Livia Visser-Fuchs – författare

This is a full edition of the trading privileges that had been granted to the Merchant Adventurers' Company of England by the princes of the Low Countries from 1296, copied into one diplomatic reference book in 1484. The sequence of grants reveals the steadily increasing value of the cross-Channel trade - at first dominated by wool, and then by woollen cloth and linen - which made it important that peace was maintained between the nations. The introduction explains why this copy of the grants was made for an embassy ordered by Richard III to solve a mercantile impasse and circumvent the conditions of civil war in the Low Countries so that trade might continue. Appendices describe the development of the office of the governor of the Merchant Adventurers up to 1484, and present the little known petitions from Antwerp merchants to the kings of England that their own position be put on a par with the advantages enjoyed by the English under their privileges.The text of each privilege is included in its original language of French, Latin or Dutch, accompanied by the 15th-century English translation.This unique addition to the corpus of English texts of this period forms a valuable sourcebook on trade and political events in medieval Europe, as well as a unique tool for students of medieval language and translation.

Richard III, the most notorious and most discussed of English kings, was also unusual among his contemporaries in regularly signing his books. This characteristic, among others, has enabled Anne Sutton and Livia Visser-Fuchs to reconstruct his library, and link it to the culture and reading habits of his generation.The books of Richard III are typical of what was available to and popular with the medieval reader – religion, chivalry, history, genealogy, advice on how to govern, romance and prophecy – and allow us to draw an interesting overview of fifteenth-century opinions.Each type of book is examined on its own terms and then related to the known preoccupations of Richard himself, his associates and to the political practices of his time. Containing valuable biographical material, insights into the history and politics of the later fifteenth century, and much detail on late medieval piety and other important aspects of contemporary culture, this fully illustrated survey has wide-ranging significance for all who study the history and literature of the medieval period.

As a person’s religious convictions, especially in times past, can be considered fundamental to their character and behaviour, the nature of King Richard III’s piety has been the subject of considerable debate. Much of this controversy has focused on the Book of Hours adopted by the king for his own private use following his coronation, and to which certain prayers, including that known as the ‘Prayer of Richard III’, were added.In The Hours of Richard III Ricardian experts Anne F. Sutton and Livia Visser-Fuchs explore the manuscript and the prayer’s text. The manuscript (now preserved in Lambeth Palace Library) was originally produced in London around 1420 and the text shows the preoccupations of a devout man of the fifteenth century, while its decoration showcases the development of London manuscript illumination during that period. Moreover, in this analysis of the manuscript, the authors offer an insight into the personality of Richard III, one of the most controversial figures in medieval history.