- King Clovis
Costume of King Clovis (Sixth Century).--From a Statue on his Tomb, formerly in the Abbey of St. Geneviève. - Kings Huntsman
William Malgeneste, the King's Huntsman, as represented on his Tomb, formerly in the Abbey of Long-Pont. (for Louis IX) - Kitchen
Interior of a Kitchen.--Fac-simile from a Woodcut in the "Calendarium Romanum" of J. Staéffler, folio, Tubingen, 1518. - Mary of Burgundy
Costume of Mary of Burgundy, Daughter of Charles the Bold, Wife of Maximilian of Austria (end of the Fifteenth Century). From an old Engraving in the Collection of the Imperial Library, Paris. - Measurers of Corn
The towns of Rouen and Caen were especially manufacturing cities, and were very rich. This was the case with Rouen particularly, which was situated on the Seine, and was at that time an extensive depôt for provisions and other merchandise which was sent down the river for export, or was imported for future internal consumption. Already Paris, the abode of kings, and the metropolis of government, began to foreshadow the immense development which it was destined to undergo, by becoming the centre of commercial affairs, and by daily adding to its labouring and mercantile population - Measuring salt
Fac-simile of a Woodcut of the "Ordonnances de la Prevosté des Marchands de Paris," in folio: 1500. - Mechanics wife
-Costumes of a Mechanic's Wife and a rich Bourgeois in the latter part of the Fifteenth Century.--From Windows in the Cathedral of Moulins (Bourbonnais). - Member of Brotherhood of death
Member of the Brotherhood of Death, whose duty it was to accompany those sentenced to death - Merchant Nobleman and lady
Costumes of Bourgeois or Merchant, of a Nobleman, and of a Lady of the Court or rich Bourgeoise, with the Head-dress (escoffion) of the Fifteenth Century.--From a Painted Window of the Period, at Moulins (Bourbonnais), and from a Painting on Wood of the same Period, in the Musee de Cluny. - Movable iron cage
Movable Iron Cage.--From a Woodcut in the "Cosmographie Universelle" of Munster, in folio, Basle, 1552. - Nobleman and Bourgeois
Costumes of a young Nobleman and of a Bourgeois in the Fourteenth Century.--From a painted Window in the Church of Saint-Ouen at Rouen, and from a Window at Moulins (Bourbonnais). - Nobleman Merchant and lady
Costumes of Bourgeois or Merchant, of a Nobleman, and of a Lady of the Court or rich Bourgeoise, with the Head-dress (escoffion) of the Fifteenth Century.--From a Painted Window of the Period, at Moulins (Bourbonnais), and from a Painting on Wood of the same Period, in the Musee de Cluny. - Orphans
-Orphans, Callots, and the Family of the Grand Coesre.--From painted Hangings and Tapestry from the Town of Rheims, executed during the Fifteenth Century. The Grand Coesre levied a tax of twenty-four sous per annum upon the young rogues, who went about the streets pretending to shed tears, as "helpless orphans," in order to excite public sympathy. - Paris 1607
Perspective View of Paris in 1607.--Fac-simile of a Copper-plate by Léonard Gaultier. (Collection of M. Guénebault, Paris.) - Phillip the Good
Costume of Philip the Good, with Hood and "Cockade."--From a Miniature in a Manuscript of the Period. - Prelate
Costume of the Prelates from the Eighth to the Tenth Centuries--After Miniatures in the "Missal of St. Gregory," in the National Library of Paris. - Prelate
Costume of the Prelates from the Eighth to the Tenth Centuries--After Miniatures in the "Missal of St. Gregory," in the National Library of Paris. - Presenting the sword
"How the King-at-Arms presents the Sword to the Duke of Bourbon."--From a Miniature in "Tournois du Roi René," Manuscript of the Fifteenth Century (Imperial Library of Paris). - Princess
Costume of a Princess dressed in a Cloak lined with Fur.--From a Miniature of the Thirteenth Century. - Procession to meet the pope
The Jewish Procession going to meet the Pope at the Council of Constance, in 1417.--After a Miniature in the Manuscript Chronicle of Ulrie de Reichental, in the Library of the Mansion-house of Basle, in Switzerland. - Provosts prison
The Provost's Prison.--Fac-simile of a Woodcut in J. Damhoudère's "Praxis Rerum Civilium." - Public Execution
