Ryan Kemp

Ryan Kemp

@ryan1992reading.bsky.social

Historian exploring the Speaking of Truth to Power in High Medieval Europe

144 followers86 following67 posts

Ryan Kemp
@ryan1992reading.bsky.social

Hard to process the loss of Chris Wickham. A true intellectual 'gentle giant' - if one can put it like that - who wore his astonishing breadth and depth of learning so lightly. It was a real privilege to be taught the Medieval Historiography course by him during my M.St. I will really cherish (1/6)

View full thread
Ryan Kemp
@ryan1992reading.bsky.social

"He could summarise a continent in one sentence, then make the next sentence about one line in a charter, and there was no grinding of gears. I don't know how he did it." (5/6)

Ryan Kemp
@ryan1992reading.bsky.social

But it is that other change of gear, that I witnessed only fleetingly, as he welcomed us into his office and became the immediate and instinctive protector and advocate of those in his pastoral care that has stayed with me over the past few days. (6/6)

Ryan Kemp
@ryan1992reading.bsky.social

Hard to process the loss of Chris Wickham. A true intellectual 'gentle giant' - if one can put it like that - who wore his astonishing breadth and depth of learning so lightly. It was a real privilege to be taught the Medieval Historiography course by him during my M.St. I will really cherish (1/6)

View full thread
Ryan Kemp
@ryan1992reading.bsky.social

One incident has stuck in my mind over the last few days. Several of us had witnessed a very nasty case of harassment outside the course. Shocked and upset we went straight to Chris's office and he dropped what he was doing to immediately deal with the situation... (3/6)

Ryan Kemp
@ryan1992reading.bsky.social

with a no doubt typical combination of kindness, empathy, and a calm, measured, but also proactive, sense of outrage that such an incident had been allowed to occur. A colleague of mind said the other day: (4/6)

Ryan Kemp
@ryan1992reading.bsky.social

Hard to process the loss of Chris Wickham. A true intellectual 'gentle giant' - if one can put it like that - who wore his astonishing breadth and depth of learning so lightly. It was a real privilege to be taught the Medieval Historiography course by him during my M.St. I will really cherish (1/6)

Ryan Kemp
@ryan1992reading.bsky.social

the joy of watching him and Mark Whittow (also taken from us far too soon) chair the All Souls Seminar. Much has already been said of not just the astonishing intellectual legacy he left behind, but also his kindness. (2/6)

Ryan Kemp reposted

Royal Historical Society
@royalhistsoc.org

We are very sorry to learn of the death of Professor Chris Wickham. Chris was elected a Fellow of the Society in 1986. As well as being a superb scholar, Chris played leading roles in shaping and interpreting the research and publishing environments in which historians work #Skystorians

Pauline Stafford@pstafford.bsky.social

There will be many appreciations of Chris Wickham - as a historian and as a human being. This is a good starting place. www.medievalists.net/2026/10/chri...

medievalists.netChris Wickham, Leading Historian of Medieval Europe, Passes Away - Medievalists.netChris Wickham, one of the most influential historians of medieval Europe, has passed away. His research transformed how scholars understand the transition from the Roman Empire to the Middle Ages, whi...

Ryan Kemp reposted

Miri Rubin
@mirierubin.bsky.social

Chris Wickham was endlessly curious, he was a life-long learner of languages, methods, problem. An important British interlocutor with _Annales_ history-making and expositor of the Marxist historical tradition. Always humane and engaged. A loss not only to his loved ones, but to all historians.

Ryan Kemp reposted

Charles West
@pseudo-isidore.bsky.social

The passing of Chris Wickham is hard to take in. Few have made a bigger contribution to their field, with such personal warmth. He's going to be missed by a lot of people.

Ryan Kemp reposted

Charles West
@pseudo-isidore.bsky.social

For the Italophones, a very touching memorial of Chris by Maria Elena Cortese.

