ANNALS OF THE CRRS

A History from our Founding (1964) to the Present

The Centre for Reformation and Renaissance Studies was created in 1964 at Victoria University in the University of Toronto and commenced operations in 1965 under its founding Director, Professor F. David Hoeniger. The CRRS was conceived as a research centre for the study of the period from 1350 to 1700. Its directors and staff have realized this mandate by assembling a significant non-circulating collection of rare and modern books, and by encouraging scholarly discourse and teaching through its programmes and publications. Their efforts have brought international recognition to the Centre's resources, activities, and scholarly community.

The following is an annualized history of the Centre's executive, fellows, and staff. Each year also includes a 'Progress' report on the year's activities. This history was compiled in 2003 by Marinela Martinez, from the Annual Reports of the Director to Victoria University. Please send corrections and other suggestions to .

 

The 1960s

1964-1965

Director: F.D. Hoeniger
Graduate Fellows: none named

Progress: The establishment of the CRRS in the 1963-1964 year created a unique and much-needed research library specializing in the Renaissance and Reformation. Thanks to collaboration with the Chief Librarian, Lorna Fraser, as well as the support of the Victoria University Board of Regents, the history of the CRRS began on an extremely optimistic and ambitious note. Within seven months of its founding, CRRS holdings amounted to 1600 volumes, including 50 rare books from the 16th century and two first editions of works by Erasmus.

1965-1966

Director: F. D. Hoeniger
Graduate Fellows: none named

Progress: During this year, the CRRS devoted the majority of its time and budget to book purchases, doubling its holdings to 2300 titles (about 3000 volumes). However, the CRRS also began to make itself a more visible part of the university community, organizing its first exhibition of rare books and sponsoring the first annual Erasmus lecture, given by W.K. Ferguson.

1966-1967

Director: F.D. Hoeniger
Graduate Fellows: Rev. Graham Scott, Mary Mosser

Progress: With the CRRS collection standing at about 5000 items, Director Hoeniger noted that the Centre had made the formidable accomplishment in reaching a quarter of its immediate objective (a specialized graduate library with 20,000 books and photographic materials) in a little over three years.

1967-1968

Director: F.D. Hoeniger
Senior Advisors: Beatrice Corrigan, A.L. Farris
Graduate Fellows: (all half-time) David Sinclair, Sally Kaplan, Jane Couchman, Germaine Warkentin, Mary Mosser, Gerald Hobbs (away at Strasbourg)
Undergraduate Assistant: Anne Kewley (supervisor)

Progress: The CRRS collection again saw a dramatic increase in the 1967-68 year, reaching 7000 volumes and attracting a growing interest among researchers. During this year, Director Hoeniger recommended a move toward the founding of Friends of the Centre, which would allow for growing collaboration between the CRRS and its patrons in the academic community.

1968-1969

Director: F.D. Hoeniger (H.R. Secor as Acting Director from 20 December 1968 to 1 August 1969)
Associate Director: Professor Grant (on leave during spring term)
Senior Advisors: William Blissett, J. McConica
Secretary: A.G. Reynolds (20 December 1968 to 1 August 1969)
Graduate Fellows: none named
Graduate Research Assistant: Germaine Warkentin

Progress: The CRRS expanded its activities in 1968-69, when the Toronto Renaissance and Reformation Colloquium invited the Centre to take over its publication, the Renaissance and Reformation Bulletin. The CRRS accepted, naming John McClelland as its editor. Additionally, the Colloquium made a formal proposal calling for the establishment of an interdisciplinary graduate program in the Renaissance and Reformation at the University of Toronto. The Council of the School of Graduate Studies approved the proposal, which also called for coordination with the CRRS in developing the program, in April 1969. In light of these developments and the Centre’s ever-growing collection, Director F.D. Hoeniger expressed the hope of being able to move the CRRS into its new quarters at the Emmanuel College Library as soon as was possible.

1969-1970

Director: F.D. Hoeniger
Associate Director: not named
Secretary: Shirley Vincent
Graduate Fellows: M. Griffiths, E.S. Cohen
Research Assistants: Cal Francis, J.A. Morrison, M. Bridgland

Progress: In addition to developing connections with Renaissance studies centres at Tours (France) and Sherbrooke during the 1969-70 school year, the CRRS announced that one of its major projects, the Erasmus Bibliography of the Bell Erasmus collection, was nearing completion and would be printed in a bonus 60-page addition to the Bulletin of the Toronto Renaissance-Reformation Colloquium. Furthermore, the Centre’s steady acquisition of books and microfilms brought CRRS holdings to about 10,000 volumes, about half of the projected size of 20,000 to 25,000 volumes thought necessary for a useful research collection in the field.

 

The 1970s

1970-1971

Director: H.R. Secor (Jane Couchman as Acting Director for summer of 1971 while Secor was away in Europe)
Associate Director(s): F.D. Hoeniger, another not named
Secretary: Shirley Vincent
Senior Advisors: K.F. Helleiner, V.E. Graham
Honorary Advisors: J.M. McConica, Beatrice Corrigan
Graduate Fellows: M. Griffiths, Rev. Walther Dedi

Progress: Efforts to expand connections in the scholarly community continued this year, with the CRRS establishing contacts with a number of Italian scholars and Institutes as well as continuing communication with Centres at Tours and Sherbrooke. Despite financial constraints, the CRRS also managed to make further acquisitions of rare books, including Renaissance editions and translations of the Greek and Latin classics, as well as volumes from The English Experience. Director Secor noted as well the continued concern over shelf space for the collection; however, thanks to the efforts of Chief Librarian Lorna Fraser, the Centre’s collection was able to extend down into the mezzanine level of Pratt Library.

