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-------- Original Message -------- Subject: Obit for JL Date: Mon, 07 Aug 2006 16:27:54 -0400 From: Alexandra Johnston <[log in to unmask]> John Leyerle died on August 2, 2006 in Toronto in his eightieth year. It is hard to describe the influence John had on the study of early drama in Toronto. An early member of the MLA Early Drama Seminar, he became the first person to teach a graduate course in medieval drama at the University of Toronto in 1964. A performance in Middle English was part of that first seminar and the students in that class (among them Joel Kaplan, Ian Lancashire and G.B.Shand) continued to perform early plays throughout their graduate careers adding new enthusiasts under John’s encouragement. After a few years, Professor Leyerle’s Seminar (PLS) became the _Poculi Ludique Societas_ (PLS). By 1974, John was the Director of the Centre for Medieval Studies and turned over the day to day running of the _PLS_ to a talented graduate student of his, David Parry, and the institutional responsibility of the troupe to me. But he continued to be our eminence grise and managed to help us find the money in the years between 1977 and 1985 to allow us to employ David Parry and build the unique set of pageant wagons with which we performed all the ‘cycle’ plays and the _Castle of Perseverance_. Even after his retirement he came to our rescue. A few years ago, _PLS_ lost its ‘grace and favour’ space where we stored the wagons and all our large set pieces. By that time John had retired to his beloved farm east of the city but he offered us his barn to house the wagons until a more permanent solution could be found. John was also instrumental in establishing Records of Early English Drama within the University of Toronto. Although he had not been part of the intense discussion that preceded REED’s founding, we invited him, along with other university administrators, to have lunch with the small group of Canadian, American and British scholars we had brought together to work out how an editorial project finding, editing and publishing written evidence of early drama could be created. After lunch, as he was leaving, he voluntarily offered the Centre for Medieval Studies as REED’s institutional home giving the still nascent project ‘a local habitation’ as well as a name. John’s greatest talent was to recognize an individual or an initiative with potential and support that individual or initiative quietly but effectively. _PLS_, REED, the Dictionary of Old English and the Centre for Medieval Studies itself would not be what they are today without the support of John Leyerle. He will be missed. Alexandra Johnston -- Abigail Ann Young (Dr), Associate Editor/ Records of Early English Drama/ Victoria College/ 150 Charles Street W/ Toronto Ontario Canada Phone (416) 585-4504/ FAX (416) 813-4093/ [log in to unmask] List-owner of REED-L <http://www.reed.utoronto.ca/reed-l.html> http://www.reed.utoronto.ca/ => REED's home page http://www.reed.utoronto.ca/stage.html => our Web guide http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~young => my home page