Markus Mindrebø
@markusmindrebo.bsky.social
120 followers 150 following 8 posts
Medieval historian | Associate professor, @unistavanger.bsky.social | Gender/politics in Norse kings' sagas | Network scholar | Game thinker | Storyteller | Most at home in the mountains
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markusmindrebo.bsky.social
It's been released! And it's shiny!

It happens in academia every day, but it's a bit surreal to suddenly have published a whole book.

www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi...
markusmindrebo.bsky.social
Medieval techniques to preserve mental health? Sage advice here (and a wonderfully written post).

"Tao seemed forever struggling with the dilemma between living freely but poorly and working in the government but unhappily. Besides resorting to alcohol, Tao dealt with such struggles with poetry."
The Rise of Poetry Therapy in Eleventh Century China
How did literati manage their mental health in middle period China? Melancholy, depression, and down moods were as common among them as among us today. In the absence of antidepressants and therapists...
www.leidenmedievalistsblog.nl
Reposted by Markus Mindrebø
finnarne.me
At my good colleague @markusmindrebo.bsky.social’s book launch at the @unistavanger.bsky.social Library today. Women, Politics, and Social Networks in the Sagas of Norwegian Kings. Congratulations on the book, Markus!
Man standing on stage talking Powerpoint slide with Norwegian text, kvinner og makt i sagalitteraturen, and picture of a woman with a sword
Reposted by Markus Mindrebø
ubisoft.com
Step into the heart of Medieval Baghdad—right from your phone.

📜 Uncover rich, immersive history
🦅 Explore 9th century Baghdad
📱 Experience it all for free, anytime, anywhere

Launching today for free: the Discovery Tour App – Medieval Baghdad

#AssassinsCreed
Scholars, musicians, historians all stand in front of a night sky overlooking Baghdad. Underneath a phone rest. In the center text reads: "Discovery Tour app. A Ubisoft Original. Medieval Baghdad."
Reposted by Markus Mindrebø
jennycromwell.bsky.social
We have a cover for Ancient Egypt in Video Games! Out either late 2025 or early 2026 - will post a link with contents once it’s up on the DeGruyter website.
I’m very excited that this is soon out in the world!
Reposted by Markus Mindrebø
enniusredloeb.bsky.social
29th August is the feast of the Beheading of John the Baptist. Here Salome is depicted doing a spectacular sword dance! ⚔️

Bodleian Library MS. Auct. D. 2. 6; 'The Littlemore Anselm'; f.166v @bodleian.ox.ac.uk
Reposted by Markus Mindrebø
boydellandbrewer.bsky.social
"This book is a must-read for both medievalists and gamers." - @medievalists.bsky.social The Middle Ages in Computer Games by @robehoughton.bsky.social offers the most comprehensive analysis and discussion of medievalist computer games to date. Learn more 👉 buff.ly/XnzZx0z #medievalsky
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kierongillen.bsky.social
It’s an unimaginable amount of money. He could have bought two - maybe even three - Warhammer armies.
mckelvie.bsky.social
Imagine what good could have been done with all the money Mark Zuckerberg has personally wasted
Reposted by Markus Mindrebø
deathbybadger.bsky.social
a university is not for generating profit, it provides cultural enrichment via weird little gremlin people who love visigoths or haikus, and very occasionally a scientist who figures out faster than light travel
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hollynielsen.bsky.social
So does that mean it’ll develop crippling depression and a bunch of debt
nbcnews.com
OpenAI releases the newest version of the AI model that powers its popular ChatGPT chatbot, with CEO Sam Altman promoting it as like having a “team of Ph.D. level experts in your pocket.”
OpenAI releases GPT-5, calling it a ‘team of Ph.D. level experts in your pocket’
OpenAI says its latest version of the popular AI model is better at coding, more accurate and less deceptive than previous versions.
nbcnews.to
markusmindrebo.bsky.social
Gode poenger her. Synes også det ligger en viss risiko i den typen kritikk mot ChatGPT som først og fremst er flisespikkeri mot bagateller (slik som du nevner her) - da bidrar man såvidt jeg kan se til å ta brodden av all (mye viktigere) kritikk så fort språkmodellene får fikset disse bagatellene.
Reposted by Markus Mindrebø
robehoughton.bsky.social
There's another very kind review of The Middle Ages in Computer Games out on @gamevironments.bsky.social from @markusmindrebo.bsky.social. There's also a bunch of important articles on peripheral religions in games in this issue which are well worth a look. doi.org/10.48783/gam...
Review of Robert Houghton's The Middle Ages in Computer Games: Ludic Approaches to the Medieval and Medievalism (2024) | gamevironments
doi.org
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lucyelm.bsky.social
Look even *if* AI could do the job of a historian, I still wouldn’t trust it.