1971-1972

Director: H.R. Secor
Associate Director: not named
Senior Advisors: V.E. Graham, K.F. Helleiner
Secretary: Shirley Vincent
Graduate Fellows: D. Sewell (winter term onwards)
Assistant: Maud Hutcheson

Progress: Director Secor was pleased to announce the offering of an interdisciplinary course on Renaissance culture (INV201), taught by Professors Ruth Harvey and H.R. Secor, which would certainly help to increase undergraduate interest both in Renaissance studies and the CRRS. In the field of book acquisitions, the CRRS obtained a volume containing Erasmus’ edition of St. Augustine’s letters, as well as an eleven volume set of the State Papers of Henry VIII.

1972-1973

Director: H.R. Secor
Associate Director: not named
Secretary: Shirley Vincent (resigned winter 1972-1973, replaced by Bev Jahnke)
Graduate Fellows: D. Sewell
Assistants: Christine Forsyth, Maud Hutcheson, Carla Salvador
Supervisor in CRRS Library: Paul Agius (undergraduate)

Progress: Despite book budget reductions and other financial constraints, the CRRS collection approached 14,000 volumes as it neared its tenth year of operation. Maintaining an active role in the academic community, the CRRS was able to sponsor a number of lectures by well-known scholars as well as increase circulation of the Bulletin, published jointly with the Toronto Renaissance and Reformation Colloquium. Furthermore, the CRRS made note of the success of INV 201 (an undergraduate course in Renaissance culture), commenting on its success at raising undergraduate awareness of the Centre and its collection.

1973-1974

Director: H.R. Secor
Associate Director: not named
Secretary of the CRRS: A.G. Reynolds
CRRS Secretary (business): Sandra Walker (replacing Bev Jahnke)
Graduate Fellows: D. Hughes
Bibliographical Fellows: D. Sewell, Kenneth Bartlett
Research Assistants: Maud Hutcheson, Elizabeth Bourne

Progress: The CRRS witnessed a mix of joy and tragedy in its tenth year; in addition to the hardship of rising costs and budgetary constraints, the loss of former Graduate Fellow David Sinclair in 1974 was deeply felt among the Centre’s staff and fellows. Yet the CRRS continued to move forward, sponsoring a number of lectures and publishing the first volume of Erasmus’ Correspondence (the first in a projected series of the Collected Works of Erasmus).

1974-1975

Director: H.R. Secor
Associate Director: John Webster Grant (continuing?)
Graduate Fellows: [not enough funding this year to provide for graduate fellowship with stipend of a teaching fellow; money divided between three assistants, including one undergraduate]
Research Assistants: Carla Salvador, others not named
Bibliographical Fellows: Kenneth Bartlett, Larry Pfaff

Progress: The sixth and final year of Professor Secor’s term as Director, 1974-75 was a very active year for the CRRS. Close involvement with the Toronto-York Renaissance Colloquium (for which Director Secor also served as Chairman during this year) resulted in a number of scholarly and social gatherings, while the jointly-published journal Renaissance and Reformation steadily gained reputation both in Canada and abroad. The CRRS’ research activities also proved very fruitful, resulting in a growing collection of bibliographies on a variety of subjects, from law to emblem books to lists of early editions by Swiss and other reformers.

1975-1976

Director: F.D. Hoeniger
Associate Directors: H.R. Secor, John Webster Grant
Assistant to the Director (and main supervisor of the Centre): Carla Salvador (to 15 March 1976), Anne McWhir (to June 1976)
Graduate Fellows: Kenneth Bartlett, others not named

Progress: Despite operating on a budget smaller than in any year since its foundation, the CRRS did very well in the 1975-76 year. One project undertaken this year was the building of a collection of illstrations in the form of slides, postcards, and other small-size reproductions; the intention was to develop a comprehensive collection in the areas of Renaissance portraiture and emblems. Director Hoeniger noted its usefulness particularly to undergraduate students, whose use of the Centre was increasing in light of the success of the Renaissance culture course.

1976-1977

Director: F.D. Hoeniger
Associate Director: not named
Chief Assistant: Janis Svilpis (also holds position as Postdoctoral Fellow)
Senior Assistant: Maud Hutcheson (retired October 1977)
Graduate Fellow: Nancy Adamson

Progress: Several important developments impacting the future of the CRRS took place in the 1976-77 year. Plans for an undergraduate program in Renaissance Studies were passed by the Faculty of Arts; with the Centre heavily involved with the program, the success of this plan marked a shift in emphasis toward serving undergraduates. However, Director Hoeniger noted that such a shift would not in any way compromise the Centre’s place as an institute of advanced studies. On a more national level, the Canadian Society for Renaissance Studies was inaugurated in May 1976, and the CRRS’s director was elected for a two-year term as the society’s first president. One of the first steps taken was to undertake co-sponsorship of the Centre’s journal, Renaissance and Reformation, now also called Renaissance et Réforme.

1977-1978

Director: F.D. Hoeniger
Associate Director: not named
Curator: Janis Svilpis
Graduate Fellows: Konrad Eisenbichler (Italian), Stephen Hannaford (Drama)

Progress: The title of CRRS Curator was established this year, with Dr. Janis Svilpis taking on a combined role of post-doctoral fellow, chief supervisor, and secretary for the Centre. Despite continued financial strain, the Centre was also able to achieve its goal of remaining open five days a week for eleven months out of the year; doing so was undoubtedly a help for students in VIC 342 (Renaissance Italian Literature in translation) and VIC 440 (senior seminar on Renaissance topics), two undergraduate courses which were offered for the first time that year. Close association with other universities and scholars also continued, with highlights including growing contact with the Italian consulate as well as a visit by individuals from the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris.

