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Acknowledgments OVER THE YEARS, many people have contributed to the creation and development of this book, from its beginnings at Cornell University to its final completion at Vassar College. I hope they will recognize the unique and positive imprints they have left on the work; I can certainly no longer imagine what this study would look like without all their advice and support . Any defects that remain are, of course, my own. First and foremost, I wish to thank John M. Najemy at Cornell, who helped me to develop an interesting idea into a deeply engaging project with nuances and depths that I would not have discovered without his discerning eye and incisive questions. I could not have asked for a more supportive or inspiring mentor and colleague. I want to thank Barry Strauss, James John, and Leslie Peirce, also at Cornell, for their guidance at various stages. A special thanks goes to Danuta Shanzer, who helped with Latin translations and various other suggestions. To all my friends from Cornell, particularly Vicki Szabo and Amy Phelan, many thanks for their continuing collegiality and companionship. My colleagues and friends at Vassar provided crucial support and advice in developing this study into a more coherent and polished work. James H. Merrell of the history department carefully read and commented on earlier drafts of this book, offering wisdom and valued criticism along with encouragement and humor. Also in the history department, Mita Choudhury, Rebecca Edwards, Anthony Wohl, and Robert Brigham sustained me with their collegiality, suggestions, and friendship at many critical moments. My distinguished predecessor, Benjamin Kohl, and senior colleague David Schalk also generously shared insights and words of encouragement along the way. In the medieval and Renaissance studies program , Karen Robertson has given me numerous forums to share my work with colleagues; I am grateful for her positive attitude toward the project as it unfolded and to all the members of the medieval/Renaissance circle who provided much-needed feedback on portions of my work. Thanks also go to Rachel Friedman, Roberta Antognini, Susan Kassouf, John 308 Acknowledgments Ahern, and Eugenio Giusti for their help on various questions. Also at Vassar, I wish to thank my energetic and intellectually curious students for their questions and ideas, which helped me to reexamine and reposition my arguments on this topic. They are a constant source of inspiration. Beyond Cornell and Vassar, it is my great pleasure to thank members of the larger scholarly community who helped in the research and writing of this book. Robert Black, whose book on Benedetto Accolti sparked my interest in this topic, was a generous and encouraging correspondent on questions and drafts at various stages in my research. Arthur Field provided cheerful insights into navigating the archives and libraries during my first research trip to Florence, as well as numerous bibliographical suggestions . I also want to thank Carol Helstosky, Myra Best, and countless other friends from Florence for their companionship and academic camaraderie during my year there. James Hankins, Marios Philippides, John Monfasani, John Van A. Fine, and David Marsh read drafts of the entire book and shared their expertise with me on numerous issues from references to interpretive or factual problems. I am tremendously grateful for their comments and supportive words. Thanks also to Norman Housley, who read portions of this work and was a helpful correspondent on numerous questions along the way. Margaret Meserve and Benjamin Kedar also deserve thanks for their enthusiasm and suggestions. Finally, Alison Brown, Steven Reinert, and John Lenaghan helped with some important sources and translations. Countless librarians and staff members have helped me find and access materials indispensable to this book. In the United States, warm thanks and praise to the staff of Olin Library at Cornell University, Alexander Library at Rutgers University, Thompson Library at Vassar College, the Firestone Library at Princeton University, the Beinecke and Sterling Libraries at Yale University, the New York Public Library, and the Houghton Library at Harvard University. A special thanks to members of the interlibrary-loan department at Vassar, whose patience and resourcefulness were inexhaustible. In Italy, I wish to thank the staff of the following institutions: in Florence, the Archivio di Stato, Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale, Biblioteca Riccardiana, Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana, and the Villa i Tatti; in Rome, the Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana; and in Venice, the Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana. Trips abroad were generously funded by the Mommsen Traveling Fellowship, courtesy of the Cornell history department, and by a faculty research stipend from Vassar College. Addi...

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