Maidens, monks, and millers sons -- in these pages, readers will meet them all. There s Hugo, the lord s nephew, forced to prove his manhood by hunting a wild boar; sharp-tongued Nelly, who supports her family by selling live eels; and the peasant s daughter, Mogg, who gets a clever lesson in how to save a cow from a greedy landlord. There s also mud-slinging Barbary (and her noble victim); Jack, the compassionate half-wit; Alice, the singing shepherdess; and many more. With a deep appreciation for the period and a grand affection for both characters and audience, Laura Amy Schlitz creates twenty-two riveting portraits and linguistic gems equally suited to silent reading or performance. Illustrated with pen-and-ink drawings by Robert Byrd -- inspired by the Munich-Nuremberg manuscript, an illuminated poem from thirteenth-century Germany -- this witty, historically accurate, and utterly human collection forms an exquisite bridge to the people and places of medieval England. Step back to an English village in 1255, where life plays out in dramatic vignettes illuminating twenty-two unforgettable characters.