Using wide-ranging evidence, Martyn Whittock shines a light on Britain in the Middle Ages, bringing it vividly to life in this fascinating new portrait that brings together the everyday and the extraordinary.

Thus we glimpse 11th-century rural society through a conversation between a ploughman and his master.

The life of Dick Whittington illuminates the rise of the urban elite. The stories of Roger 'the Raker' who drowned in his own sewage, a 'merman' imprisoned in Orford Castle and the sufferings of the Jews of Bristol reveal the extraordinary diversity of medieval society.

Through these characters and events - and using the latest discoveries and research - the dynamic and engaging panorama of medieval England is revealed.