David Defries
@ddefries.bsky.social
Early medievalist studying collective memory, hagiography and Flanders. Working on a collaboration to look at early medieval Flanders from a global perspective.
Reposted by David Defries
Gonna spam some of my own writing here again because AI industry people are bringing out that “black box” canard again www.techpolicy.press/the-black-bo...
February 11, 2026 at 4:15 PM
Gonna spam some of my own writing here again because AI industry people are bringing out that “black box” canard again www.techpolicy.press/the-black-bo...
Reposted by David Defries
When I experienced sight loss, my perspective on the experience of blindness changed. This post discusses blindness and cataract surgery in the Middle Ages. wellcomecollection.org/stories/reve...
Revelations of blindness in the Middle Ages
Medieval texts, from Islamic medical treatises to Christian books of miracles, reveal surprisingly varied and complex experiences of blindness. But when medieval scholar Jude Seal experienced visual i...
wellcomecollection.org
December 4, 2025 at 1:42 PM
When I experienced sight loss, my perspective on the experience of blindness changed. This post discusses blindness and cataract surgery in the Middle Ages. wellcomecollection.org/stories/reve...
Reposted by David Defries
Reposted by David Defries
Reposted by David Defries
Awesome work from one of our PhD students Vera! Check out this mega isotope dataset! 🧪 ⚛️ 🦷🦴
📣 New #OpenAccess Dataset 📣 led by @hcaatedinburgh.bsky.social's Vera Haponava (PhD candidate), Prof Catriona Pickard & Ricardo Fernandes "The North-Eastern Europe and Northern Asia isotopic dataset of bioarchaeological samples (NEENA)" 🔗 rdcu.be/e2kNw 🧪 18700+ measurements! #IsoMemo #Pandora #NEENA
February 10, 2026 at 3:18 PM
Awesome work from one of our PhD students Vera! Check out this mega isotope dataset! 🧪 ⚛️ 🦷🦴
Reposted by David Defries
Everything Is Mechanical Turk
Once again, it turns out “fully autonomous” means “a guy in the Philippines.”
It Turns Out Waymos Are Being Controlled by Workers in the Philippines
During a Congressional hearing, Waymo's chief safety officer, Mauricio Peña, was grilled over the company's reliance on overseas workers.
futurism.com
February 6, 2026 at 4:56 PM
Everything Is Mechanical Turk
Reposted by David Defries
A very interesting viking (?) find from south of Cambridge: www.independent.co.uk/news/science...
Students unearth remains in possible execution pit on training dig
The discovery was made at Wandlebury Country Park near Cambridge
www.independent.co.uk
February 4, 2026 at 2:26 PM
A very interesting viking (?) find from south of Cambridge: www.independent.co.uk/news/science...
Assistant Professor, Medieval History in Chile
networks.h-net.org/jobs/69752/p...
networks.h-net.org/jobs/69752/p...
Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile - Llamado a concurso especialista en Historia Medieval | H-Net
networks.h-net.org
February 4, 2026 at 7:44 PM
Assistant Professor, Medieval History in Chile
networks.h-net.org/jobs/69752/p...
networks.h-net.org/jobs/69752/p...
Reposted by David Defries
Very much looking forward to this #charterrific event tomorrow! If you want a copy of the Teams link, just let me know. (Formal sign-up is now passed, but I have permission to circulate the link.)
February 3, 2026 at 2:13 PM
Very much looking forward to this #charterrific event tomorrow! If you want a copy of the Teams link, just let me know. (Formal sign-up is now passed, but I have permission to circulate the link.)
Reposted by David Defries
New discovery: A wooden structure, identified as river bank protection of the #Roman harbour, has been unearthed in Cologne.
www.stadt-koeln.de/politik-und-...
#RomanArchaeology #archaeology 🏺
www.stadt-koeln.de/politik-und-...
#RomanArchaeology #archaeology 🏺
January 28, 2026 at 6:31 PM
New discovery: A wooden structure, identified as river bank protection of the #Roman harbour, has been unearthed in Cologne.
www.stadt-koeln.de/politik-und-...
#RomanArchaeology #archaeology 🏺
www.stadt-koeln.de/politik-und-...
#RomanArchaeology #archaeology 🏺
Reposted by David Defries
Anyway, good news! Open-ended lectureship in early medieval history at KCL.
www.kcl.ac.uk/jobs/136727-...
www.kcl.ac.uk/jobs/136727-...
Lecturer in Early Medieval History | King's College London
www.kcl.ac.uk
January 28, 2026 at 11:21 AM
Anyway, good news! Open-ended lectureship in early medieval history at KCL.
www.kcl.ac.uk/jobs/136727-...
www.kcl.ac.uk/jobs/136727-...
