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Sara Charles

@saracharles.bsky.social

1.9K followers 490 following 370 posts

Medieval manuscript practitioner, bringing the manuscript making process to life. Author of The Medieval Scriptorium. Cat lady. www.teachingmanuscripts.com PhD in medieval martyrologies. Editor of Historical Research journal.

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Sara Charles @saracharles.bsky.social · Jan 10

I recently prepared a page from a medieval manuscript (CCCC, MS 143, fol. 28r) for a TV programme. Here's a look behind the scenes at how it was prepared, using tradition techniques. I made four examples to show the different stages of production #bookhistory #medievalmanuscripts #medievalsky

Sheet of parchment with Middle English style script in black ink with red and blue rubrics. The text is from the Mirrour of the blessyd Lyf of Christ, showing the chapter where Jesus, Mary and Joseph flee into Egypt

Sheet of parchment with fifteenth-century style script, layer of gesso added to the decorated area

Sheet of parchment with fifteenth-century style script, with gold added and red and blue pigment

Sheet of parchment with fifteenth-century style script, illumination and decoration

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Reposted by Sara Charles

J.D. Sargan @jdsargan.bsky.social · 3h

It's true: I wrote a book. And what's more, the book is done and soon you'll be able to own a copy. And what's more more, if you want a hard copy you can order one for 50% off now, with the code SAR50. And if you want it digitally, it'll be open access!

www.arc-humanities.org/978180270163...

Trans Histories of the Medieval Book - Arc Humanities Press

Archival collections are political spaces: the decisions that govern whose histories are preserved, when, and by whom are not neutral. They reflect the commu...

www.arc-humanities.org

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Sara Charles @saracharles.bsky.social · 7h

👋

Sara Charles @saracharles.bsky.social · 7h

So excited for this! #bookhistory #medievalsky #parchment #manuscripts

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Reposted by Sara Charles

Dr Eleanor Baker @eleanormaybaker.bsky.social · 8h

✨Book Curses✨ is included in the list of Bewitching Bodleian Bestsellers, so you should buy Book Curses and the 1000 piece puzzle of The World of Frankenstein. Or Book Curses and a Cthulhu pin badge. Or Book Curses and the Edgar Allen Toe socks.

Bewitching Bodleian Bestsellers

Celebrate the spooky season in style - from gothic literature to ghoulish accessories, the Booleian has you sorted!

bodleianshop.co.uk

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Sara Charles @saracharles.bsky.social · 1d

Welcome back, old friend! #bookhistory

Richard Ovenden @richove.bsky.social · 1d

MLGB is back!! Delighted that Medieval Libraries of Great Britain @bodleian.ox.ac.uk is now back online. We are also working had on plans for the next phase of the resource, enhancing & adding data & functionality. HUGE thanks to my colleagues for their hard & clever work mlgb.bodleian.ox.ac.uk

Reposted by Sara Charles

Dr Danny Bate @dannybate.bsky.social · 3d

Really pleased with how this interview hosted by @colingorrie.bsky.social turned out, especially with his questions – Colin is himself such a skilled linguist that his questions fired up my own thoughts. His Yiddish/Hebrew writing reflections (48:40) was a stroke of genius.
youtu.be/5rlaMWduwyc?...

History of the alphabet: a conversation with Danny Bate

YouTube video by Colin Gorrie

youtu.be

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Reposted by Sara Charles

Dr Delyth Badder @folklorewales.com · 3d

Six weeks ago, I picked up a year-old tawny owl with a broken leg off the main road near our home and dropped him off at our nearest vet.

After a few days, I received one of the most bizarre phone calls I’ve ever had, asking “So when are you coming to pick up your owl?” 🧵

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Reposted by Sara Charles

Dr Eleanor Baker @eleanormaybaker.bsky.social · 5d

I am very much looking forward to giving a paper at the @tetraseminar.bsky.social on Middle English book curses and perceptions of the material text! Book-historical horror suitable for the season🕯️🔔📖

TeTra | Text and Transmission Research Seminar @tetraseminar.bsky.social · 5d

Next Thursday 9 October, Eleanor Baker (@eleanormaybaker.bsky.social) will explore the world of Middle English book curses. All welcome!

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Reposted by Sara Charles

Dr Eleanor Baker @eleanormaybaker.bsky.social · 6d

A new @guildmedmak.bsky.social blog post is out, just in time for reading over your mid-afternoon tea break. This blog post is written by the inimitable @saracharles.bsky.social ('Sara of the Scriptorium').

