The Middle Ages bring to mind knights and their ladies, castles, cathedrals, and pageantry. From the Orient came rich silks for robes and gowns; from the mines of Africa, gold for jewelry and goblets. Knights rode into battle in armor made by armorers whose skill is still something to admire. Churches were ablaze with color—frescoes, tapestries, gold- and jewel-encrusted vestments, and richly colored stained-glass windows made the cathedral a scene of splendor.

This is a book about the craftsmen who created the armor, the furniture, the jewelry, and all the other beautiful objects used in the castle and cathedral. Here are intricately carved ivory chessmen, water ewers molded in the shape of griffins, enamel jewelry, and rare and costly objects of gold.

Drawing on the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Morgan Library, the British Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Bodelian Library, plus her talents as a craftsman and writer, Christine Price has produced a small masterpiece on the arts and crafts of the Middle Ages. Children who have grown up in this age of mass production will find both pleasure and fascination in the lovely objects that were a part of the daily life of the castle dweller.

From the dust jacket