Trevor Wiley
@mearcsteppende.bsky.social
History PhD candidate at Boston College dissertating on the environment, community, and landscape on the 4th-8th century Forth, Clyde, and Tay in Scotland. Originally from Appalachia.
Pinned
Trevor Wiley
@mearcsteppende.bsky.social
· Aug 26
Been nearly two years to the day since I last did a pinned post about who I am and what I do, and given that starter packs appear to be having a resurgence and two years is a lot in PhD-land, let's have another go:
My name's Trevor, and I'm a Ph.D. candidate at Boston College in my final year!
My name's Trevor, and I'm a Ph.D. candidate at Boston College in my final year!
Reposted by Trevor Wiley
Medieval Hunting Deaths: A Thread
Hunting could be very dangerous (not just for animals) in the Middle Ages. Accidents happened and everyone from kings and earls to lowly peasants could be killed by a stray arrow, a hanging branch or a wild animal defending itself. 🧵7
Hunting could be very dangerous (not just for animals) in the Middle Ages. Accidents happened and everyone from kings and earls to lowly peasants could be killed by a stray arrow, a hanging branch or a wild animal defending itself. 🧵7
October 1, 2026 at 12:12 PM
Medieval Hunting Deaths: A Thread
Hunting could be very dangerous (not just for animals) in the Middle Ages. Accidents happened and everyone from kings and earls to lowly peasants could be killed by a stray arrow, a hanging branch or a wild animal defending itself. 🧵7
Hunting could be very dangerous (not just for animals) in the Middle Ages. Accidents happened and everyone from kings and earls to lowly peasants could be killed by a stray arrow, a hanging branch or a wild animal defending itself. 🧵7
Reposted by Trevor Wiley
Very pleased to have worked on this fascinating group of finds with the wonderful @francescatinti.bsky.social , and thanks to the comms team @cam.ac.uk for putting together the release. www.cam.ac.uk/stories/angl...
Anglo-Saxon expats got special treatment in Rome’s 'Little England'
The first material evidence of the Schola Saxonum suggests the Anglo-Saxons in Rome were a thriving and valued expat community.
www.cam.ac.uk
October 1, 2026 at 1:43 PM
Very pleased to have worked on this fascinating group of finds with the wonderful @francescatinti.bsky.social , and thanks to the comms team @cam.ac.uk for putting together the release. www.cam.ac.uk/stories/angl...
Reposted by Trevor Wiley
We are thrilled to be supporting the publication of these books! MAA first-book Subvention awarded to Jessica Hines, and the MAA Inclusivity & Diversity Subvention awarded to Matthew Delvaux. Congratulations!
MAA News - Publication Subventions Awarded
We are very pleased to announce the 2026 Publication Subventions.
<a href="https://www.themedievalacademyblog.org/?p=9953" class="hover:underline text-blue-600 dark:text-sky-400 no-card-link" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-link="bsky">https://www.themedievalacademyblog.org/?p=9953
We are very pleased to announce the 2026 Publication Subventions.
<a href="https://www.themedievalacademyblog.org/?p=9953" class="hover:underline text-blue-600 dark:text-sky-400 no-card-link" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-link="bsky">https://www.themedievalacademyblog.org/?p=9953
October 1, 2026 at 6:39 PM
We are thrilled to be supporting the publication of these books! MAA first-book Subvention awarded to Jessica Hines, and the MAA Inclusivity & Diversity Subvention awarded to Matthew Delvaux. Congratulations!
Reposted by Trevor Wiley
Super pleased to see this out (and open access!). Moluag was clearly an important figure in Pictland, here we got to help the team who made such important discoveries at Moluag's monastery get the word on the street about the importance of Lismore and the new findings!
tinyurl.com/5cb9vf3p
tinyurl.com/5cb9vf3p
A major monastic centre? Rethinking Lismore’s place in the ecclesiastical landscapes of early medieval Britain | Antiquity | Cambridge Core
A major monastic centre? Rethinking Lismore’s place in the ecclesiastical landscapes of early medieval Britain - Volume 100 Issue 413
tinyurl.com
October 1, 2026 at 8:56 AM
Super pleased to see this out (and open access!). Moluag was clearly an important figure in Pictland, here we got to help the team who made such important discoveries at Moluag's monastery get the word on the street about the importance of Lismore and the new findings!
tinyurl.com/5cb9vf3p
tinyurl.com/5cb9vf3p
Reposted by Trevor Wiley
‘Hugely exciting’ finds on tiny Scottish island shed light on spread of Christianity www.theguardian.com/science/2026...
