Chantry Westwell studied modern European and African languages in Cape Town, followed by an MA in Historical Linguistics at Ohio State, and in Medieval Studies at University College London. Her special interest is in Old French and Anglo-Norman romance, on which she has published blog posts and online articles. For the past 12 years she has worked as a volunteer at the British Library, where the magnificent collection of illuminated manuscripts has provided inspiration for this book. She is from Bulawayo, Zimbabwe.