William of Wykeham als Collegegründer und Bauherr.

William of Wykeham is one of the most important clerks of works in medieval England. As bishop of Winchester (1367-1404) he commissioned the building of two Colleges in Oxford and Winchester which were groundbreaking for the further development of college-architecture, as well as the expansion of several episcopal residences in Hampshire. He promoted the refurbishment of the nave of Winchester Cathedral in Perpendicular style and commissioned a burial chapel which surpassed contemporary sepulchral buildings in originality as well as sheer size. Only few initiators of Gothic architecture, sculpture, and glass painting have left behind a comparable corpus.
This study for the first time extensively analyzes the buildings and sculptures commissioned by William of Wykeham and examines their basis as well as the motive behind them. Using sources of the college archives, Veronika Decker paints the portrait of an ambitious man, whose multi-faceted patronage was characterized by imaginativeness and complex significance. This monograph sheds a light on art production in England in the times of Richard II and contributes to our understanding of architecture and visual culture of medieval universities.