This volume is a result of two joyful and rewarding workshops conducted in the course of 2014, in Gothenburg (April) and Rome (December). The not-so-imagined community of authors gathered in this book is particularly indebted to the critical comments by Barbara H. Rosenwein and Hans Jacob Orning, which allowed the authors to revise and sharpen their arguments. The editors would also like to thank Auður G. Magnúsdóttir (Department of Historical Studies, University of Gothenburg) for her assistance in organizing the workshop in Gothenburg. The Rome meeting which took place in the spectacular Institutum Romanum Finlandiae was co-organized with its director Tuomas Heikkilä, whose hospitality exceeded all expectations.

The book owes a particular debt of gratitude to Kirsi Salonen (TUCEMEMS, University of Turku), whose Baltic expertise, unyielding scrupulousness, and editorial proficiency greatly improved the quality of the manuscript in terms of both content and form. Rich Potter (Department of Historical Studies, University of Gothenburg) superbly assisted us with preparing the maps and figures for the book. The authors as well as the editors are also much obliged to the anonymous peer reviewers, who so positively recommended this volume for publication and whose abundant suggestions and detailed comments substantially enhanced the overall value of our work. Finally, the Amsterdam University Press editorial team – Simon Forde, Tyler Cloherty, and Jaap Wagenaar in particular – have done a terrific job in preparing this book for production. Thank you all.

The editors’ research time devoted to the making of this book, as well as the funding of Barbara H. Rosenwein's guest professorship in Gothenburg in the spring of 2014, were made possible by two munificent grants from the Humanist Faculty of University of Gothenburg. Additionally, the proofreading of English was funded thanks to the generous support of the Helge Ax:son Johnsons Stiftelse, as well as the Per Lindecrants’ Fond at the Department of Historical Studies, University of Gothenburg.