The gripping, atmospheric true story of the duel to end all duels in medieval France- a trial by combat pitting a knight against a squire accused of violating the knight s beautiful young wife. In 1386, a few days after Christmas, a massive crowd gathered at a Paris monastery to watch the two men fight a duel to the death - a trial by combat meant to prove which man s cause was right in God s sight. The dramatic true story of the knight, the squire, and the lady unfolds during the tumultuous fourteenth century, a time of war, plague, and anarchy, as well as of honour, chivalry, and courtly love. The notorious quarrel appears in many histories of France, but no writer has recounted it in full, until now.

Author Biography

An award-winning professor of English at UCLA, Eric Jager holds a Ph. D. from the University of Michigan and has also taught at Columbia University. He is the author of two previous books, including The Book of the Heart (a study of heart imagery in medieval literature).