Joschka Meier

@josserme.bsky.social

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Historian at the University of Bern: Human-animal relations, environmental adaptation & resource management of alpine communities in the Middle Ages. Repository of articles, presentations & videos: https://hcommons.org/members/joschkameier/

Ron Sadman - Schwarzweissfoto von Ron Perlman mit Kawaii Augen und runtertropfenden Tränen
screenshot of the profile of Jim Clifford: "Professor of History, University of Saskatchewan Co-Editor of Historical Methods. Environmental and digital historian of London, Canada and the British World in the 19th century. #dyslexic"
Bild einer Wiese auf dem Gurten mit schottischem Hochlandrindern
Ich auf dem Gurten mit gequältem Gesicht und Sonnenfinsternisbrille
Screenshot of a slide from one of my presentations, showing a very oval pig with curly hair - beneath it there's a faded/weathered description in spanish
An absurd shield that's impossible to describe in words and do it justice: kind of a small buckler, with integrated glove, but there's huge serrated spikes extending from the middle of the shield and the knuckles
A very elaborate mace with delicate decorations and a suspiciously thick handle
Swords with red coral handles from the Rüstkammer in Vienna
Visitenkarte von mir: "Stadtgeschichte(n) - Joschka Meier - Massgeschneiderte Führungen zu Geschichte, Archäologie & Volkskunde"
Screenshot of page 1216 of the dataset in PDF-format: "TLA, Pestarchiv Akte XIII 87 Datierungsangaben 1542-07-21 Titel «Bericht über die Brücke an der Ill» Region Vorarlberg Grafschaft Tirol Relevanter Ort oder Ortschaft Feldkirch Relevanter Ort oder Ortschaft: Breiten- und Längengrad φ, λ: [9.601610436442018, 47.24167737532911] Tags - Grobe Angaben zum Inhalt der Quelle Brücke Unterhalt Verkehrsinfrastruktur"
Screenshot, dieses Wochende doppelt hardwarexp bei Battlefield 6
Plakat an einer Säule "Gratis ins Museum" Schreckliches Bild von einem pfeifenden Bären "Samstags im August 2026 - gratisinsmuseum.ch"
The dataset consists of a collection of over 1'600 sources, that were gathered and analysed for the research project “Living Landscapes: Environmental Adaptation and Resource Management by the Alpine Population, 1400–1550” [...]. This project investigates the rural Alpine region from Valais to Tyrol and South Tyrol during the Late Middle Ages up to the beginning of the Early Modern Era to shed light on how people and animals lived in and used alpine spaces and how the natural environment, in turn, influenced their lives. These questions are explored through an examination of the collective and communal use and management of space and resources, with a focus on the closely interlinked topics of transportation, livestock husbandry, and the Alpwirtschaft, which were of paramount importance to Alpine communities. The research project also looks at social and environmental history more broadly including topics like intra- and inter-municipal conflicts and cooperation, labor practices, the acquisiton and transmission of knowledge in village communities and human-animal relationships. [...] The dataset and the collections created from it are an extensive and representative selection of relevant sources from all source editions and archival holdings used in the research project. Their publication not only serves as a reference for the dissertation resulting from the research project but is also intended to provide other researchers with easy access to the project’s research data and the interesting sources from the rural Alpine area. [...] Detailed descriptions, summaries, copies, images, and/or transcriptions are available for all sources, which, due to factors such as the amount of work required to prepare them for publication, image rights, and similar considerations, cannot be published at this time. However, this information can be requested and shared on a case-by-case basis and all interested parties are encouraged to reach out
A slide with a map of Tyrol and southern Tyrol on the left and a bit marked as "Area of Conflict" to the east of Bozen/Bolzano. To the right is this source quote: "«[…] many people were there, with spears, lances and heavily armed […].» «vyll volck dapay mit Spiessen lannzen und mit grosser wer […].» Diözesanarchiv Brixen, HA 27023, 22.04.1485 «[…] upon this the people of Campedel took up a fighting position and said, that they would sooner give up their lives than their cattle» «[…] dah yeder sich dye von Kampedel gegen Im zu wer gestelt und dapay geredt, ee das sy ierr vych woltn lassen pfennden, ennder wolen sy das leben lyessen»"
"None of the destructions c. 1200 BC in Greece or elsewhere can be tied to the Sea Peoples—or indeed to any specific attackers, though “locals” or known and traditional enemies would appear the most likely agents. While mass migrations are implausible and"
Visible are a couple of pages of one collection of my dataset. In this cases sources pertaining to something I call "Amtszwang", meaning rural communities that not only voted officials into office, but forced those elected to accept their election and carry out the duties of the office that they were elected to! At the start there's a general intro about these collections and how they should be used, and after that a couple of entries are visible, consisting of the signature (i. e. reference), date and title of each source and relevant places, their longitude and latitude as well as tags as a kind of very basic summary about the contents of the source.
