I owe thanks to a great many individuals who have encouraged or supported my work on the doctoral thesis that lies behind this volume, or in the arduous process of working it into a book. Many people have made criticism and suggestions, shared work, proof-read, and offered encouragement and I have tried to acknowledge specific contributions throughout. Of course – for my work as with that of the scribes of the Nowell Codex – multiple errors, omissions, and excesses remain and I am responsible for all extant flaws and excesses.
A profound debt is owed to Richard North and Susan Irvine, without whom nothing would ever have happened. I have tried to acknowledge specific places where their ideas or guidance have influenced my work, but such roots of course go deeper than words, or footnotes, can observe.
This book also owes a significant debt to the communal creativity and kindness of many other researchers. Ranging from individuals who have responded to emails from a stranger, to those who have sought me out to discuss ideas, these include Jorge Luis Bueno Alonso, Martin Biddle, Rona Cran, Paul Gurton, Jim Hall, Maidie Hilmo, Luuk Houwen, Cheryl Jacobsen, Catherine Karkov, Kevin Kiernan, Joe McGowan, Linne Moody, Jane Roberts, Sharon Rowley, Winfried Rudolf, Estelle Stubbs, Christine Voth, Justin Weisweiller, and Jon Wilcox. For a wonderful day spent working on the Nowell Codex, I will always be grateful to Julian Harrison, Cillian O’Hagan, and Andrea Clarke. Andy Orchard and Stewart Brookes were generous examiners and have been relentlessly supportive since. Richard Gameson has been an outstanding editor whose observations, guidance, and wisdom improved my work significantly. Brill’s anonymous reviewer made a number of invaluable suggestions, and the team at Brill – in particular Francis Knikker and Peter Buschman – have been incredibly patient and helpful throughout.
It was my ambition to produce a well-illustrated book, enabling readers to engage with (and dispute) my readings by offering direct evidence and, wherever possible, integrating images into the discussion in the same way as the manuscript’s production team sought to embed their illustrations in Wonders. Support from a range of quarters has enabled this. First, the copyright holders at Princeton University Library, Trinity College Cambridge, the Bodleian, and particularly the British Library have been generous with time and permissions. Second, it would not have been possible without the funding and support received from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (dfg) and the administrative staff at Ruhr-Universität Bochum. Finally, everyone at Brill has been that wonderful and rare combination of patient and brilliant in converting my vague ideas and technological ineptitude into technicolour wonder.
A very large part of this research was conducted and written up when working as part of esspin (Education Sector Support Programme in Nigeria), a project run by Cambridge Education. Too many people involved with that work have been patient with or kind to me to list here, but I would never have been able to complete a PhD without, in particular, the support and friendship of Lilian Breakell, John Kay, and Abimbola Osuntusa.
Finally, for the love, kindness, and joy they bring, I need to thank my parents, Peter and Margaret; Lucy, Jérôme, Ben, Tom, and Erin Metayer; Chris Fawson; Sue Fawson; Alex Fawson; and Jenny Fawson, to whom I owe every leaping delight.