I've not seen it pointed out yet, but AI cannot think human thoughts, which are formed by the connections of neurons. AI developers cannot simulate this process, because we do not know how neurons connect to make thought. AI is a simulacrum that they force on us.
January 28, 2026 at 2:41 PM
I've not seen it pointed out yet, but AI cannot think human thoughts, which are formed by the connections of neurons. AI developers cannot simulate this process, because we do not know how neurons connect to make thought. AI is a simulacrum that they force on us.
Reposted by David Defries
If you have graduate students working with medieval manuscripts this free online training might be useful 👇
www.sas.ac.uk/news-events/...
www.sas.ac.uk/news-events/...
Digital Tools for Manuscript Studies
www.sas.ac.uk
January 23, 2026 at 2:55 PM
If you have graduate students working with medieval manuscripts this free online training might be useful 👇
www.sas.ac.uk/news-events/...
www.sas.ac.uk/news-events/...
Reposted by David Defries
If you feel like they’re trying to force LLMs (“AI”) down our throats even if we don’t want it, it’s because they are. Fascinating essay on the SV-authoritarian alliance, LLMs, and the complete alienation of labor
January 24, 2026 at 2:35 PM
If you feel like they’re trying to force LLMs (“AI”) down our throats even if we don’t want it, it’s because they are. Fascinating essay on the SV-authoritarian alliance, LLMs, and the complete alienation of labor
Reposted by David Defries
For #FindsFriday two very small gold bars from the #viking age found in Denmark (🇩🇰 East Jutland) last month
www.tv2ostjylland.dk/randers/muse...
www.tv2ostjylland.dk/randers/muse...
January 23, 2026 at 5:45 PM
For #FindsFriday two very small gold bars from the #viking age found in Denmark (🇩🇰 East Jutland) last month
www.tv2ostjylland.dk/randers/muse...
www.tv2ostjylland.dk/randers/muse...
Reposted by David Defries
Dutch pals! Er zijn nog enkele laatste tickets vrijgegeven voor de (gratis) 'Vikingverhalen'-avond @rmoudheden.bsky.social deze donderdag. Lezingen van Eleanor Barraclough, Nelleke IJssennagger-vd Pluijm, Annemarieke Willemsen, en ikzelf.
Vikingverhalen - Rijksmuseum van Oudheden
In het avondvullende programma 'Vikingverhalen' laten internationaal gerenommeerde wetenschappers hun licht schijnen over oud en nieuw onderzoek naar de Vikingtijd.
www.rmo.nl
January 19, 2026 at 5:43 PM
Dutch pals! Er zijn nog enkele laatste tickets vrijgegeven voor de (gratis) 'Vikingverhalen'-avond @rmoudheden.bsky.social deze donderdag. Lezingen van Eleanor Barraclough, Nelleke IJssennagger-vd Pluijm, Annemarieke Willemsen, en ikzelf.
Reposted by David Defries
Throughout Late Antiquity and the early Middle Ages, a vast corpus of potentially dangerous texts was dismissed as unorthodox and unauthorised by Christian scholars and policy makers. Yitzhak Hen explores some of the mechanism that allowed the dealing with such texts.
see mgh.de/en/blog/post...
see mgh.de/en/blog/post...
January 19, 2026 at 3:32 PM
Throughout Late Antiquity and the early Middle Ages, a vast corpus of potentially dangerous texts was dismissed as unorthodox and unauthorised by Christian scholars and policy makers. Yitzhak Hen explores some of the mechanism that allowed the dealing with such texts.
see mgh.de/en/blog/post...
see mgh.de/en/blog/post...
Reposted by David Defries
New book just out by Thomas Cirotteau, Lucie Malbos & Éric Pincas - Vikings : enquête sur les femmes des terres gelées cescm.hypotheses.org/35266
January 15, 2026 at 4:03 PM
New book just out by Thomas Cirotteau, Lucie Malbos & Éric Pincas - Vikings : enquête sur les femmes des terres gelées cescm.hypotheses.org/35266
Reposted by David Defries
University of Arizona Libraries is hiring for a RARE BOOK LIBRARIAN! 1st review of applications February 9, 2026.
arizona.csod.com/ux/ats/caree...
We have great collections and great people here. Not on the committee, happy to chat.
arizona.csod.com/ux/ats/caree...
We have great collections and great people here. Not on the committee, happy to chat.