The main portal and tower of the Münster in Bern at night, with the tower rising up into a dark blue night sky - parts of the tower and the main portal are illuminated. Picture from here: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bern_at_blue_hour_-_19_June_2025_1.jpg CC 4.0 photo taken by karlheinz klingbeil
Picture I took about a week ago from the Kirchenfeldbrücke with a view of the Münster to the left, the turquoise River Aare below and part of the Matte quarter
Picture of the Münster of Bern, which I took a few days ago: a big, grey, gothic church
"But writing dialogue is not one of Nolan’s talents. The language is relentlessly expository, humourless and flat. Attempts at vigorous speech – ‘My dad’s coming home’ or ‘Let’s get off this fucking beach’ – sit uncomfortably next to grandiose meditations: ‘Yes, my queen. The breaking of Zeus’ law, spreading like plague. Our age of bronze is collapsing, and maybe he couldn’t bear to see the ruins of what he’d done. Anywhere. Least of all, his home."
"Adaptations needn’t and shouldn’t follow the original with anything like the exactitude of a translation. Some of the best radically transform or resist the source material, providing what Harold Bloom called ‘strong misreadings’ of their ancestors. The most memorable creative responses to The Odyssey – such as Euripides’ Helen, Virgil’s Aeneid, Milton’s Paradise Lost, Joyce’s Ulysses, Walcott’s Omeros, Atwood’s Penelopiad, Madeline Miller’s Circe or Lisa Peterson’s play set in a modern migrant camp – reconsider the poem’s structure, narrative and values. In theory, Nolan seems to understand the assignment and its hazards. His first feature film, Following (1998), was a powerful black and white thriller about the fascination and dangers of tracking strangers through space and time. The hunter is more likely to become the hunted, Following suggests, if the would-be stalker lacks a clear identity beyond a misplaced belief in his own ingenuity. But knowing what temptations should be avoided isn’t the same as avoiding them – as Odysseus’ men learn to their cost when they kill the sacred Cattle of the Sun."
"The costumes, armour, boats and architecture are a mishmash, which is in keeping with Homer’s poem – itself drawn from many generations of storytelling and incorporating bits and pieces from different eras, dialects and traditions. Linguistically, too, Homeric Greek is a composite – although it is always metrical poetry, not language anyone ever actually spoke. Despite the manufactured online outrage, there is nothing inherently wrong with the movie’s attempt to approximate contemporary American speech. If you’re not going to compose a script in Homeric Greek, or even in metrical English verse, you might as well use something like conversational American English. But writing dialogue is not one of Nolan’s talents. The language is relentlessly expository, humourless and flat. Attempts at vigorous speech – ‘My dad’s coming home’ or ‘Let’s get off this fucking beach’ – sit uncomfortably next to grandiose meditations: ‘Yes, my queen. The breaking of Zeus’ law, spreading like plague. Our age of bronze is collapsing, and maybe he couldn’t bear to see the ruins of what he’d done. Anywhere. Least of all, his home.’"
The picture shows the Marktgasse in Bern, with the Anna-Seiler-Fountain in the middle of the street, while in the distance the top of the Münster peeks above a row of houses. These rows, on both sides of the Marktgasse, are flying all kinds of LGBTQA+-flags
Picture of the Ständeratssaal (chamber of the state council) in Bern: desks are arrayed in a wood panelled room and to the right huge windows are visible, that are decorated with the patterns of fine embroidery
Screenshot von meinem Desktop, sichtbar sind zwei Browserfenster mit meinem Nodegoatprojekt: Links Ansicht/Rubrik alle Quellen (inkl. paar Quellenbilder), rechts gefilterte Auswahl von Quellen, deren Value (in dem Fall die Signatur) ich anpassen musste
Screenshot von meinem Desktop gerade: Links der Post von Aurelia oben und rechts ein offenes Dokument mit Fussnoten (in Form von extra grossen Endnotes zur leichteren Bearbeitung, schlussendlich sieht das schon nicht so aus)
The photo shows little pebbles on the ground - and on the one in middle is a tiny little toad (natterjack toad/Kreukröte/Epidalea calamita), who is boldly climbing it, despite a couple of ants on top, who're nearly as big as the toad
