WHEN I FIRST STARTED WRITING THIS BOOK, I KNEW almost nothing about life in medieval Europe or any French history before Napoleon. Thankfully, I had two awesome women to assist me in my studies. First, my dear friend Courtney Spikes fortuitously happens to be a professor of French history at Mount St. Mary’s College. Then, Emily Mullin was not only an incredible researcher, but she also knew how to fence—and ultimately helped me craft this story. Their help was invaluable.
I am also deeply indebted to Daniel Ehrenhaft, who spearheaded this project and was essential to its development. Many of the great ideas in these pages are Dan’s. Without him, this book wouldn’t exist at all.
And finally, I need to thank my wife, Suzanne, who, in addition to all her usual wonderfulness, arranged a fantastic Paris vacation for us a few years ago—and didn’t mind when I insisted spending part of it clambering around inside the bell towers of Notre Dame and exploring the medieval fortress in the basement of the Louvre. I had no idea I’d be writing this book at the time or that those excursions would ever be useful, but as you’ll see, they were.