Dr. Barry Torch

@barrytorch.bsky.social

2855 Followers 1340 Following

He/Him. Medieval and Renaissance Historian, Skeptical Optimist, Purveyor of Puns, and lover of Books, Fountain Pens, and Dogs. Settler on Treaty 13 Territory. Jewish. Queer.

Slide titled "Is Age of Mythology / Age of Mythology: Retold 'History'?" Above a screenshot of a mythological battle in a Chinese-inspired city, the slide answers, "No. It's Historiography." Dragons, monsters, and giant mythical creatures are above the city under a stormy sky.
A picture of an open faced scholarly book on a blue and black background, showing a lot of text and a lot of footnotes.
A manuscript illumination of Poggio Bracciolini, the great humanist book-finder, with one of the books he found. The illumination shows a large gold M. Under the M, it shows an older man with gray hair, facing right, holding a green book gently propped open away from him.
The first page of Apuleius' *Opera*, printed 1469, by Giovanni Bussi, Konrad Sweynheym, and Arnold Pannartz, in Rome. Text is a letter from Giovanni Bussi to Pope Paul II, with the letter serving as the preface to Apuleius' works.
A screenshot of an Adobe PDF document, showing an academic essay: the title of the article, author, and author affiliation. "Jockeying for Printed Reputation: Giovanni Bussi and the Apuleius of 1469" "Barry Torch, Independent Scholar."
A picture of a tattoo on Caucasian skin. In a red-brown coloured font, humanist hand, it says “1. Vera est historia”
A worn interior wall of an old building featuring a carved stone memorial relief of the bishop Giovanni Andrea Bussi standing with hands folded. Beneath the figure is a rectangular Latin inscription engraved into the wall. The plaster is aged and cracked, with discoloration near the base. A small window on the right lets in light, and a dark wooden bench sits in the lower right corner.
A detailed marble sculpture of a Moses by Michelangelo. Moses is a seated, muscular bearded man with long flowing hair and beard, looking to his left. He holds part of his beard with one hand while the other rests on his lap. Draped cloth covers his lower body, and the figure sits within an ornate architectural niche decorated with carved columns and reliefs. This is on the tomb of Pope Julius II in the church of San Pietro in Vincoli in Rome.
A folio page featuring a black ink drawing of the tomb of Giacomo Bussi. The robed figure wearing a hat, shown front-facing with hands folded. The figure is framed by a rectangular border with handwritten notes and annotations in the margins. Below the figure is a block of Latin text resembling an inscription, and at the bottom a small heraldic shield and decorative elements. The page shows discoloration, creases, and frayed edges, indicating age.
A brass chanukiah with nine candle holders stands on a table in front of a window with sheer curtains and natural light in the background.
The Scroll of Truth Meme comic. First panel in upper left reads, "I've finally found it ... after 15 years." Second panel in upper right reads, "The Scroll of Truth!" as the character pulls it out of a treasure chest. The third panel in lower left reads, "You have to finish your notes and bibliography to submit a research article," and the fourth panel in the lower right shows the character throwing away the scroll of truth, cursing and going, "Nyehhh."
A wide shot of a person’s living room, with a dog on the sofa on the left. The focus is on the beautiful ottoman in the middle of the photo, covered in soft blankets.
A close up of a brown and white dog, a large one, sitting on a bed and staring at the camera. He has a blue collar, and a set of large black jowels.
A snapshot of the beginning of a handwritten letter. The text reads: NIcolaus Perottus Pont. Sepontinus adversus eos quitemere corigunt errores veterum librorum, and it is written in red ink in humanist handwriting, meant to imitate Roman letters. The Latin translates to: Nicolaus Perottus, Bishop of Seponto, Against those who quietly correct the errors of ancient books.
A close-up of the two main characters from Raphael's "School of Athens" in the Vatican Papal Apartments - Plato and Aristotle. Plato is on the left, pointing upwards to emphasize the importance of the Ideal Form, and is holding a book that says "Timeo" on the spine, referring to his work the "Timeus." Aristotle is on the right, with his hand spread open to refer to the importance of worldly categories, holding his work, "Ethics"
A horizontal selfie of an adult white male with long shaggy brown/blonde hair, with a book from the 1400s open in front of him. The male is facing the camera on the right side, in a gray tshirt, and the book dominates the foreground. The male has green glasses and a broad smile on his face, and the background behind him is of wide glass windows, some of which have modern curtains on them.
A white male in red robes and a white shirt holds a bouquet of roses in front of a red background. He is wearing a black floppy hat, and is posing for a graduation photo. The red background says “York Convocation” and he graduated with his PhD and he is smiling.
A screenshot of a page from the Talmud, Sukkah 29a. Some of the text is highlighted - the highlighted part says: “The Sages taught that on account of four matters the sun is eclipsed” … “on account of homosexuality.”
A white male with dirty blonde hair is holding a book open to the book chapter that he wrote. He is standing in a conference room, in a black suit with a burgundy shirt. The photo is cropped from the waist up.
A screenshot of book chapter proofs. It reads: "'Do I have a Book for You!' The Friendship of Theodore Gaza and Giovanni Bussi, and a Gifted Book", with the author name under a line reading, "Barry Torch"
A brass menorah stands unlit in front of a snowy backdrop as seen from an apartment building patio door.
A screen capture of a manuscript, Reg. Lat. 1995, depicting a brown manuscript page with Latin text in brown ink. A digital watermark reads, in a circle, "Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, All Rights reserved". Image from https://digi.vatlib.it/view/MSS_Reg.lat.1995