Then Llewelyn, Prince of North Wales, secures an uneasy truce with England by marrying the English king's beloved, illegitimate daughter, Joanna. Reluctant to wed her father's bitter enemy, Joanna slowly grows to love her charismatic and courageous husband who dreams of uniting Wales. But as John's attentions turn again and again to subduing Wales--and Llewelyn--Joanna must decide to which of these powerful men she owes her loyalty and love.A sweeping novel of power and passion, loyalty and lives, this is the book that began the trilogy that includes FALLS THE SHADOW and THE RECKONING.

    Bent on revenge, she rode again through the fortress gates, disguised as a peasant...to seek aid from Geoffrey Berkley, the powerful baron who had routed the murderers. He heard her pleas, resisted her demands, and vowed to seduce his beautiful subject. Yet as Elizabeth fought the warrior's caresses, love flamed for this gallant man who must soon champion her cause...and capture her spirited heart!

    It is 230 feet long and about 20 inches high. On it, embroidered in brightly colored wool, are figures of men, animals, buildings, and ships. In a series of vivid scenes, with a running explanatory text in Latin, it relates the invasion of England by William of Normandy and his victory at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. Nothing remotely like the Bayeux Tapestry exists anywhere in the world, yet comparatively few people have been to Bayeux to see it and appreciate how totally absorbing it is. This book, first published in 1985, reproduces the Tapestry in full color and makes it accessible as never before. The story told in the Tapestry has all the ingredients of an epic poem, and a cast of characters that includes King Edward the Confessor; his liegeman, Duke Harold; and William, Duke of Normandy. When Edward dies, Harold succeeds him as king. William, who has a better dynastic claim, invades England, and at the Battle of Hastings Harold is defeated and killed. Here the Tapestry breaks off, but it probably originally concluded with William's coronationthe beginning of a sequence of monarchs that has continued virtually unbroken until today, and of the English nation as we know it. The Tapestry is reproduced in full color over 146 pages, with captions on a fold-out page for easy reference. A second reproduction of the Tapestry in black and white has a detailed accompanying commentary. Sir David Wilson, former Director of the British Museum, provides an up-to-date summary of the historical evidence, explaining each episode and covering related topics such as the costumes, armor, ships, buildings, and customs. One of the primary sources for the history of the period, the Tapestry is a social document of incalculable value. It is the sole survivor of an art form that may once have been widespread, the wall-hanging commemorating the deeds of a great man.

    Sweet Herbs and Sundry Flowers is an introduction to medieval plants and gardening practices by way of the gardens of The Cloisters. In her work as assistant horticulturist at The Cloisters, Tania Bayard has become aware of the many questions visitors ask about medieval gardening. Tania addresses those questions in this volume, providing a list of the plants in The Cloisters' gardens. In this book, Tania, who left a career in art history to become a horticulturist, shares her knowledge and experience with us.The gardens of The Cloisters bloom in a unique museum, a division of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, designed to suggest the layout of a medieval European monastery. Planted in reconstructed Romanesque and Gothic cloisters, the gardens resemble those that provided bodily sustenance and spiritual refreshment for monks of centuries ago.The delight in reading Sweet Herbs and Sundry Flowers is the realization that the modern gardener's experience is not unlike that of gardeners one thousand years ago. Then, as now, garden plots were selected for adequate light and water drainage, the soil was prepared in the spring, noxious weeds and stones were removed, the ground was tilled and rakes, and cow manure was added for fertilizer. Seeds and young plants were lovingly tended. When the plants were mature, roots, stems, leaves, flowers, and fruits were harvested for food, medicines, and various household uses. Following the fall harvest, the ground was readied for winter, and thoughts of spring were always present. How wonderful it is that we share with the medieval gardener the same labors and joys, getting our hands dirty with soil as did the ninth-century monk, Walahfrid Strabo. [This book was originally published in 1985 and has gone out of print. This edition is a print-on-demand version of the original book.]