‘Hugely exciting’ finds on tiny Scottish island shed light on spread of Christianity
Community-funded archaeological excavations of ‘really important’ sixth-century monastery also rewrite story of Lismore
www.theguardian.com
October 1, 2026 at 12:07 AM
‘Hugely exciting’ finds on tiny Scottish island shed light on spread of Christianity www.theguardian.com/science/2026...
Reposted by Trevor Wiley
For the Blog, Alexander Aerts interviews Isabel Jacobs and Jacob Saliba about their edited volume, "Authority, History, and Political Theology" (Bloomsbury, 2026), which documents the relationship between philosopher Alexandre Kojève and theologian Gaston Fessard. @jacobsaliba.bsky.social
Kojève and Fessard on Political Theology: An Interview with Isabel Jacobs and Jacob Saliba
Alexander Aerts interviews Isabel Jacobs and Jacob Saliba about their edited volume, "Authority, History, and Political Theology," which documents the relationship between philosopher Alexandre Kojève...
web.sas.upenn.edu
September 30, 2026 at 1:55 PM
For the Blog, Alexander Aerts interviews Isabel Jacobs and Jacob Saliba about their edited volume, "Authority, History, and Political Theology" (Bloomsbury, 2026), which documents the relationship between philosopher Alexandre Kojève and theologian Gaston Fessard. @jacobsaliba.bsky.social
Reposted by Trevor Wiley
1. #MedievalSky, grab a lifejacket and a seasickness bag, we’re casting off on a thread about the Norman invasion fleet in 1066!
960 years ago, the Normans landed at Pevensey and established a base at the Roman shore fort which was already succumbing to erosion from the sea on its south side. 1/20
960 years ago, the Normans landed at Pevensey and established a base at the Roman shore fort which was already succumbing to erosion from the sea on its south side. 1/20
September 28, 2026 at 6:22 AM
1. #MedievalSky, grab a lifejacket and a seasickness bag, we’re casting off on a thread about the Norman invasion fleet in 1066!
960 years ago, the Normans landed at Pevensey and established a base at the Roman shore fort which was already succumbing to erosion from the sea on its south side. 1/20
960 years ago, the Normans landed at Pevensey and established a base at the Roman shore fort which was already succumbing to erosion from the sea on its south side. 1/20
Reposted by Trevor Wiley
This amazing find inspired me to make this wee illustration, I found it very evocative to imagine the early medieval churchyard at Govan could be a hive of activity and craft workers. Not just stone carving but jewellery as well
September 20, 2026 at 2:19 PM
This amazing find inspired me to make this wee illustration, I found it very evocative to imagine the early medieval churchyard at Govan could be a hive of activity and craft workers. Not just stone carving but jewellery as well
Not a bad night to catch a game
September 23, 2026 at 11:19 PM
Not a bad night to catch a game
Reposted by Trevor Wiley
the article lives in this great volume (mostly in German) on "political medievalism." all the articles are open access though, so go download it!
www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi...
www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi...
September 23, 2026 at 12:33 PM
the article lives in this great volume (mostly in German) on "political medievalism." all the articles are open access though, so go download it!
www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi...
www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi...
Reposted by Trevor Wiley
We're now accepting applications for the Hachey Professorship of Irish & Irish-American History!
This is a tenured position in the History Department and the Irish Studies Program.
Apply here apply.interfolio.com/194167 by November 13.
This is a tenured position in the History Department and the Irish Studies Program.
Apply here apply.interfolio.com/194167 by November 13.
September 22, 2026 at 9:27 PM
We're now accepting applications for the Hachey Professorship of Irish & Irish-American History!
This is a tenured position in the History Department and the Irish Studies Program.
Apply here apply.interfolio.com/194167 by November 13.
This is a tenured position in the History Department and the Irish Studies Program.
Apply here apply.interfolio.com/194167 by November 13.
Today in "dissertation footnotes I hope no one encourages me to remove":
September 21, 2026 at 6:58 PM
Today in "dissertation footnotes I hope no one encourages me to remove":
Reposted by Trevor Wiley
Want to learn how early medieval people living on the coast in Scotland hunted seals and seabirds? Or how collecting sea snails on the beach was part of new Christian practice?
You should check out my new article in Water History!
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
#medievalsky
You should check out my new article in Water History!
