Paris exhibition aims to dispel myth of ‘primitive’ England in middle ages

Rare treasures that escaped the destruction of the English Reformation show a country on the forefront of medieval and gothic art

A new exhibition in Paris aims to show how England in the middle ages was very much part of Europe's dynamic art, architectural, trade and culture scene between AD1000 and AD1500.

Organisers said the event would discredit the popular perception" - mainly across the Channel - that medieval England was primitive and barbaric" while France and parts of Europe enjoyed a gothic zenith.