An era has closed with the passing away of the doyen of legal history, Robert Feenstra. His contribution to legal science is reflected in the eleven universities outside the Netherlands that each bestowed an LLD honoris causa on him. The fact that the University of Pretoria is amongst these institutions reflects not only the international stature of Feenstra's work, but also his personality. A Dutch Francophile, and in addition a cosmopolitan, Feenstra travelled the world and inspired young and old researchers.