They sat “below the salt,” or at tables without access to valuable salt. At the other, lower, tables sat the hired hands, the retainers, the working people, and the less influential members of the noble house. Even in the dining halls of royalty or nobility, only the head table was allowed free access to a salt cellar. I remember asking him what the title meant, and he explained that in medieval times salt was still a precious commodity.

As he often did, he read the fun parts aloud to whichever of his children happened to be in earshot – he loved sharing his books as much as he loved reading them. Sometime in the mid-1970’s, my dad was re-reading one of his favorite authors. I know which books kicked open my love of English medieval history. The books that stick with us are the books that teach us something. They may be the history books that examine the politics and personalities of an era that led to a revolution. They may examine animal behavior, linguistics, migrations, burial practices, or art. They may be the books that explain innovations, technologies, or practices that controlled the civilizations of their time, from the development of agricultural practices to the economy of the Silk Road. They engage us in subjects that aren’t essential to our survival or even to our happiness, but that simply interest us and send us off on a quest to know more. I like science books explain concrete things that we don’t ordinarily think about. If I can come away from a few minutes of reading with one real fact to share at a cocktail party, the magazine rack in my bathroom library is worth the small investment. There is so much to learn, so much to know.

The last plantagenets thomas b costain