Editor's Preface

Summary

We came to Bonn in the summer of 2022 at the instigation of Alheydis Plassmann to be hosted by Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität. The conference was, however, denied her physical presence by her ill health. At short notice and at some considerable cost to themselves, Alheydis's treasured colleagues, Prof. Dr. Andrea Stieldorf and Prof. Dr. Michael Rohrschneider, both of the Institut für Geschichtswissenschaft, stepped into her place to host us. With their student helpers and the hospitality of the university and of the Katholische Hochschulgemeinde they put on an extraordinary conference. The details of our visit had been impeccably planned by Alheydis and were adroitly put into effect by them both. Andrea and Michael gently guided me through the organisational detail of the conference. I am indebted to them and I am grateful to Alheydis that she made it possible for Michael, Andrea, and I to become firm friends (she knew that we would). Remarkably, too, with Michael taking the lead, the Bonn team managed to make it possible for people unable to come to the conference in person to join us via the medium of Zoom. Marie Ontiveros was my constant support on the administrative side of things, and here I would like to formally acknowledge my thanks to her. Alheydis also acquired funding for the conference from the Transdisciplinary Research Area ‘Present Pasts’ at the University of Bonn which eased the return of the conference from the virtual sphere to the physical world. I am grateful to Prof. Dr. Matthias Becher of the Department of History and to Prof. Dr. Karoline Noack of the Department for Anthropology of the Americas for their support. Dr. Hanna Jacobs expertly guided us around St Gereon's Basilica, Cologne, and Schwarzrheindorf Church, Bonn; and Prof. Dr. Harald Wolter-von dem Knesebeck explained to us the intricacies of the Bonner Munster. I would like to express my thanks to them both for their generosity in sharing their knowledge with us. It is a source of some solace that Alheydis was able both to write her Allen Brown Memorial lecture and to participate in parts of the conference via Zoom. She also lived long enough to complete her article for publication. After a quiet and undisturbed night, Alheydis Plassmann passed away very peacefully on the morning of 28 November 2022.

For many years, Alheydis was a key member of the Battle Conference on Anglo-Norman Studies.