If any scholar could bring back to life the holy men and scholars of the Middle Ages it was Richard Sharpe. Richard, professor of diplomatic at Oxford University since 1998, who has died aged 66 of heart failure, was a man of abundant energy, which he poured into writing and editing a torrent of books and articles that threw light on all aspects of these men – saints and sinners alike. He was equally energetic outside his study – his gym sessions were so strenuous that he once broke a leg without at first realising it. He served as an Oxford University proctor and a Lib Dem member of Oxford city council. Read entire obituary here.