Introduction

This brief introduction offers a survey of Henry Maguire’s ongoing accomplishments and contributions to the field of Byzantine studies which have earned the admiration and appreciation of friends and colleagues around the world. Born in the idyllic village of Combe Hay, outside Bath, England, in 1943, Henry Pownall Maguire became interested in Byzantine art through an ideal combination of travel to historical sites in Europe and the Mediterranean, and teachers and family members, who planted seeds of interest in the arts that flourished throughout his academic career. In childhood, both at home and abroad, he was surrounded by family members actively interested in art and literature, particularly his mother Elizabeth and stepfather Geoffrey McDermott, a British diplomat. As a teenager, Henry Maguire gave a presentation on the mosaics of Ravenna that so inspired his teacher that he included Ravenna on the class trip to Italy the year.