Manmade marvels of the later medieval courts—animated golden birds, mechanical angels, and other fantastic machines—were not merely amusing distractions, but also agents of social negotiation and political import. In Manmade Marvels, the dancing metal peacocks, animated statuary, and spectacular illusions of the romance tradition are disembedded from traditional literary representation as supernatural fictions, and situated in the political culture where mechanical marvels were fashioned to delight courts, garner prestige, and symbolize power.