Amid the profound and heartfelt grieving over the news of Mary Cunningham Corran’s death on 11 October 2025, I’m trying to find a way to pay tribute to her contributions, not so much to the field of Byzantine Studies as to her irreplaceable role, personal and editorial, especially at the series, Translated Texts for Byzantinists. It’s not difficult to list her published achievements. Her books and many articles demand a stand-alone assessment for their insights. What is harder to describe was her wonderful personality and ability to collaborate with others. In an academic field that can seem cold and competitive, she was unique. Her ability to give thoughtful advice on a wide range of issues and to discuss theological problems with expert analysis might be unmatched. The way she did so was unequalled. She even had the capacity, once she had identified the underlying conundrum, of explaining that it was not susceptible to a solution while making everyone aware that this was a positive outcome. Her calm engagement in discussions, enriched with such wisdom, humility and a gentle smile, gave all of us who benefited from it an unforgettable legacy.
Her training at Harvard University in the classes of Ihor Ševčenko gave Mary a mastery of medieval Greek and a raft of other languages that might be necessary to understand Byzantine texts. He confided to me that she was one of the two best students he ever had. With these skills she came to Birmingham in the late 1970s bringing her translation of the Life of Michael the Synkellos, a refugee from Jerusalem who fled to Constantinople in the early ninth century. It was published as volume 1 in the Belfast Texts in Translation in 1991, and is still in print, still much read and consulted for a wide range of problems related to iconoclasm. She added the study of sermons and hymns to hagiography, bringing the writings of Andrew of Crete and the more obscure John of Euboia to new prominence by her analysis. And it was at Birmingham that she and Leslie Brubaker embarked on their collective investigation of the cult of the Theotokos, which resulted in so many new publications, full of inspiring riches. This collaboration also directed her attention to the Life of Mary, the Theotokos, and The Acts of St Andrew the Apostle by Epiphanios the Monk, which form the 13th volume in the series Texts in Translation for Byzantinists.
It is particularly for her presence on the Editorial Committee of the TTB series that we salute Mary’s enthusiasm, her positive suggestions and the always helpful, creative approach she brought to our meetings as well as to translations themselves. Whenever she agreed to read a draft text, a careful criticism would result, regularly advising on material to add and how to present it. We are very happy that she was able to complete the volume of Epiphanios the Monk and grateful to Liverpool University Press for printing the edition that she corrected in the light of a recent Russian edition. We will greatly miss her lovely smile and above all her expertise and the effectiveness of her exceptional kindness.
Judith Herrin
December 2025
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