Acknowledgements

Predictably enough there are a number of individuals and institutions we would like to thank. First, all our contributors for their patience with a project which has had a long gestation and for their commitment to it. Second, those contributors to the initial sunny conference in June 2015 at St John’s College Oxford whom it was not possible to include in the volume: Charles Burnett, Magnus Ryan and Juhana Toivanen. Those who chaired and commented on our discussions were also enormously helpful: Mary Carruthers, Jean Dunbabin, Kantik Ghosh, Stephen Mossman, Sandy Murray, Lucy Sackville, Cecilia Trifogli and Ian Wei. Third – if we may – each other. This has been an enormously enjoyable and collaborative project from the start. Antonia Fitzpatrick remembers John Sabapathy proposing the idea but the undertaking has been entirely collaborative from beginning to end. The project’s structure was generated together; its introduction written and revised collaboratively; and its articles proofed alongside one another.

There are a number of institutions we would like to thank, not at all distinct from the individuals involved. First, St John’s College, Oxford and University College London, both of which have provided us with physical and intellectual homes for important periods and which have played instrumental roles in the genesis of this project. We hope that Sir Richard Southern would look favourably on this book. Certainly, his presidential portrait at St John’s seemed to. Neither of us knew Southern but he has had an important influence on our thinking. More materially, St John’s and UCL History Department provided the financial support for the ridiculously fun conference which brought everyone together in the first place. John Sabapathy would also like to thank the Leverhulme Trust for granting a research fellowship on thirteenth-century institutionalization during which this project was completed. This was very much appreciated. Second, the Warburg Institute, where we co-ran a scholasticism reading group for several years, including with some contributors to this volume. The Warburg is one of the best places in the world to work on scholasticism and the book was proofed in its spiritual home on the third floor. Third, the Royal Historical Society and the Institute of Historical Research whose New Historical Perspectives series welcomed our proposal for this book and have supported its production so helpfully.

Finally, this book only apparently lacks a dedication since its efficient cause is an individual who so entirely pervades it that acknowledgment would be as gratuitous as it would be unwanted. In all honesty and gratitude, ceci n’est pas une Festschrift.

Antonia Fitzpatrick and John Sabapathy

Eton and Bloomsbury, July 2019