says this), " to take the cross, and expose his
body for the defence of Christendom, and resist
the damnable attempts of the Great Turk and
the infidels ; and if there be no just impediment
of my body, I will serve in person and with all
my power," &c. After the Duke of Burgundy
came the Count of Charolois (subsequently
Charles the Rash, who was killed at Nancy),
the Duke of Cleves, and the rest of the nobles
and knights assembled, the greater part of
whom made vows which were as absurd as
they were sincere. They characterise so
completely the hyperbolical engagements of that
chivalry which Cervantes " smiled away," that
a place for them here may be preserved.

The Seigneur du Pont vowed that he never
would go to bed on a Saturday until the
accomplishment of his vow. The Sire de
Haut-bourdin declared that he would never desist
from his enterprise until he had " the Turk"
in his power, dead or alive. The Sire de
Hennequin would never eat anything on a Friday
that had been killed until he found himself
face to face with the foe, and attacking, at the
peril of his life, the banner of the Grand Turk.
Philippe Pot vowed never to sit at meat on a
Tuesday, or wear armour on his right arm during
the expedition; but the Duke of Burgundy
objected to the latter part of this vow, and said
that he must go fully armed. Erard and Chrétien
de Digoine, of the noble house of Damas,
vowed together to do their best to overthrow
the first banner of the enemy that they saw;
and Chrétien promised, besides, to undertake
feats of arms in three different Christian
kingdoms on his way back. Antoine and Philippe,
Bastards of Burgundy (titles in which they
rejoiced), demanded to be the first of the vanguard,
and promised to carry on a banderol an
image of Our Lady. Antoine de Tournay vowed
to deliver a sword-stroke on the crown of the
infidel king. Jean de Chassa never to turn the
head of his horse until he saw a Turkish banner
taken. Antoine Raulin made a hedge of his
vow, promising to serve, provided his father
would allow him to do so, and pay his expenses!
Perhaps it was somewhat to his surprise (I
won't say against his desire) that his old father,
Nicholas Raulin, stood up immediately and
engaged to send his son and eighty gentlemen
besides, paying the whole cost out of his own
pocket. Hugues de Longueval vowed that,
after he had once set out (not a moment
before), he would drink no wine till he had drawn
blood from some infidel, and that he would
remain two years with the crusade, unless
Constantinople were taken before that time.
Guillaume de Vandrey engaged not to return without
bringing back a prisoner. Louis de Chevalant
never to wear hat or cap when once
within four leagues of the infidels, and fight
with some Turk armed with a single gauntlet.
Guillaume de Montigny vowed to wear one
piece of armour day and night (I hope it was
not an inconvenient one in lying down), never
to drink wine on a Saturday, and on that day
always to wear a shirt of sackcloth (so that he
had a great mind to make himself uncomfortable.
Some vowed to engage in regular standup
fights; others not to return till they had
knocked a Turk over, with his heels in the air ;
each strove to outdo the other in the absurdity
of his vows ; and, finally, Jean de Rebreniettes,
squire-carver to the Bastard of Burgundy,
gave a comic air to the whole business,
by vowing that, if his ladye-love proved
inflexible before he went to the crusade, he would,
on his return, marry the first lady he met with
who had a fortune of twenty thousand crowns !

As a matter of course the heralds, who, in
their mystic science, made increment of
everything, did not forget the Peacock. The first on
record who wore it as a crest was a member of
the illustrious family of Montmorency, whose
proud title was that of " the oldest Christian
baron;" and Duchesne, in his Genealogy of
the House of Montmorency, states the reason
why. After observing that the Peacock appears
on the seal of Mathieu de Montmorency, in the
year 1229, and adducing the authority of a
herald of the time of Philippe le Bel, who
declares that the Montmorencys of that period
bore upon their helmets a " Peacock in pride,"
M. Duchesne continues as follows: "This crest
seems to have been held as a type of sublimity
of power, and of greatness; seeing that the
ancients only awarded the Peacock to the gods, to
emperors, kings, and the greatest persons on earth.
Peradventure this was done to show that those
persons most elevated in dignity above others
ought carefully to provide for, and with an
infinity of eyes watch over their welfare. Thus
we read that Jupiter wishing to assemble the
rest of the gods in council, put on a robe made
of the feathers of the Peacock. Juno cherished
the Peacock above all other birds, and the
Samians, who kept a number of them in her
temple, engraved it on their coins, as a sign that
they were made her peculiar protection. The
crown of victory which was given to the best
combatants in the Isle of the Blessed was made
of Peacocks' wings, and the Emperor Honorius
adorned the crest of his helmet with this
beautiful bird. The same was also presented to
Maximian Augustus, at the period of his
adolescence, to decorate the casque he wore, all
radiant with gold and precious stones. And
Pope Paul the First sent to King Pepin a
sword, in token of a true benediction,
accompanied it by a mantle of Peacocks' feathers.
Many have opined that the Peacock was the
emblem of Renown, which is painted covered
with feathers, supported by wings, and strewn
all over with eyes and ears, to see and
understand everything, and fly everywhere impelled
by the breath of glory. Others have written
that the Peacock represents the generous man,
whose province it is to excite meaner ones to
emulations, by the rewards he bestows." This
last definition of honest Duchesne, as applied
to Peacocks, is somewhat vague, but at all
events, whatever good qualities they were
supposed to have, were symbolically transferred
to the House of Montmorency. In proof of