How ‘green’ were people in late antiquity and the Middle Ages? Unlike today, the nature around them was approached with faith, trust and care. The population size was many times smaller than today and human impact on nature not as extreme as it is now. People did not have to worry about issues like deforestation and sustainability.

This book is about the knowledge of plants and where that knowledge came from. How did people use earth and plants in ancient times, and what did they know abo...

A surprising look at how medieval etiquette can improve our lives today, from the author of the popular How to Live Like a Monk.

The oldest illustrated manuscript in Dutch contains a 13th-century Rijmbijbel (Rhymed Bible) by Jacob van Maerlant, a biblical paraphrase in paired rhyme, followed by a history of the First Jewish-Roman War, some decades after the death of Christ. The manuscript is lavishly illustrated, featuring no fewer than 159 precious miniatures. Due to its famous author, luxurious character, and the high artistic quality of its illuminations, it ranks among the international masterpieces of that period.

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Al eeuwenlang bestuderen we de werken van Cicero, Lucretius en Horatius. Halen we inspiratie uit de ridderverhalen van Ferguut en Walewein. Onze kennis van de wereld bouwt voort op de geschriften van klassieke en middeleeuwse dichters, filosofen, theologen en juristen. Maar zonder de ijverige monniken en kopiisten uit de middeleeuwen zouden deze teksten niet bewaard zijn. De wereld van vandaag is ondenkbaar zonder deze overdracht van geschreven kennis. Schatten op schrift laat je kennismaken ...