Jill Pellew and Lawrence Goldman (eds), Dethroning Historical Reputations, Universities, Museums and the Commemoration of Benefactors (Institute of Historical Research, School of Advanced Study: London, University of London, 2018). ISBN: 9781909646827 (Open-access e-book available at: http://humanit

This chapter studies Dethroning Historical Reputations, Universities, Museums and the Commemoration of Benefactors (2018), edited by Jill Pellew and Lawrence Goldman. In this very appealing publication, twelve contributors offer pithy remarks on what David Cannadine calls ‘institutionalized ancestor worship’, the occasions specifically reserved for those worthy individuals who lavish gifts and endowments on universities. For centuries, universities or museums and art galleries happily accepted donations with no questions asked. So have the trustees of other kinds of institutions, or religious leaders. The sale of indulgences in the middle ages to protect the souls of sinners carried on until reformers were alarmed by their misuse. Whereas in more recent times eyebrows might occasionally be raised concerning the source of a generous benefaction, or the views of the donor on a range of dicey matters, ways were found to smooth over any improprieties. The remarks by contributors overlap as they should, since the publication is the outcome of a conference held in the spring of 2017. The spirit of the Cambridge University historian Herbert Butterfield hovers over the sessions. His discussion of whiggish history-making is always relevant and always worth revisiting.