Joëlle
@realrollo-koster.bsky.social
Medieval historian , professor emerita of medieval history at the University of Rhode Island, specialist of the cultures of the Avignon papacy and the Great Western Schism. Interested in all things medieval.
Pope Leo gave a Golden Rose to Lourdes, I had to say something:
theconversation.com/what-1-000-y...
theconversation.com/what-1-000-y...
What 1,000 years of golden roses tell us about popes’ authority and influence, from Leo IX to Leo XIV
Popes have bestowed golden roses on warriors, rulers, women – and, increasingly in recent decades, shrines.
theconversation.com
October 5, 2026 at 12:21 PM
Pope Leo gave a Golden Rose to Lourdes, I had to say something:
theconversation.com/what-1-000-y...
theconversation.com/what-1-000-y...
My thoughts on medieval rebellions
theconversation.com/the-uprising...
theconversation.com/the-uprising...
‘The Uprising’ shows how medieval people weren’t so obedient after all
The English Peasants’ Revolt of 1381 wasn’t an isolated outburst. Across medieval Europe, ordinary people challenged the authority of rulers who failed to live up to their end of the bargain.
theconversation.com
September 11, 2026 at 12:42 PM
My thoughts on medieval rebellions
theconversation.com/the-uprising...
theconversation.com/the-uprising...
excellent post.... getting no traction....
www.nytimes.com/2026/08/04/o...
www.nytimes.com/2026/08/04/o...
Opinion | I’m Begging You: Never Write With A.I. (Gift Article)
It’s bad for your brain and worse for democracy.
www.nytimes.com
August 11, 2026 at 11:58 AM
excellent post.... getting no traction....
www.nytimes.com/2026/08/04/o...
www.nytimes.com/2026/08/04/o...
more work on smell, this time the papal Golden Rose, appears in the August issue of the prestigious Burlington Magazine, including the cover.
August 2026
Vol. 168 | No. 1481
August 2026
Vol. 168 | No. 1481
August 3, 2026 at 11:25 AM
more work on smell, this time the papal Golden Rose, appears in the August issue of the prestigious Burlington Magazine, including the cover.
August 2026
Vol. 168 | No. 1481
August 2026
Vol. 168 | No. 1481
My new article on the use of musk (fragrance) at the medieval papal court is out.
storicamente.org/rollo-koster...
storicamente.org/rollo-koster...
Musk at the Papal Court in the Middle Ages
Questo articolo indaga l’uso cerimoniale del muschio alla corte papale, concentrandosi sul suo ruolo nelle principali tradizioni liturgiche dal Medioevo alla prima età moderna. Il muschio, un aroma ra...
storicamente.org
July 31, 2026 at 7:09 PM
My new article on the use of musk (fragrance) at the medieval papal court is out.
storicamente.org/rollo-koster...
storicamente.org/rollo-koster...
Avignon papacy, again
bookinlight.com/five-best-bo...
bookinlight.com/five-best-bo...
Five Best Books on the Avignon Papacy for Serious Readers - Book in Light
A serious guide to the best books on the Avignon Papacy, from modern surveys and classic institutional history to Clement V, Clement VI, and papal authority.
bookinlight.com
July 26, 2026 at 8:36 PM
Avignon papacy, again
bookinlight.com/five-best-bo...
bookinlight.com/five-best-bo...
My response to everything I read in April on the Avignon papacy ...and made my eyes roll...
bsky.app/profile/medi...
bsky.app/profile/medi...
Avignon as Threat: How a Medieval Myth Became a Modern Weapon, by @realrollo-koster.bsky.social www.medievalists.net/2026/05/avig... #Papacy #history
Avignon as Threat: How a Medieval Myth Became a Modern Weapon - Medievalists.net
Why is the Avignon Papacy still seen as a symbol of weakness and political captivity? Joëlle Rollo-Koster explores how a medieval “Black Legend” became a powerful modern myth.
www.medievalists.net
May 16, 2026 at 8:48 PM
My response to everything I read in April on the Avignon papacy ...and made my eyes roll...
bsky.app/profile/medi...
bsky.app/profile/medi...
My long view on pope vs king/president
“Trump's clash with the pope reenacts a 1,000-year-old question: What happens when sacred and secular power collide?”
theconversation.com/trumps-clash...
“Trump's clash with the pope reenacts a 1,000-year-old question: What happens when sacred and secular power collide?”
theconversation.com/trumps-clash...
Trump’s clash with the pope reenacts a 1,000-year-old question: What happens when sacred and secular power collide?
From its earliest centuries, Christianity was bound up with politics, with frequent tensions between government power and religious authority.
theconversation.com
April 15, 2026 at 12:50 PM
My long view on pope vs king/president
“Trump's clash with the pope reenacts a 1,000-year-old question: What happens when sacred and secular power collide?”
theconversation.com/trumps-clash...
“Trump's clash with the pope reenacts a 1,000-year-old question: What happens when sacred and secular power collide?”
theconversation.com/trumps-clash...
Starting a series on Medievalists.net to highlight the books that framed the new medieval historiography. I started with Marc Bloch's Feudal Society
www.medievalists.net/2026/04/marc...
www.medievalists.net/2026/04/marc...
April 13, 2026 at 4:04 PM
Starting a series on Medievalists.net to highlight the books that framed the new medieval historiography. I started with Marc Bloch's Feudal Society
www.medievalists.net/2026/04/marc...
www.medievalists.net/2026/04/marc...
My girl was watching the news on Hungary's election....and then celebrated!
April 12, 2026 at 9:41 PM
My girl was watching the news on Hungary's election....and then celebrated!
