warriors were rambling up and down in search of adventures. It was this
custom which gave occasion to ancient romancers, who knew not how to
describe anything simply, to invent so many fables concerning princesses
of great beauty guarded by _dragons_.

A singular and barbarous custom prevailed during this period; it
consisted in punishments by _mutilations_. It became so general that the
abbots, instead of bestowing canonical penalties on their monks, obliged
them to cut off an ear, an arm, or a leg!

Velly, in his History of France, has described two festivals, which give
a just idea of the manners and devotion of a later period, 1230, which
like the ancient mysteries consisted of a mixture of farce and piety:
religion in fact was their amusement! The following one existed even to
the Reformation:--

In the church of Paris, and in several other cathedrals of the kingdom,
was held the _Feast of Fools_ or madmen. "The priests and clerks
assembled elected a pope, an archbishop, or a bishop, conducted them in
great pomp to the church, which they entered dancing, masked, and
dressed in the apparel of women, animals, and merry-andrews; sung
infamous songs, and converted the altar into a beaufet, where they ate
and drank during the celebration of the holy mysteries; played with
dice; burned, instead of incense, the leather of their old sandals; ran
about, and leaped from seat to seat, with all the indecent postures with
which the merry-andrews know how to amuse the populace."

The other does not yield in extravagance. "This festival was called the
_Feast of Asses_, and was celebrated at Beauvais. They chose a young
woman, the handsomest in the town; they made her ride on an ass richly