In addition to providing intriguing interpretations of animals, bestiaries offered tales about the existence of bizarre and loathsome creatures, many of which appeared in medieval art.

Deirdre Larkin, managing horticulturalist of The Met Cloisters, discusses bryony and its significance in medieval gardens.

The image of the head or face can have the capacity to instruct, but in certain forms it can possess a special power to protect, to heal, or even do harm.

The mobility of late medieval artists ensured the dissemination of styles over wide geographic areas.

Caleb Leech, the new managing horticulturalist at The Cloisters, introduces himself and discusses the spread of horticultural knowledge and plants throughout medieval Europe.

During the medieval period, peoples of three faiths—Islam, Christianity, and Judaism—inhabited this land, undertaking sustained and intensive interactions that proved especially fruitful for the visual arts.

All relics bestowed honor and privileges upon the possessor, and monasteries and cathedrals sought to hold the most prestigious. Some relics were even stolen from one church, only to find a new home in another.

In Europe, the art of stained glass reached its height between 1150 and 1500, when magnificent windows were created for great cathedrals.

Although theatrical plays had been presented at the original Cloisters museum at 699 Fort Washington Avenue until its closing in February 1936, it was not until the performance of The Miracle of Theophilus at The Cloisters' current home in January 1942 that a medieval drama was produced for the first time. Envisioned and organized by the curatorial staff, with a text translated from the original French into English by Curator James Rorimer—later director of The Metropolitan Museum of Art—and costumes designed by Associate Curator Margaret Freeman, the thirteenth-century play was enjoyed by a group of Museum members on the Feast of the Epiphany. Thus began a tradition of medieval theatrical performances at The Cloisters.

Persons from all walks of life made religious journeys, with far-reaching consequences for society and culture as a whole.