Matthew Fisher

I mean, they’re not wrong.

STOP using “medieval” to describe the atrocities people commit today. “Evil” and “morally repugnant” will suffice.

¶ Ac kynde loue shal come ȝit · and conscience togideres And make of lawe a laborere · suche loue shal arise And such pees amonge þe peple · and a parfit trewthe — Piers B, III.304–306

Morality, by her false guardians drawn, Chicane in furs, and Casuistry in lawn,

In marchandise is no mede · I may it wel avowe It is a permutacioun apertly · a penyworth for an othre ¶ Ac reddestow neuere Regum · þow recrayed Mede — Piers B, III.262–264

I cannot express how much I love this non-preface that explains why an unfinished book is published but not complete, but will later be complete when publication of the unfinished parts is finished .

A periodic reminder that through coffee I am going to live forever. m.slashdot.org/story/456406

My gastroenterologist's office is admirably accommodating to time travelers from the Middle Ages, many of whom probably do have gastroenterological issues

Lawmakers and gov officials need to understand the anatomy of these white supremacist tech scams: "external researcher" conflates correlation with causation, makes evidence-free claims of accuracy, the government adopts the tech without audits or public scrutiny despite disparities greater than 7x.

Just added 107 British Library Charters and Rolls (including the always-amazing Guthlac Roll) to my site aggregating #IIIF #medieval #manuscripts: oldbooks.humspace.ucla.edu/browse.html?...

Gasp. I do love a #medieval wax tablet. www.zmescience.com/science/arch...

Oh the temptation.

🚨 #medievalsky 🚨 Middle English Dictionary update via FB: "In its 100-year history, MED has enjoyed periods of support, and periods when that support was lacking. It is about to enter on one of the latter. After this year...UMich will no longer fund ongoing editorial work and maintenance." 🧵

retractionwatch.com/2026/05/05/c...

My manuscript notes, now an occasional series: "the article -claims- the scribe of the tipped in markers and organizing stuff with his humanist hand is likely Pieter Meghan, whom I believe is the one-eyed drunken Fleming." #medievalmanuscripts

Ah, nothing like seeing my past self make devastatingly smart observations about a manuscript, "WHY IS THERE AN ILLUMINATED BLACK GOAT on fol. 52r?" #medievalmanuscripts

Real sympathy for the Pope on this one. www.irishstar.com/news/us-news...

Go student journalists! #dailybruin on a roll recently. Also, shame on #UCLA . dailybruin.com/2026/02/26/u...

Little things. www.latimes.com/california/s...

Hey, #medievalsky - I just launched Compilatio ( oldbooks.humspace.ucla.edu/index.html ), a quick-and-dirty site that assembles completely digitized #medieval #manuscripts (mostly from UK repositories) in one convenient location. Check it out, and do let me know what you think.

“Then there’s the hippopotamus.” RNA in printed Renaissance books is quite an adventure. phys.org/news/2025-12...

This is a polite “fuck you” in medievalist.

College costs are soaring! www.brookings.edu/articles/wha...

Teaching #Milton today (to a likely empty room). Christopher Ricks in 1966, "A more telling exposé of the cruel falsities of a dictatorial heroism has never been written. As many critics have said, Satan’s rally is a fascist rally. But fascism will never be a thing of the past."

WE WON. I am *begging* you to take note of who did this. *Not* UCLA admin—they’re still scuttling around behind closed doors, attempting to appease—but FACULTY AND STAFF, led by AAUP.

Spent a lovely hour making boxes for the #UCLA turkey foodbox program for UCLA community members in need. Volunteering alongside students is always a joy.

Anyone have a spare few million? I’ve got my eye on a 10th C gospel written by women. news.artnet.com/art-world/me...

Furry seal skin AND tiny Icelandic manuscripts! www.sciencenorway.no/cultural-his... www.icelandreview.com/news/rare-15...

Damns straight. UC faculty, UC Faculty Associations (hi @UCLAFA ), and #AAUP pushing back against #UCOP. Universities are not corporations. www.science.org/content/arti...

Can’t believe we have to fight these fights. But here we are. dailybruin.com/2025/10/14/j...

Strong statement today from UC's Academic Senate:

First day of instruction at #UCLA. Amidst fucking everything, I take strength, courage, and even joy from our students. We shall see if it lasts the day, but for now, on a gray Los Angeles morning, the year begins with sharp glimmers of hope.

Not waiting for #UC leadership to sell us out.

Tomorrow the UC regents are meeting at UCSF to discuss Trump's extortion attempt. This is a defining moment for the UC system, for public education, and for the university as an institution. We demand no concession, no capitulation, no cuts.

My former student won an Emmy! Well done, Jui!

It is, I will admit, a very small relief to see the University of California making very small gestures in the right direction. #StandUpForUC t.co/7ovP018f2q

“It's like we all know, way down in our souls, that our generation is gonna witness the end of everything.”

I love my work. It may not feel the same way about me. #medieval #manuscripts

Snipers on the roof last year. My rage at #UCLA ‘s failure to protect students, and indeed how they were endangered, will never fade.

Not now, people. Never now. Shame on President Drake.

A police attack on a film screening is just one of the assaults on student freedoms that have turned UCLA into more of a fortress than a place of higher learning, write four UCLA faculty members.

Joshua Clover died. I was so very young when i met him in 1996. As was he.

And I wonder, are they one of my students? One of my friends’ students? Obviously they’re one of my colleagues’ students. How many steps removed does it take for people not to see the fucking outrage?

UPDATED: At least 83 students -- at campuses for University of California, California State University and Stanford -- have had their visas revoked as of Monday evening.

dailybruin.com/2025/04/04/t...

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Remember the 90s when everybody only hurt sometimes.