Tania Bayard is a freelance writer specializing in medieval art, culture, and horticulture. She has a Ph.D. in art history from Columbia University, and she has taught at several universities. She has also been the assistant horticulturist at The Cloisters, a museum of medieval art that is a branch of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the curator of the Biblical Garden at the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine in New York City. Her publications include a study of the thirteenth century sculpture of Bourges Cathedral; books and articles on medieval plants and gardens; a translation of a fourteenth-century housekeeping manual; two books on roses, co-authored with the rosarian at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden; and a series of mystery novels set in 14th century France that feature Christine de Pizan.