J L Laynesmith
@jllaynesmith.bsky.social
Medievalist in Reading researching queenship, Wars of the Roses, royal adultery, and medieval noblewomen (Cecily Duchess of York appears frequently) | Editor of The Ricardian | May also mention Environment, Eco Church, Trade Justice . . .(all views my own)
Nearly 566 years ago, this gentle field saw one of the most decisive military encounters of the Wars of the Roses - the (4th) Battle of Northampton. I was privileged to receive a guided tour from Graham Evans, chair of the Northamptonshire Battlefield Society last week, in suitably rainy weather.
February 4, 2026 at 9:33 AM
Nearly 566 years ago, this gentle field saw one of the most decisive military encounters of the Wars of the Roses - the (4th) Battle of Northampton. I was privileged to receive a guided tour from Graham Evans, chair of the Northamptonshire Battlefield Society last week, in suitably rainy weather.
Nice piece by @racheldelman.bsky.social on women and falconry. Obviously Cecily duchess of York's choice of the falcon on her seal was in tribute to her husband (and his grandfather), so pretty traditional there, but I do love this particular image of her from the Wigmore Chronicle.
February 3, 2026 at 3:14 PM
Nice piece by @racheldelman.bsky.social on women and falconry. Obviously Cecily duchess of York's choice of the falcon on her seal was in tribute to her husband (and his grandfather), so pretty traditional there, but I do love this particular image of her from the Wigmore Chronicle.
The Christmas cards of the magi at Sant Apollinare Nuovo tend to omit the line of 22 virgin saints following the Magi to Christ - the closest are Pelagia and Euphemia, both victims of Diocletian's persecution (apparently there were five churches dedicated to Euphemia in Ravenna).
January 6, 2026 at 5:21 PM
The Christmas cards of the magi at Sant Apollinare Nuovo tend to omit the line of 22 virgin saints following the Magi to Christ - the closest are Pelagia and Euphemia, both victims of Diocletian's persecution (apparently there were five churches dedicated to Euphemia in Ravenna).
Silk that's over a thousand years old! I first heard about these relics of St Julian in July (in a keynote lecture @imc-leeds.bsky.social) and was awestruck to come upon them at the National Museum of Ravenna last week. Byzantine work, 9th-10th century.
November 21, 2025 at 11:16 AM
Silk that's over a thousand years old! I first heard about these relics of St Julian in July (in a keynote lecture @imc-leeds.bsky.social) and was awestruck to come upon them at the National Museum of Ravenna last week. Byzantine work, 9th-10th century.
I was fascinated to learn that the earliest surviving evidence of writing in Italy comes from a woman's tomb from the 8th century BC and it probably says 'the one who spins well'. (Found at Gabii, now at the Diocletian Baths in Rome).
November 20, 2025 at 11:13 AM
I was fascinated to learn that the earliest surviving evidence of writing in Italy comes from a woman's tomb from the 8th century BC and it probably says 'the one who spins well'. (Found at Gabii, now at the Diocletian Baths in Rome).
The 2020 issue of The Ricardian was recently uploaded to @richardiiisociety.bsky.social's website free to access richardiii.net/research/the.... It includes papers from an @lincolnrecsoc.bsky.social conference, among them a case study of Cecily duchess of York's excercise of lordship in Lincolnshire
November 6, 2025 at 9:00 AM
The 2020 issue of The Ricardian was recently uploaded to @richardiiisociety.bsky.social's website free to access richardiii.net/research/the.... It includes papers from an @lincolnrecsoc.bsky.social conference, among them a case study of Cecily duchess of York's excercise of lordship in Lincolnshire
Needed to be near Holland Park this evening so arrived early and visited Lord Leighton's wonderful home.
November 5, 2025 at 6:07 PM
Needed to be near Holland Park this evening so arrived early and visited Lord Leighton's wonderful home.
I'll be giving a talk on King Harold's so-called 'Danish wife' Edith, so I thought I'd better watch 'King and Conqueror'. If you've seen it, you'll understand why I might feel I need to post an image of, for example, a glorious colourful book owned by Judith of Flanders during her marriage to Tostig
October 27, 2025 at 9:41 AM
I'll be giving a talk on King Harold's so-called 'Danish wife' Edith, so I thought I'd better watch 'King and Conqueror'. If you've seen it, you'll understand why I might feel I need to post an image of, for example, a glorious colourful book owned by Judith of Flanders during her marriage to Tostig
If anyone is looking for The Coronation Documents of Richard III - there's a copy in the Oxfam online book shop at the moment. Meanwhile the Canadian branch of the Richard III Society are auctioning two copies of the NPG catalogue on their website.
October 13, 2025 at 7:59 PM
If anyone is looking for The Coronation Documents of Richard III - there's a copy in the Oxfam online book shop at the moment. Meanwhile the Canadian branch of the Richard III Society are auctioning two copies of the NPG catalogue on their website.
A glorious October day in my favourite city.
October 6, 2025 at 2:54 PM
A glorious October day in my favourite city.
And before that Toby Capwell and Dominic Smee shared stories of the making of the documentary on the likely impact of Richard III's scoliosis on his use of armour and ability to fight on horseback.
October 6, 2025 at 1:50 PM
And before that Toby Capwell and Dominic Smee shared stories of the making of the documentary on the likely impact of Richard III's scoliosis on his use of armour and ability to fight on horseback.
