Dr. Erika Graham-Goering
@jeanneologist.bsky.social
Too many Jeannes | Medieval lordship and power, French comparative history, archives | Associate prof. Universitetet i Oslo (personal account) | she/hun.
Pinned
My new minigraph on gender, joint leadership, and the historiographical invention of a war can now be freely downloaded here! library.oapen.org/handle/20.50...
5 authors I've read 5+ books by:
Lynn Flewelling
N. K. Jemisin
Martha Wells
Naomi Novik
Ann Leckie
Lynn Flewelling
N. K. Jemisin
Martha Wells
Naomi Novik
Ann Leckie
5 authors I’ve read 5+ books by:
Norman Bridwell
Roald Dahl
Beatrix Potter
Mercer Mayer
Robert Munsch
Norman Bridwell
Roald Dahl
Beatrix Potter
Mercer Mayer
Robert Munsch
5 authors I’ve read 5+ books by:
Dickens
Le Carre
Iain (M) Banks
Le Guin
Me
Dickens
Le Carre
Iain (M) Banks
Le Guin
Me
November 25, 2025 at 7:03 AM
5 authors I've read 5+ books by:
Lynn Flewelling
N. K. Jemisin
Martha Wells
Naomi Novik
Ann Leckie
Lynn Flewelling
N. K. Jemisin
Martha Wells
Naomi Novik
Ann Leckie
Saw an excellent point made that recent politics has gone into perpetual "campaign mode", rather than actually entering "governing mode" following an election (and of course campaigning and governing are two very different things). I think about that a lot.
November 24, 2025 at 6:46 PM
Saw an excellent point made that recent politics has gone into perpetual "campaign mode", rather than actually entering "governing mode" following an election (and of course campaigning and governing are two very different things). I think about that a lot.
The timeframe of my impending deadlines is starting to have real "This is Fine" meme vibes 🙃
November 24, 2025 at 5:21 PM
The timeframe of my impending deadlines is starting to have real "This is Fine" meme vibes 🙃
Reposted by Dr. Erika Graham-Goering
I find it very pleasing that sometime around 1040, an Icelandic skald addressed the king of the Norwegians as "sinjórr", showing that already at this early stage the French vocabulary for lordship had entered the Nordic world.
November 24, 2025 at 10:50 AM
I find it very pleasing that sometime around 1040, an Icelandic skald addressed the king of the Norwegians as "sinjórr", showing that already at this early stage the French vocabulary for lordship had entered the Nordic world.
Hahaha amazing, and also a mood! That makes me feel less awkward about having to ballpark it (a choice of verb that seems particularly apt on this occasion)
Now I want to justify a research trip on that ground: "sorry, gotta go measure local bushel markers in cute churches!"
Now I want to justify a research trip on that ground: "sorry, gotta go measure local bushel markers in cute churches!"
November 24, 2025 at 8:46 AM
Hahaha amazing, and also a mood! That makes me feel less awkward about having to ballpark it (a choice of verb that seems particularly apt on this occasion)
Now I want to justify a research trip on that ground: "sorry, gotta go measure local bushel markers in cute churches!"
Now I want to justify a research trip on that ground: "sorry, gotta go measure local bushel markers in cute churches!"
FASCINATING thank you! 🤩 Doesn't have the one specific region I need on this occasion, but this will be immensely useful going forward, excellent pointer! (See, *this* is what the internet is for)
November 24, 2025 at 8:44 AM
FASCINATING thank you! 🤩 Doesn't have the one specific region I need on this occasion, but this will be immensely useful going forward, excellent pointer! (See, *this* is what the internet is for)
...I hate trying to figure out how big anything was in the past
(If anyone happens to know of a handy reference work discussing French regional variations in units of measurement, please do point it my way! Sounds like the kind of thing some 19th-century person might have compiled, I dunno)
(If anyone happens to know of a handy reference work discussing French regional variations in units of measurement, please do point it my way! Sounds like the kind of thing some 19th-century person might have compiled, I dunno)
![Screenshot from the Dictionnaire du Moyen Français for the entry "arpent"
ARPENT, subst. masc.
