John Arthos was a Russel Lecturer and the Hereward T. Price Distinguished University Professor of English at the University of Michigan. In adopting his retirement memoir in 1979, the Regents noted that Arthos' 'many books and articles range over several periods of English, American and continental literature. His major interest, however, was in the Renaissance, and then in the major figures of the Renaissance.Using his wide range of knowledge of languages and literature, he has made enduring contributions to our knowledge and understanding of what was a European, not just an English movement. No scholar has better understood, more clearly interpreted, or more deeply applied in his own thinking and teaching, the humanistic spirit which informed this important period in the history of literature.