What do you do when you have accused the woman you love of necromancy? Roger Draper suspects that a necromancer is at work in a small medieval English town. But rather than uncovering foul magical deeds he manages to implicate the women he desires in accusations of witchcraft. With only the town drunk to help him, Roger must untangle the mess he has created. Be prepared for a heady concoction of gritty medieval life, humour and magic. Bird Talk: A Tale of Medieval Magic is an Historical Fantasy short story.

"This study looks at a wide range of medieval Englisih romance texts, including the works of Chaucer and Malory, from a broad cultural perspective, to show that while they employ magic in order to create exotic, escapist worlds, they are also grounded in a sense of possibility, and reflect a complex web of inherited and current ideas." --Book Jacket.

This book examines magic's generally maleficent effect on humans from ancient Egypt through the Middle Ages, including tales from classical mythology, Jewish, Christian, and Muslim cultures. It shows that certain magical motifs lived on from age to age, but that it took until the Italian Renaissance for magic tales to become fairy tales.

In this book, Marijane Osborn translates into modern English nine lively medieval verse romances, in a form that both reflects the original and makes the romances inviting to a modern audience. All nine tales contain elements of magic: shapeshifters, powerful fairies, trees that are portals to another world, and enchanted clothing and armor. Many of the tales also feature powerful women characters, while others include representations of “Saracens.” The tales address issues of enduring interest and concern, and also address sexuality, agency, and identity formation in unexpected ways.

The latest volume in the Chaucer Bibliographies series, meticulously assembled by Kenneth Bleeth, is the most comprehensive record of scholarship on Chaucer's Squire's Tale, Franklin's Tale, and Physician's Tale.

"The pacing is excellent and Mark Lord does not waste a word too much." Review of 'Chivalry: A Jake Savage Adventure' at Edi's Book Lighthouse "Mark's story is engaging and thrilling ... his pacing is good, the dialogue is tight, and the plot is absorbing. His style is clean and precise and executed extremely well." Review of 'Bisclavret (The Werewolf)' at StevenTill.com If you like your fantasy gritty and thrilling then you need to get a copy of Tales of Magic and Mayhem. In this collection of stories you can read about marrying a werewolf, pacts with demons, the domestic disputes of gods, the horrors of medieval war, and why not to dabble in necromancy. Every story is full of action, adventure and the supernatural. Tales of Magic and Mayhem is a collection of five fantasy short stories from Mark Lord. The collection includes: Chivalry: A Jake Savage Adventure Bird Talk: A Tale of Medieval Magic Bisclavret (The Werewolf) Forged in Blood Demon River

How have fairy tales from around the world changed over the centuries? What do they tell us about different cultures and societies? Spanning the years from 900 to 1500 and traversing geographical borders, from England to France and India to China, this book uniquely examines the tales told, translated, adapted and circulated during the period known as the Middle Ages. Scholars in history, literature and cultural studies explore the development of epic tales of heroes and monsters and enchanted romance narratives. Examining how tales evolved and functioned across different societies during the Middle Ages, this book demonstrates how the plots, themes and motifs used in medieval tales influenced later developments in the genre. An essential resource for researchers, scholars and students of literature, history and cultural studies, this volume explores themes including: forms of the marvelous, adaptation, gender and sexuality, humans and non-humans, monsters and the monstrous, spaces, socialization, and power. A Cultural History of Fairy Tales (6-volume set) A Cultural History of Fairy Tales in Antiquity is also available as a part of a 6-volume set, A Cultural History of Fairy Tales, tracing fairy tales from antiquity to the present day, available in print, or within a fully-searchable digital library accessible through institutions by annual subscription or on perpetual access (see www.bloomsburyculturalhistory.com). Individual volumes for academics and researchers interested in specific historical periods are also available digitally via www.bloomsburycollections.com.