The bestiary - a book of animals, both real and mythical - is one of the most interesting and appealing medieval artefacts. The -Second-family- bestiary is the most important and frequently produced version (some 49 known manuscripts exist). Of English origin and predominantly English production, it boasts a spiritual text -modernized- to meet the needs of its time, and features exceptional illustrations. This study addresses the work's purpose and audience, challenging previous assumptions with direct evidence in the manuscripts themselves, linking their use to teachers at the...

Valleys of the Shadow is the previously unpublished account of Captain Reuben Clark s first-hand experiences as a Confederate officer, a prisoner of war, and a post war civilian living in a conquered state.
Captain Clark was a twenty-seven-year-old Knoxville businessman when the first shots of the Civil War were fired in 1861. Like many southern gentlemen, Clark was opposed to secession but could not desert his family and friends. Enlisting as a first lieutenant in the Confederacy s Third Tennessee Infantry Regiment, he spent his first night as a soldier on the bloody battlefield of...