Pas de la Dame Sauvage
Encyclopedia
The Pas de la Dame Sauvage ("passage of arms of the wild lady") was a pas d'armes
held at Ghent
in 1470 by the Burgundian
knight Claude de Vauldray in the presence of Duke
Charles the Rash and his court. The "wild lady" (dame sauvage) of the hastilude
(a series of jousts defending a certain pass) was allegorical. In the epistle circulated by Claude to announce the games, he describes a romantic tale of a knight who "left the wealthy kingdom of Enfance (Childhood), and came to a wild poor and sterile land called Jeunesse (Youth)." The knight must make a "wild woman" his lady in the land of Youth, just as a young knight must prove himself through feats of arms (the pas d'armes) in order to merit a lady. The wild woman of the allegory is described as naked and covered only by her long blonde hair and a floral garland. In fact, Claude was led into the lists by a fleet of "wild" men and women.
It is possible that the festivities were held to celebrate the duke's subjugation of rebellious Ghent and the destruction of the Grand Privilege of Ghent.
Pas d'Armes
The pas d'armes or passage of arms was a type of chivalric hastilude that evolved in the late 14th century and remained popular through the 15th century...
held at Ghent
Ghent
Ghent is a city and a municipality located in the Flemish region of Belgium. It is the capital and biggest city of the East Flanders province. The city started as a settlement at the confluence of the Rivers Scheldt and Lys and in the Middle Ages became one of the largest and richest cities of...
in 1470 by the Burgundian
Duchy of Burgundy
The Duchy of Burgundy , was heir to an ancient and prestigious reputation and a large division of the lands of the Second Kingdom of Burgundy and in its own right was one of the geographically larger ducal territories in the emergence of Early Modern Europe from Medieval Europe.Even in that...
knight Claude de Vauldray in the presence of Duke
Duke of Burgundy
Duke of Burgundy was a title borne by the rulers of the Duchy of Burgundy, a small portion of traditional lands of Burgundians west of river Saône which in 843 was allotted to Charles the Bald's kingdom of West Franks...
Charles the Rash and his court. The "wild lady" (dame sauvage) of the hastilude
Hastilude
Hastilude is a generic term used in the Middle Ages to refer to many kinds of martial games. The word comes from the Latin hastiludium, literally "lance game"'...
(a series of jousts defending a certain pass) was allegorical. In the epistle circulated by Claude to announce the games, he describes a romantic tale of a knight who "left the wealthy kingdom of Enfance (Childhood), and came to a wild poor and sterile land called Jeunesse (Youth)." The knight must make a "wild woman" his lady in the land of Youth, just as a young knight must prove himself through feats of arms (the pas d'armes) in order to merit a lady. The wild woman of the allegory is described as naked and covered only by her long blonde hair and a floral garland. In fact, Claude was led into the lists by a fleet of "wild" men and women.
It is possible that the festivities were held to celebrate the duke's subjugation of rebellious Ghent and the destruction of the Grand Privilege of Ghent.