1 Variants of the name from the MSS of the Sentence Commentary are: Fissakre, fixacre, Fishakele, fissacre, ffisshacre, Fisachre, Fishaker, fyssakyr, Ffishacre, and fisacre. Emden, A. B., A Bibliographical Register of the University of Oxford to 1500 3 vols. (Oxford, Clarendon Press 1957–1959) 685–686Google Scholar, has at least another 10 variants of Fishacre's surname. The printed royal and administrative records, as well as the Exeter diocesan records have numerous versions of the surname.

2 The first version of this paper was given at the Fishacre Colloquium, Blackfriars Oxford, on July 8th 1998.

3 Paris: Bibliothèque Nationale, MS 16389 fol.90vb. Rogo te lector quisquis es ut roges Deum pro fratre Richardo de Fixacre qui hoc opus edidit, ut eum Dominus nunc et semper in anima costodiat et in corpore vires preheat, ut residuum operis ad finem prospere producat. Amen.

4 Matthew Paris: Chronica Majora vol V for year 1248, ed. Luard 16. Et eodem anno duo fratres de eodem ordine (OP's) quibus non erant majores, immo nee pares, ut creditur, viventes in theologia et aliis scientiis, videlicet frater Robertus Bacun et frater Richardus de Fishakele qui egregie plurimis annis in eadem facultate legerunt et populis gloriose praedicaverunt verbum Domini, ab hoc saeculo ad Deum migraverunt.

5 ed.Hog, Thomas, Trivet, Nicholas OP: Annates sex Regum (London, 1845)Google Scholar. for the year MCCXL, 229–230 Fuerat huic socius in schola magister Robertus Bacon, qui Oxoniis regens in theologia. Praedicatorum ordinem est ingressus. Post ingressum vero lectiones suas in scholis sancti Edwardi per plures continuavit annos: sub quo primus de fratribus incepit frater Ricardus de Fissakre O[E]xoniensis dioecesis, legens una cum fratre Roberto predicto in scholis, quas fratres infra locum, quern nunc habitant, habuerant.// Hic Ricardus super Sententias scriptum temporibus suis perutile composuit. et super Psalterium usque ad psalmum septuagesimum postillas edidit pulcherrimas, moralitatibus suavissimis intermixtas.

6 Eilert, Ekwall, The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Place Names 4th edition (Oxford, OUP 1974), 180.Google Scholar

7 Hanks, Patrick and Hodges, Flavia, A Dictionary of Surnames (Oxford: OUP 1988) 184–185Google Scholar.

8 See below The Fishacre Tribe.

9 Between 1221. the year of the Dominicans' arrival in England and 1248, the year of Fishacre's death, only 23 of the 51 priories were in existence. To begin with settlement was slow but was carefully considered, as no foundation was made without the full number of twelve as required by the Constitutions: Oxford 1221, London 1224, Norwich 1226. York 1227. Bristol 1230. Exeter and Shrewsbury 1232. Initially Oxford was the place of novitiate, of priory school, of provincial school and of general school.

10 D. A. Callus OP “Introduction of Aristotelian learning to Oxford”, PBA 1943, 229–281, 258. C.H. Lawrence “The University in State and Church” in The Early Oxford Schools ed. Catto, 101.

12 See Towards a bibliography. below.

13 Callus op.cit., 259.

14 See Towards a bibliography. below.