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Mairi Cowan

@historianmairi.bsky.social

6K followers 280 following 200 posts

Historian at the University of Toronto. Studies medieval Europe, early modern North America, and contemporary pedagogy. Also cooks, knits, and sings. Author of https://www.mqup.ca/possession-of-barbe-hallay--the-products-9780228014041.php

www.mqup.ca

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Mairi Cowan @historianmairi.bsky.social · 2d

Good morning from a floofy house panther

Little black cat sitting on a wooden floor, looking up at the viewer

Reposted by Mairi Cowan

Royal Ontario Museum @romtoronto.bsky.social · 7d

If you're just jumping on the Blue Jays bandwagon, don't worry - making sense of our complicated world is what we do here at the Museum! We've put together a one-page guide of everything you need to know to avoid sounding like a fairweather fan over the next month. #LetsGoBlueJays

A page from a bird guide shows the entry for Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata). The page provides a detailed description of the bird (excerpt: "a medium-sized songbird with a black bill and large blue crest ). Underparts are blue with some white and some black barring on the wings and tail. There is a prominent black "necklace" around the head and throat."), along with information about the bird's distribution and habitat (excerpt: "throughout the southern half of Ontario but more common south of Lake Superior. Found in... woods, shrubby areas, urban areas, backyards..." - a small map of the province of Ontario in the lower right-hand corner of the page indicates its range.

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Mairi Cowan @historianmairi.bsky.social · 16d

With thanks also to @keithsgrant.bsky.social for running the series

Reposted by Mairi Cowan

Dr. Joanna and her Evil Hellhounds @jlphistory.bsky.social · 16d

Spent the afternoon pulling apart @historianmairi.bsky.social's article on foodways in New France for my students to use as the basis of their first secondary source analysis. I think they came out with a better idea of what it means when I ask "how did they use the sources to make the argument."

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Mairi Cowan @historianmairi.bsky.social · 16d

Ah - a job well done! Thank you for teaching with it and also for letting me know!!

Mairi Cowan @historianmairi.bsky.social · 17d

🎶 It's the faaaat beariest tiiiiime of the yeeeeeaaar! 🎶

Happy #FatBearWeek to all who celebrate this abundantly wholesome time

explore.org/fat-bear-week

Fat Bear Week 2025

explore.org

Mairi Cowan @historianmairi.bsky.social · 17d

The best week!!!

Reposted by Mairi Cowan

Ashmolean Museum, Oxford @ashmoleanmuseum.bsky.social · 19d

The autumn equinox is here in the northern hemisphere, meaning that the new season has officially begun.

This woodblock print by Hiroshige captures the colours and feeling of autumn beautifully.

🍁 Maple Trees at Mama, Utagawa Hiroshige 1 (1797 - 1858) , 1857. EAX.4362

A Japanese colour woodblock print of a scene including river, mountain and autumnal maple leaves

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Mairi Cowan @historianmairi.bsky.social · 19d

Happy Autumnal Equinox with lessons from the Royal Museums Greenwich: www.rmg.co.uk/stories/time...

What and when is the autumnal equinox?

When is the autumnal equinox, what date does the autumnal equinox fall on and when does summer end?

www.rmg.co.uk

Mairi Cowan @historianmairi.bsky.social · 19d

Those resources from @ruralcolonialns.bsky.social are good. I discuss problems with translation on p. 12 of The Possession of Barbe Hallay, with a note leading to discussions by others who have come to sometimes similar, sometimes different conclusions.

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Mairi Cowan @historianmairi.bsky.social · 19d

Oh wow! I hope it goes well

Mairi Cowan @historianmairi.bsky.social · 19d

Wheeee thank you for thinking of it!

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Reposted by Mairi Cowan

U of T Centre for Medieval Studies @uoftcms.bsky.social · Sep 8

Read "Sanctity, Solitude, and Society in Early Canada: The Life of Jeanne LeBer, Recluse of Ville-Marie (1662–1714)" by CMS Alumna, Laura Moncion, in 'The Catholic Historical Review', Volume 111, Number 3.
muse.jhu.edu/pub/16/artic...

