Nigel Saul’s A-Z of life in the Middle Ages is essential reading for anyone interested in the turbulent years between the arrival of William the Conqueror and the accession of Henry Tudor in 1485. Here in one volume is a mine of information on all the major aspects of medieval society and culture, giving a comprehensive picture of a world at once alien and familiar, whose way of life has long vanished, but whose visible remains survive all around us. Nigel Saul provides a wealth of examples to show how the great institutions of the age—the Church, the Crown, and the law—affected the lives of the English at all levels. Further entries catalogue the cultural legacy of the period, from castles and cathedrals to manuscripts, brasses, and stained glass.