diff --git a/src/blog-data.test.ts b/src/blog-data.test.ts
index 5856b1f..b22f55d 100644
--- a/src/blog-data.test.ts
+++ b/src/blog-data.test.ts
@@ -67,3 +67,47 @@ test("renders rich Leaflet blocks through the read-only adapter", () => {
   assert.match(post.body, /---/);
   assert.match(post.body, /<leaflet-card\b/);
 });
+
+test("drops dangling legacy footnote references without disturbing defined notes", () => {
+  const post = parseBlogDocument(
+    "at://did:plc:gfrmhdmjvxn2sjedzboeudef/site.standard.document/footnotes",
+    {
+      title: "Footnotes",
+      path: "/footnotes",
+      publishedAt: "2026-08-15T00:00:00.000Z",
+      tags: ["blog"],
+      content: {
+        $type: "pub.leaflet.content",
+        pages: [{
+          $type: "pub.leaflet.pages.linearDocument",
+          id: "d918939a-047c-4d41-a328-35572f3f82e5",
+          blocks: [
+            { block: {
+              $type: "pub.leaflet.blocks.text",
+              plaintext: "The missing note disappears[^missing].",
+            } },
+            { block: {
+              $type: "pub.leaflet.blocks.text",
+              plaintext: "The defined note remains[^kept].",
+            } },
+            { block: {
+              $type: "pub.leaflet.blocks.text",
+              plaintext: "[^kept]: The note body.",
+            } },
+            { block: {
+              $type: "pub.leaflet.blocks.code",
+              language: "javascript",
+              plaintext: "const pattern = /[^missing]/;",
+            } },
+          ],
+        }],
+      },
+    },
+  );
+
+  assert.match(post.body, /The missing note disappears\./);
+  assert.equal((post.body.match(/\[\^missing\]/g) ?? []).length, 1);
+  assert.match(post.body, /The defined note remains\[\^kept\]\./);
+  assert.match(post.body, /\[\^kept\]: The note body\./);
+  assert.match(post.body, /const pattern = \/\[\^missing\]\//);
+});
diff --git a/src/leaflet-reader.ts b/src/leaflet-reader.ts
index 4bb32ea..7ad96b8 100644
--- a/src/leaflet-reader.ts
+++ b/src/leaflet-reader.ts
@@ -100,9 +100,52 @@ function applyFacets(text: string, facets?: JsonObject[]): string {
   return parts.join("");
 }
 
-function listItemMarkdown(item: JsonObject): string {
+function stripUnresolvedFootnoteReferences(
+  markdown: string,
+  definitions: ReadonlySet<string>,
+): string {
+  return markdown.replace(
+    /\[\^([A-Za-z0-9_-]+)\](?!:)/g,
+    (reference, label: string) => definitions.has(label) ? reference : "",
+  );
+}
+
+function footnoteDefinitions(blocks: JsonObject[]): Set<string> {
+  const definitions = new Set<string>();
+  const collect = (plaintext: unknown) => {
+    for (const match of String(plaintext ?? "").matchAll(
+      /(?:^|\n)[ \t]{0,3}\[\^([A-Za-z0-9_-]+)\]:/g,
+    )) {
+      definitions.add(match[1]);
+    }
+  };
+
+  for (const wrapper of blocks) {
+    const block = wrapper.block as JsonObject | undefined;
+    if (!block || block.$type === "pub.leaflet.blocks.code") continue;
+    collect(block.plaintext);
+    for (const item of block.children ?? []) collect(item.content?.plaintext);
+  }
+  return definitions;
+}
+
+function richTextMarkdown(
+  plaintext: unknown,
+  facets: JsonObject[] | undefined,
+  definitions: ReadonlySet<string>,
+): string {
+  return stripUnresolvedFootnoteReferences(
+    applyFacets(String(plaintext ?? ""), facets),
+    definitions,
+  );
+}
+
+function listItemMarkdown(
+  item: JsonObject,
+  definitions: ReadonlySet<string>,
+): string {
   const content = item.content ?? {};
-  return applyFacets(String(content.plaintext ?? ""), content.facets);
+  return richTextMarkdown(content.plaintext, content.facets, definitions);
 }
 