My research is on how elites used the past as a political tool and tried to control historic narratives.

I wouldn’t trust tech companies and their connections to right wing governments to not rewrite the past.
Reposted by Markus Mindrebø
midagesmodgames.bsky.social
The Call for Papers for our strand on the Middle Ages in Modern Games for next year's @imc-leeds.bsky.social is now open with the conference theme of 'Temporalities'. Please circulate to any interested parties. Deadline 17 September. Text here: middleagesinmoderngames.net/announcement...
Reposted by Markus Mindrebø
ykomska.bsky.social
Universities messed up by not getting rid of student evaluations after the wave of peer reviewed scholarship about their issues and before evals became a culture war item. This could have been done a decade or more ago and betrays a stunning lack of imagination in capitalist ed sector
mapesgeog.bsky.social
Lots of (appropriate) outrage about the Brown student survey meddling but I’ve heard less nationally about what’s going on in Ohio (state inserting a required “bias” question into our surveys & requiring we be reviewed on it).
Reposted by Markus Mindrebø
jgilligan.org
Indeed, there is evidence from randomized controlled trials of large introductory classes, that student course evaluations are negatively correlated with how well students learned the material.

maa.org/math-values/...
One study in particular showed that student evaluations are good predictors of learning. But there’s a twist. The correlation between student evaluations and quality of learning is negative. The higher the instructor’s score in the student evaluations, the worse the learning; and the lower the evaluation score, the better the learning. (Feel free to read that again. There is no typo.)
Reposted by Markus Mindrebø
eicathomefinn.bsky.social
If the marketing team is struggling to understand what universities do and are for, they can read this by a former Warwick professor, HoD, research centre founder/director and PVC. 3/3
To save UK higher education, start talking about knowledge - Research Professional News
Until debate on universities foregrounds their core purposes, their woes will deepen, says Margot Finn
www.researchprofessionalnews.com
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downham.bsky.social
5. ‘We earnestly forbid all heathen practices. Namely the worship of idols, heathen gods, & the sun or the moon, fire or water, springs or stones or any kind of forest trees, or indulgence in witchcraft …’ #law #medieval Can’t help but think did we lose something when we stopped worshipping nature?
Reposted by Markus Mindrebø
downham.bsky.social
The fascinating secular Laws of Cnut were issued after seizing the throne of England. They intended to cement his power and reassure his subjects, largely repeating laws of earlier kings. Full of insights into medieval life. To share with you, I aim to post a law a day in sequence #medievalsky 1/2
Reposted by Markus Mindrebø
craigshackleton.com
It is really really sinking in for me the degree to which LLMs are the ultimate expression of right wing anti-intellectualism. Its proponents are literally mocking the idea that anyone would ever want to learn anything, know anything, develop any actual skill, or have a thought of their own.
markusmindrebo.bsky.social
Roderick and I are "speaking" together on Norse medievalism in games!
midagesmodgames.bsky.social
Third and final paper to close our Witcher panel is ‘Dungeons & Distortions: The Pseudo-Norse berserkir in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt’ by Roderick Dale and @markusmindrebo.bsky.social, check it out and ask your questions in the comments: middleagesinmoderngames.net?p=866/
Landscape image from the Witcher 3, with a man (Geralt) on a horse in the foreground looking out over the ocean from a coastline, with Norse style long ships on the water and dark clouds above.
Reposted by Markus Mindrebø
midagesmodgames.bsky.social
The third and final day of #MAMG25 is about to begin! Head over to our website to check out the programme, and read two days of great papers, and our first panel for today, Fantasy Medievalism in The Witcher, will start in just 10 minutes at 10am (UTC+1)! middleagesinmoderngames.net/announcement...
Reposted by Markus Mindrebø
midagesmodgames.bsky.social
Our Asynchronous Conference is starting in less than an hour! Come and join us for three days of papers about all aspects of the Middle Ages and Medievalism in games of all sorts!
midagesmodgames.bsky.social
It's just a couple of days until the sixth Middle Ages in Modern Games Asynchronous Conference! Join us from Wednesday 4 to Friday 6 June for a vast range of papers. #MAMG25
Reposted by Markus Mindrebø
midagesmodgames.bsky.social
The sixth Middle Ages in Modern Games Asynchronous Conference on the themes Globalities and Regionalities will take place from 4 to 6 June. The papers (written and video format) will be accessible on our website middleagesinmoderngames.net We hope you can join us!