Thomas Phillips

A 12th-century missal from Bayeux. It was intended to be supplied with musical notation throughout (note spacing between syllables and words), but only a handful of chants were completed. One image shows a scribe adding an alternative chant (gradual) for the Friday after Ash Wednesday.

My aunty’s report card (c.1990) from her Chemistry teacher is the best thing I’ve seen in a while. As much as I believe teachers today may wish to write something like this, I doubt they’d be allowed.

Really fascinating roundtable about classifying neumatic scripts to round off day 3 of Cantus Planus 2026.

115 people attended! I can’t describe the feeling of hearing James begin the lecture-recital with ‘O beata infantia’ - it was surreal. I was also blown away by the quality of the questions afterwards - so thoughtful and engaging! Thank you to St Albans Cathedral, and to James and Andrew.

One of my academic fears seems to have been realised. Reviewer 2 was “suspicious” of my identification of a scribe because a certain well-known palaeographer didn’t make the same identification 40 years ago.

Really looking forward to this!

Very much looking forward to what will be a lovely way to tie up my time working so closely on such a fantastic MS. There will also be live chant performed by James Preston and Andrew Carwood, including a gorgeous farsed Christmas Epistle. www.stalbanscathedral.org/Event/the-st...

Does anyone know if it is possible to consult Neil Ker’s handwritten index cards used for his ‘Medieval Libraries of Great Britain’? I can’t seem to find out this information for myself!

I passed my viva (with minor corrections)!

One thing I’m realising whilst reading my thesis ahead of the viva is how long it’s going to take changing “focussing”/“focussed” to “focusing”/“focused”...

A much-needed few weeks at home, plus a short to trip to London. Dorset for New Year and then viva on 5th! 😬

I very much doubt anyone on here will recognise this logo, but I’m showing it anyway because I’m very happy with this purchase.

I'm lucky to have worked with one of the many brilliant people in these departments. Henry Parkes in Music is one of the cleverest, most insightful and inspirational historians I know - and one of the finest teachers too. Don't waste such talent @uniofnottingham.bsky.social.

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

I’m reading Michael Ende’s ‘The Neverending Story’ for the first time as the film is my absolute childhood favourite. To my horror, the horse, Artax, can talk…if you know, you know…

I haven’t checked in on here in a while. My thesis is currently with my supervisors for comments before I submit the final thing at the end of September. In the meantime, job applications and article writing…

1st August - the original feast day of the Invention of St Alban. It was moved to 2nd during the abbacy of Geoffrey de Gorron in 1129, but the octave, which should fall on 9th August, remains fixed on 8th in the calendars. (Oxford, Bodleian Library, Auct. D. 2. 6)

Looking forward to speaking at this conference. This is the last time I’ll be giving a paper before I submit my thesis in September.

Lovely Easter run across the dunes of what was once the medieval town of Kenfig. John Leland, writing in 1538, said: “There is a litle village on the est side of Kenfik, and a castel, booth in ruine and almost shokid and devourid with the sandes that the Severn Se ther castith up.”

I couldn’t call myself an Oxford resident if my bike hadn’t been stolen…8 months isn’t bad a run.

It’s sad to see that the ‘Dublin Pontifical’ (Dublin, Trinity College, 98) is no longer available online as a fully digitised manuscript.

The Chrism Mass liturgy is so messy.

Despite being technologically literate, I haven’t found a better way to organise my chant-text comparisons than using pencil and paper

Please sign the petition to save the School of Music at Cardiff University 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🎼

👋 Here is a petition set-up by recent graduates from Cardiff University School of Music: www.change.org/p/save-cardi... I have heard there will be more coming for people to throw their voices behind the cause.

I implore digital archivists: when uploading sample images of a manuscript that contains music notation, please include at least one image of a folio featuring the music notation itself.

Last read of 2024. Blitzed through it in a few hours at the airport. I’d only ever seen Mike Flanagan’s Netflix loose adaptation (one of the best limited series of all time). The source material did not disappoint.

Poor Nala’s not a fan of crowds. That makes two of us.

It’s finally out there! This is my first piece of published work, and I’m extremely grateful for the opportunity to contribute to this volume, which resulted from a conference I attended in Oslo back in September 2023. Now open access! (see link below) www.brepolsonline.net/action/showB...