Duke
John is a different man altogether. He is brave, as he proved in Hungary,
and it may be said that he is wise, but his wisdom is not of the kind that
Burgundian nobles love. It might have been wise to remove Orleans from his
path, although I doubt it, but it was a dastardly murder all the same; and
although we are bound to support him, it alienated not a few. Then he
condescends to consort with these sorry knaves the butchers, and others of
low estate, to take them into his counsels, and to thrust them upon us, at
which, I may tell you, there is grievous discontent. All this is rank
treason to the duke, I have no doubt, but it is true nevertheless. Here we
are at our first stopping-place. This is as it is kept by a Burgundian
master, who has with him two or three of the best swordsmen in France, and
here a number of us meet every morning to learn tricks of fence, and to
keep ourselves in good exercise, which indeed one sorely needs in this
city of Paris, where there is neither hawking nor hunting nor jousting nor
any other kind of knightly sport, everyone being too busily in earnest to
think of amusement. Several of my best friends are sure to be here, and I
want to introduce you to them."
When they entered the salon they found some thirty young knights and
nobles gathered. Two or three pairs in helmet and body-armour were
fighting with blunted swords, others were vaulting on to a saddle placed
on a framework roughly representing a high war-horse; one or two were
swinging heavy maces, whirling them round their heads and bringing them
down occasionally upon great sand-bags six feet high, while others were
seated on benches resting themselves after their exercises.
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