@earlymedievalist.bsky.social
Tim Clarkson. PhD, FRHistS. Historian and author. Early medieval history and archaeology. See my books at http://senchus.wordpress.com/my-books/
Ornate crozier head with Biblical scenes.
Probably from an early Viking raid, Jonah and the 'whale' feature on this Insular crozier found on the Swedish island of Helgö in Lake Mälaren, that region's central trade hub and productive site before the rise of Birka on neighbouring Björkö.
My 📷 | Ref. Historiska museet
Book cover of Europe in the Eleventh Century
Very much looking forward to reading this! Congratulations to @pseudo-isidore.bsky.social
07.10.2025 13:53 — 👍 5 🔁 2 💬 1 📌 0
Overview of Wirksworth slab. Scenes truncated or lost in left are washing of feet and perhaps Harrowing of Hell.
Wirksworth slab, central section of bottom tier. Ascension with, unusually, only two witnesses, identified by their headgear as female.
Wirksworth slab, Annunciation scene.
Wirksworth slab, disputed scene. Corpus of Anglo-Saxon sculpture suggests the Hypapante - a representation of the Presentation, with Simeon and Anna outside the Temple.
Weekend walking in the Peak gave an opportunity to revisit the Wirksworth slab. Probably late 8C and the coped top of a tomb from which scenes on the left have been lost. The iconography is connected to Eastern Mediterranean and has been much discussed. @ascorpus.bsky.social especially intriguing 1/
07.10.2025 17:00 — 👍 9 🔁 2 💬 1 📌 0
New book of interest out on the 'Book of Kells: exploring the evidence that points to Pictish origins in north-east Scotland'
theconversation.com/book-of-kell...
#medievalsky
www.waterstones.com/book/forgott...
The tasty recolour for the Forgotten Vikings paperback! Re-releases on 15/11/25, just 15 days before my next book!
A tour of the Govan hogbacks!
Clip 1: What (on earth) are Viking-Age hogback carved stones?
Extract from my Facebook Live tour for the @govanstones.bsky.social.
Delighted to be giving a Bede's World / Durham World Heritage Site lecture in @durham.ac.uk on 18 October.
06.10.2025 18:07 — 👍 21 🔁 7 💬 0 📌 0
Our new lecture season kicks off on Friday 24 October. Dr Mike King will explore texts that could have influenced the subject-matter of Pictish stone carvings - from ancient tales to hagiography, the bible and more. Lectures are for members only, but there's time to join before the season starts!
06.10.2025 12:18 — 👍 3 🔁 2 💬 0 📌 1
A treasure of legal history for a medieval Monday – 'The Forsa Rune Ring the earliest written law in Scandinavia' viking.archeurope.com/runes/forsa-...
#medievalsky
Will YOU be our 200th donor?
Please donate to our crucial fundraiser!
tghts.enthuse.com/cf/graveyard...
Pal of the Stanes, Archie Henderson, talks about the early medieval sculpture of Refrewshire within the kingdom of the Strathclyde Britons in this fascinating video!
youtu.be/MBIRrJhba7M?...
Exciting to see Victoria's work being recognised by the Guardian - the evidence for the Book of Kells being made at Portmahomack is getting very compelling now.
26.09.2025 13:39 — 👍 24 🔁 6 💬 1 📌 0The Scottish Society for Northern Studies day conference is now open for registration with a great line up of speakers #scotland #scandinavia #medievalsky www.ssns.org.uk/events/ssns-...
30.09.2025 16:27 — 👍 10 🔁 10 💬 0 📌 0
Govan Sarcophagus
We REALLY need your help to fill the Govan Sarcophagus with donations for our urgent fundraiser!
tghts.enthuse.com/cf/graveyard...
HUZZAH
30.09.2025 17:47 — 👍 6 🔁 3 💬 0 📌 0
Interested in letter-writing in early medieval Britain? A three-year postdoc on @francescatinti.bsky.social’s and my project is now available. Apps close on 17th Oct. Let me know if you have any questions and please circulate! 🙂 jobs.kent.ac.uk/Vacancy.aspx...
29.09.2025 15:18 — 👍 71 🔁 79 💬 2 📌 8
A cool way to illustrate #Viking ships? Paint them on a pane of glass and set it up by the sea.
30.09.2025 05:50 — 👍 252 🔁 49 💬 4 📌 7I had a wee hand in helping research some of the material for this. It looks absolutely amazing!!! Can’t wait to get my copy!!
