European Medievalists explore manifestations of the playful beyond the more obvious spheres, the common thread being defiance of rigid structures. Block's (d. 2008) five-volume editions of misericords has made available a large body of marginal iconography. Among their topics are playing games in the early French theater 1350-1550, the foolishness of old age, vernacular language and the lower body, play and the Old French Vie de Pères, the curious creatures on Medieval misericords, and the bestiary fox on misericords and in the Roman de Renart. Three of the 12 essays are in French. There is no index. Distributed in North America by The David Brown Book Co. Annotation ©2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)