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Nik Gunn

@nikgunn.bsky.social

780 followers 310 following 310 posts

Writer, translator and medievalist. Views mine. https://nikolasgunn.co.uk/

nikolasgunn.co.uk

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Nik Gunn @nikgunn.bsky.social · Aug 12

I'm relaunching my website, Set Yet Speaking, which will host my translations of medieval literature.

In this first post, I discuss why I'm giving this another go, why translation matters, and how a short extract from Beowulf inspired the name of the site.

nikolasgunn.wordpress.com/2025/08/12/w...

Welcome to Set Yet Speaking (plus a translation of Beowulf lines 1687-98a)

Hello everyone. Welcome back to Set Yet Speaking. It’s been a while. The last time I properly updated this website, I was still lecturing. Things have changed a bit since then. I realised an …

nikolasgunn.wordpress.com

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Nik Gunn @nikgunn.bsky.social · 1h

Braybrooke Brewery’s Dunkel Lager. Biscuits with a hint of caramel, and a clean finish. If Hansel and Gretel came across a house made of beer, it would be this one. Or something.

A bottle of Braybrooke Brewery’s Dunkel Lager decanted into a glass.

Reposted by Nik Gunn

Jess Calarco @jessicacalarco.com · 1d

quantitative methods, qualitative methods, mixed methods

Photo of a Kansas City Chiefs press conference with Andy Reid, Travis Kelce, and Patrick Mahomes. Reid is wearing a gray suit and red tie with a lapel pin. Kelce is wearing a camp-style short-sleeved shirt with a bird print, along with a suede cap, and Mahomes is wearing a white collared shirt, a pink checkered double-breasted vest, and a pale pink tie.

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Francesca Brooks @francescabrooks.bsky.social · 1d

Some fabulous fungi encountered on recent walks - a Deceiver, porcelain fungi, purple jellydisc hanging out with some honey fungus, and a clutch of Sulphur Tuft.

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Nik Gunn @nikgunn.bsky.social · 2d

From the House of Commons Library:

researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CB...

researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk

Nik Gunn @nikgunn.bsky.social · 5d

Why do people keep making the dullest looking adaptations of medieval stories imaginable. Just do yourself a favour and watch Robin of Sherwood on ITV player instead.

youtu.be/d5t-ouMMARc?...

Robin Hood - Official Trailer (2025) Jack Patten, Sean Bean, Lauren McQueen

YouTube video by IGN

youtu.be

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Nik Gunn @nikgunn.bsky.social · 5d

Cuddy by Benjamin Myers is excellent, and uses St Cuthbert as the connective tissue between four distinct narratives. Gunnar's Daughter by Sigrid Undset too, which is crafted in Icelandic saga style.

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Reposted by Nik Gunn

Jeremy Noel-Tod @jntod.bsky.social · 6d

On National Poetry Day, the greatest poem I have ever read

A printed poem which reads:

I hav for breakfast Weetabix

I hav for lunch some meat

I have for tea 2 sosajis and thats enuf to eat

Peter Hazel, 5

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Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 6d

'Almost 4,000 courses fall prey to university funding crisis, with humanities degrees hardest hit'

'Less selective universities have been most affected by the cuts, however elite universities, including those in the Russell Group, have not been immune to having to axe courses.' 1/2

The Boar

theboar.org

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Nik Gunn @nikgunn.bsky.social · 7d

Shades of the Dream of the Rood in Wendell Berry’s The Sycamore.

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Nik Gunn @nikgunn.bsky.social · 9d

I started doing archery again for the first time in over 20 years at the weekend and I can very much recommend having a hobby that doesn’t involve anything digital at all.

Reposted by Nik Gunn

Robin Wilde @robinwilde.me · Aug 28

All discourse now involves groups of degree-holding middle class people accusing one another of being middle class and holding degrees. I don't make the rules.

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Nik Gunn @nikgunn.bsky.social · 9d

One nice thing about getting older is celebrating the successes of all the cool, talented people you know.

