Saint Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274)

Grade School:

St. Thomas Aquinas: The Story of the Dumb Ox by Mary Fabyan Windeatt
Saint Thomas Aquinas and the Preaching Beggars by Brendan Larnen, O.P. and Milton Lomask

Teen/Adult:

St. Thomas Aquinas by G.K. Chesterton
excerpts from the Summa Theologiae TC pgs. 247-298
The Catechetical Instructions of St. Thomas Aquinas
The Quiet Light: A Novel About St. Thomas Aquinas by Louis de Wohl

Cathedral at Rheims (consecrated in 1241)

The Cathedral at Rheims (north east of Paris, in the province of Champagne) was built between 1210 and 1241 AD. The kings of France were once crowned there and you'll hear something of it in the story of St. Joan of Arc.

The Web Gallery of Art has some information on the Cathedral as well as some great photos of statuary.

Rheims Cathedral was seriously damaged by the Germans in 1914. Here is a 1937 TIME magazine article about its restoration.

Also see "The Bombardment of Rheims"

Saint Francis of Assisi (1181-1226)

Picture Books:
Francis: The Poor Man of Assisi by Tomie de Paola

Grade School:
Francis and Clare: Saints of Assisi by Helen Walker Homan

Teen/Adult:
St. Francis of Assisi by G.K. Chesterton
The Joyful Beggar: A Novel about St. Francis of Assisi by Louis de Wohl

Primary Sources:
The Sermon to the Birds The Book of Virtues 761-762
Writings of St. Francis of Assisi TC pgs. 201-233

13th Century AD

The Lost Baron by Allen French (1200)
The Adventures of Robin Hood by Roger Lancelyn Green (King John 1167-1216)
Big John's Secret by Eleanore Jewett (The 5th Crusade, 1218)
Saint Dominic: Preacher of the Rosary and Founder of the Dominican Order by Mary Fabyan Windeatt
Saint Dominic and the Rosary by Catherine Beebe (1170-1221)
"The Miracle of Alatri, Italy", EM pgs 30-37 (1228)
"The Miracle of Santarem, Portugal", EM 38-46 (early 13th century)
"The Two Miracles of Florence, Italy", EM 47-49 (1230)
Saint Elizabeth's Three Crowns by Blanche Thompson (1207-1231)
Saint Anthony and the Christ Child by Helen Walker Homan (1195-1231)
"The Miracle of Daroca, Spain", EM 50-52 (1239)
"The Miracle of Olmutz, Czechoslovakia", EM 53-55 (1242)
Cathedral: The Story of Its Construction by David Macaulay
St. Hyacinth of Poland: The Story of the Apostle of the North by Mary Fabyan Windeatt
"The Miracle of Regensburg, Germany", EM 56-58 (1257)
"The Two Miracles of Paris, France", EM 63-65 (1274 and 1290)
He Went with Marco Polo by Louise Andrews Kent (1271-1295)
"The Miracle of Slavonice, Czechoslovakia", EM 66-69 (1280)
"The Miracle of Offida, Italy", EM 70-83 (1280)
Castle by David Macaulay (1283)
Women in the Days of the Cathedrals by Régine Pernoud

Architecture:

Chartres Cathedral, Chartres, France (construction 1195-1220)