Inside the Bodleian press

Astrolabe of Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr - made in Isfahan in 1221/2. The oldest complete geared machine in the world. Now on display in Bruges @bruskbrugge #ConnectedWorlds

We are deeply saddened to hear of the death of artist David Hockney. In 2018, David Hockney designed The Queen’s Window, a vibrant stained-glass window in the Abbey’s north transept. Hockney's only work in stained glass, the window was commissioned to celebrate the reign of Queen Elizabeth II. It was designed on an iPad and uses Hockney's distinct colour palette of yellow, red, blue, pink, orange and green. The rural scene, featuring hawthorn blossom, was chosen to reflect the Queen's deep love of the countryside. On summer evenings, the light from the window floods the transept, bathing it in a beautiful kaleidoscope of colour. The Dean of Westminster, The Very Reverend Dr David Hoyle KCVO MBE said: 'David Hockney's restless eye and eager enthusiasm for pastures new has left us with an extraordinary legacy that is rich and various and yet also unmistakably his. The window he created for the north transept lets in light that arrives with attitude and even humour, painting the statue of Gladstone in shifting shades throughout the summer months. Hockney has left his mark here and we will long remember a great and very personal genius.'

For the first time, AI-generated religious imagery puts Acheiropoieta (images ‘not made with hands’), formerly unusual sacred objects, within the reach and budget of every church

St Cuthbert with St Oswald's Head. Depicted in the Cuthbert Windows, York Minster c1440. 📸2025

Beautiful day and glorious setting for a (so far brilliant) conference on Mongol connections across Eurasia in the long 13th century @chch_oxford @uniofoxford

Artificial intelligences do not undergo experiences, do not possess a body, do not feel joy or pain, do not mature through relationships, and do not know from within what love, work, friendship or responsibility mean. Nor do they have a moral conscience, since they do not judge good and evil, grasp the ultimate meaning of situations, or bear responsibility for consequences. They may imitate or even simulate, but they do not understand what they produce, for they lack the affective, relational, and spiritual perspective through which human beings grow in wisdom. #MagnificaHumanitas

The oxblood-coloured rood screen at St Ellyw's, Llanelieu in Powys is a remarkable medieval survival. 1/11

According to the forecast, it’s going to be hot in Basel this weekend...🌞 🔥Seducing Saints: Heresy and the Embodiment of Desire on the Iberian Frontier kunstgeschichte.philhist.uni…

The Pope should release an encyclical about the search function in Outlook.

Hey lazy people: the Vatican made infographics for you

BREAKING: Pope Leo XIV makes historic apology for Holy See's own role in legitimizing slavery and for failing to condemn it for centuries. apnews.com/article/pope-apol…

“Pope Leo was a math major? I wonder what his encyclicals will be like” Like this

Humanity, created by God in all its grandeur, is today facing a pivotal choice: either to construct a new Tower of Babel or to build the city in which God and humanity dwell together. In Jesus Christ, this humanity in its grandeur becomes the Way, the Truth and the Life, opening the path for each of us to grow toward fullness. #MagnificaHumanitas vatican.va/content/leo-xiv/e…

the pope wrote a 42,000 word manifesto declaring war on AI. we are so freaking back.

I don't think I've ever waited for an encyclical with as much anticipation as this one. It seems incredibly urgent - and it feels like Leo XIV is the man of the moment to call out this attack on human dignity, just as John Paul II was the man of the moment to confront Communism.

The sci-fi look of the Towers of Bologna , Italy

Mappa Mundi in the margin BnF MS Latin 4798; Strabo, Geographica (Guarinus Veronensis interpres); 14th century (towards 1470); Florence; f.3v @GallicaBnF

The 'Hand of St James' medieval relic (carbon dated to between AD 994-1150) and rediscovered in 1786 on the site of Reading Abbey by workmen constructing the new Reading gaol. 📸2021

Big milestone for me today: I have submitted my final piece of embroidery for my Diploma at @RoyalNeedlework . This is my Whitework (Broderie Anglaise & Richelieu), inspired by medieval manuscript illumination.