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
#medievalsky
Wild animals, small practices, and the formation of an early medieval coastal landscape on the Firth of Forth - Water History
The large-scale landscape changes that occurred in northern Britain from roughly 400–800 C.E. were built on a vast array of smaller shifting practices which reflected the realities of local environmen...
link.springer.com
September 12, 2026 at 12:52 PM
Want to learn how early medieval people living on the coast in Scotland hunted seals and seabirds? Or how collecting sea snails on the beach was part of new Christian practice?
You should check out my new article in Water History!
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
#medievalsky
You should check out my new article in Water History!
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
#medievalsky
Reposted by Trevor Wiley
Edinburgh University created the first ever Chair in Celtic in Scotland in 1882 (Donald Mackinnon of Colonsay). This is a cultural retreat happening before our eyes where there was once leadership.
Celtic (UG), Chinese & Russian (UG), Contemporary History, Economics & Statistics (joint degree), Inclusive Education (MSc), Intellectual History, Italian & Classics (joint), Law & Social Policy (joint), Medieval History, Persian Studies (UG), Portuguese (UG), Psychology & Economics (joint)....
Full list of the 90 programmes earmarked for closure at leading Scottish university
Managers say the cuts are necessary “to protect our world-leading reputation and resilience in research and teaching” but staff members have hit…
www.heraldscotland.com
September 18, 2026 at 11:15 AM
Edinburgh University created the first ever Chair in Celtic in Scotland in 1882 (Donald Mackinnon of Colonsay). This is a cultural retreat happening before our eyes where there was once leadership.
In a perfect world, all academic books in all disciplines would end with fish weirs, but alas, where we dwell is imperfect indeed
I find it strangely admirable that Oliver Rackham chose to end his magisterial The History of the Countryside with a paragraph on fish-weirs and the word ‘Wakefield’. No conclusion, no afterword, no epilogue — job done on p394 and only the index and references to follow.
![Final page of final chapter of Rackham’s history of the countryside:
Marshes, fens, rivers and the sea
boundary which still follows the meanders.
in, a former watercourse may be kept on record in the shape of a parish The most familiar earthworks that go with rivers are mill-leats, canals which run paralel to a river but at a less gradient so as to gain a difference in height which drives a watermill. The technology goes back to Anglo-Saxon times.
Leats often survive the disuse of the mill. In Cambridge city, the river itself has been made into a mill eat, diverted by massive embankments to follow the edge
of a natural gravel terrace.
Fish-weirs are devices of Anglo-Saxon origin consisting of wooden fish-traps placed across the current between an island and one bank. The other side of the island was left open for navigation and for some fish to escape. Fish-weir islands were commonly artificial, placed to take advantage of natural gravel riffles. D.].
Pannett has found remains of forty fish-weirs, some of which still operated in the nineteenth century, on the Shropshire part of the Severn. 60s There was a similar device on the River Calder near Wakefield.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:nqu647dxieaalotdatjaol66/bafkreiek5bwxu2udkaekaxofnx3vx4vh7tng3hsnprywanfvxnczsx2pam)
September 17, 2026 at 10:24 PM
In a perfect world, all academic books in all disciplines would end with fish weirs, but alas, where we dwell is imperfect indeed
Reposted by Trevor Wiley
At long last, my article on Languages, Identities and Communication in the Age of Bede has come out in the EHR. And it is open access! academic.oup.com/ehr/advance-...
Languages, Identities and Communication in the Age of Bede*
Abstract. This article seeks to address the underexplored role of language as a marker of identity in the early medieval period by focusing on England in t
academic.oup.com
September 17, 2026 at 10:18 AM
At long last, my article on Languages, Identities and Communication in the Age of Bede has come out in the EHR. And it is open access! academic.oup.com/ehr/advance-...
Reposted by Trevor Wiley
How do we think about the "Fall" of Rome today? What can we do to frame it in a more productive way? Our new open access article tries to tackle these questions and offer a new view of the scholarly narrative of the end of Rome.
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
Towards and beyond the ‘Fall’: rethinking Rome’s end | The Journal of Roman Studies | Cambridge Core
Towards and beyond the ‘Fall’: rethinking Rome’s end
www.cambridge.org
September 16, 2026 at 8:46 AM
How do we think about the "Fall" of Rome today? What can we do to frame it in a more productive way? Our new open access article tries to tackle these questions and offer a new view of the scholarly narrative of the end of Rome.
