ccasions of
the marriages of the three young sons of the King, from 1305 to 1307.
Gold, diamonds, pearls, and precious stones were employed profusely, both
for the King's garments and for those of the members of the royal family.
The accounts of 1307 mention considerable sums paid for carpets,
counterpanes, robes, worked linen, &c. A chariot of state, ornamented and
covered with paintings, and gilded like the back of an altar, is also
mentioned, and must have been a great change to the heavy vehicles used
for travelling in those days.

Down to the reign of St. Louis the furniture of castles had preserved a
character of primitive simplicity which did not, however, lack grandeur.
The stone remained uncovered in most of the halls, or else it was whitened
with mortar and ornamented with moulded roses and leaves, coloured in
distemper. Against the wall, and also against the pillars supporting the
arches, arms and armour of all sorts were hung, arranged in suits, and
interspersed with banners and pennants or emblazoned standards. In the
great middle hall, or dining-room, there was a long massive oak table,
with benches and stools of the same wood. At the end of this table, there
was a large arm-chair, overhung with a canopy of golden or silken stuff,
which was occupied by the owner of the castle, and only relinquished by
him in favour of his superior or sovereign. Often the walls of the hall of
state were hung with tapestry, representing groves with cattle, heroes of
ancient history, or events in the romance of chivalry. The floor was
generally paved with hard stone, or covered with enamelled tiles. It was
carefully strewn with scented herbs in summer, and straw in winter. Philip
Augustus ordered that the Hotel Dieu of Paris should receive the herbs and
straw which was daily removed from the floors of his palace. It was only
very much later that this troublesome system was replaced by mats and
carpets.

The bedrooms were generally at the top of the towers, and had little else
by way of furniture, besides a very large bed, with or without curtains, a
box in which clothes were kept, and which also served as a seat, and a
_priedieu_ chair, which sometimes contained prayer and other books of
devotion. These lofty rooms, whose thick walls kept out the heat in
summer, and the cold in winter, were only lighted by a small window or
loophole, closed with a square of oiled paper or of thin horn.

A great change took place in the abod