1978-1979

Director: F.D. Hoeniger (stepped down, 30 June 1979)
Associate Director: not named
Curator: Janis Svilpis
Graduate Fellows: Konrad Eisenbichler (Italian), Nancy Adamson, Craig Turner

Progress: As a solution to the persisting issue of space in Pratt Library, the Centre’s rare book collection was moved into a climate-controlled room in the sub-basement; this move was not only beneficial to the books themselves, but freed considerable shelf space on the mezzanine, allowing for the expansion of the CRRS’ collection of monographs and modern editions. On the publishing end, the first of the Centre’s series of occasional publications, Humanist Editions of the Classics at the CRRS, was published thanks to the efforts of Janis Svilpis, Kenneth Bartlett, and Nancy Adamson. Furthermore, the Centre began the process of inaugurating another publication project: a series of translations into English of important Renaissance and Reformation texts by such authors as Valla, Ficino, Melanchthon, and others.

1979-1980

Director: James Estes
Associate Director: Germaine Warkentin
Curator: Konrad Eisenbichler (replacing Svilpis, whose wife took a position at University of Calgary)
Graduate Fellows: Gay MacDonald (English), Craig Turner

Progress: The CRRS had the good fortune of receiving two major grants this year (one from the Varsity Fund and another from the SSHRCC’s Programme for the Strengthening of Special Collections), which provided a welcome relief from difficulties brought on by rising book prices and declining book budgets. The Centre’s activities extended beyond book acquisition and turned to book production as well: Director Estes announced that Olga Pugliese’s translation of Lorenzo Valla’s De professione religiosorum would be the first of the proposed series of Renaissance and Reformation texts. Finally, the Managing Committee of the CRRS inaugurated a program of non-stipendiary post-doctoral Senior Fellowships for Renaissance and Reformation scholars who wished to make use of the Centre’s facilities; the first fellows (to take up their appointments in the 1980-81 year) were announced in Director Estes’ report.

 

The 1980s

1980-1981

Director: James Estes
Associate Director: Germaine Warkentin
Curator: Konrad Eisenbichler
Graduate Fellows: Gay MacDonald, Robert Sweetman (CMS)
Fellows: Wyman Herendeen (Dalhousie), Etsuro Kinowaki (Fukuoka Women’s University, Japan)

Progress: The Centre flourished in the 1980-81 year, making a number of valuable acquisitions, sponsoring lectures, working on a number of publications, and refining the Centre’s space on the mezzanine level of Pratt Library. Among the acquisitions the CRRS made were five rare editions of Erasmus works, as well as texts in English and Italian. The revision of the rare-book catalogue to fit the Library of Congress system also made progress this year, and it was hoped that the completion of this project would make the collection more accessible to scholars. On the publication end, the third of the Centre’s Occasional Publications series went to press; it was called Bibles, Theological Treatises and Other Religious Literature, 1491-1700 at the CRRS, compiled by Konrad Eisenbichler, Gay MacDonald, and Robert Sweetman. Furthermore, Professor Desmond Neill of Massey College agreed to be the Editor-in-Chief of the Renaissance and Reformation Texts in Translation series.

1981-1982

Director: James Estes (on sabbatical leave)
Associate Director: Germaine Warkentin (Acting Director for 1981-1982)
Curator: Konrad Eisenbichler
Graduate Fellows: Cathleen Hoeniger, Gay MacDonald
Fellows: Wyman Herendeen, Marillene Allen

Progress: At the suggestion of Professor Germaine Warkentin, this year the CRRS decided to inaugurate a Distinguished Visiting Scholar program. The aim of this program was to bring to campus a distinguished scholar who could, in contrast to the Erasmus Lecturer, would not hold a formal public lecture but rather conduct an informal seminar for interested staff and students, meet with individuals, and make recommendations concerning the Centre’s collection. The Director announced that the first scholar invited to participate in this program would be Paul Oskar Kristeller, who would come to campus in October 1983.

1982-1983

Director: James Estes
Associate Director: Germaine Warkentin
Curator: Konrad Eisenbichler
Graduate Fellows: Cathleen Hoeniger, William Bowen
Fellows: Wyman Herendeen, Marillene Allen, Jean Q. Seaton (Saskatchewan), Robert Sider (Dickinson College), James Cook (Albion College)
Connaught Senior Fellow: Rika Maniates

Progress: The CRRS once again had the good fortune of being awarded another SSHRCC grant of $25,000, for the three-year period of 1983-1986. This grant enabled the Centre to make a number of valuable additions to the rare book collection; the most notable among these were three prime editions of the works of Erasmus, including a 1522 edition of his Novum Instrumentum.

