Europe in the Middle Ages. 43 



dresses embroidered in Pearls. In Saxony, even 

 imitation Pearls were forbidden, and in Hamburg 

 women so loaded themselves with gold and jewels 

 that a mandate was issued forbidding them to wear 

 more than one gold chain : copies of this mandate 

 were posted on the town wall and at the corners 

 of the principal streets. The church, too, preached 

 against luxury in dress, but all to no purpose : the 

 women continued to wear Pearls and precious gems 

 in spite of ecclesiastical denunciation. But the 

 greatest splendour of the Middle Ages was to be 

 seen at the Court of the great house of Burgundy, 

 from the time of Philip the Bold to that of Charles 

 the Bold. Their magnificence far outshone that of 

 the kings of France and the German Emperors. 

 Magnificent jewels that can be traced back to the 

 time of the last dukes of Burgundy are to this 

 day reckoned among the most valuable possessions 

 of the crowns of France and Austria. Charles the 

 Bold surpassed all other princes of his line in 

 magnificence. When, in 1473, he attended the Im- 

 perial Diet at Treves, he wore a dress of cloth 

 of gold, richly embroidered with Pearls. At the 

 banquet which he gave to the Emperor Frederick III., 

 the goblets shone with precious stones and Pearls. 

 When in the same year he went to Dijon, he was 

 resplendent with Pearls and diamonds ; and the 

 crown which he wore on his triumphal entry into 