Librarian, Rare Books (Assistant or Associate)
CHARACTERISTIC DUTIESAcquire, appraise, and
preserve collections of primary and significant research value, especially rare
books.In partnership
with ...
arizona.csod.com
January 13, 2026 at 11:14 PM
University of Arizona Libraries is hiring for a RARE BOOK LIBRARIAN! 1st review of applications February 9, 2026.
arizona.csod.com/ux/ats/caree...
We have great collections and great people here. Not on the committee, happy to chat.
arizona.csod.com/ux/ats/caree...
We have great collections and great people here. Not on the committee, happy to chat.
Reposted by David Defries
Many congratulations to Dr Alex Langlands & team from Swansea for this stunning new discovery from Margam Park in south Wales 😮🥳.
The coastal belt in south Wales is very heavily ploughed, but it sounds like this villa complex has been preserved below old parkland 👌
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
The coastal belt in south Wales is very heavily ploughed, but it sounds like this villa complex has been preserved below old parkland 👌
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Margam park Roman villa find could be 'Port Talbot's Pompeii'
The largest Roman villa ever found in Wales lies less than a metre under Margam Country Park.
www.bbc.co.uk
January 12, 2026 at 7:38 AM
Many congratulations to Dr Alex Langlands & team from Swansea for this stunning new discovery from Margam Park in south Wales 😮🥳.
The coastal belt in south Wales is very heavily ploughed, but it sounds like this villa complex has been preserved below old parkland 👌
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
The coastal belt in south Wales is very heavily ploughed, but it sounds like this villa complex has been preserved below old parkland 👌
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Reposted by David Defries
Read #TheBoneChests by @catjarman.bsky.social
January 10, 2026 at 1:41 PM
Read #TheBoneChests by @catjarman.bsky.social
Reposted by David Defries
The PIMS Leonard E. Boyle, O.P. Toronto-Rome Programme in Manuscript Studies offers a full curriculum which leads to a formal diploma.
Apply for this summer's Palaeography and Codicology courses by February 1.
pims.ca/article/diploma-programme-in-manuscript-studies/
Apply for this summer's Palaeography and Codicology courses by February 1.
pims.ca/article/diploma-programme-in-manuscript-studies/
Toronto-Rome Programme in Manuscript Studies – Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies
pims.ca
January 8, 2026 at 7:08 PM
The PIMS Leonard E. Boyle, O.P. Toronto-Rome Programme in Manuscript Studies offers a full curriculum which leads to a formal diploma.
Apply for this summer's Palaeography and Codicology courses by February 1.
pims.ca/article/diploma-programme-in-manuscript-studies/
Apply for this summer's Palaeography and Codicology courses by February 1.
pims.ca/article/diploma-programme-in-manuscript-studies/
Reposted by David Defries
There is time to apply until 30
January for this opportunity sponsored by Early Medieval Europe to spend one month at the British School in Rome
January for this opportunity sponsored by Early Medieval Europe to spend one month at the British School in Rome
📣 BSR / Early Medieval Europe Fellowship – Call for Applications!
Are you a PhD student or early career researcher in early medieval European history?
Apply now!
⏳ Deadline: 30 January 2026
More info here: bsr.ac.uk/awards-resid...
Are you a PhD student or early career researcher in early medieval European history?
Apply now!
⏳ Deadline: 30 January 2026
More info here: bsr.ac.uk/awards-resid...
January 7, 2026 at 9:02 AM
There is time to apply until 30
January for this opportunity sponsored by Early Medieval Europe to spend one month at the British School in Rome
January for this opportunity sponsored by Early Medieval Europe to spend one month at the British School in Rome
Reposted by David Defries
A 16h30 sur @franceculture.fr l'Entretien archéologique parle de l'aménagement du littoral près de Dunkerque au Moyen Âge. A quoi ressemblent ces polders du nord de la France et quelles découvertes matérielles ont été réalisées nous renvoyant aux peuples nordiques? www.radiofrance.fr/francecultur...
À Dunkerque, les archéologues prennent un bon polder
Au Xe siècle, un projet de grande ampleur va être mené dans les Flandres : l'assèchement d’un estuaire pour gagner des terres agricoles. Les résultats de la dernière campagne de fouilles de 2025, dans...
www.radiofrance.fr
January 2, 2026 at 11:15 AM
A 16h30 sur @franceculture.fr l'Entretien archéologique parle de l'aménagement du littoral près de Dunkerque au Moyen Âge. A quoi ressemblent ces polders du nord de la France et quelles découvertes matérielles ont été réalisées nous renvoyant aux peuples nordiques? www.radiofrance.fr/francecultur...