I dwell quite a bit on the material culture of Rosamund’s world. She is deeply attentive to her own attire and that of others and interested in all markers of wealth and status–jewels and ornaments, horses and tack, buildings and decor, food and drink. Although these descriptions will (hopefully!) help a reader to imagine the scene, that is not the primary reason I choose to linger over such details. A person’s clothing and possessions would have “spoken” to Rosamund, communicating their position in the social hierarchy relative to her. In an intensely stratified and relational society, such information was both interesting and essential.