The So What

a picture of a puppet with the words let the game begin above it ALT: a picture of a puppet with the words let the game begin above it

In reference to the @arthurianajrnl.bsky.social gaming issue in the works, we should emphasize that the TSW guest editors are taking a both/and rather than either/or approach (go team!)

Screen from computer in War Games; Matthew Broderick’s face is reflected over the text: “shall we play a game?”

Another exciting #CFP! “Playing Camelots,” is a special issue interested in pieces that examine #Arthuriana in various game genres thru the lens of play, illuminating how Camelot continues to evolve—not only as text & myth, but as system, strategy, & shared experience! #arthuriansky #medievalsky

Thank you for sharing your work with us!

Our friends at @thesowhat.bsky.social have released a new issue that includes articles by Guild members on their creative-critical practice! See their thread for more details on the fascinating articles included👇

Very proud of these workshops that are part of my @leverhulme.ac.uk fellowship.

The Life of Merlin: A Trauma Narrative from Twelfth-Century England — Arthuriana A man goes off to war. He sees his comrades, including his best friends, killed on the battlefield. He falls apart, weeping uncontrollably, refusing food for days. He returns home alive, but life has ...

5/ Last Karen Winstead discusses Geoffrey of Monmouth’s explorations of war-born trauma and it’s individual & communal effects in “The Life of Merlin: A Trauma Narrative from Twelfth-Century England” #PTSD #traumastudies #Merlin

Welcome to MONTERO : The Devil and his Inability to Disappear from Popular Culture — Arthuriana The Devil’s status as a cultural icon is so widely accepted that he doesn’t just have a place in folklore and religion: he has his own Wikipedia page. His list of names alone are extensive — the Devil...

4/ Then we have “Welcome to MONTERO : The Devil and his Inability to Disappear from Popular Culture,” @georgiecrespi.bsky.social’s exploration of the devil’s medieval & contemporary depictions & roles in music & queer rebellion
#lilnasx #devil #montero

Perception is a Spike Turned Inward: Reflecting on Contemporary Events through Sir Gawain and the Green Knight — Arthuriana The poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight has increasingly become an obsession of my art practice and academic research, its imagery and themes providing inspiration and posing difficult questions. T...

3/ Next we have “Perception is a Spike Turned Inward: Reflecting on Contemporary Events through Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” by @michaeledenart.bsky.social & featuring Dr. Eden’s own #SGGK -informed artwork! #artist

Exploring Medieval & Modern Experiences of Migration, and Why it Matters Now More than Ever — Arthuriana Community is essential to human experience in medieval romance texts of the fourteenth century. Women in Emaré , the Man of Law’s Tale , Octavian , and Sir Eglamour of Artois (to name but a few) ...

2/ up first we have “Exploring Medieval & Modern Experiences of Migration, and Why it Matters Now More Than Ever,” wherein @lusignanmermaid.bsky.social & @pilgrimteresa.bsky.social discuss a series of #zine workshops they led, events which drew together medieval & modern experiences of migration!

a small brown and white puppy is sitting on a tiled floor ALT: a small brown and white puppy is sitting on a tiled floor

Check out the newest Issue of TSW!
#medievalsky #arthuriansky #academicsky #publichumanities
The preview 🧵 starts NOW👇/1

A medieval illustration of a hedgehog with grapes skewered on its spines

It was believed in medieval times that hedgehogs had spikes so they could roll over fruit to carry home to their children, which is not true but is a really cute idea

The So What - Sports Medievalism CFP.docx Call for Proposals:  Sports Medievalism - TSW Special Issue *** Submission Deadline for Proposals: March 31, 2026*** In athletics, athletes are often described as ‘throwing down the gauntlet’ when t...

Just dropped! A #CFP for a Sports Medievalism Special Iss of TSW, guest ed. by
@mairistirlinghill.bsky.social! We’re seeking proposals for pieces that engage w/ the relationship between sporting culture & medieval aesthetic! Full CFP attached
Deadline: 3/31
#medievalsky #academicsky #sports

Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: Publishing 101 Workshop . After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the webinar. Arthuriana & Arthurian Literature Present: Publishing 101 Workshop Curious about the inner workings of academic journals? This Free hands-on workshop will give you a behind-the-scenes look at the pu...

Participants are encouraged to come with questions and take advantage of this rare opportunity to speak directly with journal editors about the publishing process. Please share widely. Zoom registration is required: bit.ly/3NMo2QK

Graduate Student and early career scholars interested in academic publishing will find it especially useful. Topics include:

- Definition of an academic journal
- Finding the right journal/publisher
- The submission process
- The production process
- Reader’s reports
.....and more!

Please join Arthuriana and Arthurian Literature for a free workshop on academic publishing and behind-the-scenes glimpse at how scholarly journals operate. The workshop will be on March 2nd at 3:00 pm EST and is open to all.