[T-L: arpent; GDC: arpent; AND : arpent; DÉCT: arpent; FEW XXV, 177b :
arepennis; TLF : III, 524a : arpenti]
A. -"Mesure agraire de surface, divisée en 100 perches ou 30 toises carrées et variant suivant les localités (entre 20 à 70 ares)" : Et, au fait des vignes, il y eut bien peu de vin, et par especial en l'Isle de France, comme d'ung muy de vin pour chascun arpent mais il fut bien bon (ROYE,
Chron. scand., I, 1460-1483, 3).
- Arpent de bois : Si l'ay j'en plus de cent arpens De bois quise (Mir. st J. Paulu, c.1372, 110). .. les arpens de bois sont de cent cordes, la corde de VIII aulnes et demie de Provins de long ; l'en a dit par arrest au seigneur de Rochefort que l'arpent de bois en Bourgoingne a XXX toises rapenaulz de quarrure et a chascune toise VII piéz et demi de long. (Cout. bourg. glosé P.M., c.1380-1400, 286). Avecques ce lesdiz religieux ont VIII arpens de boiz en une piece en ladicte forest (HECTOR DE CHARTRES, Cout. R., 1398-1408, 282). ..pour vendre ou faire vendre par les verdiers (...) IIJc arpens de bois chauffage, à coper et abatre es forests du Roy (FAUQ., I, 1417-1420, 204).
Rem. «L'arpent du roi, utilisé dans le domaine royal et ailleurs, comportait 100 perches carrées de 22 pieds de côté; la perche contenait 484 pieds carrés (22 X 22) et l'arpent par conséquent 48.000. L'arpent valait 51 ares 7 centiares» (M. Devèze, La Vie de la forêt fr. au XVIeS., 1961, 348).](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:ew6s547jsvp5npbjqd6d6c4i/bafkreiaybsy2jtssc56p7xpkoe7go6c37htwr42xy2pmw5mxw7bugmfb3e@jpeg)
November 24, 2025 at 8:33 AM
...I hate trying to figure out how big anything was in the past
(If anyone happens to know of a handy reference work discussing French regional variations in units of measurement, please do point it my way! Sounds like the kind of thing some 19th-century person might have compiled, I dunno)
(If anyone happens to know of a handy reference work discussing French regional variations in units of measurement, please do point it my way! Sounds like the kind of thing some 19th-century person might have compiled, I dunno)
Hah, I'll be there the day after 😂
November 22, 2025 at 9:00 AM
Hah, I'll be there the day after 😂
V2.0 (which is also visualizing the data in a different way). Guess which piece of property was the most important?
November 22, 2025 at 8:36 AM
V2.0 (which is also visualizing the data in a different way). Guess which piece of property was the most important?
Reposted by Dr. Erika Graham-Goering
Thinking a lot lately about the simple fact that college allows people to spend about 15 weeks immersed in a disciplinary conversation with an expert in that field. And what a special thing that is.
November 21, 2025 at 1:33 PM
Thinking a lot lately about the simple fact that college allows people to spend about 15 weeks immersed in a disciplinary conversation with an expert in that field. And what a special thing that is.
I'm back at my let's-diagram-this-lordship game
November 21, 2025 at 11:49 AM
I'm back at my let's-diagram-this-lordship game
(Looking at the image above, it looks to me like they might have re-mounted it differently when it was put back into storage—I seem to recall the hinges being on the sides, which would have worked better for flipping them around. But I may be misremembering!)
November 21, 2025 at 7:38 AM
(Looking at the image above, it looks to me like they might have re-mounted it differently when it was put back into storage—I seem to recall the hinges being on the sides, which would have worked better for flipping them around. But I may be misremembering!)
