embellishments. Building on an earlier argument that Procopius’s plague discourse in the Wars constructs the plague as a corollary for Justinian’s destructive rule, this article explores how Procopius employs pestilential and demonological themes to intensify the emperor’s portrayal as a malevolent force. Through a detailed analysis of the plague narrative, this analysis demonstrates how Procopius integrates these themes to frame Justinian as an agent of destruction whose impact transcends political and social realms, extending into the cosmic and religious dimensions of Late Antiquity. This study contributes to the broader discourse on Procopian demonology by highlighting the intricate connections between pestilence, demonic imagery, and imperial critique. It underscores how these elements work together to construct Justinian not merely as a flawed ruler but as an existential threat, aligning him with the malevolence associated with both demons and the plague.

New deep dive article from Chris de Wet on Procopius's discourse about demons that shaped how he wrote the infamous Justinianic Plague sections of both Wars and the Secret History. Find it: doi.org/10.1163/1574... and abstract below.

Brains and Brawn | 8 | Intellectual and Physical Manliness in Agathias Agathias’ The Histories is often dismissed by scholars as overly rhetorical and inferior compared to his predecessors, resulting in less scholarly attention.

My most recent book chapter on Agathias out next month... www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edi...

Christian Rollinger/Nadine Viermann (eds.): Empresses-in-Waiting (2024) Review of: Christian Rollinger/Nadine Viermann (eds.): Empresses-in-Waiting. Female Power and Performance at the Late Roman Court. Liverpool: Liverpool University Press 2024 (Women in Ancient Cultures). Reviewed by: Liz James, Brighton Read in PDF: [Review Rollinger_Viermann] Language: English

plekos.jimdofree.com/2025/07/09/c...

technically winter here on the Gold Coast

A beautiful cover, if we do say so ourselves 📙 🤩

Enjoying this volume...

online.ucpress.edu/SLA/article-...

Ceræ at IMC 2025

Ceræ is proud to announce that the journal is once again sponsoring sessions at the International Medieval Congress at the University of Leeds. All three sessions are organised and moderated by our secretary and treasurer, Michele Seah - we are very grateful for her time and…

The Eucharist in the First Millennium Whether measured by the period during which it has been celebrated, the frequency with which it has been held, or the cumulatively vast numbers of people who have participated in it, the Eucharist has...

A new book from my advisor John Moorhead www.aup.nl/en/book/9789...

Next step Proofs!

With the arrival of Leonora Neville’s epilogue, I’m happy to share that—after two and a half years of hard work—the manuscript for my new edited volume, Portraits of Generalship & Authority in the Age of Justinian and Beyond, is now complete.
A heartfelt thank you to all the contributing authors!

Byzantium, or Rather, East Rome As scholars of East Rome take full account of the ways its subjects identified and understood themselves as Roman, the terms ‘Byzantine’ and ‘Byzantium’ prove increasingly problematic. The implicat...

Byzantium, or Rather, East Rome: Journal of Medieval History: Vol 0, No 0 - Get Access www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

I agree East Roman is a bit cumbersome. Sometimes just Roman is better...especially with Justinian since for most of his reign he certainly saw himself as ruling a reunited Roman Empire

As Neville nicely puts it:
'to make Roman history a key
step in the story of advancing Western Civilization, the western part of Roman
history needs to be central to that story. The lopsided temporal predominance of
eastern Roman history had to be undercut and discounted.'

Sailing Away from Byzantium Toward East Roman History Cambridge Core - European History 1000-1450 - Sailing Away from Byzantium Toward East Roman History

Tell your friends that Leonora Neville's new book is available for free download for two weeks only: www.cambridge.org/core/element...

As many of you may already know, AUP has been acquired by Taylor & Francis, which means my edited volume Portraits of Generalship & Authority in the Age of Justinian and Beyond, which was due be submitted on July 1st, will be slightly delayed & appear in a different series to be announced.

and
Michael Wuk: research.london.ac.uk/institute-ic...

Diarmaid MacCulloch · With Fresh Eyes: Peter Brown’s Achievement All autobiography is inherently mendacious, if only by omission and with the intent of protecting the innocent. In his...

‘“What did people 𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯 by believing in demons?” Brown asked a lecture audience in 1970. He interpreted such beliefs less as a sign of crisis and intellectual decay than as a creative response to social change.’

Diarmaid MacCulloch on the life and work of Peter Brown: www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...

3. Meaghan McEvoy researchportalplus.anu.edu.au/en/persons/m...
4. Grace Stafford klass-archaeologie.univie.ac.at/ueber-uns/in...
5. Marco Cristini: cercachi.unifi.it/p-doc2-0-0-A...

Here is a list—presented in no particular order—of some of my favourite current scholars, whose work I consistently find both stimulating and insightful:
1. Christian Rollinger www.uni-trier.de/universitaet...
2. Sihong Lin: www.gla.ac.uk/schools/huma...

A volume by the brilliant and gracious, Christopher Mallan, a fellow classmate in Ancient Greek for 2 years @ UQ who helped me finally understand genitive absolute!

War and Masculinity in Roman and Medieval Culture | Jaakkojuhani Pelto The chapters in this volume highlight the complexity and diversity of approaches to how ancient and medieval cultures understood martial masculinity and the

After no publications in 2024, received my proofs for my first paper of five in 2025, focusing on Agathias, "Brains and Brawn: Intellectual and Physical Manliness in Agathias’ The Histories, which will appear in August in www.taylorfrancis.com/books/edit/1...