Originally, decapitation was indiscriminately inflicted on all criminals condemned to death; at a later period, however, it became the particular privilege of the nobility, who submitted to it without any feeling of degradation. The victim--unless the sentence prescribed that he should be blindfolded as an ignominious aggravation of the penalty--was allowed to choose whether he would have his eyes covered or not. He knelt down on the scaffold, placed his head on the block, and gave himself up to the executioner. The skill of the executioner was generally such that the head was almost invariably severed from the body at the first blow. Nevertheless, skill and practice at times failed, for cases are on record where as many as eleven blows were dealt, and at times it happened that the sword broke. Public Executions.--Fac-simile of a Woodcut in the Latin Work of J. Millaeus, "Praxis Criminis Persequendi:" small folio, Parisis, Simon de Colines, 1541. - Punishment by Fire
Punishment by Fire When a criminal had been condemned to be burnt, a stake was erected on the spot specially designed for the execution, and round it a pile was prepared, composed of alternate layers of straw and wood, and rising to about the height of a man. Care was taken to leave a free space round the stake for the victim, and also a passage by which to lead him to it. Having been stripped of his clothes, and dressed in a shirt smeared with sulphur, he had to walk to the centre of the pile through a narrow opening, and was then tightly bound to the stake with ropes and chains. After this, faggots and straw were thrown into the empty space through which he had passed to the stake, until he was entirely covered by them; the pile was then fired on all sides at once - Richard crucified
The Infant Richard crucified by the Jews, at PontoiseFrom a Woodcut, with Figures by Wohlgemuth, in the "Liber Chronicarum Mundi:" large folio, Nuremberg, 1493. - Chief of Sbirri
Chief of Sbirri - Water Torture
The Water Torture. Fac-simile of a Woodcut in J. Damhoudère's "Praxis Rerum Criminalium:" in 4to, Antwerp, 1556. In Paris, for a long time, the water torture was in use; this was the most easily borne, and the least dangerous. A person undergoing it was tied to a board which was supported horizontally on two trestles. By means of a horn, acting as a funnel, and whilst his nose was being pinched, so as to force him to swallow, they slowly poured four coquemars (about nine pints) of water into his mouth; this was for the ordinary torture. For the extraordinary, double that quantity was poured in. When the torture was ended, the victim was untied, "and taken to be warmed in the kitchen," says the old text. - Royal Costume
Royal Costume.--From a Miniature in a Manuscript of the Twelfth Century, in the Burgundian Library, Brussels. - Saints in the costume of the sixth century
Saints in the costume of the sixth century - Sandal and Buskin
Sandal and Buskin of Charlemagne.--From the Abbey of St. Denis. - Scholar
Costume of a Scholar of the Carlovingian Period (St. Matthew writing his Gospel under the Inspiration of Christ).--From a Miniature in a Manuscript of the Ninth Century, in the Burgundian Library, Brussels (drawn by Count H. de Vielcastel). - Scholar
During the reign of the other Carlovingian kings, in the midst of political troubles, of internal wars, and of social disturbances, they had neither time nor inclination for inventing new fashions. Monuments of the latter part of the ninth century prove, indeed, that the national dress had hardly undergone any change since the time of Charlemagne, and that the influence of Roman tradition, especially on festive occasions, was still felt in the dress of the nobles - Sculptured Comb
Sculptured Comb, in Ivory, of the Sixteenth Century (Sauvageot Collection) - Seal of King Chilperic
Seal of King Chilpéric, found in his Tomb at Tournay in 1654. - Seat of Justice
Seat of Justice, held by King Philippe de Valois, on the 8th April, 1332, for the Trial of Robert, Comte d'Artois.--From a Pen-and-ink Sketch in an Original Manuscript (Arch. of the Empire) - Secret meeting
Secret Meeting of the Jews at the Rabbi's House.--Fac-simile of a Miniature of the "Pèlerinage de la Vie Humaine," Manuscript of the Fourteenth Century, in the National Library of Paris. - Servants of the 14th Century
Costume of English Servants in the Fourteenth Century.--From Manuscripts in the British Museum. - Standards of the Church
Standards of the Church and the Empire.--Reduced from an Engraving of the "Entry of Charles V. and Clement VII. into Bologna," by Lucas de Cranach, from a Fresco by Brusasorci, of Verona. - Swiss Grand Provost
The executioner did not hold the same position in all countries. For whereas in France, Italy, and Spain, a certain amount of odium was attached to this terrible craft, in Germany, on the contrary, successfully carrying out a certain number of capital sentences was rewarded by titles and the privileges of nobility - The Bastille