1983-1984

Director: James Estes
Associate Director: Germaine Warkentin (on sabbatical leave in England)
Curator: Konrad Eisenbichler
Graduate Fellows: Wanda Cizewski (PIMS, + summer 1984), William Bowen (Music)
Fellows: William Barker, Edward English, Wyman Herendeen

Progress: The launch of Distinguished Visiting Scholar program got the Centre’s year to a great start, with a very successful visit from the renowned Paul Oskar Kristeller. In addition, the Centre sponsored two international conferences: the first, “The Language of Gesture in the Renaissance” (November 11-12 1983) was co-sponsored with the Toronto Renaissance and Reformation Colloquium, and the second, “The New Testament Scholarship of Erasmus” (May 21-22 1984) was co-sponsored with The Collected Works of Erasmus of the University of Toronto Press. Finally, Director Estes submitted his Memorandum on the Future of the CRRS to President French, which in turn resulted in the production of a conservative but optimistic plan for the Centre’s next ten years.

1984-1985

Director: James Estes
Associate Director: Germaine Warkentin
Curator: Konrad Eisenbichler (resigned to take an appointment at Victoria College)
Graduate Fellows: Paul Budra (English), William Lundell (PIMS)
Fellows: Etsuro Kinowaki (Summer 1985 – Fukuaka, Japan), Barbara Garner (Carleton), Miriam Skey (Tokyo, Japan), William Bowen, William Barker, Edward English

Progress: Thanks to the plans developed by President’s Ad Hoc Committee on the Future of the CRRS (created in reaction to the memorandum submitted by Director Estes in October 1983), the Centre received a long-needed increase in its book budget which was used to fill in gaps caused by previous low budgets as well as acquire new materials. Te greater financial support yielded by the Committee also enabled the Centre to, with the cooperation of staff from Pratt Library, remain open from 9am-5pm, five days a week, for the first time in CRRS history. Furthermore, Olga Pugliese’s translation of De professione religiosorum appeared on bookshelves as the first title in the Centre’s Translation series.

1985-1986

Director: Germaine Warkentin
Associate Director: Kenneth Bartlett
Curator: Jacqueline Murray
Graduate Fellows: William Lundell, Ralph Blasting
Fellows: Kenneth Borris (Edmonton), Willaim Bowen (Toronto), David Carlson (Southern Methodist University), Edward English (Toronto), Jonathan Hart (Trent), Miriam Skey (Tokyo, Japan)

Progress: March 1986 marked a high point in CRRS history with the acquisition of the Novum Instrumentum (Basle, Froben, 1516) of Erasmus. The addition was made possible by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council’s Fleeting Opportunities grant, the Erasmus Trust Fund, and the extremely generous donation of $10,000 from an anonymous donor.

1986-1987

Director: Germaine Warkentin
Associate Director: Kenneth Bartlett
Curator: Jacqueline Murray
Graduate Fellows: Ralph Blasting, Lesley Cormack (Institute for the History and Philosophy of Science and Technology)
Fellows: Kenneth Borris (Edmonton), William Bowen (Toronto), David Carlson (Southern Methodist University), Edward English (Toronto)

Progress: Following in the past established by the 1984 Report of the President’s Ad Hoc Committee on the Future of the CRRS, the Managing Committee of the Centre constructed its “Long Term Plan: 1987-2002,” which was presented to the President in March 1987. The objective of the plan was to establish reasonable priorities and goals for the Centre’s development over the next fifteen years, with particular reference to the recurring concerns of budgeting and space issues.

1987-1988

Director: Germaine Warkentin
Associate Director: Kenneth Bartlett
Curator: Jacqueline Murray (resigned October 1987, replaced by Lesley Cormack)
Graduate Fellows: Ralph Blasting, Lesley Cormack (until 1 October 1987), Anna Kirkwood (CMS, after 1 October 1987), Lawrin Armstong
Fellows: Kenneth Borris (McGill), William Bowen (Toronto), Paul Budra (Toronto), Kelly DeVries (Toronto), Theodore De Welles (Toronto), Peter Hyland (University of Singapore), Jane Phillips (University of Kentucky)

Progress: The Centre was very busy this year, working hard on the largest single project in its history: playing host to Seventh Triennial Congress of the International Association for Neo-Latin Studies (August 7-14, 1988), an eight-day conference of intense activity held in the equally intense heat of summer. Despite the drain of manpower caused by the organization of this conference, however, the CRRS was able to maintain the strength of its programming, sponsoring numerous lectures and seminars, making valuable rare book acquisitions, and publishing Rita Belladonna’s translation of Ochino’s Seven Dialogues as the next part of the Centre’s Translation series.

1988-1989

Director: Germaine Warkentin
Associate Director: Kenneth Bartlett (on leave 1988-89; K. Eisenbichler as Acting Associate Director)
Curator: Jacqueline Glomski (L. Cormack resigned)
Graduate Fellows: Lawrin Armstrong (CMS), David Galbraith (English),
Fellows: David Carnegie (Victoria University of Wellington), Theodore De Welles (Toronto), Jacqueline Glomski (Toronto), Alexander Jacob (Madras), Ilana Klutstien (Hebrew University of Jerusalem), Anne O’Donnell (Catholic University), J. Max Patrick (University of Wisconsin), Terence Tunberg (Toronto)

Progress: The 1988-89 year was, as Director Warkentin put it, a “year of reflection” that was badly needed after the hectic two years spent preparing for the Neo-Latin Congress. This is not to say, however, that the CRRS lay inactive during this period: after receiving another $10,000 grant from SSHRCC, the CRRS made a number of important acquisitions, including four prime editions of Erasmus’ works. In addition, the Centre published M.L. Führer’s translation of Nicholas of Cusa’s The Layman on Wisdom and the Mind, and hosted a conference on “Ritual and and Recreation in Renaissance Confraternities” (28-30 April 1989); this conference, organized by Konrad Eisenbichler and William Bowen, led to the founding of a Society, a Newsletter, and a Confraternities Collection (the last of which was to be housed at the CRRS).

