How does Barbara W. Tuchman use imagery in A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century?

Imagery describing the Book of prayers...

"Buffoons and devils curl and twist through flowering vines, rabbits fight with soldiers, trained dogs show their tricks, sacred texts trail off into long-tailed fantastical creatures, bare-bottomed monks climb towers, tonsured heads appear on dragons' bodies. Goat footed priests, monkey, minstrels, flowers, birds, castles, lusting demons, and imaginary beasts twin through the pages in bizarre companionship with the sanctity of prayer...."