This isn't necessarily language-related and I don't want to get too "booky" here, but this story about the selling of a medieval manuscript may be of interest to us. French romances, particularly the Arthurian ones, were tremendously popular throughout the Middle Ages and had a direct effect on our beloved English tongue. One of the most interesting, and maybe disturbing details, about this manuscript is that it was so large that it must have taken 200 cows to make it. For those of you unfamiliar with medieval manuscripts, this may sound strange, but if you know that medieval books were made from animal skin, this fact attests to how expensive this book really was (and apparently is!). It reminds us that in many ways the birth of our language rests on the backs of animals - an interesting and often overlooked fact.
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