Caroline Wilkinson gave a fascinating talk on digital immortality (faces here include John Whetamstede and St Nicholas)
October 6, 2025 at 1:47 PM
Caroline Wilkinson gave a fascinating talk on digital immortality (faces here include John Whetamstede and St Nicholas)
Call for Papers on The Long Fifteenth Century at Leeds IMC, 6-9 July 2026
Sponsored by the Yorkist History Trust
£300 bursaries for scholars without institutional funding (at any stage of their career). Application deadline 18 September 2025. For more details, email
[email protected]
Sponsored by the Yorkist History Trust
£300 bursaries for scholars without institutional funding (at any stage of their career). Application deadline 18 September 2025. For more details, email
[email protected]
September 1, 2025 at 11:54 AM
Call for Papers on The Long Fifteenth Century at Leeds IMC, 6-9 July 2026
Sponsored by the Yorkist History Trust
£300 bursaries for scholars without institutional funding (at any stage of their career). Application deadline 18 September 2025. For more details, email
[email protected]
Sponsored by the Yorkist History Trust
£300 bursaries for scholars without institutional funding (at any stage of their career). Application deadline 18 September 2025. For more details, email
[email protected]
Back in my favourite city for a few days.
July 21, 2025 at 5:08 PM
Back in my favourite city for a few days.
Just watched a green woodpecker coaxing her offspring down out of the trees and into our overgrown garden, feeding them and encouraging them to feed themselves - here they've moved out of the long grass, but I think this is an advert for no mow summer.
July 11, 2025 at 9:54 AM
Just watched a green woodpecker coaxing her offspring down out of the trees and into our overgrown garden, feeding them and encouraging them to feed themselves - here they've moved out of the long grass, but I think this is an advert for no mow summer.
Thank you @imc-leeds.bsky.social! From the legal context of the Cecily Chaumpaigne/Chaucer case to the Tower's Medieval Palace exhibition, via early medieval relics, tablet weaver geometers, the remarkable Joan Countess of Hereford and the organisation of the Domesday survey, it's been fabulous.
July 10, 2025 at 5:22 PM
Thank you @imc-leeds.bsky.social! From the legal context of the Cecily Chaumpaigne/Chaucer case to the Tower's Medieval Palace exhibition, via early medieval relics, tablet weaver geometers, the remarkable Joan Countess of Hereford and the organisation of the Domesday survey, it's been fabulous.
We were so absorbed in the final @yorkisthistory.bsky.social session for @imc-leeds.bsky.social today that we forgot to get a photo - eye-opening and intriguing papers on some document creation in London and Yorkshire (with @richardasquith.bsky.social and @dralrs.bsky.social)
July 8, 2025 at 9:33 PM
We were so absorbed in the final @yorkisthistory.bsky.social session for @imc-leeds.bsky.social today that we forgot to get a photo - eye-opening and intriguing papers on some document creation in London and Yorkshire (with @richardasquith.bsky.social and @dralrs.bsky.social)
The @yorkisthistory.bsky.social's final session on Tuesday for @imc-leeds.bsky.social (other than the wine reception) is on "Readers and Scribes in Commemoration and Civic Government" #IMC2025.
July 6, 2025 at 3:08 PM
The @yorkisthistory.bsky.social's final session on Tuesday for @imc-leeds.bsky.social (other than the wine reception) is on "Readers and Scribes in Commemoration and Civic Government" #IMC2025.
The @yorkisthistory.bsky.social 's first afternoon session for @imc-leeds.bsky.social on Tuesday will be "Devotion and Identity in Royal Foundations and the Parish" #IMC2025.
July 6, 2025 at 2:57 PM
The @yorkisthistory.bsky.social 's first afternoon session for @imc-leeds.bsky.social on Tuesday will be "Devotion and Identity in Royal Foundations and the Parish" #IMC2025.
In a slight change to @yorkisthistory.bsky.social's originally advertised second session for @imc-leeds.bsky.social on Tuesday, the theme will be "Beyond the Battlefields: Wounds, War Widows and the Costs of Defeat" #IMC2025.
July 6, 2025 at 2:43 PM
In a slight change to @yorkisthistory.bsky.social's originally advertised second session for @imc-leeds.bsky.social on Tuesday, the theme will be "Beyond the Battlefields: Wounds, War Widows and the Costs of Defeat" #IMC2025.
The @yorkisthistory.bsky.social sessions for @imc-leeds.bsky.social on Tuesday start with "Stories of the Death of Princes: royal blood, rumour and commemoration" #IMC2025.
July 6, 2025 at 2:34 PM
The @yorkisthistory.bsky.social sessions for @imc-leeds.bsky.social on Tuesday start with "Stories of the Death of Princes: royal blood, rumour and commemoration" #IMC2025.
These are my only other pictures, but you can find out more at barconvent.co.uk/the-arma-chr...
June 12, 2025 at 9:15 PM
These are my only other pictures, but you can find out more at barconvent.co.uk/the-arma-chr...
Some of the vivid images from the stunning Arma Christi roll of c 1475 only very recently discovered in a box at York's Bar Convent.
June 11, 2025 at 6:19 PM
Some of the vivid images from the stunning Arma Christi roll of c 1475 only very recently discovered in a box at York's Bar Convent.
Only a month to go before the @yorkisthistory.bsky.social Wars of the Roses day @imc-leeds.bsky.social
June 9, 2025 at 10:25 AM
Only a month to go before the @yorkisthistory.bsky.social Wars of the Roses day @imc-leeds.bsky.social
There are copies of recent issues of The Ricardian available for sale at richardiii.net/product-cate... Topics range from the Execution of the Earl of Desmond or the life of Edward IV's daughter Bridget, to Richard duke of Gloucester and the Countess of Oxford, or his secretary John Kendale.
May 28, 2025 at 10:30 AM
There are copies of recent issues of The Ricardian available for sale at richardiii.net/product-cate... Topics range from the Execution of the Earl of Desmond or the life of Edward IV's daughter Bridget, to Richard duke of Gloucester and the Countess of Oxford, or his secretary John Kendale.