29.09.2025 10:51 — 👍 3 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0
Autumn 2025 schedule for the Institute of Historical Research's Earlier Middle Ages seminar. Full information available at https://www.history.ac.uk/news-events/seminars/earlier-middle-ages
📣 The Earlier Middle Ages seminar @ihr.bsky.social is now on Bluesky! Here's our autumn term schedule. First up is @rorynaismith.bsky.social on 8 October, giving the annual David Wilson Lecture (with @uclarchaeology.bsky.social). All welcome! Please sign up here: www.history.ac.uk/news-events/...
29.09.2025 13:05 — 👍 48 🔁 36 💬 2 📌 2
Stylised carving of a wolf on a piece of stone
"Whoever carved the Ardross wolf has seen the real thing" 🐺
Now on display in Inverness Museum and Art Gallery, the famous Ardross Wolf Stone was probably created over 1,000 years before these animals were persecuted to extinction in Britain around 1760: www.digitscotland.com/the-archaeol...
just published on BBC website, an article on #Aethelstan inspired by David Woodman's new book (with a bit of commentary from Sarah Foot and er, me) #medievalsky www.bbc.co.uk/future/artic...
29.09.2025 11:32 — 👍 146 🔁 33 💬 2 📌 2Happy to say that @history-w-hilbert.bsky.social and I have just submitted two smashing Frisian-focused panels to #IMC2026 @imc-leeds.bsky.social - fingers crossed!
If we make it, I expect you ALL to be there in 2026!
St Fillan’s Cave. The image shows a view up a sloping path with some steps in the lower left of the frame. It has a row of cottages on its left painted in yellow or white, with red pantile roofs. On the right is a large outcrop of honey coloured stone with an ornate gate set into a doorway to a cave, which has a large cross set into it. The scene is in sunlight.
The entrance to St Fillan’s Cave in the lovely East Neuk of Fife fishing village of Pittenweem. This was used as a chapel by St Fillan in the 700s. He is said to have written his sermons in darkness, lit only by a glow from his arm. More pics and info: www.undiscoveredscot...
#Scotland #Fife
Is the Book of Kells from Pictland rather than Ireland? Great to see this @theguardian.com piece about @victoriawhitworth.bsky.social's new book on Kells, published by @headofzeus.bsky.social next month: www.bloomsbury.com/uk/book-of-k... www.theguardian.com/books/2025/s...
26.09.2025 14:33 — 👍 8 🔁 5 💬 0 📌 0
The wall and a view
Borgberget hillfort lies 3 kilometres NW from Bollstabruk in Norrland in Sweden. It is dated to the Migration and Merovingian periods AD 400-800. On three sides it has a very well preserved stone wall, 200 metres long and 3 metres wide with an opening in the south. #HillfortsWednesday
24.09.2025 04:09 — 👍 65 🔁 10 💬 2 📌 1
A review of the book Little Kingdoms by Alex Harvey, from Steve Brusatte, which reads: ‘Fun, readable, and informative, Alex Harvey’s Little Kingdoms is a celebration of some of the most obscure and odd kingdoms, fiefdoms, territories, and settlements of British history. Infused with enthusiasm and written in a conversational tone, this is the type of pop history I love to read.’
Thank you very much to @stevebrusatte.bsky.social for this brilliant review of LITTLE KINGDOMS, releasing 30/11/25
‘Infused with enthusiasm and written in a conversational tone, this is the type of pop history I love to read.’
Free book download of collected papers on Knowledge Commons ‘No Horns on their Helmets? essays on the Insular Viking Age’ #medievalsky #history #vikingsky #archaeology works.hcommons.org/records/xc6k...
25.09.2025 07:36 — 👍 27 🔁 15 💬 0 📌 0
Fragment of Roman terra sigillata
Nice surprise - fragment of Roman terra sigillata from our excavations at Lindisfarne- that's our fourth bit!
25.09.2025 13:25 — 👍 25 🔁 2 💬 0 📌 0
Man in front of burial mound
Dear Friends,
I've been asked to propose a 7-10 day tour, which I'd call #VIKING #SCANDINAVIA (vel sim), so I would really appreciate your bucket-list must-see Viking sites!
Thank you!
Next weekend! The Pictish Arts Society conference 2025, with 8 expert speakers on Pictish metalwork and sculpture - from the legacy of Roman silver to new insights on Sueno's Stone, cross-slabs at Skinnet and Ulbster, and Pictish bull carvings. 4-5 Oct, online via Zoom. Agenda and booking link:
25.09.2025 15:07 — 👍 9 🔁 5 💬 1 📌 1