Vier Taiyaki (gefüllte japanische Teigsnacks, meistens mit Anko drin) auf einem Holzteller
In the center the book "Al-Filaha - Islamische Landwirtschaft" by Gottfried Liedl and Peter Feldbauer sits on a small easel, with my three trusty, plushy, dissertation companions Snorlax, grumpy dog and neuron below
Post eines Polls auf Instagram von Carina Pencet (anscheinend sehr rechts-aussen Anthroposophin) Frage des Polls: "Bist du dankbar, die deutsche Seele in dir zu tragen?" Antwortmöglichkeiten: "Ja, was für ein kostbares Erbe" "nein leider nicht"
Zwei Landseer (schwarz-weiss gemusterte Hunde, verwandt mit Neufundländern) liegen auf einem Weg im Schnee und schauen zur Kamera rauf
Screenshot of the Elsevier "newsletter" I've received without ever signing up for it. Text of the email: "Dear author, Generative AI is changing how researchers write, structure, and visualize their work. Used well, it's a genuine asset. However, as policies catch up with practice, knowing exactly where the boundaries are and how to document your use is now part of being a credible author. Elsevier's generative AI policy for journal authors allows AI to support your writing, structure, and visuals, but not to replace your intellectual contribution, alter your data, or generate references. Whenever you use AI, you're required to declare it. Read the full policy here: Elsevier’s generative AI policies for journals. Our new course on using AI effectively in research is available on Elsevier Researcher Academy - a free e-learning platform designed to help you advance your research, publish with confidence, and achieve your professional goals. Learn all about the new AI policies in Researcher Academy’s new module Using Generative AI in Manuscript Preparation which walks authors through Elsevier's policies on generative AI, covering when and how AI can support manuscript preparation, the rules for figures and images, and data visualizations, and the requirements for disclosing AI use. - Blue Button with "Learn now" written on it - Explore other AI modules on our website: Generative AI in research evaluation Gen AI Use in the Research Workflow"
A medieval guy in a fancy red cup (and other fancy clothes) points downwards to a post saying "Uh hello there my sweet sweet modern handwriting" (by the great Tanja Hojahn) and says "ew."
A medieval guy in a fancy red hat poi to g downwards and saying ew
Ein Bradley-dingens Panzer aus Battlefield 6 mit weisser camo, aber kawaii-siert mit grossen Augen
Picture taken from the Kirchenfeldbrücke today: to the left part of the old city, the "Pläfä" and the Münster of Bern is visible, while below the Aare, the local river, shines in it's typical green (turquoise-ish?) hue
"von einner frowen, so in manszkleidung gerichtet wart" Excerpt from a Source edition, can't transcribe everything here at this point, because I'm just out of the archive
Zwei Landseer (weiss-schwarz gemusterte Neufundländer) die am Boden liegen und zur Kamera hoch schauen
Drei Schildkröten am rumpanzern
"Kranzberg's laws of technology Melvin Kranzberg's six laws of technology[1][4] state: Technology is neither good nor bad; nor is it neutral. Invention is the mother of necessity. Technology comes in packages, big and small. Although technology might be a prime element in many public issues, nontechnical factors take precedence in technology-policy decisions. All history is relevant, but the history of technology is the most relevant. Technology is a very human activity – and so is the history of technology.[5]"
Ansicht des Marzilis von 1777, Sicht von der Position des heutigen Bundeshauses aus: Sichtbar sind ein Floss und Boote auf dem Fluss Aare (+ als Bern Bonus: der alte Seitenarm der Aare, welcher später zum Bueber-Bad wurde & noch später aufgeschüttet) Signatur: Gr.D.58;_Gr.D.59
"Unnd als die von Umbst die Irigen hinauf gshiekht hab Cunrad probst Ime kůntshaffer bevolhen, auch mit zůgeen. Und als Er unnd annder am weg gewesen und nit weis, wo hin sy geen sollen, seyen Inen ain khlains männdl der am Schnellen gesessen begegnet. Den Sy umb den weg befragt, hab er Inen seinem brauch nach shwigennd [oder shreiyennd] geanntwůrt, die Umbster wären hinauf, in mülser aue holz zů shlagen. Unnd als Eer daselbs hin khůmen wie" TLA, SA Imst 87.
