[MR] another missive about Burgundy

[Karen Setze]

For those pondering making the journey for the games, feast and ball which Martelle von Charlottenburg, baroness of Bright Hills, will host at her manor outside Troyes, in Burgundian-controlled France, I have thought that perhaps I should tell you more about the new Duke of Burgundy, called Philipe the Good, or in France, Philippe le Bon.

I do not tell of him to prepare you to meet him, since the chances of that are slight, but that you may know more about his court and the wondrous entertainments to be had in areas he controls.

Allow me to quote from a letter from my friend, the lady in waiting to the duke’s wife, Michelle of France:

In stature he is a fairly tall man, with slender arms and legs, though not excessively so. He has a handsome figure, upright, strong in the arm and back, and well-knit. He carries himself well and with nobility. He sits little, choosing rather to stand for long periods, dressed smartly but in rich array, and is always changing his clothes.

He is not one to talk excessively, but when he does speak, it is to the point.  Upon her marriage, my lady was pleased to find that he is always polite to women. She often smiles when she quotes him as saying that treating women well makes one popular with the men of their families, since there is only one family in forty which is not ruled by the lady of the house. 

He likes to read romances and humorous farces, enjoys dancing, feasting, jousting, and falconry. He is skillful on horseback, excellent at tennis, and likes the bow, which he shoots very well.

(I, Lady Yseulte, have heard Baroness Martelle proclaim that in honor of the duke’s skill, there will be an archery course laid out at her manor, one that will test the skill of even experienced archers. Mayhap the baroness herself may try the course.)

The duke also enjoys music, and encourages such skill in those around him. While waiting to set out after a dinner with the abbot of St. Aubert’s, at Cambrai, he enjoyed a song performed by two choir boys, with one of the duke’s gentlemen taking the tenor part. When his court travels, there is a cart assigned to convey his trumpeters and minstrels.

Baroness Martelle is also fond of music, and delights to reward the minstrels, bards, and musicians who attend her festivities.

And merchants everywhere are wise to the delight our baroness and her ladies take in shopping for new herbs, rich fabrics, and other temptations, so I feel confident in predicting that the more ambitious among them will venture to Troyes with marvelous wares.

Of course, come evening at Martelle’s manor there will be a grand feast, for the skill of the cooks has long been a boast of Bright Hills, and this will be followed by a masked ball. 

I would hope that many of Bright Hills, as well as many of our friend and allies in Atlantia and beyond, will make plans to join us in Troyes in the waning days of October.

By my hand, on this, the eve of the feast of St. Bernard,

Lady Yseulte Trevelyn