er company and her Court were a real Paradise in
this world, and a school of honesty and virtue, the ornament
of France, as was well known and spoken of by its visitors; for
they were all well received, and in their honour her ladies were
commanded to adorn themselves like goddesses and devote themselves
to these guests instead of elsewhere; otherwise she would scold
and reprimand them severely.

Indeed, such was her Court, that when she died all said that
we would never have such another, and that never again would
France have a real Queen Mother. What a Court it was! Its equal,
I believe, was never held by an Emperor of Rome, in respect to
its ladies, nor by any of our Kings of France. It is true that
the great Emperor Charlemagne took great delight in maintaining
a splendid and overflowing Court, with many peers, dukes, counts,
paladins, barons, and chevaliers of France, with their wives and
daughters, and many from other countries to keep their company
at Court--as we read in many of the old romances of the time--and
that there were many jousts, tourneys and magnificent pageants.
But what of that? These gorgeous assemblages did not come together
more than three or four times a year, and at their close they
departed and retired to their own estates, to remain until the
next time. Moreover, others say that Charlemagne in his old age
was much given to women, although they were always of good family,
and that Louis the Debonair on ascending the throne was obliged
to banish some of his sisters from Court, by reason of scandalous
love affairs which they had with men; and also that he dismissed a
large number of ladies who were of the joyous band. These courts,
moreover, of Charlemagne were never long maintained in comparison
to his long reign, for he was chiefly devoted to his wars, as we
read in the old romances; and in his old age the Court was too
dissolute, as I have said. But the Court of our King, Henry II,
and the Queen his wife, was an established thing both in war and
peace, and whether held in one place or another for months at a
time, either in the pleasure houses or castles of our kings who
were never lacking in them, having more than any other sovereigns.
This elegant and distinguished company always kept together, at
least for the greater part of the time, going and coming with
the Queen; so that as a usual thing her Court contained at least
three hundred ladies and maids of honour.

The chiefs of househ