Acknowledgements
This book is the result and expansion of my doctoral thesis submitted at the University of St Andrews on 31 October 2017, the date commemorating the quincentenary of Martin Luther’s Ninety-Five Theses and the Protestant Reformation. This research would not have been possible without the generous financial support in the forms of scholarships and grants from the University of St Andrews, the Universal Short Title Catalogue, the German History Society, the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), the Bibliographical Society, the Printing Historical Society, and the Economic History Society. This research was expanded upon after the completion of my PhD with fellowships at the John Rylands Library at the University of Manchester, the Reformationsgeschichtliche Forschungsbibliothek in Wittenberg, the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C. and the Pitts Theology Library at Emory University. Much of the final editing was supported during my current position as a Government of Ireland Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the School of History at University College Dublin.
Having visited more than a dozen libraries over the course of this research, three librarians stand out for their hospitality. Firstly, Florence Poinsot at the Bibliothèque de la Société de l’Histoire du Protestantisme Français in Paris showed me unparalleled hospitality and ensured I had access to the entirety of their Reformation pamphlet collection. I must also thank Dr Joachim Ott and Dr Iris Geisler at the Thüringer Universitäts- und Landesbibliothek at the Friedrich-Schiller-Universität in Jena. They provided excellent working conditions and went above and beyond in ensuring my time there was well-spent. I must also thank Dr Jeffrey Jaynes and Dr Matthias Roick, who hosted me on separate occasions in Wolfenbüttel at the Herzog August Bibliothek.
This text has benefitted from being read by several colleagues and friends. Thanks are due to Edwin Goi, Arthur der Weduwen, Ninal Lamal and Nora Epstein for reading draft chapters. Trudy Monteith copyedited the first draft and Falk Eisermann read the full manuscript, offering feedback that left the text much improved. Graeme Kemp, Shanti Graheli and Marc Jaffre provided advice and encouragement throughout, pushing me in new research directions. Lastly, Andrew Pettegree and Bridget Heal, my PhD supervisors, provided me with the guidance, direction and support that made this project possible and ensured its timely completion.
I could not have completed this journey without the support of Elisa Curth, who never wavered in her encouragement, no matter how many libraries or churches we visited. I would like to thank my sisters, Brooke and Amber, for always believing in me. For their constant love and support, I dedicate this book to my mother, Vickie, and my late father, John, who would have turned seventy today.
Drew B. Thomas
Dublin, 30 October 2020