Page 12 - Envoys and Political Communication in the Late Antique West 411 - 533

Preface

for Medieval Studies, University of Toronto. There I was privileged to
be guided by erudite and generous instructors: my supervisor Walter
Goffart, Timothy Barnes, Jocelyn Hillgarth, and Alexander C. Murray. I
could not imagine a more luminous constellation of scholars from whom
to learn, and I am greatly indebted for their invaluable and continued
counsel. At Toronto, too, I was fortunate to enjoy the instruction of
M. Edouard Jeauneau; the help of staff of the Pontifical Institute of Me-
diaeval Studies Library; the guidance of the directors of the Centre for
Medieval Studies, in particular Roberta Frank; and discussions and com-
panionship with many fellow students, of whom I wish to mention in
particular Ann Kuzdale, Catherine Conybeare, and Michael Kulikowski.
The work of revising and extending this study took place in the Ancient
History Documentary Research Centre of Macquarie University, a warm
haven for the study of late antiquity. I am most grateful for the guidance
there of Alanna Nobbs, Ted Nixon, Edwin Judge, Sam Lieu, and Robert
Tannenbaum; the bonhomie of Rosalinde Kearsley, Lea Benness, Tom
Hillard, and Geraldine Herbert-Brown; the cheerful assistance of Beth
Lewis and Pat Geidans; and the unflagging service of the Macquarie
University Library staff. To Paul Barnwell, Peter Brennan, Brian Croke,
Carman Cardelle de Hartmann, Walter Kaegi, Fergus Millar, Andreas
Schwarcz, Roger Scott, and Phil Wynn, I am indebted for valuable discus-
sions and advance copies of publications, and I am particularly grateful for
the encouragement of Peter Brown. The book has gained much from the
comments of the series editor Rosamond McKitterick, from Doug Lee,
and from the anonymous readers from Cambridge University Press. None
of the above, of course, bears any liability for the content or approach of
this book. At various stages, this study has been generously supported by
the Canadian Commonwealth Fellowship and Scholarship scheme, the
Canadian Association for Graduate Studies/Association canadienne pour
les ´ etudes avanc´ ees, the Australian Academy for the Humanities, the
Australian Research Council, and Macquarie University. My warmest
thanks to Don Gillett and Dora Gillett for their constant interest. Finally,
I am deeply grateful for the advice and support of Antonina Harbus.

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