1989-1990

Director: Germaine Warkentin (outgoing; K. Eisenbichler takes over 1 July 1990)
Associate Director: James Estes
Curator: Jacqueline Glomski (resigned 1 April 1990, replaced by David Galbraith)
Graduate Fellows: David Galbraith, Janice Leidl (History)
Fellows: Alexander Jacob, Jacqueline Murray (Windsor), J. Max Patrick, Jacqueline Glomski

Progress: The CRRS celebrated its Twenty-Fifth Anniversary this year, in the midst of a range of important activities. Among the most notable events was the Centre’s hosting of the annual meeting of the Renaissance Society of America (5-7 April 1990). This event was organized by Professors Eisenbichler and Bartlett, and was a great success. The CRRS also produced a number of publications this year, including the International Directory of Renaissance and Reformation Association and Institutes, the 1989 Directory/Répertoire of the Canadian Society for Renaissance Studies, and a second edition of Giovanni Della Casa’s Galateo (originally published in 1986).

 

The 1990s

1990-1991

Director: Konrad Eisenbichler
Associate Director: James Estes
Curator: David Galbraith
Graduate Fellows: Janice Leidl (History), Sally McKee (History)
Fellows: Jacqueline Glomski (Columbia), James Doelman (SSHRCC Post-doctoral Fellow), Willard McCarty (Centre for Computing in the Humanities)
Visiting Fellows: Dominic Baker-Smith (Universiteit van Amsterdam), Charles Fantazzi (Windsor), Paul Marquis (St. Francis Xavier University), Jacqueline Murray (Windsor), Paul Rose (University of Haifa)

Progress: Professor Konrad Eisenbichler looked over his first year as Director of the CRRS with pride over its accomplishments in the 1990-91 year. Use of the Centre increased dramatically in light of a Spring 1991 library workers strike, but Eisenbichler noted that those who had “discovered” the Centre during this period seemed to continue using the CRRS even after the strike had come to an end. Thanks to an increase in the book budget, the Centre was able to acquire over 250 books and journals, eleven of which were rare 16th-century editions purchased with a $5000 SSHRCC grant. However, Director Eisenbichler also noted the drawbacks to the Centre’s success in serving the community, highlighting the necessity of finding a solution to its space problems.

1991-1992

Director: Konrad Eisenbichler
Associate Director: James Estes
Curator: David Galbraith
Graduate Fellows: Rebekah Smick (Fine Art), Sally McKee (CMS)
Visiting Graduate Fellow: Paul Nelles (Johns Hopkins)
Fellows: James Doelman (SSHRC Post-doctoral Fellow, McMaster University), Willard McCarty (Centre for Computing in the Humanities), John Parson (CRRS), Lesley Cormack (PhD Toronto)
Visiting Fellows: Daniel Fischlin (Bishop’s University), Jacqueline Murray (Windsor), Guy Poirier (Simon Fraser), Paul Rose (University of Haifa)
Graduate Assistants: Megan Armstrong, Robert Buranello
UnderGraduate Assistants: Julie Vieira, Jeff Creighton

Progress: The CRRS continued to prosper and develop this year, maintaining its strength even with a shoestring budget and the presence of only one full-time employee (the Curator). In addition to hosting an extremely successful and much talked-about international conference entitled “Sex and Sexuality in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance” (22-24 November 1991), the CRRS published the International Directory of Renaissance and Reformation Associations and Instititutes as well as Bryan Mangrum and Giuseppe Scavizzi’s translations of three treatises on the role of images in Christian worship, On Religious Images. The CRRS also had the good fortune of receiving a number of generous donations, including $50,000 in grants from the SSHRCC (for book acquisitions and assistance in organizing conferences), and 144 rolls of microfilm (containing approximately a thousand books published in the Netherlands prior to 1601) from the John Robarts Library.

1992-1993

Director: Konrad Eisenbichler
Associate Director: James Estes
Curator: David Galbraith
Graduate Fellows: Rebekah Smick (Fine Art), Lisa Celovsky (English), Paul Murphy
Visiting Graduate Fellow: Paul Nelles (Johns Hopkins)
Bibliographical Fellow: Jeff Creighton
Fellows: John Parsons, Enrico Vicentini (PhD Toronto), Lesley Cormack (till end of 1992)
Visiting Fellows: David Carnegie (Victoria University, New Zealand), Etsuro Kinowaki (Fukuoka Jo Gakun College, Japan), David Gunby (University of Canterbury, New Zealand), Robert Melzi (Emeritus, Widener University, Pennsylvania), Elizabeth Popham (Trent), Guy Poirier (Simon Fraser), Terry Sherwood (University of Victoria), Paul Stanwood (University of British Columbia)
Graduate Assistants: Megan Armstrong, Robert Buranello, Margaret McGeachy
UnderGraduate Assistants: Noreen Balfe, Julie Vieira

Progress: 1992-93 was an extremely busy year for the CRRS. In addition to its usual program of lectures and seminars, the Centre hosted three international conferences and mounted an exhibition of illustrated Italian books in the rare book collection. In addition, the CRRS entered the information age with the launch of an electronic seminar and bulletin board for scholars of the Renaissance and Reformation, called FICINO in honour of the late 15th-century Florentine philosopher.

