IN ITS BREADTH OF SUBJECT MATTER, this collection of essays written in honour of Professor Eric Fernie is representative of his own scholarly concerns, which extend well beyond the boundaries of medieval European architecture, a field to which he has contributed with particular brilliance. Even so, the spectrum of topics covered in the book does not aim to encompass the totality of Eric's interests, excluding as it does, perforce, comic-book illustration, or science fiction.

We are grateful, in the first instance, to Eric's family for raising the idea of this collection, whose theme of ‘architecture and interpretation’ was devised by Sandy Heslop, and to Pamela Tudor-Craig for encouraging the project in its very early stages. Our contributors have responded with remarkable patience and good grace to various requests. We would also like to thank Nicola Coldstream, Peter Draper, Karin Kyburz, Zoe Opačić, and Christopher Wilson for their assistance with the book in various ways, as well as Jocelyn Anderson, who prepared the index. Publication has been made possible by generous financial support from the Research Committee of the Courtauld Institute of Art; the School of World Art Studies, University of East Anglia; a Stroud Bursary from the Society of Architectural Historians of Great Britain; and the Norfolk and Norwich Archaeological Society.