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Elva Johnston

@elvabjohnston

Historian at University College Dublin | late antique & early medieval Ireland: literacy, gender, saints | posting in a personal capacity | she/her

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17.11.2024
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Latest posts by Elva Johnston @elvabjohnston

Not surprised - March is 4 seasons in 1 πŸ˜€

07.03.2026 14:45 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Maybe 10 πŸ˜€

07.03.2026 14:45 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Cat lounging in the spring sun

Cat lounging in the spring sun

A beautiful spring morning and - of course - a #caturday 😊🐈

07.03.2026 10:19 πŸ‘ 13 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Thank you. May is a good time to visit. There is usually a decent spell of good weather

06.03.2026 21:50 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Sandymount strand with the tide in - looking towards Poolbeg & Howth

Sandymount strand with the tide in - looking towards Poolbeg & Howth

A beautiful day in Dublin - best of the year so far - pleasantly warm in the direct sun

06.03.2026 13:57 πŸ‘ 502 πŸ” 23 πŸ’¬ 6 πŸ“Œ 1
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Mar 6: Feast of Balthere (Baldred) (†756). Anchorite from Lindisfarne linked with Lothian sites Aldham (Auldhame), whose monastic community he may have founded; the Bass Rock, his likely retreat; and Tinangeham (Tyninghame), whose religious centre eclipsed Aldham by mid-10thC. #medievalsky

06.03.2026 07:55 πŸ‘ 29 πŸ” 8 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Thank you 😊

04.03.2026 13:46 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

Brilliant. I love how you have captured the movement of the cloud. Sometimes a painting is truer to a scene than a photo

03.03.2026 13:47 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Looking towards Poolbeg from Sandymount Strand

Looking towards Poolbeg from Sandymount Strand

A break between zoom sessions - good to be looking across the sea towards Poolbeg rather than at a screen, even if briefly

03.03.2026 12:11 πŸ‘ 425 πŸ” 23 πŸ’¬ 7 πŸ“Œ 0
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Feathered Tabard 15th–16th century ChimΓΊ Peru This vivid survival is made of feathers from Amazonia.

02.03.2026 15:19 πŸ‘ 16 πŸ” 5 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 1
Male hoverfly (the eyes are larger than on the female) exploring the bright lime-coloured euphorbia flower-head

Male hoverfly (the eyes are larger than on the female) exploring the bright lime-coloured euphorbia flower-head

It is spring πŸ˜€. A male hoverfly checking out early euphorbia flower-heads 🌱

02.03.2026 13:24 πŸ‘ 50 πŸ” 2 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

UCD School of Archaeology supports an SEO for commercial archaeology in Ireland. It would support better employment conditions for young archaeologists and be of benefit to our discipline

25.02.2026 17:25 πŸ‘ 28 πŸ” 10 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
Communities fight 'corporate' bid for seaweed rights Communities on Ireland's west coast say they will fight to safeguard their traditional seaweed rights against what they describe as a "corporate takeover "of their livelihoods.

Myself and Colin Breen have written in "Maritime Ireland" about seaweed harvesting on Ireland's coastline, in 19th century. These are local rights, well known and established through built features (e.g. wrack walls, kilns, etc). There is no way that such rights be taken over by foreign companies.

23.02.2026 17:59 πŸ‘ 293 πŸ” 95 πŸ’¬ 8 πŸ“Œ 3
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A wonder - walking into @ucddublin.bsky.social campus & it isn’t raining (for now….)

19.02.2026 09:17 πŸ‘ 6 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
Research-Creation in the early Middle Ages: the example of Hibernicus Exul : Find an Expert : The University of Melbourne <p> The pivotal role played by Irish scholars in preserving and transmitting ancient learning during the early Middle Ages is well known even beyond the academy, thanks to popularising works such as β€˜How the Irish Saved Civilization’. Yet a great deal of work remains to be done on individual Irish figures working in continental Europe during the eighth to tenth centuries in order to establish more rigorously the Irish contribution. The shadowy figure known as β€˜Hibernicus Exul’ (β€˜the Irish exile’) provides an ideal test-case for this work: the author of thirty-eight Latin poems, on scholarly, political, and comic topics, his works appear in a single manuscript, Vatican Reg. Lat. 2078. This is an important and influential poetic anthology from the heart of the Carolingian Renaissance, a period of intense cultural and intellectual activity in eight- and ninth-century Europe during which the literature and learning of the ancient Graeco-Roman world was rediscovered and concerted efforts were made to standardise and widen access to educational systems, with significant consequences for the intellectual history of western Europe. The PhD student recruited will write the first monograph-length study of Hibernicus Exul, setting his work in the context of the manuscript, addressing the controversial question of his possible identification with the better- known Carolingian scholar DΓΊngal, and demonstrate how the poet exemplifies the nature of medieval Irish literature, which simultaneously aims to educate and to entertain, and can in many ways be seen as a predecessor of today’s Research-Creation. </p> <p> <strong>Please note below additional requirements when submitting your Expressions of Interest:</strong> </p> <ul> <li>Additional requirements: <ul> <li> <strong>Statement of research interest [max. 1000 words]</strong> </li> <li> <strong>MA in a related field, or equivalent, to be completed by the programme start date.</strong> </li> <li> <strong>Evidence of at least six semesters of Latin, or equivalent, with grades of B+ or higher, or equivalent</strong> </li> </ul> </li> </ul>

