The Holy Land, so bitterly fought over by Israel and Palestine, was mainly desert and arid land, the only fertile plains being down by Galilee. The flowers that would have grown 2000 years ago are very different from those that grew in northern Europe in the late Middle Ages. This book is not a literal interpretation of the flowers described in the Bible, but an accompaniment, with manuscript illuminations. It is a celebration of both the language of the Bible and the beauty of medieval manuscripts. The 14th, 15th and 16th centuries saw the creation of richly decorative manuscript illustrations. These were executed by Flemish and French masters or their studios, initially under the patronage of ruling families or the clergy, but they later reached wider audiences. The illustrations in this anthology are taken from Bibles, Brevaries, Books of Hours and Psalters. The detailed scenes reflect narratives of religious or national history and give an insight into a world of nature that has now disappeared.