My thanks to all of the colleagues who have offered their support and expert advice throughout the research and writing process, including those who offered feedback and ideas on conference papers and drafts of the book or helped with thorny queries on documental sources. Special thanks go to my colleague at Winchester, Dr James Ross, for his deep knowledge of palaeography and the collections at the National Archives, as well as being a sounding board for many theories and ideas about Joan’s life; to Professor Chris Woolgar for his thoughts on Joan’s household books and generously sharing archival finds; and to Drs Caroline Dunn, Rita (Marguerite) Keane, Núria Silleras Fernández, Erika Graham-Goering, Michele Seah, Zita Rohr, and Angela Clark for their thoughts on draft chapters of the book and to my co-editor Professor Louise Wilkinson for her comments on the final manuscript.