Fiona MacDonald

It's the end of the 15th century, and your days as a battle-hardened soldier are over. You're broke, injured, and desperate for work—so you take a job running the castle prison. But beware: this is no cosy posting! From filthy cells teeming with rats and lice to prisoners plotting escape, every day brings danger, stench, and the constant threat of...

How did monks and nuns live, work and worship? A Medieval Monastery: Spectacular Visual Guides opens the doors to a self-contained community, charting the rise of Benedictine rules, the splendour of Cluny, the graft of craftsmen, the making of books, the importance of cleanliness, and the care given in monastic hospitals. Clear, engaging text sits alongside detailed cutaways, timelines and...