Ein eher unscharfes Bild eines Schnittes mit Mauerwerk drin - mit roten Linien sind zwei Positionen markiert, wo unterschiedliche Bauphasen sichtbar sind
ein dünnbrettbohrer aus dem tryptichon von oben
Ansicht der Münsterplattform in der Frühneuzeit
gleiche karte wie oben aber mit cooler sonne oben rechts und dem rechten rand der halbinsel als "here be bonzen" markiert
Eine schematische Karte der Stadt Bern, Ausbauzustand ca. Frühneuzeit - die Halbinsel und Aare sind gut sichtbar, sowie die einzelnen Stadtteile
Eine Kirche, deren Turm aus Holz besteht
Weisse Kirche auf Gotland aus Stein
querschnitt eines spätmittelalterlichen hauses in Bern (sicher nach dem grossen stadtbrand von 1405) - rechts im bild sind ein Relaxo und ein lego-piraten-käptn zu sehen, die in richtung der lauben zeigen als subtle hint
screenshot of the search and order interface helveticat of the Swiss national archives - the series "Basler Chroniken" from the 19th century is shown and at the top is a bright green confirmation message, that a order for a book has been received and that it'll be avaiable in half an hour
"Die Chronik des Fridolin Ryff, Basler Chroniken, Leipzig 1872, I, 150. Dazu Katharina Simon-Muscheid, "Geschlecht, Identität und soziale Rolle. Weiblicher Transvestismus vor Gericht, 15./16. Jahrhundert", in Rudolf Jaun, Brigitte Studer (Hg.), Weiblich - männlich. Geschlechterverhältnisse in der Schweiz. Rechtsprechung, Diskurs, Praktiken (Schweizerische Gesellschaft für Sozial- und Wirtschaftsgeschichte 13), Zürich 1995, 45-57, hier 50 f."
Screenshot of part of my bibliography, with the reference for the snippet above emphasized: Rippmann, Dorothee: «Frauenwerk» und Männerarbeit. Formen von Leben und Arbeit im Spätmittelalter. In: Pfister, Ulrich; Studer, Brigitte; Tanner, Jakob (Hg.): Arbeit im Wandel: Deutung, Organisation und Herrschaft vom Mittelalter bis zur Gegenwart = Le travail en mutation (Schweizerische Gesellschaft für Wirtschafts- und Sozialgeschichte 14). Zürich 1996: 25–47.
Screenshot of part of page 29 of Rippmann, Dorothee: «Frauenwerk» und Männerarbeit. Formen von Leben und Arbeit im Spätmittelalter. In: Pfister, Ulrich; Studer, Brigitte; Tanner, Jakob (Hg.): Arbeit im Wandel: Deutung, Organisation und Herrschaft vom Mittelalter bis zur Gegenwart = Le travail en mutation (Schweizerische Gesellschaft für Wirtschafts- und Sozialgeschichte 14). Zürich 1996: 25–47. The relevant part is as follows: "So berichtet ein Basler Chronist über eine Frau in Männerkleidung, die jahrelang unerkannt als Bauernknecht gelebt hatte und eine Bauerntochter heiratete. Schliesslich wurde der weibliche Knecht wegen seines lästerlichen Lebenswandels, der ihn von Wirtshaus zu Wirtshaus führte, und wegen einiger Diebstähle gefangengenommen und vor Gericht geführt. Unter der Folter wurde das wahre Geschlecht dieser Person entdeckt; sie erlitt die Strafe des Ertränkens."
Zwei Boxen sind sichtbar: Oben steht in Regenbogenfarben "Mundart" mit kleinem Herzchen und angemessen freudigem Schweinchen Unten steht "Dialekt" in angemessener dunkel-düsterer Druckschrift, was ein armes Schweinchen zum Weinen bringt
Close-up of a slide with the title: Did the Black Death reduce comital revenues? And why was cheese so vulnerable to the Plague? Below that is a graphic representation of the loss of specific comital revenues: wine, grain (both hovering around -40%), sheep (pretty high up near -15%), then cheese at the very bottom (losses higher than -45%) and salt (a bit above -40%)
Left half of the slide in question, title: Impact of the Black Death? - historical literature on the plague in Tyrol is restricted (fahlenbock 2009) -demographic losses caused by the black Death is thought to have been offset relatively quickly and only peripheral to the narrative developed -basic research for the epidemic's impact is sparse
Slide from the talk: "we mandate and command that you convoke each and every one of [your] parishioners of both sexes, and that you approach in a procession with holy water and ban er through a d within the boundaries of your parishes, while sprinkling the holy water within the aforesaid boundaries and singing the litany, and exhorting your people, as they piously approach with burning candles and chandeliers alongside you, to humbly beseech ans pray to God, the most glorious virgin Mary, and all the holy men and women of God, to liberate them to the extent that they deserve from this tribulation."
A poster with pretty damn dystopian vibes in black and white: A kind of...creepy, I guess, woman is depicted in half shadow to the left, while to the right a police officer is depicted watching people walking by Big, Bildes message: "See it. say it. Sorted" and beneath that "are they avoiding staff and police? Speak to staff. For police, text [buncha numbers]. We'll sort it."
A camera in a tram in the UK - beneath it hangs a sign with the ever-so-cheeky message "Smile, you're on camera" and in a smaller font beneath it: "Your safety is our priority. We have CCTV on every tram"