Carnivalesque Archive

Welcome!

This is the archive for Carnivalesque, an interdisciplinary blog carnival dedicated to pre-modern history (to c. 1800 C.E.) which ran from 2004 to 2014. More info…

Archive

Some of these sites will no longer be active; the Wayback Machine links may not always point to a usable archive.

Two editions (3 and 64) are omitted from the list because no links for them can be found on the Wayback Machine and the sites have long gone.

6 December 2014: Cesque 107 at Notches [wayback]

25 October 2014: Cesque 106 at A Covent Garden Gilflurt's Guide to Life [wayback]

13 September 2014: Cesque 105 at Meshalim/Amthal/Exiemplos [wayback]

26 July 2014: Cesque 104 at The Fashion Historian [wayback]

7 June 2014: Cesque 103 at Wynken de Worde [wayback]

26 April 2014: Cesque 102 at Compasswallah [wayback]

8 March 2014: Cesque 101 at Anchora [wayback]

18 January 2014: Cesque 100 at Early Modern Notes [wayback]

7 December 2013: Cesque 99 at The History Tavern [wayback]

26 October 2013: Cesque 98 at Medieval Bex [wayback]

7 September 2013: Cesque 97 at The Sloane Letters Blog [wayback]

27 July 2013: Cesque 96 at Until Darwin [wayback]

8 June 2013: Cesque 95 at The Ruminate [wayback]

27 April 2013: Cesque 94 at the many-headed monster [wayback]

9 March 2013: Cesque 93 at Renaissance Mathematicus [wayback]

19 January 2013: Cesque 92 at Early Modern Notes [wayback]

27 November 2012: Cesque 91 at Dr Kate Ash [wayback]

20 October 2012: Cesque 90 at Anchora [wayback]

23 September 2012: Cesque 89 at Zenobia: Empress of the East [wayback]

25 August 2012: Cesque 88 at The Georgian Bawdyhouse [wayback]

28 July 2012: Cesque 87 at Meshalim/Amthal/Exiemplos [wayback]

23 June 2012: Cesque 86 at Wynken de Worde [wayback]

30 May 2012: Cesque 85 at She-Wolf [wayback]

28 April 2012: Cesque 84 at Conversion Narratives in Early Modern Europe [wayback]

1 April 2012: Cesque 83 at Got Medieval [wayback]

19 February 2012: Cesque 82 at Demography and the Imperial Public Sphere Before Victoria [wayback]

22 January 2012: Cesque 81 at In Pursuit of History [wayback]

26 November 2011: Cesque 80 at Anchora [wayback]

24 October 2011: Cesque 79 at She-Wolf [wayback]

25 September 2011: Cesque 78 at Harlots, Harpies and Harridans [wayback]

28 August 2011: Cesque 77 at Pure Medievalry [wayback]

26 July 2011: Cesque 76 at Madame Guillotine [wayback]

19 June 2011: Cesque 75 at jliedl.ca [wayback]

23 May 2011: Cesque 74 at Res Obscura [wayback]

26 April 2011: Cesque 73 at Jost A Mon [wayback]

26 March 2011: Cesque 72 at Contemporary Jacobean Society [wayback]

20 February 2011: Cesque 71 at Zenobia: Empress of the East [wayback]

24 January 2011: Cesque 70 at Airs, Waters, Places [wayback]

3 January 2011: Cesque 69 at Kaye Jones [wayback]

21 November 2010: Cesque 68 at Mercurius Politics [wayback]

26 October 2010: Cesque 67 at Blogenspiel [wayback]

26 September 2010: Cesque 66 at Early Modern Notes [wayback]

22 August 2010: Cesque 65 at A Corner of 10th-Century Europe [wayback]

27 June 2010: Cesque 63 at The Cranky Professor [wayback]

22 May 2010: Cesque 62 at Georgian London [wayback]

26 April 2010: Cesque 61 at Even in a little thing [wayback]

21 March 2010: Cesque 60 at The Quack Doctor [wayback]

21 February 2010: Cesque 59 at Burgundians in the Mist [wayback]

28 January 2010: Cesque 58 at The Gentleman Administrator [wayback]

20 December 2009: Cesque 57 at Zenobia: Empress of the East [wayback]

22 November 2009: Cesque 56 at Investigations of a Dog [wayback]

1 November 2009: Cesque 55 at Bavardess [wayback]

27 September 2009: Cesque 54 at Early Modern Notes [wayback]

9 September 2009: Cesque 53 at Ruff Notes [wayback]

20 July 2009: Cesque 52 at Gilbert Mabbott [wayback]

20 June 2009: Cesque 51 at Food History [wayback]

25 May 2009: Cesque 50 at Mercurius Politicus [wayback]

18 April 2009: Cesque 49 at Muhlberger's Early History [wayback]

22 March 2009: Cesque 48 at Wynken de Worde [wayback]

21 February 2009: Cesque 47 at Notorious PhD [wayback]

25 January 2009: Cesque 46 at Chronologi Cogitationes [wayback]

24 November 2008: Cesque 45 at the Cranky Professor [wayback]

26 October 2008: Cesque 44 at Mercurius Politicus [wayback]

29 September 2008: Cesque 43 at Archaeoporn [wayback]

17 August 2008: Cesque 42 at Early Modern Notes [wayback]

23 July 2008: Cesque 41 at xoom [wayback]

15 June 2008: Cesque 40 at jliedl.ca [wayback]

18 May 2008: Cesque 39 at A Corner of Tenth-Century Europe [wayback]

20 April 2008: Cesque 38 at Walking The Berkshires [wayback]

17 March 2008: Cesque 37 at In The Middle [wayback]

16 February 2008: Cesque 36 at Mercurius Politicus [wayback]

20 January 2008: Cesque 35 at Atol is þin unseon [wayback]

