In this delightful book, the author explores the "floral outburst" that occurred in medieval manuscripts of the 14th and 15th centuries.

Each section of Flowers in Medieval Manuscripts includes relevant details of the manuscripts from which the illustrations are taken, and the concluding section discusses manuscript production in relation to these margins.

From peony to poppy, and Solomon's seal and columbine to lily and iris, this illustrated book draws together those species of flowers - pure in colour and beautifully scented - that grew in medieval times and still grow today. Passing through the seasons, the book features gardens in Britain and elsewhere in Europe that can be traced back to medieval times. It details the purpose of gardens in those times, the types of plants grown, and the medicinal aspects, and also has a chapter on how to grow the individual flowers today. Garden plans and plant sources complete the book.

Nearly 300 accurate botanical illustrations, selected from a rare reference, include detailed renderings of woodbine, peony root, cherry, hare's beard, couch grass, and scores of other examples. Easy-to-use royalty-free images will add an authentic medieval touch to catalogs, brochures, and other projects calling for horticulture-related graphics. 294 black-and-white illustrations.

There is a striking similarity between Marian devotional songs and secular love songs of the late Middle Ages and Renaissance. Two disparate genres--one sacred, the other secular; one Latin, the other vernacular--both praise an idealized, impossibly virtuous woman. Each does so through highly stylized derivations of traditional medieval song forms--Marian prayer derived from earlier Gregorian chant, and love songs and lyrics from medieval courtly song. Yet despite their obvious similarities, the two musical and poetic traditions have rarely been studied together. Author David J. Rothenberg takes on this task with remarkable success, producing a useful and broad introduction to Marian music and liturgy, and then coupling that with an incisive comparative analysis of these devotional forms and the words and music of secular love songs of the period. The Flower of Paradise examines the interplay of Marian devotional and secular poetics within polyphonic music from ca. 1200 to ca. 1500. Through case studies of works that demonstrate a specific symbolic resonance between Marian devotion and secular song, the book illustrates the distinctive ethos of this period in European culture. Rothenberg makes use of an impressive command of liturgical and religious studies, literature and poetry, and art history to craft a study with wide application across disciplinary boundaries. With its broad scope and unique, incisive analysis, this book will open up new ways of thinking about the history and development of secular and sacred music and the Marian tradition for scholars, students, and anyone with an interest in medieval and Renaissance religious culture.

Astride her white palfrey, surrounded by a nimbus of silver-blond hair, Jasmine was a vision to strike a man mute with desire. But the violet-eyed love child of King Richard's half brother had vowed that no man would ever rule her heart. Until she saw the face of the Devil himself in her crystal ball--the dark, brooding knight who would kill to make her his own. She would risk a dissolute court and a maddened, lustful king to keep destiny at bay, anything to keep her from the hypnotic eyes and burning caresses of...The Falcon. A wickedly handsome warrior who lived by blood and the sword, Falcon de Burgh wanted to wed no woman--until he laid eyes on the exquisite Jasmine, and he vowed to possess her, to teach her all the wondrous ways a man could love a woman, no matter what it might take to conquer her fiery, unyielding heart. Falcon knew only blind, reckless passion as he swore to tame, at the risk of his life...The Flower.