Reposted by Dr. Erika Graham-Goering
SO FUNNY COINCIDENCE, as an undergrad I had these manuscript fragments remounted properly for display! 😁
In 2009–10 I was lucky enough to take a course in which we collectively curated an art exhibit using the College's collections.
In 2009–10 I was lucky enough to take a course in which we collectively curated an art exhibit using the College's collections.
Another incredible treasure from Grinnell, this time in the art collection, is this set of cuttings of the miniatures from what must have been a gorgeous book of hours! 🌟
(1985.003.001-009)
#midwestmss #medievalsky #medievalmss #manuscripts #fragments
(1985.003.001-009)
#midwestmss #medievalsky #medievalmss #manuscripts #fragments
November 20, 2025 at 7:29 PM
SO FUNNY COINCIDENCE, as an undergrad I had these manuscript fragments remounted properly for display! 😁
In 2009–10 I was lucky enough to take a course in which we collectively curated an art exhibit using the College's collections.
In 2009–10 I was lucky enough to take a course in which we collectively curated an art exhibit using the College's collections.
Reposted by Dr. Erika Graham-Goering
It's time to remove laptops from classrooms.
24 experiments: Students learn more and get better grades after taking notes by hand than typing. It's not just because they're less distracted—writing enables deeper processing and more images.
The pen is mightier than the keyboard.
24 experiments: Students learn more and get better grades after taking notes by hand than typing. It's not just because they're less distracted—writing enables deeper processing and more images.
The pen is mightier than the keyboard.
November 20, 2025 at 3:09 PM
It's time to remove laptops from classrooms.
24 experiments: Students learn more and get better grades after taking notes by hand than typing. It's not just because they're less distracted—writing enables deeper processing and more images.
The pen is mightier than the keyboard.
24 experiments: Students learn more and get better grades after taking notes by hand than typing. It's not just because they're less distracted—writing enables deeper processing and more images.
The pen is mightier than the keyboard.
I'm sure if I were to write about this manuscript now, I'd have lots of better things to say with over 15 years more medievalist experience behind me, but this was still really "my first" manuscript, and I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw it popping up here 🥰
November 20, 2025 at 7:29 PM
I'm sure if I were to write about this manuscript now, I'd have lots of better things to say with over 15 years more medievalist experience behind me, but this was still really "my first" manuscript, and I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw it popping up here 🥰
You can see the result in this shot of the exhibition, to the left! We preserved the posthumously imposed grid-sequence for the images—I think the black backing makes them look a bit like a series of stained glass windows—but on the other side was the equally patchwork set of carved-up texts.
November 20, 2025 at 7:29 PM
You can see the result in this shot of the exhibition, to the left! We preserved the posthumously imposed grid-sequence for the images—I think the black backing makes them look a bit like a series of stained glass windows—but on the other side was the equally patchwork set of carved-up texts.
But while you can use the hinges on the flat mounting to lift the flaps and see the versos, that's obviously not possible during the exhibit. So I asked the curators to reset the pieces for a freestanding display that could be viewed from both sides.
November 20, 2025 at 7:29 PM
But while you can use the hinges on the flat mounting to lift the flaps and see the versos, that's obviously not possible during the exhibit. So I asked the curators to reset the pieces for a freestanding display that could be viewed from both sides.
When chopping up these books (🤬), unscrupulous sellers cut right through the "unimportant" side of the page without illustrations (even though these often had some quite lovely decorated initials in red, blue, and gold). And I wanted visitors to understand where these pictures came from.
November 20, 2025 at 7:29 PM
When chopping up these books (🤬), unscrupulous sellers cut right through the "unimportant" side of the page without illustrations (even though these often had some quite lovely decorated initials in red, blue, and gold). And I wanted visitors to understand where these pictures came from.
My very favorite was, of course, this delightful book of hours, or rather what remained of it, and it's what I wrote about in the catalog. Problem was that the original mounting, seen above, only told (literally) one side of the story—there's text on the back of every one of those images.
