Our thanks, first of all, to the contributors to this volume for your professionalism, hard work, and good spirits. We are exceptionally grateful to you all. Special thanks go to John-Henry Clay, who helped plan the initial idea for this volume, and who kindly volunteered to produce the fine maps you see here. We would also like to express our gratitude to Janneke Raaijmakers for lending her expertise on Fulda and helping with the editing process, Michael Glatthaar for always being ready to answer numerous editorial and technical questions throughout this process, and James Palmer for his thoughtful advice.
We report with sadness that Dr. Rudolf Schieffer passed away in 2018, though not before signing off on the final version of his biographical chapter. Dr. Schieffer was among the first to sign on to this book project, and we are honored to be able to include his work in this volume.
This volume was made possible in part thanks to the generous support of Columbus State University, who provided financial assistance towards the cost of translation of several chapters and the professional production of the index. Thanks also, on behalf of Shannon, to the Main Library at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, for granting visiting researcher status and borrowing privileges in support of this project over several years, and on behalf of Michel, to the library and especially the Interlibrary Loan office at Auburn University, Montgomery. Michel is also grateful to correspondents around the world, including Madeleine Plum and Elizabeth Ginsberg, the VVV in Dokkum, and the Bonifatiusverein in Paderborn.
This book project would not have come to be without the initial idea of Brill’s now-retired Senior Acquisitions Editor, Julian Deahl. His inspiration and support have helped shape this volume. Last but not least, we would like to thank our editors at Brill, Ivo Romein and Christopher Bellitto, for their patience and guidance through the publishing process, and the two anonymous reviewers at Brill for their editorial care and encouraging words.