For anyone who has read about the Pentagon's use of the "Avignon Papacy" against the pope....THEY KNOW NOTHING ABOUT THE AVIGNON PAPACY. And the journalists reporting on it even less. I know about the Avignon papacy....and I am pissed that it is weaponized.
newrepublic.com/post/208820/...
newrepublic.com/post/208820/...
Pentagon Threatened the Pope After He Criticized Trump
It was so bad that Pope Leo changed his plans to travel to the U.S.
newrepublic.com
April 10, 2026 at 10:19 PM
For anyone who has read about the Pentagon's use of the "Avignon Papacy" against the pope....THEY KNOW NOTHING ABOUT THE AVIGNON PAPACY. And the journalists reporting on it even less. I know about the Avignon papacy....and I am pissed that it is weaponized.
newrepublic.com/post/208820/...
newrepublic.com/post/208820/...
Why do I think Nazi architecture when I see this? and being French I should think Arc de Triomphe?
April 10, 2026 at 10:09 PM
Why do I think Nazi architecture when I see this? and being French I should think Arc de Triomphe?
The only happy happy living in RI right now...never seen that much snow....
February 23, 2026 at 5:13 PM
The only happy happy living in RI right now...never seen that much snow....
Notre Dame January 2019 and June 2025. From roughly the same spot across the Seine River. She is still standing. Thats the most important.
January 26, 2026 at 5:11 PM
Notre Dame January 2019 and June 2025. From roughly the same spot across the Seine River. She is still standing. Thats the most important.
Now Sénanque...I have nothing recent from the Thoronet....
January 22, 2026 at 8:42 PM
Now Sénanque...I have nothing recent from the Thoronet....
Silvacane...so sorry for yesterday's mistake!
January 22, 2026 at 7:50 PM
Silvacane...so sorry for yesterday's mistake!
Sanary sur Mer....
December 27, 2025 at 10:25 AM
Sanary sur Mer....
Continuing on the medieval potato, in today's "news world" why not! if we repeat an untruth long enough it becomes truth right?
Here, the add for "Medieval Times..."
Here, the add for "Medieval Times..."
November 20, 2025 at 7:52 PM
Continuing on the medieval potato, in today's "news world" why not! if we repeat an untruth long enough it becomes truth right?
Here, the add for "Medieval Times..."
Here, the add for "Medieval Times..."
I am assuming the US is aware of this:
www.franceinfo.fr/internet/elo...
www.franceinfo.fr/internet/elo...
L'enquête sur la plateforme X étendue à des "propos négationnistes" publiés par son IA, Grok
Dans la publication visée, Grok affirme notamment que les chambres à gaz du camp d'extermination nazi d'Auschwitz ont été "conçues pour la désinfection au Zyklon B contre le typhus (...) plutôt qu'à d...
https://www.franceinfo.fr/internet/elon-musk/l-enquete-sur-la-plateforme-x-etendue-a-des-propos-negationnistes-publies-par-son-ia-grok_7626962.html#xtor=CS2-765-[copy]-
November 19, 2025 at 11:27 PM
I am assuming the US is aware of this:
www.franceinfo.fr/internet/elo...
www.franceinfo.fr/internet/elo...
I was really looking forward to King and Conqueror...and then, episode 2, at around 28 minutes, appeared...the medieval potato...to accompany rabbit. Ragout de lapin aux pommes de terre à la manière de Flandre!
November 19, 2025 at 12:44 PM
I was really looking forward to King and Conqueror...and then, episode 2, at around 28 minutes, appeared...the medieval potato...to accompany rabbit. Ragout de lapin aux pommes de terre à la manière de Flandre!
Windows are the No. 1 human threat to birds – an ecologist shares some simple steps to reduce collisions
theconversation.com/windows-are-...
theconversation.com/windows-are-...
Windows are the No. 1 human threat to birds – an ecologist shares some simple steps to reduce collisions
Cats aren’t the only bird hazard around your home. More than 1 billion birds die each year from hitting windows, often during migration.
theconversation.com
May 21, 2025 at 3:41 PM
Windows are the No. 1 human threat to birds – an ecologist shares some simple steps to reduce collisions
theconversation.com/windows-are-...
theconversation.com/windows-are-...
Reposted by Joëlle
How Popes Died in the Middle Ages: Ritual, Power, and Performance, by @realrollo-koster.bsky.social www.medievalists.net/2025/05/pope... #Papacy #Medieval #History
How Popes Died in the Middle Ages: Ritual, Power, and Performance - Medievalists.net
What happened when a pope died in the Middle Ages? Behind the closed doors of Rome and Avignon, elaborate rituals unfolded—blending faith, politics, and performance to preserve the illusion that the…
www.medievalists.net
May 18, 2025 at 4:37 PM
How Popes Died in the Middle Ages: Ritual, Power, and Performance, by @realrollo-koster.bsky.social www.medievalists.net/2025/05/pope... #Papacy #Medieval #History
In the Middle Ages popes went to war. Today they hit the gym:
www.ilmessaggero.it/en/the_pope_...
www.ilmessaggero.it/en/the_pope_...
The Pope's Secret Workout Regimen
The health of Leo XIV? "For a man of his age, he has an exceptional physical condition, typical of someone who has never stopped playing sports, with an excellent ratio of muscle mass, bone mass, and....
www.ilmessaggero.it
May 17, 2025 at 9:31 PM
In the Middle Ages popes went to war. Today they hit the gym:
www.ilmessaggero.it/en/the_pope_...
www.ilmessaggero.it/en/the_pope_...