1215 The Year Of Magna Carta by Danny Danziger & John Gillingham

On June 15, 1215, rebel barons forced King John to meet them at Runnymede. They did not trust the King, so he was not allowed to leave until his seal was attached to the charter in front of him. This was the Magna Carta. It was a revolutionary document: never before had royal authority been so fundamentally challenged. This book explores what it was like to be alive in that momentous year. Political power struggles are interwoven with other issues -- fashion, food, education, medicine, religion, sex.

Whether describing matters of state or domestic life, this is a treasure house of a book, rich in detail and full of enthralling insights into the medieval world.