Introduction

This book was originally intended as a Festschrift for W. Mark Ormrod, to celebrate his astonishingly productive and distinguished career as a medieval historian. Tragically, however, he did not live to see the publication of the volume, though he knew that it was underway and was eagerly anticipating its completion. After the earlier peripatetic stages of his career, Mark gained permanent employment at the University of York in 1990, and it was here that he revealed a deeply conscientious commitment to the life of the University, taking on a number of challenging managerial roles. While the contributors have approached the task of exploring the ideas and questions in Mark's work in different ways, all have written essays that have broad implications. The volume is offered in tribute to one of academia's brightest stars, an exceptional scholar and an outstanding human being.