weekly threads 1
a summary of my offline doings this past week, from medievalist texts to 'the world's best-dressed magazine'
This Lent, I’ve made the ultimate sacrifice: deleting TikTok. Like any addict, I knew I was spending too much time on it, but because the rest of my life was seemingly in order, I didn’t see a reason to kick the habit. But now, I have a reason - the death and resurrection of our Lord (also my mental health and rapidly worsening eyesight, but giving up TikTok for Jesus has more oomph).
And now, I have more time than I know what to do with! Some of that has been replaced with doom scrolling Substack, yes, but I’m also putting more effort into doing stuff now. That includes summarising the media I’ve consumed in the past week - a personal journal, but perhaps also offering some fun recommendations.
The overarching theme of the week has been, unintentionally, Catholicism and medievalism, with a splash of 1980s-2000s pop culture. I’ve got some ideas percolating around medieval lay faith, and separate thoughts on the queering of Catholicism - maybe those will come to something but for now this past week included:
READ:
The Book in the Cathedral: The Last Relic of Thomas Becket Christopher de Hamel
I admit it: I do judge books by their cover. And this cover is sexyyyyyy. Trying to summarise this barely-100-page-long monograph (? Dissertation? Article?) makes it sound boring - the search for literary relics belonging to a medieval martyr-saint - but when I say this moves with the narrative propulsion of a literary thriller, I mean it. My heart was pounding with anticipation in those last few pages. Truly worth a read.
The Stripping of the Altars: Traditional Religion in England, 1400–1580 Eamon Duffy
Another nerdy read - I’m a Cambridge Engling and frustrated medievalist, sorryaboutit! Duffy’s expansive exploration of traditional/lay religion in England right before the Reformation, followed by how it was (reluctantly) suppressed in the following decades, is a controversial text because of Duffy’s personal Catholic beliefs, but nevertheless fascinating and a great jumping-off point for further research.
At Saynt Toncomber and Saynt Tronion,
At Saynt Bothulph and Saynt Anne of Buckston
[...]
Too these with other many one,
Devoutly have I prayed and gone,
Praying to them to pray for me
Unto the blessed Trynyte.
- John Heywood, The Four PPCrypt: Life, Death and Disease in the Middle Ages and Beyond Alice Roberts
I did not vibe with Roberts’ quippy, depreciating style. This book felt like a series of case-files rather than an empathetic exploration of medieval bodies, burials, and individuals. Also, reading Crypt alongside Altars made me notice how dismissive Roberts was of the medieval laity’s religious practices; despite claiming to humanise these everyday medieval men and women, Roberts ultimately characterises them as an ignorant, superstitious population in desperate need of a good-ole’ Reformation (my ‘coloniser vibes’ spidey senses were TINGLING, but that’s a thought for another day….).
WATCHED:
Conclave dir. Edward Berger
Yes, it’s taken me this long to watch Conclave, but I’m so glad I finally got around to it. A darkly humorous exploration of the conflicts between faith and institution, doing what’s correct and doing what’s best. Also very queer - full thoughts incoming.
Farewell Mister Haffmann dir. Oscar Tormann, Park Theatre
This was a weird play. It feels wrong but the best way to describe it is ‘kinky World War II/Holocaust sex drama’. Where tap-dancing is a metaphor for being a massive cuck. So yeah, weird. And strangely funny? And very French. So aggressively French. (It’s a translation of the most popular play in France so that lines up.) Still don’t know what my thoughts are on it.
The Incoherent Sexual Politics of the Right Matt Bernstein
If you’ve seen a pink-and-blue-toned infographic on someone’s Insta story, you’ve seen Bernstein’s work. His podcast A Bit Fruity with Matt Bernstein facilitates engaging, in-depth conversations at the intersection of pop culture and politics.
VISITED:
The Face Magazine: Culture Shift National Portrait Gallery
As a print media addict with a love for this bygone era of underground culture, this exhibit was a treat. Does a great job of not only exploring the development of the iconic magazine, but diving deep into the club, music, fashion, and youth scenes that made The Face so explosive in the first place. I went absolutely feral in the gift shop.
Tenderbooks 6 Cecil Ct, London WC2N 4HE
God do I love a tiny, slightly (read: very) pretentious bookstore with a highly curated selection of independently-published texts! I browsed for over half of my lunch break, feeling very much like a “Jeremy O. Harris-esque writer/socialite meets Dua Lipa’s Service95 book club” type of gal. Left with a copy of Porn: An Oral History aesthetically wrapped in a brown paper bag.
LISTENED TO:
Medieval Indie 70s Teenage Romance Playlist
The perfect playlist for wandering Highgate Wood and reminiscing on the ancient, lost forests of Britain.
The Broski Report, Episode 55: My Cursed Cocktail Menu (Proceed With Caution)
I can’t stop saying ‘bovine creatures’ and ‘he/they heifers’. Instant ear worm.
I’ll end with my favourite photo from The Face Magazine: Culture Shift exhibit:
A portrait of the legendary fashion designer Alexander McQueen in full armour, this photo perfectly encapsulates the range of medieval to modern, academic to underground, that this week’s experiences embodied.
See y’all next week xx