 function imageUrl(did: string, cid: string, mimeType: string): string {
@@ -129,6 +172,7 @@ export function leafletContentToMarkdown(content: unknown, did: string): string
 
   const lines: string[] = [];
   let inBlockquote = false;
+  const definitions = footnoteDefinitions(page.blocks as JsonObject[]);
 
   const closeBlockquote = () => {
     if (inBlockquote) {
@@ -146,11 +190,11 @@ export function leafletContentToMarkdown(content: unknown, did: string): string
 
     switch (type) {
       case "pub.leaflet.blocks.text":
-        lines.push(applyFacets(String(block.plaintext ?? ""), block.facets), "");
+        lines.push(richTextMarkdown(block.plaintext, block.facets, definitions), "");
         break;
       case "pub.leaflet.blocks.header":
         lines.push(
-          `${"#".repeat(Math.min(6, Math.max(1, Number(block.level) || 2)))} ${applyFacets(String(block.plaintext ?? ""), block.facets)}`,
+          `${"#".repeat(Math.min(6, Math.max(1, Number(block.level) || 2)))} ${richTextMarkdown(block.plaintext, block.facets, definitions)}`,
           "",
         );
         break;
@@ -160,7 +204,7 @@ export function leafletContentToMarkdown(content: unknown, did: string): string
       case "pub.leaflet.blocks.blockquote":
         if (inBlockquote) lines.push(">");
         lines.push(
-          applyFacets(String(block.plaintext ?? ""), block.facets)
+          richTextMarkdown(block.plaintext, block.facets, definitions)
             .split("\n")
             .map((line) => `> ${line}`)
             .join("\n"),
@@ -168,13 +212,15 @@ export function leafletContentToMarkdown(content: unknown, did: string): string
         inBlockquote = true;
         break;
       case "pub.leaflet.blocks.unorderedList":
-        for (const item of block.children ?? []) lines.push(`- ${listItemMarkdown(item)}`);
+        for (const item of block.children ?? []) {
+          lines.push(`- ${listItemMarkdown(item, definitions)}`);
+        }
         lines.push("");
         break;
       case "pub.leaflet.blocks.orderedList": {
         const start = Number.isFinite(block.startIndex) ? Number(block.startIndex) : 1;
         (block.children ?? []).forEach((item: JsonObject, index: number) => {
-          lines.push(`${start + index}. ${listItemMarkdown(item)}`);
+          lines.push(`${start + index}. ${listItemMarkdown(item, definitions)}`);
         });
         lines.push("");
         break;
diff --git a/src/markdown.test.ts b/src/markdown.test.ts
index 76d31cf..d7a3742 100644
--- a/src/markdown.test.ts
+++ b/src/markdown.test.ts
@@ -22,6 +22,17 @@ test("does not interpret ordinary currency as inline math", async () => {
   assert.doesNotMatch(html, /<math\b/);
 });
 
+test("renders defined footnotes as linked notes", async () => {
+  const html = await renderMarkdown(`A statement[^note].
+
+[^note]: Supporting detail.`);
+
+  assert.match(html, /<sup><a id="footnote-ref-note" href="#footnote-note"/);
+  assert.match(html, /<section class="footnotes" data-footnotes>/);
+  assert.match(html, /<li id="footnote-note">/);
+  assert.match(html, /Supporting detail\./);
+});
+
 test("safe Markdown mode escapes arbitrary HTML, SVG, and scripts", async () => {
   const html = await renderMarkdown(
     `<script>alert("x")</script>\n\n<svg onload="alert(1)"><circle /></svg>\n\n<div data-owned="false">text</div>`,