1993-1994

Director: Konrad Eisenbichler
Associate Director: James Estes
Curator: Joseph Black
Graduate Fellows: Lisa Celovsky (English), Paul Murphy (History), Robert Buranello (Italian)
Bibliographical Fellow: Jeff Creighton
Fellows: John Parsons, Enrico Vicentini, Betsy Ross (PhD Toronto)
Visiting Fellows: Hilmar Pabel (Simon Fraser), William Barker (Memorial University), Alan Shepard (Texas Christian University), Alexander Coroleu (Warburg Institute), Annabel Paterson (Duke University), Paul White (Purdue University)
Graduate Assistants: Megan Armstrong, Chris Nighman, Margaret McGeachy

Progress: no annual report available

1994-1995

Director: Konrad Eisenbichler
Associate Director: James Estes
Curator: Joseph Black
Graduate Fellows: Robert Buranello (Italian; first term), Jennifer Forbes (History; second term), Chris Nighman (History), Megan Armstrong (History)
Visiting Graduate Fellows: Vic Thiessen (Queens), Michael Milway (University of Arizona)
Bibliographical Fellow: Jeff Creighton
Fellows: Laura Willett (PhD UCLA), Mark Fortier (PhD York)
Visiting Fellows: Barrie Dobson (Cambridge), Istvan Bejczy (Universiteit Nijmegen, Netherlands), Dylan Reid (Oxford)
Graduate Assistant: Margaret McGeachy

Progress: no annual report available

1995-1996

Director: Konrad Eisenbichler
Associate Director: William Bowen
Curator: Joseph Black
Graduate Fellows: Jennifer Forbes (CMS), Megan Armstrong (History), Chris Nighman (History)
Bibliographical Fellow: Jeff Creighton
Fellows: Istvan Bejczy (Nijmegen, Netherlands), Sara Charney (PhD Toronto), Christina Luckyj (Dalhousie), Jacqueline Murray (Windsor), Dennis Ngien (PhD Toronto), Edmund Pries (PhD Waterloo), Philippa Sheppard (PhD Oxford), Laura Willett (PhD UCLA)
Visiting Graduate Fellows: Christian Fantoni (Sorbonne), Dylan Reid (Oxford), Vic Thiessen (Queen’s)
Graduate Assistants: Margaret McGeachy (English), Laura Hunt (CMS)
UnderGraduate Assistants: April Delaurier, Jennifer Andreae

Progress: In cooperation with the Renaissance Society of America and the University of Arizona (Tempe), the CRRS inaugurated an international electronic bibliography database called ITER. Optimistic about the success of the ITER proejct (envisioned by Associate Director William Bowen), Director Eisenbichler asserted that the project would help to place the CRRS on the world map, both in the active scholarship it produced but also “as a central node in an electronic network of information and resources worldwide.” True enough, ITER attracted immediate attention in the Renaissance studies world, and was featured in the lead article of the RSA’s Renaissance News and Notes. In addition, the CRRS also co-organized three major conferences: the Eighth Congress of the Société Internationale du Théâtre, a one-day conference called on “Politics and High Culture in the Reigns of Edward VI and Mary Tudor,” and a four-day international conference called “De-Centring the Renaissance: Canada and Europe in Multi-Disciplinary Perspective, 1350-1700.”

1996-1997

Director: Konrad Eisenbichler
Associate Director: William Bowen (Acting Director for 1996-97)
Curator: Joseph Black
Graduate Fellows: Stephen Pender (English), Antonio Ricci (Italian), Jennifer Forbes
Bibliographical Fellow: Jeff Creighton
Fellows: Jonquil Bevan (University of Edinburgh), Sara Charney (PhD Toronto), Neil Cuddy (PhD Oxford), William Dean (University of Otago, New Zealand), David Fuller (University of Durham), Mark Houlahan (University of Waikaito, New Zealand), William Lundell (PhD Toronto), Heather Meakin (PhD Oxford), Michael McClintock (PhD Toronto), Jacqueline Murray (Windsor), Dennis Ngien (PhD Toronto), Chris Nighman (PhD Toronto), David Parkinson (Saskatchewan), Dylan Reid (independent scholar), Laura Willett (PhD UCLA), Jonathan Zophy (University of Houston – Clear Lake)
Visiting Graduate Fellows: Christian Fantoni (Sorbonne), Andrew King (Oxford)
Graduate Assistants: Laura Hunt (CMS), Allison Fizzard, Jennifer Forbes, Dylan Reid, Carla De Santis, David Tortell, Chris Nighman, Paul Murphy, Megan Armstrong, Brian Catlos, Clara Marvin, Giles Knox, Rosanne King, Elizabeth Jordan
Undergraduate Assistant: Jennifer Andreae

Progress: 1996-97 set a new record for visitors to the Centre, at 2,588 visits. Director Eisenbichler attributed this success to the richness of the collection and the friendliness and helpfulness of the Centre’s staff. In addition, Eisenbichler noted that in its first two years of operation, the ITER project had already indexed about 300 journals and compiled a bibliography of more thant 150,000 entries. Finally, during this year the CRRS established the position of Distinguished Senior Fellow to honour former Director James Estes on the occasion of retirement, and made him the first incumbent.

