All Posts
What Does It Mean To Finish A PhD? Some Reflections
No PhD is easy, I wanted to offer some thoughts on my experience, my struggle with depression, and the value of a PhD in the Internet Age.
All Posts
The Short Read: The Conversation (1974) as Historian's Method
How does The Conversation (1974) reflect the methods of the historian? I discuss the similarities in this post.
All Posts
Arnulf, Italian Politics, and Putting a Corpse on Trial
As usual for medievalists, we strive for topicality. Fortunately the recent papal conclave gives me an opportunity to discuss one of the wackiest events of the Early Middle Ages: the Cadaver Synod. In brief the Cadaver Synod was a trial of the deceased Pope Formosus by Pope Stephen VI, the
All Posts
A Lead Seal and a Dead Man's Bones
My last post was about the 1,137th anniversary of Arnulf becoming king. This post is about the 1,225th anniversary of his death. It may sound surprising that the date of Arnulf’s death, and where he was buried, has multiple possibilities. This is a king after all, shouldn’
All Posts
By Divine Grace We Were Placed in Front of Others
On the anniversary of Arnulf becoming king
All Posts
How often did the king go to Mass?
Some thoughts, an incomplete investigation
All Posts
Historians at Work
Let's get technical
All Posts
Echoes of the Milvian Bridge in the Ninth Century
I normally send out a new post every two weeks but today (Oct. 28th) is the anniversary of the Battle of the Milvian Bridge in 312 AD so I wanted to be “topical,” (or at least as topical as can be when it comes to an event that happened over
All Posts
The King's Failing Body II: Arnulf this time
Narratives of decline and measuring "activeness"
All Posts
All Defected From Him
Political Betrayal in Moments of Crisis
All Posts
Keeping it in the Family
What is the meaning of Arnulf's weird name?
All Posts
Finding my Ozymandias
How do historians decide what to study?