The Monastic Rules of Visigothic Iberia - eTheses Repository ...

Acknowledgements
This thesis could not have been written without the help of various people. First and
foremost my supervisor, Philip Burton, who has guided and inspired me throughout the entire
PhD process. Hugh Houghton was also kind enough to read through a rough draft and act as
a mentor during my time at The University of Birmingham. Amongst my peers, David
Newsome deserves the most thanks for not only reading and commenting on my work, but
also for providing much needed perspective and camaraderie. Also worthy of mention are
Amy Coker and Olivia Cockburn, and also postgraduates in the Institute of Archaeology and
Antiquity. Countless others deserve credit for listening to my papers at various conferences
and seminars and providing useful feedback, especially the Centre for the Study of the
Middle Ages at the University of Birmingham, which on a few occasions gave me ample
food for thought. A pleasant period of research spent at the Universidad Autónoma de
Madrid was made possible by the kindness of Benjamín García Hernandez in the
Departamento de filología clásica, and the library staff, both at that institution and the
Universidad Complutense de Madrid, deserve mention for their hospitality. The same applies
to the monks of Downside Abbey, who welcomed me into their lives and not only provided
use of their fantastic library facilities, but also permitted an insider‟s view of daily life in the
cloister. A special mention must go to the various journal editors and publishers who have
taught me valuable lessons about how to take criticism on the chin. They have provided
valuable feedback and, most importantly, given me hope for the future when they agree to
publish work.
I am grateful to the AHRC for providing the funding that made this PhD project a possibility.