November 20, 2025 at 7:29 PM
My very favorite was, of course, this delightful book of hours, or rather what remained of it, and it's what I wrote about in the catalog. Problem was that the original mounting, seen above, only told (literally) one side of the story—there's text on the back of every one of those images.
Our theme was "Repeat, Reveal, React", focusing on the use and meaning of visual repetition. (We had a pretty sweet catalog cover, if I may say so myself 😉)
True to my self-appointed mission in life, I squeezed a few medieval manuscripts, some European, some Arabic, into our show.
True to my self-appointed mission in life, I squeezed a few medieval manuscripts, some European, some Arabic, into our show.
November 20, 2025 at 7:29 PM
Our theme was "Repeat, Reveal, React", focusing on the use and meaning of visual repetition. (We had a pretty sweet catalog cover, if I may say so myself 😉)
True to my self-appointed mission in life, I squeezed a few medieval manuscripts, some European, some Arabic, into our show.
True to my self-appointed mission in life, I squeezed a few medieval manuscripts, some European, some Arabic, into our show.
SO FUNNY COINCIDENCE, as an undergrad I had these manuscript fragments remounted properly for display! 😁
In 2009–10 I was lucky enough to take a course in which we collectively curated an art exhibit using the College's collections.
In 2009–10 I was lucky enough to take a course in which we collectively curated an art exhibit using the College's collections.
Another incredible treasure from Grinnell, this time in the art collection, is this set of cuttings of the miniatures from what must have been a gorgeous book of hours! 🌟
(1985.003.001-009)
#midwestmss #medievalsky #medievalmss #manuscripts #fragments
(1985.003.001-009)
#midwestmss #medievalsky #medievalmss #manuscripts #fragments
November 20, 2025 at 7:29 PM
SO FUNNY COINCIDENCE, as an undergrad I had these manuscript fragments remounted properly for display! 😁
In 2009–10 I was lucky enough to take a course in which we collectively curated an art exhibit using the College's collections.
In 2009–10 I was lucky enough to take a course in which we collectively curated an art exhibit using the College's collections.
I will inquire about the possibilities!
November 20, 2025 at 11:45 AM
I will inquire about the possibilities!
Reposted by Dr. Erika Graham-Goering
Oh wow! This is what happens when you're photographing MSS & don't capture the text in the inner gutter. 1st, here's the photograph (made about 100 yrs ago) of the Codex Salernitanus, f. 82ra. Although that big tear of the page is obvious, the inner gutter hasn't been fully captured in the photo.
November 18, 2025 at 7:13 PM
Oh wow! This is what happens when you're photographing MSS & don't capture the text in the inner gutter. 1st, here's the photograph (made about 100 yrs ago) of the Codex Salernitanus, f. 82ra. Although that big tear of the page is obvious, the inner gutter hasn't been fully captured in the photo.
Reposted by Dr. Erika Graham-Goering
Help! @frenchhistory.bsky.social really wanted this for journal cover next year (we’ve got exciting things coming on quantitative and computational methods) but it’s a challenge finding higher res versions/rights holder.
Do YOU have suggestions to track these down OR alternative, similar images? 🙏🏻 🗃️
Do YOU have suggestions to track these down OR alternative, similar images? 🙏🏻 🗃️
November 20, 2025 at 9:53 AM
Help! @frenchhistory.bsky.social really wanted this for journal cover next year (we’ve got exciting things coming on quantitative and computational methods) but it’s a challenge finding higher res versions/rights holder.
Do YOU have suggestions to track these down OR alternative, similar images? 🙏🏻 🗃️
Do YOU have suggestions to track these down OR alternative, similar images? 🙏🏻 🗃️
Editing texts is such a valuable community service! It's a real shame it's not given more recognition in many academic funding structures.
November 20, 2025 at 9:02 AM
Editing texts is such a valuable community service! It's a real shame it's not given more recognition in many academic funding structures.