Luke Daly

History has a habit of remembering the exceptional and forgetting almost everyone else. Kings survive. Battles survive. Saints survive. But what about everyone else?

As someone halfway through a PhD in medieval history, I have been reflecting on the growing uncertainty facing academics across the arts and humanities. My own passion for the medieval world did not emerge in isolation. It was nurtured by lecturers who taught me not only about the past, but how to question evidence, embrace complexity and pursue ideas simply because they matter. I do not pretend that my position is comparable to that of those currently facing redundancy. But I wanted to write this piece in solidarity with them, and to acknowledge what is at risk when departments, courses and communities of expertise are diminished. The humanities offer far more than a route into a particular career. At their best, they awaken curiosity, deepen our understanding of human experience and give people the confidence to ask their own questions. That intellectual inheritance shaped who I am today. Future generations deserve the opportunity to receive it too. linkedin.com/pulse/edition-3…

There is something faintly surreal about staging a full contact buhurt exhibition at Norfolk Tank Museum. The clangour of steel, the measured violence of axe and shield, and the sudden collapse of bodies into the dust unfold in the shadow of modern armoured machines. Yet what impresses itself most forcefully is not the spectacle but the heat. At 26 degrees, enclosed within layers of padding and steel, the body labours quickly. Breath shortens, the limbs grow heavy, and precision gives way, if one is not careful, to mere exertion. It becomes an exercise not in aggression but in management, in conserving energy, maintaining awareness, and resisting the creeping dullness that fatigue imposes upon the mind. Such conditions offer, in a modest way, a point of reflection upon the men of the thirteenth century whose world I study. Knights did not fight for brief exhibitions but campaigned in climates far hotter than our own, in southern France or the Levant, encased in armour that afforded little comfort and less ventilation. Their exertions were sustained and exacting, demanding not only strength but resilience and discipline under strain. Even a short encounter in such heat is enough to suggest the stamina that must have underpinned medieval warfare, and to temper any easy romanticism with a more sober respect.

Self-publishing still sits uneasily alongside traditional academic and commercial publishing. Nevertheless, today I learned that my self-published book 'Medieval Latin: A Beginner's Self-Taught Guide' has surpassed 500 copies sold, across the UK and internationally. By most commercial standards, this is modest. Yet within the world of self-publishing, it carries a different weight for it is often noted, somewhat soberingly, that: Around 90% of self-published books sell fewer than 100 copies in their lifetime. Against that backdrop, 500 feels significant as a reminder that readership, however small or dispersed, is real. In some ways, this is especially rewarding as, unlike traditional publishing, I am not only the author but also the editor, proofreader, marketer, and publicist. More than sales, however, this book has opened doors. It has led to conversations, invitations, and opportunities that would have been difficult to access otherwise. In that sense, its value cannot be measured in numbers alone. It allows ideas to circulate, voices to emerge, and careers, in some cases, to take shape in unexpected ways. I remain deeply grateful to those who have read, shared, or supported the book, and to the possibility that self-published work can, indeed, find its place. #Publishing #SelfPublishing #Books #AcademicWriting #HistoryBooks #MedievalHistory #WritingCommunity #BookMilestone #NonFiction

My 'Walsingham Way' video is now up and live on The Daly Medieval Podcast Channel! Link: youtu.be/t8BqycgcdbA?si=wMxf… It is easy, from the distance of historical study, to consider medieval pilgrimage in abstract terms: devotion, obligation, penitence. But walking even a short stretch of such a route brings into sharper focus the material realities that underpinned it. The medieval pilgrim did not have the luxuries I carried. There was no convenient means of taking an Uber home. One continued, or one did not. Not because it was comfortable, but because it was necessary. I set out recently to walk the Walsingham Way, that somewhat well-trodden path from Norwich to the shrine village that, in the later Middle Ages, stood among the most revered pilgrimage destinations in Europe. The distance, some thirty-seven miles, is not, by most modern standards, formidable - especially in comparison to the famed 500 miles of the Camino de Frances. Nevertheless, despite having completed this pilgrimage to Walsingham last year, it became apparent, rather sooner than I had anticipated, that I had misjudged the undertaking. – at Sprowston, England

My 'Walsingham Way' video is now up and live on The Daly Medieval Podcast Channel! Link: youtube.com/watch?v=t8Bqycgc… It is easy, from the distance of historical study, to consider medieval pilgrimage in abstract terms: devotion, obligation, penitence. But walking even a short stretch of such a route brings into sharper focus the material realities that underpinned it. The medieval pilgrim did not have the luxuries I carried. There was no convenient means of taking an Uber home. One continued, or one did not. Not because it was comfortable, but because it was necessary. I set out recently to walk the Walsingham Way, that somewhat well-trodden path from Norwich to the shrine village that, in the later Middle Ages, stood among the most revered pilgrimage destinations in Europe. The distance, some thirty-seven miles, is not, by most modern standards, formidable - especially in comparison to the famed 500 miles of the Camino de Frances. Nevertheless, despite having completed this pilgrimage to Walsingham last year, it became apparent, rather sooner than I had anticipated, that I had misjudged the undertaking.

My 'Walsingham Way' video is now up and live on The Daly Medieval Podcast Channel! Link: youtube.com/watch?v=t8Bqycgc… It is easy, from the distance of historical study, to consider medieval pilgrimage in abstract terms: devotion, obligation, penitence. But walking even a short stretch of such a route brings into sharper focus the material realities that underpinned it. The medieval pilgrim did not have the luxuries I carried. There was no convenient means of taking an Uber home. One continued, or one did not. Not because it was comfortable, but because it was necessary. I set out recently to walk the Walsingham Way, that somewhat well-trodden path from Norwich to the shrine village that, in the later Middle Ages, stood among the most revered pilgrimage destinations in Europe. The distance, some thirty-seven miles, is not, by most modern standards, formidable - especially in comparison to the famed 500 miles of the Camino de Frances. Nevertheless, despite having completed this pilgrimage to Walsingham last year, it became apparent, rather sooner than I had anticipated, that I had misjudged the undertaking.

Looking forward to embarking once again on a 3-day pilgrimage to Walsingham from Norwich for Easter 🐣 meandering through the landscape is both historically and spiritually fulfilling – at Sprowston, England

Amazing pics from yesterdays #Buhurt Training – at Sprowston, England

It feels like the world can be a little heavy at the moment, so I’m trying, in my own small way, to add a bit of light back where I can. I’m excited to share that I’ll be taking on the Lake District Mighty Hike, a 26-mile full marathon-length hike on 6th June 2026 to raise vital funds for Macmillan Cancer Support. With every step I take and every mile I walk, I hope to help Macmillan continue providing essential support, care, and compassion to people living with cancer across the UK. I’d be incredibly grateful if you could: 👉 Support my challenge by visiting my fundraising page: mightyhikesfundraising.macmi… 👉 Share this post to help spread the word 👉 Or simply send a bit of encouragement, as it all makes a difference! Whether it’s £2 or £20, every donation helps people access the care they need when it matters most. 💚 Thank you in advance for your support. This hike won’t be easy, but it’ll be absolutely worth it. Let’s make a Mighty difference together! #Macmillan #CharityChallenge #MightyHikes #Fundraising #CancerSupport