Historian of the sixteenth-century Anglo-Scottish frontier. PhD from Durham University‬ (mostly) on the evolution of the early modern state in the English west march, and the relations between march elites and the 'riding surnames'.https://bsky.app/profile/fergalleonard.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/fergalleonard.bsky.social/post/3lziyqfgfys2zRecent purchase at a second-hand bookshop based mostly on how fantastic the cover art is--although I have heard a little about the strange and tumultuous careers of the Shirleys, so I'm sure it'll be an interesting read!23 Sep 2025 13:11 +0000at://did:plc:ffkysvyb2v4l3mpdyso35jhm/app.bsky.feed.post/3lziyqfgfys2zhttps://bsky.app/profile/fergalleonard.bsky.social/post/3lxzcrzeyks24The warfare of the Dutch revolt offered opportunities for the skilled horsemen of the 'riding surnames'. One was the infamous Redesdale murderer George Hall, who fled and was outlawed but allowed to return home at the request of Sir Philip Sidney, "w[ith] whome he s[er]ued in the Lowe cuntries".04 Sep 2025 14:03 +0000at://did:plc:ffkysvyb2v4l3mpdyso35jhm/app.bsky.feed.post/3lxzcrzeyks24https://bsky.app/profile/fergalleonard.bsky.social/post/3lxhovkjrk22aA particularly stark example of iconoclast damage: the tomb of Jan van Arkel, bishop of Utrecht from 1342 to 1364, damaged in 1580, in Domkerk, Utrecht.28 Aug 2025 13:52 +0000at://did:plc:ffkysvyb2v4l3mpdyso35jhm/app.bsky.feed.post/3lxhovkjrk22ahttps://bsky.app/profile/fergalleonard.bsky.social/post/3lwy7cetnis2kWonderful artefact at the Plantin-Moretus museum in Antwerp: weights for dozens of different coins from a range of countries! I noticed ones for English angels and rose crowns.22 Aug 2025 10:03 +0000at://did:plc:ffkysvyb2v4l3mpdyso35jhm/app.bsky.feed.post/3lwy7cetnis2khttps://bsky.app/profile/fergalleonard.bsky.social/post/3lwodqovgpc2gAt the Bourse in sixteenth-century Antwerp you could enter a sweepstake for the Papal election, where you were assigned a random cardinal and won the pot if they were chosen! (Geoffrey Parker, The Dutch Revolt).18 Aug 2025 11:56 +0000at://did:plc:ffkysvyb2v4l3mpdyso35jhm/app.bsky.feed.post/3lwodqovgpc2ghttps://bsky.app/profile/fergalleonard.bsky.social/post/3lvxdpxqddk2kWhile wandering around Portland Island yesterday we came across the graves of Mary Way and William Lano, two of the four people killed by a press-gang in the Easton Massacre, 1803.09 Aug 2025 08:24 +0000at://did:plc:ffkysvyb2v4l3mpdyso35jhm/app.bsky.feed.post/3lvxdpxqddk2khttps://bsky.app/profile/fergalleonard.bsky.social/post/3lushat7lck2iNew word of the day: desideratum. From Janette Dillon, Performance and Spectacle in Hall's Chronicle, a chance charity shop find.25 Jul 2025 16:19 +0000at://did:plc:ffkysvyb2v4l3mpdyso35jhm/app.bsky.feed.post/3lushat7lck2ihttps://bsky.app/profile/fergalleonard.bsky.social/post/3lukplbr2ts2dThe 'border causes' resolved by the commissioners for the treaty of Carlisle (1597) feature many bills entered by women, complaining of the theft of their livestock and goods, but only one against a woman: this complaint that the goodwife of Newham had been involved in the theft of two oxen.22 Jul 2025 14:26 +0000at://did:plc:ffkysvyb2v4l3mpdyso35jhm/app.bsky.feed.post/3lukplbr2ts2dhttps://bsky.app/profile/fergalleonard.bsky.social/post/3ltyk5pbjj22nIn 1597, the Northumbrian John Brown described some of the infamous thieves of Tynedale and Redesdale as, "as notoryous in this age... as ever was Robyn Hoode in his tyme”--drawing on older versions of the myths where Robin could be more of a violent anti-hero than the egalitarian version we know.15 Jul 2025 09:01 +0000at://did:plc:ffkysvyb2v4l3mpdyso35jhm/app.bsky.feed.post/3ltyk5pbjj22nhttps://bsky.app/profile/fergalleonard.bsky.social/post/3ltuh6sb7js2kA bit disappointed that this random pub game where you guess the year of various events had one answer in the nineteenth century, one from WWII, and the rest were 'remember when?' politics and pop culture questions from the 90s and 2000s.13 Jul 2025 17:58 +0000at://did:plc:ffkysvyb2v4l3mpdyso35jhm/app.bsky.feed.post/3ltuh6sb7js2khttps://bsky.app/profile/fergalleonard.bsky.social/post/3lttkuraba22vRandom, lovely image I've came across while reading about the history of Antwerp: Maria of Austria, Queen Dowager of Hungary and governor of the Spanish Netherlands from 1530 to 1555, sister of Charles V, by Cornelis Anthonisz. Maria was a keen hunter and became Chief Huntmaster of Brabant in 1543.13 Jul 2025 09:31 +0000at://did:plc:ffkysvyb2v4l3mpdyso35jhm/app.bsky.feed.post/3lttkuraba22vhttps://bsky.app/profile/fergalleonard.bsky.social/post/3ltpinkfyyk2bFantastic final day to end the fantastic @kingjamesconf.bsky.social! So many brilliant papers. Thanks so much to all of the speakers and especially the organisers for a great three days.11 Jul 2025 18:41 +0000at://did:plc:ffkysvyb2v4l3mpdyso35jhm/app.bsky.feed.post/3ltpinkfyyk2bhttps://bsky.app/profile/fergalleonard.bsky.social/post/3ltmil22nvc2xAbsolutely incredible workshop led by Cameron Maclean at @kingjamesconf.bsky.social, handling some absolutely beautiful Jacobean coins and medals!10 Jul 2025 14:01 +0000at://did:plc:ffkysvyb2v4l3mpdyso35jhm/app.bsky.feed.post/3ltmil22nvc2x