Note 47 — BOOK II.

These ridiculous oaths or vows are not confined to romances. Philip, the good Duke of Burgundy, at a publick banquet, vowed to God, the holy virgin, the peacock, and the ladies, that he would declare war against the infidels; and a great number of persons who were present, listed themselves under the same vow, and incurred voluntary penance until it should be accomplished. Some swore they would never lie upon a bed, others renounced the use of a table-cloth, a third set obliged themselves to fast one particular day in the week, a fourth went without one particular piece of armour, a fifth wore his armour night and day, and many confined themselves to shirts of sackcloth and hair.