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
Noooooo! Joseph-Beth was such a revelation when I was an undergrad there and this feels all sorts of wrong
Barnes & Noble buying Joseph-Beth feels totally depressing. Joseph-Beth was the first "fancy" bookstore I remember visiting as a kid--it felt so special. Independent bookstores are vital parts of communities and it's sad to see a Kentucky gem bought up.
Barnes & Noble acquires both of Joseph-Beth Booksellers’ locations in Lexington, Cincinnati
Barnes & Noble announced the acquisition of both of Joseph-Beth Booksellers’ locations.
www.wkyt.com
September 15, 2026 at 2:23 PM
Noooooo! Joseph-Beth was such a revelation when I was an undergrad there and this feels all sorts of wrong
Reposted by Trevor Wiley
Nash saw Maiden Castle as "a landscape of chance", exemplifying the "poetical" character of otherwise trivial "stones, bones, empty fields, demolished houses and back gardens". To discover "the landscape of bleached objects is to open up endless possibilities of fresh adventure…".
September 15, 2026 at 1:53 PM
Nash saw Maiden Castle as "a landscape of chance", exemplifying the "poetical" character of otherwise trivial "stones, bones, empty fields, demolished houses and back gardens". To discover "the landscape of bleached objects is to open up endless possibilities of fresh adventure…".
Reposted by Trevor Wiley
The fallacy that University leaders pushing AI are falling into is thinking that the point of undergraduate research is to find things out. It isn't. What students find out is typically already generally known. The point of undergraduate research is to learn how to find things out.
September 14, 2026 at 9:48 PM
The fallacy that University leaders pushing AI are falling into is thinking that the point of undergraduate research is to find things out. It isn't. What students find out is typically already generally known. The point of undergraduate research is to learn how to find things out.
Reposted by Trevor Wiley
The full agenda is now up for our 2026 conference, held online from 3-4 October. Join us to learn about the Pictishness of Pictish art, as well as the latest archaeological research from Pictland. Plus: the inside track on the making of Carved in Stone, a stunning Pictland-set TTRPG. #MedievalSky
Conf | The PAS
www.thepictishartssociety.org.uk
August 7, 2026 at 8:10 AM
The full agenda is now up for our 2026 conference, held online from 3-4 October. Join us to learn about the Pictishness of Pictish art, as well as the latest archaeological research from Pictland. Plus: the inside track on the making of Carved in Stone, a stunning Pictland-set TTRPG. #MedievalSky
Reposted by Trevor Wiley
I wrote this brief guide to the six women on the Bazzy Tap - three of whom have their bits out
Ælfgif-who’s who? Bayeux Tapestry edition
Six women appear on the Bayeaux Tapestry - who are they?
florencehrs.substack.com
September 14, 2026 at 1:12 PM
I wrote this brief guide to the six women on the Bazzy Tap - three of whom have their bits out
Happy Monday!
Why not start the week reading about seals?
Why not start the week reading about seals?
Want to learn how early medieval people living on the coast in Scotland hunted seals and seabirds? Or how collecting sea snails on the beach was part of new Christian practice?
You should check out my new article in Water History!
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
#medievalsky
You should check out my new article in Water History!
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
#medievalsky
Wild animals, small practices, and the formation of an early medieval coastal landscape on the Firth of Forth - Water History
The large-scale landscape changes that occurred in northern Britain from roughly 400–800 C.E. were built on a vast array of smaller shifting practices which reflected the realities of local environmen...
link.springer.com
September 14, 2026 at 1:11 PM
Happy Monday!
Why not start the week reading about seals?
Why not start the week reading about seals?
Reposted by Trevor Wiley
LIVE ARCHAEOLOGY on SUNDAY!
Come see some VERY exciting finds from the early medieval to early modern period in our 1,500-year-old churchyard.
We're open 11am to 4pm, and entry to Govan Old kirkyard and the Govan Stones museum is always free!
Come see some VERY exciting finds from the early medieval to early modern period in our 1,500-year-old churchyard.
We're open 11am to 4pm, and entry to Govan Old kirkyard and the Govan Stones museum is always free!
September 12, 2026 at 4:10 PM
LIVE ARCHAEOLOGY on SUNDAY!
Come see some VERY exciting finds from the early medieval to early modern period in our 1,500-year-old churchyard.
We're open 11am to 4pm, and entry to Govan Old kirkyard and the Govan Stones museum is always free!
Come see some VERY exciting finds from the early medieval to early modern period in our 1,500-year-old churchyard.
We're open 11am to 4pm, and entry to Govan Old kirkyard and the Govan Stones museum is always free!