Copies of two poetry collections: Enter Moon by Laura Blomvall and Under the Blue by Suzannah V. Evans.

Nik Gunn @nikgunn.bsky.social · 11d

I look like I was mugged by the IG algorithm, I doubt I could dress myself otherwise.

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Reposted by Nik Gunn

Peter Stockwell @stockwell.bsky.social · 11d

RIP Tony Harrison

He was kind enough to let me use this poem in my Texture book - one of several of his that invariably make readers cry, specifically at exactly two and a half lines from the end

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Nik Gunn @nikgunn.bsky.social · 12d

Loved it. The final section brought me to tears, which doesn’t happen often when reading.

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My Imaginary Brooklyn @myimaginarybrklyn.bsky.social · 15d

Ian Miller, 1976.

#illustration #1970s #IanMiller #Beowulf

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Chris Callow @chriscallow.bsky.social · 15d

An Old Norse taught be Dr Ryder Patzuk Russell. Ryder is excellent!
Please share.
www.paideiainstitute.org/introduction...

Introduction to Old Norse Language and Literature

Living Latin and Ancient Greek

www.paideiainstitute.org

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Nik Gunn @nikgunn.bsky.social · 15d

One of my guilty pleasures is watching YT videos of some American or East European bloke building a shelter in the wilderness, partly because I like to marvel at the fearlessness with which they'll eat a stew of beef, black beans, jalapenos, onion, cabbage and hot sauce in the middle of a blizzard.

Reposted by Nik Gunn

Lameen Souag @lameensouag.bsky.social · 16d

Think I've just had my first encounter with LLM-fabricated language data. Some Indonesian paper mill journal just published a paper containing completely fabricated Siwi data, citing me as the source.

(It could have been made up by a human, but it looks like what you get when you ask ChatGPT.)

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Reposted by Nik Gunn

ALCS @alcs.co.uk · 27d

The Royal Literary Fund are offering grants to writers facing financial difficulties. If you're currently experiencing difficulties, such as an illness or unexpected bill, you might be eligible to receive support.

Grants for writers facing financial difficulty

As our research into authors’ incomes demonstrates, a career in writing is often financially precarious. If you’re currently facing financial difficulties, whether that be due to an unexpected bill or...

www.alcs.co.uk

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Reposted by Nik Gunn

Alistair Coleman @alistaircoleman.bsky.social · 18d

Alien: Earth (N. Hawley and others, 2025)

A sheep in a bus shelter in the Highlands of Scotland. It looks a lot like the sheep in Alien: Earth which is the host of the T. Ocellus parasite.

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Ennius @enniusredloeb.bsky.social · 17d

21st September is the feast of St Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist. St Matthew is depicted here looking at us and perhaps appearing a little glum.

Bodleian Library MS. Auct. D. 2. 16; Gospels; 10th century; France, Brittany, Landevennec; f.28v @bodleian.ox.ac.uk

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Nik Gunn @nikgunn.bsky.social · 18d

Gorgeous collection 👍

A copy of Under the Blue by Suzannah V. Evans

Nik Gunn @nikgunn.bsky.social · 19d

A great read. I had actually never heard of this hymn until now. I also found "Carole Tims: walked out" very funny for some reason.

Reposted by Nik Gunn

The Guild of Medievalist Makers @guildmedmak.bsky.social · 19d

Our followers might be interested in the upcoming 'Butser Bookfest' at @butserancientfarm.co.uk which includes a creative rendition of the Old Norse Völuspá by Dr Clare Mulley, among other fantastic events and talks from medievalists and creative-critical practitioners!

Völuspá - a Performance with Clare Mulley — Butser Ancient Farm

2:00pm - 2:45pm Völuspá is one of the oldest and most widely discussed literary texts in the Old Norse canon. Dr. Clare Mulley will now present her own creative rendition of this poem and its female ...

www.butserancientfarm.co.uk

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