17 December 2007: Cesque 34 at Cardinal Wolsey's This Day in History [wayback]

21 November 2007: Cesque 33 at Blogenspiel [wayback]

28 October 2007: Cesque 32 at Serendipities [wayback]

24 September 2007: Cesque 31 at Practica [wayback]

19 August 2007: Cesque 30 at Recent Finds [wayback]

22 July 2007: Cesque 29 at Even in a Little Thing [wayback]

20 June 2007: Cesque 28 at Blogging the Renaissance [wayback]

24 May 2007: Cesque 27 at Aardvarchaeology [wayback]

29 April 2007: Cesque 26 at Siris [wayback]

25 March 2007: Cesque 25 at Iconoclasm [wayback]

24 February 2007: Cesque 24 at The Long Eighteenth [wayback]

25 January 2007: Cesque 23 at Memorabilia Antonina [wayback]

17 December 2006: Cesque 22 at scribbling woman [wayback]

25 November 2006: Cesque 21 at Even in a Little Thing [wayback]

22 October 2006: Cesque 20 at Recent Finds [wayback]

25 September 2006: Cesque 19 at Blogenspiel [wayback]

27 August 2006: Cesque 18 at Early Modern Notes [wayback]

25 July 2006: Cesque 17 at xoom [wayback]

18 June 2006: Cesque 16 at The Virtual Stoa [wayback]

22 May 2006: Cesque 15 at Siris [wayback]

16 April 2006: Cesque 14 at Earmarks in Early Modern Culture [now Serendipities] [wayback]

13 March 2006: Cesque 13 at Archaeoastronomy [wayback]

4 February 2006: Cesque 12 at Pilgrim/Heretic [wayback]

3 December 2005: Cesque 11 at Blogenspiel [wayback]

6 November 2005: Cesque 10 at Early Modern Notes [wayback]

9 October 2005: Cesque 9 at Archaeoastronomy [wayback]

5 September 2005: Cesque 8 at (a)musings of a grad student [wayback]

5 August 2005: Cesque 7 at the Cranky Professor [wayback]

5 July 2005: Cesque 6 at Cliopatria [wayback]

6 May 2005: Cesque 5 at Rhine River [wayback]

2 March 2005: Cesque 4 at Philobiblon [wayback]

6 November 2004: Cesque 2 at Houyhnhnm Land [wayback]

3 September 2004: Cesque 1 at Early Modern Notes [wayback]

About Carnivalesque

Those with some historical knowledge are often a little puzzled about why blog carnivals are called “carnivals” at all. As far as anyone can tell, it was largely chance: the very first one was called “Carnival of the Vanities”, and the name seems to have stuck. Those concerned probably simply liked the feel of the name, and were thinking of modern carnivals with their moving processions and general exuberance, not of the World Turned Upside Down, Bakhtin, liminality, or any historical or anthropological theories at all.

Carnivalesque was named with both those influences in mind back in autumn 2004, in its original form as an early modernists’ blog carnival. Why a carnival on this theme at all? There weren’t so many history blogs back in 2004 and it wasn’t at all clear that this one would be viable. But the blog carnival, it turned out, is highly adaptable – from very broad and/or popular topics through to much narrower audience niches.

Carnivalesque filled its particular niche so successfully that in 2005, its coverage was expanded. Between July 2005 and November 2012, Carnivalesque ran monthly, alternating between early modern (c.1500-1800CE) and ancient & medieval topics (up to c.1500CE). However, because of long-running difficulties recruiting hosts for ancient/medieval editions, the format changed from January 2013 to hold eight editions per year, each covering ancient, medieval and early modern periods.

However, the environment for blogging was changing. Not that the goals of the blog carnivals had failed; quite the opposite if anything. But the rise of new social media (Twitter and Facebook in particular) and the fact that blogging has become a normal, institutionally approved tool for dissemination of research activities meant that niche blog carnivals like Carnivalesque no longer had a well-defined purpose or audience. This made it increasingly difficult to recruit hosts, and those who did come forward got little return for their efforts. And so, with some sadness, Carnivalesque quietly came to an end in December 2014.

Acknowledgments

Carnivalesque is deeply grateful to all past hosts, and to everyone who helped to keep the carnival running over the years. A special mention goes to the late Ralph Luker, who was one of Carnivalesque’s earliest and most loyal supporters.

The Mistresses of Misrule at various times co-ordinated the carnival, selecting hosts and helping to publicise upcoming editions.

  • Sharon Howard is based in the UK; her main research interests are in 17-18th-century crime and women’s history.
  • Julie Hofmann’s research interests are early medieval. She’s based in the USA.
  • Hannah Priest is a medievalist based in the UK. Her research interests include late medieval romance and popular literature, especially monsters.