making my gratitude public
I'll be handing in my D.Phil. thesis this week, after two and a half years of work and vastly more writing than I once thought myself capable of.
Since it's the sort of thing that deserves to be posted publicly, and usually ends up going inside the cover of a work that collects dust and never gets consulted again, I thought I should reproduce my acknowledgments here. It really would have been impossible without you.
Any large undertaking incurs many debts of gratitude, and this thesis has been no exception. My profound thanks must go to my husband, Mike Knell, who initially encouraged me to return for the D.Phil. program, and who has ensured constant moral support, occasional typing assistance, and uninterrupted supplies of tea. The thesis would have been equally impossible without the support of my supervisor, Prof. Theo M. van Lint, who has seen me through with patience, humour, and frequent reminders that literature is as important as history.
I would also like to thank the following people and institutions:
The Mekhitarist Fathers of Venice and Vienna, the Maštocʿ Institute of Ancient Manuscripts (Matenadaran) in Yerevan, the British Library, the Bibliothèque Nationale, and the Hill Museum and Manuscript Library, for graciously providing physical access to, and digital copies of, the manuscripts of the Chronicle.
The Colin Matthew fund of St. Hugh's College, the faculty fund of the Oriental Institute, and Dr. Jean Knell, who each provided financial assistance necessary to visit these libraries; as well as the Nubar Pasha fund, who provided the financial means to obtain the necessary manuscript reproductions.
Linacre College, for their award of a Mary Blaschko Graduate Scholarship for 2006–2008 which enabled me to begin the D.Phil. degree, their assistance with conference travel via the Old Members' Trust, and their indispensable assistance in various administrative matters.
Dr. James Cotton of Queen Mary, University of London, who provided invaluable advice and assistance in the application of phylogenetics to my manuscript data.
Lou Burnard and Dr. James Cummings of the Oxford Text Archive, who advised on the possibilities of TEI as a format for collation output and critical edition.
My legion of proofreaders, including Dr. Alan Knell, Dr. Jasmin Raufer, Dr. Tim Stadelmann, Michael Kröll, and Andromeda Yelton.
The members of the Vienna.pm Verein, for unfailing hospitality on my multiple visits to the city and the library there, and for the opportunity to speak about my work on Encritic to the Twin Cities Perl Workshop; and the members of the London Perl Mongers, who were ever on hand to assist with technical matters.