    The recipes date from the fourteenth century and are the earliest such examples in English. Interestingly, it appears that many of these recipes, found only on the menus of the upper classes, remained virtually unchanged until the sixteenth century.The menus include the all-important order of serving, that strict etiquette that ruled medieval mealtimes, and which meant that most members of a household were only entitled to the first course and that the more delicate dishes were served only to the higher ranks. This too seems to have remained unchanged for hundreds of years.Here we can also see how it was thought natural to take the most substantial foods first, leaving the richer and sweeter courses for later, much as we do today. We do not, however, include small game birds as part of dessert' as these menus do.Presented here in early English, this invaluable collection gives great insight into the medieval kitchen and household, and is the perfect guide to modern recreations of medieval meals and feasts.

    Robinson’s classic study asserts that theappositive style of Beowulf helps the poet communicate his Christian vision of paganlife. By alerting the audience to both the older and the newer meanings of words, thepoet was able to resolve the fundamental tension which pervades his narration ofancient heroic deeds.Robinson describes Beowulf ’s major themes and the grammatical and stylisticaspects of its appositive strategies. He then considers the poet’s use of the semanticallystratified vocabulary of Old English poetry to accommodate a party Christian andpartly pre-Christian perspective on the events being narrated. The analysis drawsattention to the ways in which modern editors and lexicographers have obscured stylisticaspects of the poem by imposing upon it various modern conventions.Appositional techniques, Robinson shows, serve not only the poet’s major themesbut also his narrative purposes. A grasp of the fundamental role played by the appositivestyle in Beowulf gives the reader new ways of understanding some of the epic’s familiarpassages. The new foreword addresses the reception this book has had and examinesrecent scholarship in the ongoing interest in this amazing poem.

    In twelfth-century England, Matilda de Risle Dungesey, receives a gift from her new husband--a wartime hideaway in the Fens--from which she must fight for her land and her own life.

    Cuthbert was very much in the Irish monastic tradition. He adopted Roman usages, becoming prior and eventually bishop of Lindisfarne, but the essential nature of his commitment changed little and he lived for much of his later life as a hermit on the island of Farne, with the birds as his only companions.The two lives make an interesting contrast: the earlier, anonymous Life of 698 - 705 is clear, concise and rich in Lindisfarne tradition, viewing Cuthbert as no more than the great saint of his own house. Bede's prose Life of 721, however, is polished, literary, more than twice as long and altogether more didactic; treating Cuthbert as a model from which to draw lessons about how to be a perfect bishop and monk. Taken together, the lives vividly evoke the character of a remarkable churchman and provide a compelling picture of early monastic life."

    Latin.

    

    Defend the Empire with an authentic Roman legionary, or hold back the fierce Mongol hordes with a dashing Russian chieftain. Meet celebrated leaders such as Richard the Lion-Hearted and Henry VIII, meticulously costumed and detailed. More than 40 dramatic plates — specially designed for you to color — portray the wide range of protective armor in use in Europe from about A.D. 100 to 1640. The attire of Vikings, Crusaders, Italian condottieri, Spanish foot-soldiers and royal jousters all appear in precise, historically accurate line drawings that convey the splendor of chivalry and detail the accoutrements of war. Each plate is accompanied by clear explanatory captions; in addition, a useful glossary of unfamiliar terms and a thoroughly researched introduction offer historical background and more to bring each warrior to life. Twelve full-color illustrations on the covers enable you to reproduce each striking suit of armor in authentic hues.History buffs, military enthusiasts, children and colorists of all ages will revel in this stunning collection of valorous paladins.

    Although crude in its latinity and idiosyncratic in its presentation, this work is a fascinating source of early traditions about the conversion of the English - including the famous story of Gregory's encounter with the Anglian slave boys - and an important witness to the veneration felt for the saint himself. It casts valuable light on English history in the seventh century, particularly on the career of Edwin of Northumbria, and is the source of two of the most famous legends of the Middle Ages, the Mass of St Gregory and the story of Trajan's rescue from hell. The Life of Gregory seems to be the earliest of the Saints' lives of this period and it is in many ways the most remarkable.

    This text puts the Scottish crusader back on record, taking the tradition of Scots going abroad to fight back to the 11th century.

