This book has been written in the belief that the everyday lives of ordinary medieval people are of interest to a modern readership. The fact that the lives that are here chronicled ended more than five centuries ago does not diminish their significance. They were as important and their experiences as valuable as those of their modern successors, or indeed as our own, and they are worthy of rescue from the condescension of posterity. In addition, past societies should be relevant to our own because our foundations are built on their achievements. To know of them is to understand ourselves.

Parts of this work are written directly from my own research, and much depends on others, because its aim is to offer an overview of a whole society. My debts to published works will be appreciated from the footnotes. I cannot acknowledge all my obligations because a high proportion of my conversations with dozens of colleagues and students over the last twenty years has contributed to my understanding of the subject; I cannot remember all of my creditors, and a partial list would offend those who have been omitted. I will indicate here the most substantial debts. The unpublished works of Simon Penn and Yang Jei helped my understanding of wage-earning for chapter 8. I was given research leads and general guidance for chapters 4 and 5 by three unpublished theses, by K. Mertes, J. Thurgood and Christopher Woolgar.