#MEDIEVAL #LATIN #PHD OPPORTUNITY:
Co-supervised by myself and Cillian O'Hogan, University of Toronto

Project start: September 2027, with time in #Toronto, France, & @unimelb.edu.au. #Scholarship includes tuition fees, living allowance, health insurance, and relocation support.

Get in touch!

15.02.2026 23:59 πŸ‘ 30 πŸ” 22 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 4

I am listening to heavy rain right now & I think mine are probably going that way too 😬

16.02.2026 07:27 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
Crocuses opening to the sun

Crocuses opening to the sun

Mini-daffs finally having their moment

Mini-daffs finally having their moment

The difference the sun makes! Feels like spring with crocuses and daffs 🌱

15.02.2026 12:40 πŸ‘ 170 πŸ” 15 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 0
Merrion Baths, Sandymount Strand

Merrion Baths, Sandymount Strand

Cold here standing near Merrion Baths - but it isn’t raining!

14.02.2026 17:47 πŸ‘ 4 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Sandymount Strand looking towards DΓΊn Laoghaire. The walker is in the middle left.  A signpost warning of tides is in the foreground

Sandymount Strand looking towards DΓΊn Laoghaire. The walker is in the middle left. A signpost warning of tides is in the foreground

A lone walker across the sands disappearing into soft rain

07.02.2026 13:03 πŸ‘ 10 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
 A walker and their dog walking across the strand - the tide is out

A walker and their dog walking across the strand - the tide is out

It has been a season of rain - looking across Sandymount Strand

06.02.2026 17:47 πŸ‘ 21 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
β€˜If I think about what this means, I want to cry’: what happens when a city loses its university? When Essex University’s Southend campus opened, it was a message of hope for a β€˜left behind’ UK seaside town. Its closure will be felt far beyond its 800 students, some of whom will not get their degr...

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

04.02.2026 10:17 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Crocuses - one beginning to open in the sun

Crocuses - one beginning to open in the sun

Happy St Brigit’s Day!

01.02.2026 13:56 πŸ‘ 13 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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For St Brigit’s Day, there’s a feast of writings for you by Maynooth scholars such as @niamhwycherley.bsky.social @davidstifter.bsky.social amongst others, and by UCD Early Irish historian @elvabjohnston.bsky.social

Here’s her fascinating paper

muse.jhu.edu/pub/423/arti...

01.02.2026 08:27 πŸ‘ 26 πŸ” 7 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 1

Thanks for the callout!

01.02.2026 13:55 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Project MUSE -- Verification required!

Ahead of tomorrow's inevitable
deluge of social media imboloxology, this, by @elvabjohnston.bsky.social is the most significant piece of relevant scholarship in years. Do yourself a favour...

muse.jhu.edu/pub/423/arti...

31.01.2026 21:51 πŸ‘ 13 πŸ” 7 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 0

It's 410 CE, and I'm your podcast host, Rossus Douthaticus. I'm here with Alaric the Visigoth, who recently sacked the Eternal City.

Alaric, why do you think people have lost faith in Rome? Is it a crisis of liberalism? Is it because of the feminization of the workplace?

29.01.2026 15:24 πŸ‘ 558 πŸ” 95 πŸ’¬ 17 πŸ“Œ 4
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Quiet before the wind, & especially rain, surge in @ucddublin.bsky.social

29.01.2026 07:55 πŸ‘ 49 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

The Nobel Peace Prize becoming so prestigious that wars are fought over a head of state coveting it is some real monkey paw stuff for Alfred Nobel.

19.01.2026 08:47 πŸ‘ 10099 πŸ” 1779 πŸ’¬ 144 πŸ“Œ 52
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We interrupt normal #otd date range to bring you: Dolly Parton, b. #otd 19 Jan 1946.

Happy 80th birthday Dolly! (RCA Records, 1977)

19.01.2026 10:29 πŸ‘ 66 πŸ” 15 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 2
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Royal Canal, looking west this evening

17.01.2026 16:47 πŸ‘ 51 πŸ” 6 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 0