Major Research Award from the Marc Fitch Fund: Henry I acta Project

Professor Richard Sharpe

William II Rufus and Henry I are the only English kings prior to Richard I whose acta have not been properly edited.

The William II and Henry I acta Project, based in the Faculty of History, was devised by Richard Sharpe, Professor of Diplomatic, twenty-five years ago. It attracted some funding in its early stages, but for about ten years Richard paid for it out of his own pocket. That left it in a parlous state on his unexpected death in 2020. The University made a Fell Fund grant for one year only, for work solely on Rufus; since then the project has survived thanks to a small but prestigious recurrent award from the British Academy, and a one-off grant from the Marc Fitch Fund. The edition of Rufus’s acta is now all but complete.

The Project’s Steering Group are delighted to report that the Fitch Fund has just made a very generous five-year award of £110,000 for the completion of Henry I’s acta, of which roughly two-thirds remain to be edited.

Existing editions may be consulted on the Acts of William II and Henry I Project website.