This book has been a long time in the planning, but a short time in the writing. That this should be so is thanks in no small measure to the help and support of many friends and colleagues. On the Exeter end of things, the Department of History and broader community of medievalists have made the last three years of writing and research immensely enjoyable. A timely spell of research leave in the first half of 2015 facilitated the drafting of the main text. I am particularly grateful to Sarah Hamilton, who made time out of her busy schedule to discuss aspects of tenth- and eleventh-century European history, and Helen Birkett, whose office has been a welcome sanctuary during the storm of term. Thanks also go to the first group of students on my Æthelred Special Subject; their interest and enthusiasm for all things Æthelredian helped sustain me through the final stages of revision. Friends and colleagues elsewhere in the UK and beyond have likewise been a source of sage counsel and constructive criticism. I am especially beholden to Charlie Insley, Emily Ward, Andrew Rabin, Alban Gautier, Eric Denton, Courtney Konshuh and Hendrik Mäkeler, who have shared thoughts, work-in-progress and copies of hard-to-find publications. An even greater debt is owed to those kind souls who read through the book (or sections thereof) in draft form: Megan Welton, who went through Chapter 1 with an eye to the treatment of queens; Alison Hudson, who read Chapters 1–4, offering guidance on all matters monastic; and Rory Naismith, who read the entire manuscript, making many helpful suggestions, particularly regarding the treatment of coinage. Similar thanks are owed to the Press’s two anonymous readers, whose comments and criticisms greatly improved the text. On a more personal note, it would not have been possible to write this book without the support and encouragement of many good friends both within and beyond the academy; in the place of many, I should like to thank Matthias Ammon, Ronni Phillips, Erik Niblaeus, Danica Summerlin and Johanna Dale.
The staff at the London office of Yale University Press have been a model of professionalism and efficiency throughout. I am particularly grateful to Heather McCallum, who was willing to entrust such a major project to a young and relatively untested scholar, and to Rachael Lonsdale and Melissa Bond (and their team), who saw the text through production. I have also been fortunate to receive a great deal of help from within the family. As ever, my parents and their spouses have been a source of much-needed support, encouragement and distraction along the way. Likewise, my in-laws have repeatedly opened their doors to me on holidays and research trips to London; it is no exaggeration to say that Hampton has come to feel like a second home. My wife, Cathy, has inevitably borne the greatest burden of all: throughout our married life she has had to share my time with Æthelred (the ‘third person’ in our relationship, as it must have felt); that she has done so with such equanimity is a credit to her love, patience and care. Last, but certainly not least, I owe an immeasurable debt – both personal and intellectual – to Simon Keynes. It was his teaching which first inspired me to become a medieval historian (and steered me towards the subject of Æthelred) and his scholarly example continues to guide my work. I dedicate this book to him.
Levi Roach
University of Exeter
St George’s Day, 2016