Andrew Ayton: A Brief Tribute

Summary

It is a privilege to be invited to participate in a tribute to Andrew because it is an opportunity to thank him for risking the Crécy Matterhorn with an amateur climber, or as he might prefer, tackling a bustling city with a guide (book) less companion. In the seven years of collaboration on Crécy 1346, years in which he delighted in the treacle of prosopography, and allowed internal deadlines to glide past with impunity, what was constant and indeed marks all his work was, and remains, the sincerity of his devotion to the trade of historian: a trade made noble through scrupulous research and meticulous presentation of evidence. Virtuous though such efforts are, their value is tested by how well they are expressed to his audience. In my opinion, Andrew's writing is of the highest rank, thus combining the skill of the artist with that of the artisan.

As we were writing Crécy 1346, Robert Hardy and Matthew Strickland were simultaneously writing their surely classic: Warbow. In a small bar in France, Hardy turned to me and said, “we're two amateurs working with two of England's finest historians.” At that, I ordered another two glasses and it is a very great pleasure to be able to record that conversation here.