Books, Banks, Buttons

This entertaining romp through the inventions of the Middle Ages tells the story of the first appearance of dozens of items with lasting significance. From the invention of eyeglasses (by a now-forgotten layperson who sought to keep his methods secret, the better to profit from them) to the creation of the fork (at first regarded as an instrument of diabolical perversion but embraced when it helped people handle another invention of the age, pasta), this beautifully illustrated volume is a fitting tribute to a misunderstood era that gave us countless items from which we still benefit today.