If your tales are filled with English crusaders or Viking raiders, knights from Flanders or Scottish Highlanders, then you need this book to make sure you portray their lives and times accurately.

Sherrilyn Kenyon gives you an overview of life in Northwestern Europe from 500 - 1500. You'll learn about...

Food
Medieval dining habits and typical fare may surprise you, as will recipes for such dishes as haggis, and lampreys in galtyne.

Clothing
Fashions changed every few decades; make sure your lords and ladies are properly attired for their era.

Medicine
It wasn't all potions and prayers; you could get a dentist or a cosmetic surgeon... if you were rich.

Royalty
The soap-opera lives of modern British royals are nothing compared to those of their ancestors; you'll get lots of ideas for epic romances, adventures and mysteries.

Heraldry
Whether you're outfitting the noblest king or the darkest knight, you'll design a suitably symbolic coat of arms.

War
From the Albegensian Crusade to the War of the Roses, countless conflicts raged in the Middle Ages; learn about the arms and armor of the men who fought and the tournaments they used to prepare themselves for battle.

Vocabulary
If you think a stew is for dinner and a coffyn is for a corpse, you need to check this book before you put the wrong words in your characters' mouths.

You'll also find facts on saints, popes, religious orders, festivals, musical instruments, measurements and the roles of men, women and children in all areas of medieval life. So open this guide and discover the real characters and plots and conflicts that defined the Middle Ages.