1997-1998

Director: Konrad Eisenbichler
Associate Director: William Bowen
Curator: Michael Milway
Graduate Fellows: Stephen Pender (English), Mary Watt (Italian)
Bibliographical Fellow: Jeff Creighton
Visiting Graduate Fellows: Andrew King (Oxford), Vic Thiessen (Queen’s)
Distinguished Senior Fellow: James Estes
Fellows: William Lundell (PhD Toronto), Michael McClintock (PhD Toronto), Chris Nighman (PhD Toronto), John Parsons (PhD Toronto), Dylan Reid (MPhil Oxford), Rebekah Smick (PhD Toronto)
Visiting Fellows: Ken Borris (McGill), David Carnegie (Victoria University of Wellington), James Carley (York), William Dean (University of Otago, New Zealand), Leslie Korrick (University of Manitoba), Margaret Owens (St. Thomas University), Anne Russell (Wilfrid Laurier), Arlette Sancery (Maître de Conference, Paris IV), Ken Simpson (University College of the Cariboo), Tim Stretton (Research fellow, Clare Hall Cambridge; Teaching fellow, U. of Waikato, New Zealand), Lyndan Warner (University of Warwick, UK; Teaching fellow, U. of Waikato), Paul White (Purdue University)
Graduate Assistants: Madeline Bentley, Jennifer Forbes, Guru Gunuratnam, Laura Hunt (CMS), Paula Leverage, Gabriella Corona, Alison Fizzard, M. Kumanatasan, Maria Loh, Erika Reimen, Steve Walton, David Tortell, Dorothy Haims, Rosanne King

Progress: The CRRS continued to be a beehive of activity this year, organizing a number of public events and continuing to develop its special collection. Among the more notable events were two international conferences: “Motives, pretexts, speeches and events: literature, history and the use of the past in the early modern period” (13-14 March 1998) was a two day event organized by Graduate Fellow Stephen Pender, and “Sleep, Dream, and Vision in the Renaissance” (25-26 September 1997) was organized under the aegis of the Department of Italian Studies. Thanks to increased funding and the attention attracted by ITER, the Centre was also able to provide valuable work experience to 31 students as research assistants in the ITER bibliography project.

1998-1999

Director: Konrad Eisenbichler
Associate Director: William Bowen
Curator: Michael Milway
Graduate Fellows: Rosanne King (Music), Deanna Basile (Italian), Margaret McGeachy (English)
Bibliographical Fellow: Jeff Creighton
Distinguished Senior Fellow: James Estes
Fellows: William Acres (PhD Cambridge), Carla De Santis (PhD Toronto), Becky R. Lee (PhD Toronto), William Lundell (PhD Toronto), Chris Nighman (PhD Toronto), John Parsons (PhD Toronto), Dylan Reid (MPhil Oxford), Janet Ritch (PhD Toronto), Rebekah Smick (PhD Toronto), Victor Thiessen (PhD Queen’s)
Visiting Fellows: Ken Borris (McGill), Edward George (Texas Tech University), Antonio Ricci (PhD Toronto), Paul White (Purdue University)
Graduate Assistants: Laura Hunt, Jen Andreae, Mark Crane, Paula Leverage, Nunzi Rizzi

Progress: The CRRS once again demonstrated its role as an important resource for students and scholars, registering more than 2,000 visits for the fourth year in a row. Moreover, in addition to the usual host of seminars, conferences, and public lectures organized over the course of the year, the Centre hosted the four-day annual meeting of the Sixteenth Century Studies Conference, gathering together more than 3,000 scholars working on the “long sixteenth century” (1450-1650). The ITER project also continued to grow this year; thanks to considerable external funding from the Mellon Foundation of New York and the Work Studies Program of Ontario, the Centre was able to hire 40 students as ITER research assistants. With all of these accomplishments, it is no surprise that reviewers submitting a report on the CRRS to the Dean of Arts and Sciences wrote that the CRRS “is one of the authentic treasures of the University of Toronto.”

1999-2000

Director: Konrad Eisenbichler
Associate Director: William Bowen
Curator: Michael Milway
Graduate Fellows: Richard Raiswell, Margaret McGeachy, Margaret Reeves
Fellows:

Progress: no annual report available

 

The 2000s

2000-2001

Director: William Bowen
Associate Director: Nicholas Terpstra
Curator: Victor Thiessen
Graduate Fellows: Monica Dominguez (Fine Art), Richard Raiswell (History), Margaret Reeves (English)
Bibliographical Fellow: Jeff Creighton
Distinguished Senior Fellows: James Estes, Germaine Warkentin
Fellows: Carla De Santis (PhD Toronto), Mary Hewlett (PhD Toronto), Agnes Ormsby (PhD Budapest), Dylan Reid (MPhil Oxford), Janet Ritch (PhD Toronto), Philippa Sheppard (PhD Toronto)
Visiting Fellows: Megan Armstrong (University of Utah), Ken Borris (McGill), Geoffrey Dipple (Augustana College, South Dakota), Roy Laird (Carleton), Paula Leverage (Purdue University), Hilmar Pabel (Simon Fraser), Paul White (Purdue)
Research Assistants: Antonio Belluardo, Elizabeth Bernhardt, Winston Black, Julia Boma-Fischer, Fabio Calabrese, Chris Crebolder, Gabriella Corona, Mark Crane, Saeed Ghahremani, Amyrose McCue Gill, Andre Gonciar, Magda Hayton, Lara Hinchberger, Milton Kooistra, Thomas Lawrence, Margaret Loney, Charlotte Masemann, Kelly Massey, Chris Mayo, Rochelle Mazar, Karen MacFarlane, Sarah Muckenhoupt, Flavio Multineddu, Agnes Ormsby, Michael Ostling, Jess Paelke, Elizabeth Pierce, Emily Reiner, Elizabeth Schoales, Alisha Smith, Adriana Taverness, Natalie Tréboute

