‘Born, bathed, dressed, loved, cut, bruised, ripped, buried, even resurrected, medieval bodies are a path to understanding the very essence of everyday life in the past.’ Examining how those bodies were perceived and treated, Hartnell’s book is set out like a medieval medical work, a capite ad calcem, ‘from head to heel’, and discusses topics ranging from headless monsters and mental illness to ‘wilfully impractical’ shoes with long, pointed toes and remarkable journeys on foot.