Although the Fernão Lopes Translation Project has not reached completion yet, it is already indebted to a large community of people and institutions, as would be expected, considering its complexity and magnitude. As such, it could only be undertaken thanks to the trust, dedication and encouragement of a veritable global village scattered through eight universities and four countries on two continents.
To start from its beginnings, the Project is most indebted to Ms. Elspeth Ferguson, Tamesis Commissioning Editor, and Professor Alan Deyermond for recognizing the important contribution it brings to many areas of Medieval Studies and for proposing Boydell & Brewer as the publisher. The Direcção Geral do Livro, dos Arquivos e das Bibliotecas, in Portugal, through the diligences of Dr. Assunção Mendonça, was the first institution to take the initiative of sponsoring the Project with a significant grant. Thanks to these two demonstrations of trust, further encouraged by the continued support of Dr. Patrícia Anne Odber de Baubeta, Lecturer in the Department of Hispanic Studies and its Department Head, Professor Francis Lough, who offered the University of Birmingham, UK, as the venue for the Project’s annual meetings, the Directors decided to apply for a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities in the hope of obtaining the substantial funding necessary to complete the Project in a period of time as short and consistent as possible.
The importance of the NEH’s mission dedicated to teaching and learning, research, and the preservation and dissemination of educational and cultural resources can never be over-emphasized. The number, quality, and ground-breaking nature of the projects selected and funded every year, beyond impressive, are also a significant investment into understanding our immediate world, its antecedents and thus better prepare people and nations for planning for the future. Education and understanding are also two of the key objectives of the present Project, hence the Team’s determination in making the Fernão Lopes’s chronicles accessible to a wider community of scholars and interested readers regardless of their background. Dr. Lydia Medici, has been a most helpful liaison officer at the NEH, offering guidance and words of encouragement whenever it has been necessary to consult her on administrative issues.
Many Portuguese institutions, despite their limited budgets in the present climate of financial austerity, have made their contribution in the form of logistical support, such as is the case of the Biblioteca Nacional de Portugal and the Art Library of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation. The latter has given permission to post on the Project’s website many photographs of historical architectural interest from their digital collections.
The Project is also greatly indebted to a group of talented Portuguese photographers, who generously have put their collection of beautiful images of castles and medieval towns at our disposal, namely João Correia, Gonçalo Lopes, Joaquim Barbosa and João Paulo Gomes.
Not to be forgotten are the numismatics specialists, Luís Vieira, from PortugalMoedas, and José Silva, from All Euro Coins, who have facilitated images from their business websites so that the references to medieval coins in Fernão Lopes’s chronicles can become more than just the name of an obscure and obsolete currency item.
There is a long list of colleagues and friends who have been of great significance to the Project, for their enthusiasm, curiosity and assistance in publicizing our work, in particular Dr. Dana Bultman, coordinator of the Romance Languages Colloquia at the University of Georgia and her graduate assistant Louise Goodman who collaborated in the early stages of developing our database. Much appreciated was also Professor Noel Fallows’s advice and bibliography on military matters, of which there are ample examples throughout the chronicles.
Needless to say, all members of the Fernão Lopes Translation team (see respective page) have been absolutely outstanding. Without their support, dedication, and the long hours of labor of our translators, beyond their own personal and professional commitments, this Project would never have become a reality.
Finally, a very special word of thanks and appreciation goes to Professor Teresa Amado’s family, her sister Luísa Amado and niece Joana Sousa Monteiro. Their generous assistance helped the Project team, in some way, overcome the great loss of our colleague and co-Director, by making available to us the last translation notes and corrections which she didn't have the opportunity to share because her life was suddenly cut short.
To all, our heartfelt gratitude.
Amélia Hutchinson