This book takes readers into the fascinating world of medieval life through historic pictures, period illustrations and detailed text that describes everything from castle-storming techniques to villagers' hair styles.

Three real medieval places - a castle in Chepstow on the Welsh border, the city of Troyes in the country of Champagne and the village of Elton in the English East Midlands - are the jumping - off point for this thorough exploration of 13th and 14th century life in Europe.

The authors use recent archeloogical discoveries and historic and contemporary documents in conjunction with diagrams and dramatic photographs to give readers a full understanding of what it was truly like to live 700 years ago.