University of Toronto

I hope it’s not out of place to begin a description of Medieval Studies at Toronto with a personal anecdote. In early 1995, as a newly-minted Ph.D., I came to Toronto as a prospective job candidate. Already aware of Toronto’s long-standing reputation in the field, I was prepared to be impressed; but I was not prepared to be seduced, as I was, by the collegiality of the faculty and students and the riches of the libraries. I can still vividly remember being shown the Library of the Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies by the then-librarian, John Magee, and whispering to him over and over again, “It’s like a candy shop, John!” It was indeed like a candy shop to those of us who, as bookish children, had grown up seeking out the few works on medieval topics in our elementary school libraries, and ended up spending our graduate careers buried in piles of paper and microfilm.