escorted, wearing his cap, to
the great chamber of Parliament, accompanied by four councillors.

[Illustration: Fig. 309.--The Court of a Baron.--Fac-simile of a Woodcut
in the "Cosmographie Universelle" of Munster: in folio, Basle, 1552.]

After the ceremony of installation he gave his horse to the president, who
had come to receive him. His dress consisted of a short robe, with mantle,
collar turned down, sword, and hat with feathers; he also carried a staff
of office, profusely ornamented with silver. Thus attired he attended
Parliament, and assisted at the levees of the sovereign, where he took up
his position on the lowest step of the throne, below the great
Chamberlain. Every day, excepting at the vintage time, he was required to
be present at the Chatelet, either personally or by deputy, punctually at
nine in the morning. There he received the list of the prisoners who had
been arrested the day before; after that he visited the prisons, settled
business of various kinds, and then inspected the town. His jurisdiction
extended to several courts, which were presided over by eight deputies or
judges appointed by him, and who were created officers of the Chatelet by
Louis XII. in 1498. Subsequently, these received their appointments direct
from the King. Two auditing judges, one king's attorney, one registrar,
and some bailiffs, completed the provost's staff.

[Illustration: Fig. 310.--Sergeants-at-Arms of the Fourteenth Century,
carved in Stone.--From the Church of St. Catherine du Val des Ecoliers, in
Paris.]

The bailiffs at the Chatelet were divided into five classes: the _king's
sergeant-at-arms,_ the _sergeants de la douzaine_, the _sergeants of the
mace_, or _foot sergeants,_ the _sergeants fieffes_, and the _mounted
sergeants_. The establishment of these officers dated from the beginning
of the fourteenth century, and they were originally appointed by the
provost, but afterwards by the King himself. The King's sergeants-at-arms
(Fig. 310) formed his body-guard; they were not under the jurisdiction of
the high constable, but of the ordinary judges, which proves that they
were in civil employ. The sergeants _de la douzaine_ were twelve in
number, as their name implies, all of whom were in the service of the
provost; the foot sergeants, who were civilians, were gradually increased
to the number of two hundred and twenty as early as the middle of the
fifteenth century. They acted only in the interior of the cap