This volume originated in the commemoration at Cambridge in 1985 of the 450th anniversary of the death of John Fisher, organised by members of the Faculties of Divinity and History, and sponsored by the University and Christ's, Queens’, St John's and Trinity Colleges, with all of which Fisher had a particular connection. The bulk of the volume consists of papers originally read at a symposium held in Queens’ College, under the chairmanship of Professor Geoffrey Elton. We wish to record our special indebtedness to Sir Geoffrey, whose astringent criticism and omniscience in the sources contributed much to the direction of discussion at the symposium, and thereby to the subsequent shaping of the volume. We wish also to thank all those students of the period who attended the symposium and whose expertise helped ensure its success. The symposium was possible because of the generous hospitality of Queens’ College, and the financial support of Christ's, St John's, and Trinity.

On any reckoning John Fisher occupied a central place not only in the development of Cambridge University, but of English theology in its most turbulent era, a view perhaps reflected in the placing of his image, with that of Cranmer, above the entrance to the Cambridge Divinity School. Yet he has been regarded as largely the possession of Roman Catholic piety. The editors hope that the essays in this volume, in exploring the significance of Fisher's multifaceted career, will do something to direct scholarly attention to one of the most remarkable and complex figures of early Tudor England.