Bal Des Ardents, 1393

by British Library

Title

Bal Des Ardents, 1393

Artist

British Library

Medium

Photograph - Photograph

Description

The Bal des Ardents was a masquerade held on January 28, 1393 at which Charles VI performed in a dance with five members of the French nobility. The costumes, which were sewn onto the men, were made of linen soaked with resin to which flax was attached. Four of the dancers were killed in a fire caused by a torch. Charles and another of the dancers survived. Charles VI (December 3,1368 - October 21, 1422) was King of France from 1380 to his death. He was 11 when he inherited the throne in the midst of the Hundred Years' War. The government was entrusted to his four uncles who squandered the financial resources of the kingdom for their personal profit. The royal age of majority was fixed at 14, the dukes maintained their grip on Charles until he took power at the age of 21. In 1388 he dismissed his uncles and political and economic conditions in the kingdom improved significantly, earning him the epithet "the Beloved". In 1392 en route to Brittany with his army Charles suddenly went mad and slew four knights and almost killed his brother. From then on, his bouts of insanity became more frequent and of longer duration. Unable to concentrate or make decisions, political power was taken away from him. He died in 1422 at the age of 53. (Miniature) King Charles VI of France and his knights masquerade as savages; with part of decorated border. Image taken from Froissart's Chronicles (Volume IV, part 2). Originally published 1470-75.

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June 14th, 2016

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