The Middle Ages in the view of modern man are often associated with gloomy and cruel times. Meanwhile, this is the brightest period in human history, an era of great conquests and great upheavals, which keeps many unsolved mysteries. Who really was Jeanne d'Arc, who became a key figure in the liberation of France? Where was the mysterious eastern kingdom of Presbyterian John? Did the Tatar-Mongol yoke really exist in Russia? What happened behind the walls of the Forbidden City in the capital of China? .. Riddles, versions, hypotheses - there are enough of them in the book, and this is another opportunity to learn more about the history of the Middle Ages, to understand the vicissitudes of a distant and mysterious era.