Project MUSE - Sanctity, Solitude, and Society in Early Canada: The Life of Jeanne LeBer, Recluse of Ville-Marie (1662–1714)

muse.jhu.edu

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Reposted by Mairi Cowan

Marie Jaros @mariejaros.bsky.social · Sep 9

Dear #MedievalSky & #SkyStorians, could you help, please? I am looking for depictions of orcas from before 1700
I already know:
Olaus Magnus, Sebastian Münster, Pierre Belon, Guillaume Rondelet, Conrad Gessner, as well as the ones on bestiary.ca (s. pic) & the mural in Greifswald
Thanks in advance!

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Mairi Cowan @historianmairi.bsky.social · Sep 5

This tree showing its back-to-school colours at the University of Toronto @utm.utoronto.ca @utoronto.ca

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Mairi Cowan @historianmairi.bsky.social · Sep 3

I love that one of the BBC's most popular podcasts among the under-35s is the one where a rotating cast of three academics sit around Melvyn Bragg to discuss their niche areas of research.

www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/...

Melvyn Bragg decides to step down from presenting In Our Time

After 26 years on the programme, the legendary presenter bids farewell to the series

www.bbc.co.uk

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Mairi Cowan @historianmairi.bsky.social · Sep 2

Happy Back-to-School to all who celebrate

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Mairi Cowan @historianmairi.bsky.social · Sep 1

Happy Labour Day and Happy September, whatever your labour of the month. (Here, gathering and treading grapes from Fitzwilliam Museum MS 1058-1975 Flanders, c. 1510-1520)

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Reposted by Mairi Cowan

Scottish Historical Review @scottishhistreview.bsky.social · Aug 29

OOOOOOOOH, news of our third Jenny Wormald Lecture has dropped just in time for the weekend. Are you excited? See more information below:

www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/scottish-h...

Scottish Historical Review Trust: The 3rd Annual Jenny Wormald Lecture

Professor Elizabeth Ewan (University Of Guelph): 'Feuding in the Streets? Gender, Crime, and Conflict in Scottish Towns, c. 1500-1600'

www.eventbrite.co.uk

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Mairi Cowan @historianmairi.bsky.social · Aug 30

Excited and registered! (Thank you for offering both in-person and online options.)

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Mairi Cowan @historianmairi.bsky.social · Aug 28

Um yes?!

Mairi Cowan @historianmairi.bsky.social · Aug 28

This is not in any way an ominous prelude to a newly released ancient horror in the hood, right?

Image of a sinkhole with the text "massive sinkhole swallows east-end Toronto intersection"

Reposted by Mairi Cowan

Kirkwall Tailors Project @kirkwalltailors.bsky.social · Aug 23

Volunteers are welcome to join the project to help in the transcription! All volunteers will be named as co-editors, whether you contribute a line or multiple pages. For more info, contact the project lead, Aaron Allen, on [email protected]
#palaeography #Orkney

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Reposted by Mairi Cowan

Bodleian Libraries @bodleian.ox.ac.uk · Aug 26

Our medieval offerings for #InternationalDogDay:

1. Dog leaps over an initial in Ms Bodl 264.
2.'Drop it!': a dog with a rabbit in its mouth runs away from its owner. MS Bodl 264.
3. Dog jousts a monkey MS Douce 131.
4. Lapdog sits by their ailing mistress MS. Douce 195.

A page of Latin text from a medieval manuscript. Two columns of closely written words are decorated with small illuminations; rubrics, small pictures of birds and other animals, and floral details. In the central column, a small dog leaps playfully over a gilded initial in Ms Bodl 264 fol 8r.

A dog with a rabbit in its mouth runs away from a disgruntled looking owner along the lower left margin of this highly decorated manuscript– highly relatable to modern dog owners, we’re sure. MS Bodl 264 fol 52r.

A dog riding a deer, jousts against a monkey on goatback in this very elaborately decorated 12th Century Psalter. Lots of colour, illustration and gilding throughout this manuscript. An illuminated initial immediately above the jousting animals shows a man being knighted.

Shelfmark: Bodleian MS Douce 131 fol 32r.

A beloved pooch faithfully waits at their ailing mistresses’ bedside in a two panel illustration. The mistress lies on her bed with her head on her hands, while a small white dog is on the floor next to her. This manuscript belonged to Louise of Savoy, 1476–1531, whose son became King Francis I of France. Shelfmark: Bodleian Library MS. Douce 195 fol. 1r.

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Mairi Cowan @historianmairi.bsky.social · Aug 24

Oh, the buffs