The subterranean cells of the Bastille did not differ much from those of the Châtelet. There were several, the bottoms of which were formed like a sugar-loaf upside down, thus neither allowing the prisoner to stand up, nor even to adopt a tolerable position sitting or lying down. It was in these that King Louis XI., who seemed to have a partiality for filthy dungeons, placed the two young sons of the Duke de Nemours (beheaded in 1477), ordering, besides, that they should be taken out twice a week and beaten with birch rods, and, as a supreme measure of atrocity, he had one of their teeth extracted every three months. It was Louis XI., too, who, in 1476, ordered the famous iron cage, to be erected in one of the towers of the Bastille, in which Guillaume, Bishop of Verdun, was incarcerated for fourteen years. - The Drille
Lastly, we must mention the drilles, the narquois, or the people of the petite flambe, who for the most part were old pensioners, and who begged in the streets from house to house, with their swords at their sides. These, who at times lived a racketing and luxurious life, at last rebelled against the Grand Coesre, and would no longer be reckoned among his subjects--a step which gave a considerable shock to the Argotic monarchy. - Torture of the wheel
Demons applying the Torture of the Wheel.--Fac-simile of a Woodcut in the "Grand Kalendrier ou Compost des Bergers:" small folio, Troyes, Nicholas le Rouge, 1529. - Tournaments
Tournaments in honour of the Entry of Queen Isabel into Paris--From a Miniature in the "Chroniques" of Froissart, Manuscript of the Fifteenth Century (National Library of Paris). - Women of the 14th Century
Women of the 14th Century - Young Nobles
Costumes of Young Nobles of the Court of Charles VIII., before and after the Expedition into Italy.--From Miniatures in two Manuscripts of the Period in the National Library of Paris. - A gipsy family
Almost all of them had their ears pierced, and in each one or two silver rings, which in their country, they said, was a mark of nobility. The men were very swarthy, with curly hair; the women were very ugly, and extremely dark, with long black hair, like a horse's tail; their only garment being an old rug tied round the shoulder by a strip of cloth or a bit of rope. - Ballet
Representation of a Ballet before Henri III. and his Court, in the Gallery of the Louvre.--Fac-simile of an Engraving on Copper of the "Ballet de la Royne," by Balthazar de Beaujoyeulx (folio, Paris, Mamert Patisson, 1582.) - Before the tribunal
The amende honorable which was called simple or short, took place without the assistance of the executioner in the council chamber, where the condemned, bareheaded and kneeling, had to state that "he had falsely said or done something against the authority of the King or the honour of some person" - Beggar
Beggar playing the Fiddle, and his Wife accompanying him with the Bones.--From an old Engraving of the Seventeenth Century. - Beheading
Beheading.From the "Cosmographie Universelle" of Munster: in folio, Basle, 1552. - Blind and poor sick
The sabouleux, who were commonly called the poor sick of St. John, were in the habit of frequenting fairs and markets, or the vicinity of churches; there, smeared with blood and appearing as if foaming at the mouth by means of a piece of soap they had placed in it, they struggled on the ground as if in a fit, and in this way realised a considerable amount of alms. These consequently paid the largest fees to the Coesre - Cat-o-nine-tails
Cat-o'-nine-tails.--From a Woodcut in the "Cosmographie Universelle" of Munster. - Charles the Simple
Charles the Simple (Charles III) of Francia - Charles V of France
Charles V of France - Charlotte of Savoy
Charlotte of Savoy second Wife of Louis XI. - Chief of Sbirri
Chief of Sbirri - Gardener and Woodman
Costumes of the Common People in the Fourteenth Century: Italian Gardener and Woodman.--From two Engravings in the Bonnart Collection. - Coronation of Charlemagme
Coronation of Charlemagne.--Fac-simile of a Miniature in the "Chroniques de Saint-Denis," Manuscript of the Fourteenth Century (Imperial Library of Paris). - Costume of a bishop
Costume of a Bishop or Abbot. - Costume of a rich Bourgeoise, and of a Noble, or Person of Distinction
A rich Bourgeoise, and of a Noble, or Person of Distinction, of the Time of Francis I.--From a Window in the Church of St. Ouen at Rouen, by Gaignières (National Library of Paris). - Hanging to music
Hanging to Music. (A Minstrel condemned to the Gallows obtained permission that one of his companions should accompany him to his execution, and play his favourite instrument on the ladder of the Gallows.)--Fac-simile of a Woodcut in Michault's "Doctrinal du Temps Présent:" small folio, goth., Bruges, about 1490.