    In this concise survey Elizabeth Eames explains how the tiles were made and decorated, their arrangement into magnificent pavements and their rediscovery through archaeology. Each main type of tile and the finest surviving pavements are illustrated in colour.

    Since the late 1950s numerous professional and amateur ensembles have delighted audiences with the vocal and instrumental music of the twelffth to the sixteenth centuries, while scholars have addressed themselves to the many problems involved in its authentic re-creation. This book unites the two fields; it is both a summary of the most recent scholarly investigations into the subject and a practical guide to the performance of early music based on the experience of the author and others who have performed a sizable portion of the early repertory.McGee lays out clearly the foundation and background of each of the performance problems, presenting the most recent research and pointing out areas of incomplete knowledge and controversy, and then introduces practical solutions based on the scholarship.All the topics necessary for a historical performance of early music are discussed: tempo, rhythmic flow, instrumentation, ornamentation, articulation, improvisation, style, and singing technique, along with some practical hints for selecting a program and shoosing substitute instruments. The final chapters is a reference guide to modern editions of the music and an introduction to the scholarly literature on early music performances.At the time of publication, this book was the first to address the problem of how to perform medieval and Renaissance music. It is intended for both the amateur performing musician and the serious student.

    The culmination of Lord Lisle's imprisonment in the Tower of London.

    It reveals the humiliation of basic training, the attitude to fear, the drive for sex and loot, the elixir of comradeship.

    Until the 1980s, however, there was a distinct lack of scholarship in the area, so in 1985, Carol J. Clover and John Lindow brought together some of the most ambitious and distinguished Old Norse scholars to contribute essays for a collection that would finally fill the void of a comprehensive guide to the field.The contributors summarize and comment on scholarly work in the major branches of the field: eddic and skaldic poetry, family and kings' sagas, courtly writing, and mythology. Taken together, their judicious and well-written essays, each with a full bibliography, make up this vital survey of Old Norse literature in English - a basic reference work that has stimulated much research and helped to open up the field to a wider academic readership.This volume has become an essential text for instructors, and twenty years later, is now being republished as part of the Medieval Academy Reprints for Teaching (MART) series with a new preface that discusses more recent contributions to the field.

    The White Tower (the Tower of London) and Chateau Gaillard can be re-created in your room! Color, cut out and assemble the structures and read about their history.

    But when she was captured by the victorious--and ruthless--Crusaders she had to decide who she really was, Karin or Alisandre? Muslim or Christian? Her captor's wife, or the woman who could destroy the LORD OF DARKNESS?

    Chosen by Douglas Gray, the representative works in this collection include songs, ballads, and romances by familiar authors such as Malory, Henryson, Skelton, and More, as well as never-before published texts and some works previously available only in obscure editions. Gray provides the full text, along with a commentary and detailed glossary, for a number of works, including The Testament of Cresseid, Mankind, and Everyman. The book not only focuses not literary representations, but also offers a colorful picture of the time by setting private letters, scenes from chronicles, and extracts from books on alchemy, medicine, hunting, and fishing alongside Malory's moving account of the death of Arthur or charming stories from the Golden Legend. It also includes recipes for salmon, stewed partridge, and ones that promise to make hair grow, and tips for pilgrims going to the Holy Land. As a whole, The Oxford Book of Late Medieval Verse and Prose forms an impressive, entertaining affirmation of the period as one of ferment and achievement.

    Chosen by Douglas Gray, the representative works in this collection include songs, ballads, and romances by familiar authors such as Malory, Henryson, Skelton, and More, as well as never-before published texts and some works previously available only in obscure editions. Gray provides the full text, along with a commentary and detailed glossary, for a number of works, including The Testament of Cresseid, Mankind, and Everyman. The book not only focuses not literary representations, but also offers a colorful picture of the time by setting private letters, scenes from chronicles, and extracts from books on alchemy, medicine, hunting, and fishing alongside Malory's moving account of the death of Arthur or charming stories from the Golden Legend. It also includes recipes for salmon, stewed partridge, and ones that promise to make hair grow, and tips for pilgrims going to the Holy Land. As a whole, The Oxford Book of Late Medieval Verse and Prose forms an impressive, entertaining affirmation of the period as one of ferment and achievement.