Progress: The 2000-01 year witnessed a number of major changes to the Centre. The year started on a sad note, with the passing of Harry Secor, a founder and former Director of the CRRS. Moreover, the CRRS Executive changed substantially, with William Bowen taking over as Director on 1 July 2000, and with Nicholas Terpstra and Victor Thiessen taking up the positions of Associate Director and Curator. By far the most noticeable change was the move of the CRRS from Pratt Library to Kelly Library at St. Michael’s University College on account of Pratt’s renovation efforts. The Centre’s library was relocated with the 80% of the modern collection located on the second floor of Kelly Library, with the rest of the rare and modern collection housed at the Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies or in storage. Despite the upheaval of relocation, however, the CRRS remained active, staging 40 public events and publishing the latest addition to the Translation series, Nicole Prunster’s Romeo and Juliet Before Shakespeare: Four Early Stories of Star-Crossed Love.

2001-2002

Director: William Bowen
Associate Director: Nicholas Terpstra (Acting Director for 2001-02; Bowen on leave)
Curator: Margaret Reeves
Graduate Fellow: Richard Raiswell
Distinguished Senior Fellows: James Estes, Germaine Warkentin
Fellows: Irina Guletsky (PhD Hebrew University of Jerusalem), Mark Jurdjevic (PhD candidate, Northwestern), Ágnes Juhász-Ormsby (PhD Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest), Dylan Reid (MPhil Oxford), Elizabeth Schoales (PhD candidate, University of Wales), Philippa Sheppard (DPhil Oxford), Ian Sloan (PhD University of Michigan), Laura Willett (PhD UCLA)
Visiting Fellow: Ken Borris (McGill)
Library Assistant: Lara Asae
Research Assistants: Edwin Bezzina, Julia Boma-Fischer, Sarah Carleton, Kathy Chung, Mark Crane, Ágnes Juhász-Ormsby, Nancy Kang, Rochelle Mazar, Tim Neufeldt, Roberta Osborne, Kristin Phan, Jaclyn Piudik, Sophie Regalado, Elizabeth Schoales, Scott Schofield, Leanne Simmonds, Jenny Sliwka, Jamie Smith, Christianne Thompson, Natalie Tréboute, Michael Ullyot, Areti Vourinaris

Progress: After a 17-month stay at the Kelly Library of St. Michael’s University College, the CRRS spent September and October of 2001 moving into its new quarters at Pratt Library. With the opening of this new space, it appeared that past concerns over space for the Centre’s collection and readers had been laid to rest, with the new location attracting even more visitors and allowing for the addition of more than 650 titles to the modern collection. In October 2001, the Centre organized (in cooperation with the Centre d’études du 19e siècle français Joseph Sablé of St. Michael’s College) a conference on “The Renaissance in the Nineteenth Century/Le 19e siècle renaissant,” attracting about 180 participants from across North America and Europe. The Centre also inagurated a new workshop series this year: Ad Fontes, a regular set of workshops on the intricacies of neo-Latin translation, was the work of graduate assistants Mark Crane and Jess Paehlke, and immediately attracted an audience of interested students and faculty.

2002-2003

Director: William Bowen
Associate Director: Nicholas Terpstra
Assistant to the Director: Kim Yates
Graduate Fellow: Mark Crane
Distinguished Senior Fellows: James Estes, Germaine Warkentin
Fellows: Cristian Berco (University of Arizona), Ken Borris (McGill), Mawy Bouchard (PhD Toronto), Sheila Das (University of Toronto), Irina Guletsky (PhD Hebrew University of Jerusalem), Ágnes Juhász-Ormsby (PhD Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest), Dylan Reid (MPhil Oxford), Elizabeth Schoales (PhD candidate, University of Wales), Erika Rummel (Emeritus, Wilfrid Laurier University), Chet Scoville (UTM), Victor Thiessen (Wilfred Laurier), Laura Willett (PhD UCLA)
Visiting Fellows: Guido Bartolucci (PhD candidate, University of Bologna), Michael Keefer (University of Guelph), Sabrina Shim (PhD candidate, University of Warwick), Julie Sutherland (PhD candidate, University of Durham), Stephanie Treloar (PhD candidate, Harvard), Ilana Zinguer (University of Haifa)
Robson Graduate Research Assistants: Travis DeCook, Therese Forgacs, Scott Schofield, Jamie Smith, Michael Ullyot
Archival Assistant: Natalie Tréboute
Corbet Undergraduate Research Assistants: Irina Dumitrescu, Marinela Martinez

Progress: 2002-03 was an exciting year for the CRRS, maintaining the strength of programs and projects developed in previous years and building upon their successes. Now with a community of over sixty students, faculty, and staff, the CRRS faced as many challenges as it did opportunities over the course of the year. The Centre hosted forty-four events, including a two-day international conference on “The Fall of Troy in the Renaissance Imagination” (4-5 October 2002) and a one day workshop on “La France dans L’Italie” (7 February 2003). In addition, the Centre supported “Vagantes 2003,” the second annual interdisciplinary graduate student conference on Medieval studies, and sponsored a lecture by Christiane Klapisch-Zuber as the plenary session on the opening night of the annual meeting of the Renaissance Society of America. The CRRS also published two books, Konrad Eisenbichler’s The Premodern Teenager and The Renaissance in the Nineteenth Century/Le 19e siècle renaissant (edited by Nicholas Terpstra and Yannick Portebois). Finally, on the electronic end, the CRRS was pleased to announce that the FICINO online discussion group had grown to 800 participants, as well as the launch of its new website in early 2003.

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