Giulia Zornetta@gzornetta.eurosky.social

"Ogni volta che, con la mente magari distratta in qualcuno dei nostri impegni quotidiani, ci verrà da pensare «Chissà Chris cosa ne dice?». E allora davvero ci renderemo conto di quanto ci manca" Maria Elena Cortese su Chris Wickham per #RetiMedievali 💚https://tinyurl.com/mrtu8thu

rm.unina.itIn ricordo di Chris Wickham (18 maggio 1950 – 9 ottobre 2026) – Reti Medievali

Ryan Kemp reposted

Hannah Boston
@hannah-boston.bsky.social

Replying to @hannah-boston.bsky.social

I'll add more as they appear online. But for now, a huge thanks to all our contributors, my co-editor Chris Lewis, the senior editors of JMH, and our reviewers!

Ryan Kemp reposted

Hannah Boston
@hannah-boston.bsky.social

Replying to @hannah-boston.bsky.social

Bill Aird's 'Our Enemies in the North': William Rufus’s War Against Robert de Mowbray, Earl of Northumbria, in 1095, and the Complexities of Loyalty in the Middle Ages' examines the bonds of loyalty in 1095 war btwn the earl of Northumbria and Rufus (open access!) www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

tandfonline.com'Our Enemies in the North': William Rufus’s War Against Robert de Mowbray, Earl of Northumbria, in 1095, and the Complexities of Loyalty in the Middle AgesBonds of loyalty in the 1095 war between Robert, earl of Northumbria and King William II are examined. It argues that the morality of loyalty depends on the context and on the point of view of thos...

Ryan Kemp reposted

Hannah Boston
@hannah-boston.bsky.social

Replying to @hannah-boston.bsky.social

Michał Machalski's '‘So Vipers Nurse at the Breasts of Devout Loyalty!’ Loyalty in Vincentius of Cracow’s Chronica Polonorum' addresses the ideas and ideals of loyalty that Vincentius set up for his readers, shaping and expressing the ambitions of the Polish elite www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

tandfonline.com‘So Vipers Nurse at the Breasts of Devout Loyalty!’ Loyalty in Vincentius of Cracow’s Chronica PolonorumThe article investigates how bonds of loyalty linking rulers and subjects were depicted in Vincentius of Cracow’s Chronica Polonorum. Vincentius tried to bolster the claims of his patron Kazimierz ...

Ryan Kemp reposted

Hannah Boston
@hannah-boston.bsky.social

Replying to @hannah-boston.bsky.social

Ruth Harvey's 'Loyalty and Litigation in the Troubadour Love-lyric' examines how troubadour song is transformed into a plaintiff's exposition of his case in a seigneurial court, and what this reveals about understanding of loyalty in both contexts (open access!) www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

tandfonline.comLoyalty and Litigation in the Troubadour Love-lyricThe Occitan troubadours exploit the image of the devoted courtly lover as vassal to the object of his aspirational desires: the lady as feudal overlord. This frequent trope is often seen as a centr...

Ryan Kemp reposted

Hannah Boston
@hannah-boston.bsky.social

Replying to @hannah-boston.bsky.social

The introduction, co-written with Chris Lewis, lays out why we've been arguing for loyalty as a methodology for studying the medieval period (open access!): www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

tandfonline.comLoyalty in Medieval EuropeMedieval historians frequently write about loyalty, usually in the context of lords and kings, but there has been little sustained engagement with the wider role of loyalty in society. This introdu...
Ryan Kemp
@ryan1992reading.bsky.social

Very grateful to Hannah Boston and Chris Lewis for their invitation to contribute to this special issue on Loyalty, to the generous and helpful anonymous peer reviewers, and to those who read earlier drafts (particularly the scholar to whom the article is dedicated)

Ryan Kemp reposted

Alastair Forbes
@areforbes.bsky.social

An amazing find! Gifted very kindly a copy of Marjorie Chibnall's Anglo-Norman England - and contained within is a letter from Chibnall herself to the book's owner, Michael Clanchy, thanking him for a recommendation 📖 What a rare treat! #medievalsky

Ryan Kemp
@ryan1992reading.bsky.social

Home after a typically exhausting, but inspiring IMC - my tenth year attending. Particularly in this dark moment for the discipline (and UK HE) there is something especially wonderful about being part of passionate conversations on topics as diverse... 19th century German historiography...

