Sara Ellis-Nilsson (she/her), PhD 🕊️
@ellisnilsson
Canadian Medievalist Senior Lecturer/Associate Prof @Linnaeus Uni. Docent @Lund Uni. PI @MappingSaints. WebEditor @info_Scandia. Saints & society; Digital History; Medieval book fragments; Mediating the past via reconstructions/re-creations, (re)enactment
Sofiereo - an English princess & her crown-prince husband's summer palace by the sea in southern Sweden. They planned & created the start of today's gardens. 'Darling Daisy' (Margareta) & Gustaf Adolf received the house & property as a wedding gift in 1905. More info: www.sofiero.se/om-sofiero/s...
After an interdisciplinary project on the medieval parish church that also included timber roof construction, I've been more aware of these. Particularly pleased to get close to the interior of the conical roof construction (3 floors up!) on top of thr nave. Sadly not medieval (18th c) but still!
Inside the nave, on the large central pillar is a series of (restored) medieval wall-paintings representing the life of Jesus. The final one, depicting the Last Judgement, has a vicious looking hellmouth...
The church also has a number of rune stones, at least one embedded in the arch of the eastern doorway. Two others are prominently displayed.
Short version of course. Another interesting observation we made was that this "Swedish period" is not explicitly mentioned in the exhibition at Hammarshus Fortress ruin on the north-west side of island.
One of Bornholm's oldest and largest round churches, Østerlars kirke. Oldest bits from the 12th c. Dedicated to St Lawrence (Lars). Some of the church seems to have been used for military defense. The main round section has 3 levels that you can climb up to using the staircase in the wall!
Had a day out in (an alarmingly hot) York ❤️wandering about my old haunts. St Denys's Chuech will always be my favourite. Now with masons's marks from the 2018 restauration.
Time for some lived religion! Including @jennikuu.bsky.social !
Time for our session! Not saints but (one of) my other project(s) on vikingisms, the digital, and reenactment. Sessiom 1036.
Next up, two papers involving canonical hours and relics! Sessiom 840 #imc2026
A short blog about 'Mapping Saints' (in Swedish): svenskahistoriskaforeningen.se/index.php/bl...
I wasn't even thinking this fireplace was in the church itself, but the vestibule or sacristy (I know I've seen a reference to a heater somewhere). But in the meantime I will be imagining a medieval (Byzantine) baptistry filled with beer...
Final seminar/conference for the Swedish DigArv research program today with @MappingSaints . Celebrating our joint publication & 14 successful digitisation projects! Here's to fruitful & vital collaboration between cultural heritage institutions & universities! May it continue.
December 9, St Anne's Feast Day: saints.dh.gu.se/explore/sain...
It's Advent but there are still saints' feasts entered in some medieval calendars. Tomorrow is the feast of St Barbara, but today, you can take your pick from these little-known saints in 2Mapping Saints': saints.dh.gu.se/explore/saints
Quite please to hear that 'Mapping Saints' is one of GRIDH's top 3 most visited sites since January 2025! (And that's not just page-hits.) So happy that it's being visited and explored! If you haven't found it yet, please take a look here: saints.dh.gu.se
'Historisk tidskrift' har Tema Medeltid 2026! Se vår CFP!
It's St Valentine's Day today - yes, it's a saint's feast day! St Valentine is one of the almost 800 saints included in 'Mapping Saints'. saints.dh.gu.se/explore/sain...
The weather was miserable but the company was good. In reverse order of visiting: Hossmo, Voxtorp & Hagby. The latter two (round!) churches are also on the modern pilgrimage route, "The Eastern St Sigfrid's Way" (Östra Sigfridsleden).
The open-access digital research and educational resource, 'Mapping Saints', has now been officially launched! Check it out here: saints.dh.gu.se