Macbeth: SHIT

So happy to be a part of this successful venture, and many congrats to the intrepid editors!

Always so glad to have you on board!

The logo for The Council of Editors of Learned Journals, a blue circle open at the top with the letters CELJ in the center.

TSW is honored to win The Council of Editors of Learned Journals award for 2025 Best Public Outreach! We’re excited to continue making discussions of the medieval period accessible to everyone.

Link: www.celj.org/winners

fozzie bear is sitting at a table with a cup of coffee ALT: fozzie bear is sitting at a table with a cup of coffee

8/ we don’t know where the m! came from in the first post & would now like to offer gif prizes for the best explanation/theory

Donald Trump, Robert F. Kennedy Jr, and the Return of King Arthur — Arthuriana In 2021, I published an article in Arthuriana that mapped this facet of the QAnon conspiracy back to JKF’s assassination and discovered a distinctly medievalist bent to the discourse surrounding t...

7/ & finally @elliecrookes.bsky.social returns to considerations of the Kennedys & American “Camelot” in a timely piece on “Donald Trump, Robert F. Kennedy Jr, and the Return of King Arthur.” #medievalsky #arthuriansky

Sirocco — Arthuriana ‍There are two contexts for this story. The immediate context was the 2009 Yuletide Fanfiction Exchange , where I had been given a prompt focused on the character of Palomides in the Arthurian lege...

6/ but wait, there’s more! This issue also includes @kvmfinn.bsky.social’s “Sirocco,”
a beautiful short story focused on the character of #Palomides in Arthurian legend!! #medievalsky #arthuriansky

A House Turned Upside Down: Popular Medievalism, Queerness, and Deconstruction in Netflix’s The Decameron — Arthuriana There’s no doubt of it: this is not your college professor’s Boccaccio. In fact, the 2024 Netflix series sets out to create a TV version of The Decameron only in the loosest possible sense, borrowin...

5/ wrapping up the cluster is “A House Turned Upside Down: Popular Medievalism, Queerness, and Deconstruction in Netflix’s The #Decameron” by Hilary Rhodes. This piece applies 2 #queer frameworks to examine the show’s many disruptions of social institutions & norms. #medievalsky

Licisca(s) and the Transgressive Medieval in Adaptation  — Arthuriana The COVID-19 pandemic sparked creativity in many people stuck at home, and this creativity brought people in the twenty-first century closer to people in the fourteenth century. Beginning in 2020, a n...

4/ then we have @megan-k-gors.bsky.social’s work on #Bocaccio & Netflix’s Liciscas; her piece, “Licisca(s) and the Transgressive Medieval in Adaptation,” explores social disruption in both Decamerons!
#medievalsky #adaptation #decameron

Memes and Medievalism: Reimagining Boccaccio’s Fourteenth Century — Arthuriana Boccaccio’s Decameron has been called “the privileged text of the contradictory, rich, and unpredictable experiences of life.” Netflix’s Decameron, while it is interested in the contradictions of ...

3/ next up, Lucy Barnhouse on “Memes and Medievalism: Reimagining #Boccaccio ’s Fourteenth Century.” This piece explores tropes medieval & modern, exploring the achronicity of the show’s “vibes-based version of the premodern past.” #medievalsky

Shouting at the Air: Plague Medievalisms for the Covid Era in Netflix’s The Decameron — Arthuriana Countless novels, comics, shows, movies, and video games present fictional retellings of the Black Death. From cinematic masterpieces like Ingmar Bergman’s The Seventh Seal (1957) and haunt i...

2/ first up in the #Decameron cluster is “Shouting at the Air: Plague Medievalisms for the #Covid Era in Netflix’s The Decameron” by @winstonblack.bsky.social, a fascinating discussion of #plague medievalisms, medieval & modern medicine, & even some thoughts on sexy doctors. #medievalsky

a man with long hair and a beard says we have a bit of news on a netflix poster ALT: a man with long hair and a beard says we have a bit of news on a netflix poster

We’re thrilled to announce that issue 3 is up & features a special cluster on Netflix’s The Decameron!m! The full issue is available here: www.arthuriana.com/tsw-issues! #pubhums #medievalsky #arthuriansky
And now, a quick teaser 🧵 of the pieces in this issue… /1

Remember the day I learned about The Anarchy: "Wait, there were TWO English civil wars?!?"

Your support will help more emerging scholars gain skills for both academic and alternative career paths. Please consider donating to Arthuriana, a registered 501(c)(3), today.

To donate, follow the link below: www.arthuriana.com/store

Over the course of the one-year fellowship participants contribute to Arthuriana’s quarterly issues and The So What, our public-facing digital humanities project.