1381: The Peel Affinity

It's finally here! After years of work -- including many weekends in Haymarket, Virginia -- La Belle Compagnie's book, 1381: The Peel Affinity, is in print. Here's the official blurb:

1381: The Peel Affinity builds a portrait of a world long lost, using gorgeous photographs filled with carefully researched and reconstructed clothing, tools, armor, furnishings, and other items, all based closely on surviving artifacts, manuscript illustrations, and paintings. The text draws extensive details from historical accounts, records, chronicles, and literature, as well as modern historical and archaeological research. All this potentially dull and dusty detail is brought to vibrant life with a narrative that follows an English knight and family, his servants, officials and tenants, associates and soldiers through a year in their lives.

The Peel Affinity represents the culmination of years of work by La Belle Compagnie. Founded in 1992, La Belle is a group of independent scholars and history enthusiasts committed to the presentation of history through the medium of "living history." La Belle Compagnie has worked with schools, civic groups, museums, and other organizations to bring a bit of the past to life and has won numerous awards for its presentations. 176 pages, 163 color illustrations (Shumacher Publishing 2008)

Patrick got involved with La Belle back in the mid-1990s. Three of his close friends from university -- Eric, Alex, and Dori -- were charter members of the group and recruited him when we were living in Germany. Patrick developed a character for the group and participated in a couple of living history presentations, including the "Military Through The Ages" show at Jamestown, Virginia. La Belle is meticulous about its historical research -- this isn't some fantasy "Dungeons & Dragons" group. This is as real as they can make it.

When we moved to the U.S. for a year in 2004, work on this book was going full-steam. Patrick wanted to lend a hand, and Jennifer gamely agreed to pitch in, as well. Now she's on the cover! (Look closely at the nun on the right-hand side.)

We spent many a weekend dressed in the garb of the 14th-century, so it's great to see the book finally in print. It's already getting rave reviews in historical research and medievalist circles.

1381: The Peel Affinity is available (but out-of-stock at the moment) at Amazon, but you can also order directly from the publisher -- and see some sample pages -- at this site:

www.peelaffinity.com

We don't have our own copy yet, but we've put a few of the outtakes here so you can see what we were trying to do -- namely, put the reader right there in the middle of history.

So lace up your gambeson, pull on your gauntlets, and join us in the 14th century!