The Guild of Medievalist Makers @guildmedmak.bsky.social · 6d

Its the start of autumn and what better way to usher in the season than with a new Meet a Medievalist Maker blogpost! We are delighted to introduce @saracharles.bsky.social, author of The Medieval Scriptorium: Making Books in the Middle Ages. Read all about Sara's 'historical remaking' below👇

Meet a Medievalist Maker: Sara Charles — The Guild of Medievalist Makers

www.guildmedmak.com

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Sara Charles @saracharles.bsky.social · 6d

Ooh, Sara of the Scriptorium has a good ring to it 🥰

Reposted by Sara Charles

The Guild of Medievalist Makers @guildmedmak.bsky.social · 6d

Meet a Medievalist Maker: Sara Charles — The Guild of Medievalist Makers

www.guildmedmak.com

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Reposted by Sara Charles

Stori3d Past @stori3dpast.bsky.social · 6d

I love watching experimental archaeology. Not because they find out definitively how something used to be done -- that almost never happens. But because they find how it was never done.

Every time you can prove that "No, X doesn't work," you are one tangible step closer to learning what does & did.

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Reposted by Sara Charles

Catherine Clarke @cathamclarke.bsky.social · 7d

I'm hugely honoured and very excited to be giving this year's Historical Research #Lecture at @ihr.bsky.social, on 'Can popular #history be radical? Historical research and writing for the #public'. Tuesday 4 November, all welcome. More info in AltText. Book here: www.sas.ac.uk/news-events/...

In this lecture, Catherine Clarke will re-visit the question of what makes history radical, asking what kind of radical history we need in our public life and contemporary context today. In particular, she’ll explore ways in which popular history – trade publishing for a wide public audience – has the capacity to be radical, drawing on experiences and examples from her own new book A History of England in 25 Poems (Penguin Allen Lane, September 2025). Catherine’s lecture will move towards a manifesto for how research-led, scholarship-driven popular history can and does make necessary, vital public interventions – from opening inclusive conversations and confronting the rise of AI, to modelling radical empathy and imagination.

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Reposted by Sara Charles

Matthew Holford @matthewholford.bsky.social · 8d

Next Wednesday 8th October, 12.30-1.30: Jiří Vnouček on "A Tale of Two Parchments" - insular and continental parchment preparation.
In person: @bodleian.ox.ac.uk Weston Library, Lecture Theatre
Or livestreamed.
Free: book here visit.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/event/oct25/...

A tale of two parchments

In this talk, Dr. Jiří Vnouček discusses differences in species choice and membrane preparation of 'Insular' and 'Continental' parchment used for book-making in the early Middle Ages.

visit.bodleian.ox.ac.uk

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Sara Charles @saracharles.bsky.social · 8d

This is so beautifully written:

James Taite @jamestaite.bsky.social · Nov 2

The art of persuasion with a 3-pound hammer, or stonecutting…

a 🧵 for anyone interested in the tedious magic of working stone:

a collection of stonecutting hammers, mallets, and dummies

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Reposted by Sara Charles

Dr Izzy Wisher @izzywisher.bsky.social · 9d

Time to update your Palaeolithic palettes... 🔵

Very proud to share our new research on the OLDEST use of blue pigment! We identified traces of azurite - a vibrant blue mineral - on a stone object around 14-13,000 years old. Why is this so exciting? 👇🏺

doi.org/10.15184/aqy...

Close-up image of a sand coloured stone, with a diagonal crack. The sand rock has a textured surface, and small spots of blue can be seen towards the centre of the stone. The background is grey.

Microscopic photo of the blue spots, that are irregular in shape and size and positioned diagonally across the image. The rest of the photo shows the rough sand coloured texture of the stone.

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Sara Charles @saracharles.bsky.social · 9d

It absolutely is! 😊

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Sara Charles @saracharles.bsky.social · 9d

😆

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Sara Charles @saracharles.bsky.social · 9d

@dannybate.bsky.social spotted in Waterstones in Brighton 🙌

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Sara Charles @saracharles.bsky.social · 11d

I know what you mean. I wish I could offer you some wise words but I still feel like a fraud most of the time 🤭. I think you just have to accept that the words don’t belong to you anymore - they have a new life now 🤷‍♀️

Sara Charles @saracharles.bsky.social · 11d

I can’t wait to get stuck in 😊

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Sara Charles @saracharles.bsky.social · 11d

A rather fabulous looking tome has just arrived on my doorstep @dannybate.bsky.social 🙌

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Sara Charles @saracharles.bsky.social · 12d

That’s really lovely to know 🥰

Sara Charles @saracharles.bsky.social · 12d

I appreciate that, thank you. Maybe put a curse on them too. Good luck with the talk tomorrow 👍

Sara Charles @saracharles.bsky.social · 13d

I got mugged by a seagull when I last ate chips in St Andrews. I hope you are staying indoors x

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