Ryan Kemp
@ryan1992reading.bsky.social

MS traditions relating to Salzburg, the origins of a pet bird of Frederick II etc. Grateful as ever to colleagues who offer so much support despite their own often stressful circumstances. Being surrounded by such learned, talented, dedicated and kind people is always a tonic for the soul.

Ryan Kemp
@ryan1992reading.bsky.social

Anyone happen to know lawyers who specialise in health insurance (esp. Bonn/Cologne) and who might offer free consultation? My private health insurance company contacted me to claim that I lied to them 2 years ago, to terminate my insurance immediately and to refuse to pay c. 4000 euros owed.

Ryan Kemp
@ryan1992reading.bsky.social

Will complain to the company itself, and eventually try arbitration boards, but given cancellation is immediate and (once I return from a trip in the UK) leave me without cover - any help or advice from people who know this area would be much appreciated!

Ryan Kemp
@ryan1992reading.bsky.social

For those who make it through to Thursday (I myself will be aiming to stay out of A and E this year), I can also highly recommend these two panels on the themes of time, plainchant, cartularies, and the compiling of information in thirteenth-century chronicles

Ryan Kemp reposted

Margot Finn
@eicathomefinn.bsky.social

Struggling to parse this. Exeter is celebrating its overall global ranking to 136th, comprised (it reports) of 151st (Natural Sciences), 131st (Life Sciences & Medicine) and 76th (Arts & Humanities) while announcing plans to make 25% of Arts & Humanities staff redundant. Does this compute?

University of Exeter@exeter.ac.uk

We’re delighted to be able to share some exciting news: We’ve climbed 19 places in the QS World University Rankings 2027, and we’re now ranked 136th globally. This achievement reflects the growing strength of our reputation as one of the world’s top universities. news.exeter.ac.uk/staff-news/e...

Ryan Kemp reposted

Len Scales.bsky.social
@lenscales.bsky.social

New book coming from @boydellandbrewer.bsky.social , ed. by @marcusmeer.bsky.social and me: a starry international cast of contributors exploring image-breaking in medieval politics and society (as well as religion) - a big, neglected topic with much to tell us. boydellandbrewer.com/book/iconocl...

boydellandbrewer.comIconoclasm and Power in the European Middle AgesExplores the destruction, mutilation, and erasure of images, artefacts, and monuments during the European Middle Ages.

Ryan Kemp reposted

James Harland
@jmharland.bsky.social

The last three days were successively Germany's three hottest days of all time.

Özden Terli@terliwetter.bsky.social

Wieder 41,5 Grad und es heizt noch weiter. 3 Tage hintereinander Allzeit-Höchststände. #Hitzenotstand #HistorischeHitzewelle

Ryan Kemp reposted

Julia Hillner
@writinghelena.bsky.social

For reasons, I have been calculating gender ratios for German professors of ancient history today. Turns out that 13% of chairs in Ancient History in Germany are held by women, less than in engineering (17%). That compares to 30% of chairs in Germany overall, and 44% in the Humanities.

Ryan Kemp reposted

John Hinderer
@johnhinderer.bsky.social

Mein erstes Buch 😱 für alle, die mehr über volkssprachige Urkunden, Formelsprache und female agency bei Bildung und Urkundenerstellung im 13. Jahrhundert wissen wollen! #charterrific doi.org/10.3813/9783777636115

doi.orgArengen in deutschsprachigen Urkunden des 13. JahrhundertsDas menschliche Gedächtnis ist schlecht und schriftliche Aufzeichnung daher unerlässlich – dieses Motiv wurde in mittelalterlichen Urkunden vielfa...
Ryan Kemp
@ryan1992reading.bsky.social

From a lecture on Die deutsche Königswahl by Prof. Dr. Stuart Jenks (in turn stolen from somewhere on the internet). Superb. Thinking about Verfassungsgeschichte explained via children's toys and I knew I had once thought of a parallel somewhere...

Ryan Kemp
@ryan1992reading.bsky.social

Chuffed to see this out. Very grateful to Jonathan Lyon and Simon MacLean for the opportunity to take part in this volume. Rightly dedicated to a scholar who, a decade ago, sat in the Ship and Castle patiently listening to me both enthuse and rant about the very text translated here