| dc.description.abstract | This book is a slightly revised version of a doctoral thesis submitted to Oxford University in the Summer of . The manuscript was closed in substance in March , since then I have not attempted any sys-tematic revision. I am endlessly grateful to my supervisor Dr. Nicholas Richardson for all his help, and his continued support of my work well beyond my D.Phil. supervisions. I should mention that he read and com- mented on more versions of this text than either of us would like to remember. I am also grateful for advice, criticism and encouragement from Prof. Oliver Taplin and Dr. Mait Kõiv, and for help in various mat- ters from Dr.IvoVolt.Iwouldalsoliketothank BrillAcademicPub- lishers, in particular Caroline van Erp for her patience and help in the preparation of this book. I am also grateful to the anonymous reviewer for helpful criticism and detailed suggestions. I would like to acknowl- edge the substantial financial support during my doctoral studies from Oxford University Press (Clarendon Scholarship) and Magdalen College (Jan Hruska Scholarship), also the Cultural Endowment of Estonia, theEstonian World Council, and the Estonian Students Fund in the U.S.A.And finally, thanks to my friends and family for their loving supportthroughout this project. | en_US |
