In this charming book Celia Fisher explores the beautiful flower illustration in medieval herbals & manuscripts illustrating around 140 different flowers & plants in glorious full colour. Many of the illustrations come from herbals in which plants began to be depicted with realism by artists in the 14th century. But in the 15th century a different kind of flower illustration emerged in the margins of illuminated manuscripts. From around 1480 flowers became the dominant feature of the decorative borders of Books of Hours created in the southern Netherlands. The wonderfully innovative style showed the flowers as if they had been plucked from their stems & scattered onto the page where they cast little trompe loeil shadows as if they were indeed three-dimensional. Flower lovers & those interested in medieval art & history will find this richly illustrated book informative entertaining & above all a joy to behold. ...

Help your child get to the top of the class fast with this Eyewitness Project Book" on medieval life. From fearless knights to bloodthirsty jousts watch your child take their knowledge of medieval life to the next level using this fill-in home-study workbook. Test their knowledge & train their brains with hands-on activities amazing stickers & quick-fire quiz pages. Do the activities together & encourage your child to practise essential skills at home to keep them one step ahead of the class. Fun-filled curriculum based exercises will help them progress with complete confidence. Reward stickers a progress chart & pull-out certificate make learning about medieval life fun & easy!" ...

An important & timely volume...an elegant summary of complex theory & synthesis of an impressive body of material. It will be eagerly read by current & future generations of archaeologists & will demonstrate the significance of historical archaeology to a much wider scholarly audience." Dr Kate Giles University of York. The aim of this book is to explore how medieval life was actually lived
- how people were born & grew old how they dressed how they inhabited their homes the rituals that gave meaning to their lives & how they prepared for death & the afterlife. Its fresh & original approach uses archaeological evidence to reconstruct the material practices of medieval life death & the afterlife. Previous historical studies of the medieval "lifecycle" begin with birth & end with death. Here in contrast the concept of life course theory is developed for the first time in a detailed archaeological case study. The author argues that medieval Christian understanding of the "life course" commenced with conception & extended through the entirety of life to include death & the afterlife. Five thematic case studies present the archaeology of medieval England (c.1050-1540 CE) in terms of the body the household the parish church & cemetery & the relationship between the lives of people & objects. A wide range of sources is critically employed: osteology costume material culture iconography & evidence excavated from houses churches & cemeteries in the medieval English town & countryside. Medieval Life reveals the intimate & everyday relations between age groups between the living & the dead & between people & things. Roberta Gilchrist is Professor of Archaeology at the University of Reading."
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This book explains in detail the practice of masoncraft in the Middle Ages using evidence from a number of sources. Monastic chronicles building contracts & other contemporary documents have already revealed a good deal of information on the subject but less attention has until now been paid to archaeological evidence preserved in numerous surviving Medieval buildings. Dr Hislop investigates how a study of certain features in these buildings such as the stonework & building joints can contribute to our knowledge of working practices of masons in medieval Engl&. By focusing on how to interpret clues in the building structure this account provides a practical guide to pursuing the study of masonry & helps the reader to understand & identify the medieval masons approach to design & constructional techniques. ...

Monasteries are among the most intriguing & enduring symbols of Britains medieval heritage. Simultaneously places of prayer & spirituality power & charity learning & invention they survive today as haunting ruins great houses & as some of our most important cathedrals & churches. This book examines the growth of monasticism & the different orders of monks; the architecture & administration of monasteries; the daily life of monks & nuns; the art of monasteries & their libraries; their role in caring for the poor & sick; their power & wealth; their decline & suppression; & their ruin & rescue. With beautiful photographs it illustrates some of Britains finest surviving monastic buildings such as the cloisters of Gloucester Cathedral & the awe-inspiring ruins of Rievaulx Abbey in North Yorkshire. ...

The medieval economy was centred on a phenomenal growth in trade of all kinds of goods yet few have studied the actual network of roads that was so vital to medieval trading. Starting with the basic concept of a road in medieval times & discussing the increasing need to travel this book explores the evidence from documents & maps that provide clues as to where the roads of medieval Britain led connecting the study of individual roads together to paint an image of the broader road network. The author also uses findings from archaeological surveys & birds-eye-view photographs to trace the centuries-old routes & illustrate the winding tracks that once carried goods to market. ...

As the Viking Age gave way to the Middle Ages the development of Scandinavian armies showed special local characteristics due both to the rough terrain & the relatively egalitarian nature of society. Though Denmarks proximity to Germany led to the appearance there of a kind of feudal system & some heavy armoured cavalry in Sweden & Norway there was fairly willing co-operation between the few nobles & the many free farmers. This book shows how armies were of local infantry levies raised by democratic methods to defend home territory. It also details how the crossbow became very important along with ambush tactics & winter campaigning employing the use of sledges & skis. ...

Suffolk was one of the most important regions of England in the middle ages. Even by 1200 it was wealthy densely populated highly commercialised & urbanised; & it survived the impact of three of the most tumultuous events of the last millennium the Great Famine (1315-22) the Black Death (1349) & the Peasants Revolt (1381) to become by 1500 one of the richest & most industrialised regions of England based on cloth manufacture fishing & tanning. This first volume in a series which will become the definitive History of Suffolk describes documents & analyses these events. It combines an accessible & readable summary of the current state of knowledge with fresh insights drawn from extensive investigations of primary sources. Overall it offers a guide to & re-evaluation of the history of late medieval Suffolk. Mark Bailey is senior visiting lecturer at the University of Leeds & Headmaster of The Grammar School at Leeds. ...

During the Middle Ages decorative floor tiles were used in abbey churches royal palaces parish churches & the homes of wealthy citizens. Tiles were durable & hygienic & added a new decorative element to the interior. Despite their simple tools & kiln equipment the medieval tile makers proved extremely skilful in the production of different types of tile. They ranged from variously shaped plain tiles which were assembled into complex mosaic floors to two-coloured inlaid tiles & stamped-relief & line-impressed tiles all decorated with a wealth of different patterns & designs. Many medieval tiles disappeared during nineteenth-century restorations but the designs lived on in the copies made by Victorian tile manufacturers. Throughout Britain tiles can still be seen in situ on the sites of former abbeys as well as in medieval cathedrals & parish churches & the British Museum has an extensive & important collection. ...

Highly Commended in the Best Archaeological Book category of the 2008 British Archaeological Awards. Wall paintings are a unique art form complementing & yet distinctly separate from other religious imagery in churches. Unlike carvings or stained glass windows their support was the structure itself with the artists canvas the very stone & plaster of the church. They were also monumental often larger than life-size images for public audiences. Notwithstanding their dissimilarity from other religious art wall paintings were also an integral part of church interiors enhancing devotional imagery & inspiring faith & commitment in their own right & providing an artistic setting for the churchs sacred rituals & public ceremonies. This book brings together often for the first time many of the very best surviving examples of medieval church wall paintings. Using new technologies & many previously untried techniques it allows us to visualize these images as the artists originally intended. The plates are accompanied by an authoritative & scholarly text bringing the imagery & iconography of the medieval church vividly to life. ROGER ROSEWELL was educated at St Edmund Hall Oxford University. A former journalist he is a Director of a private European art foundation & the news editor of the online stained glass magazine VIDIMUS. ...