[Illustration:  Fig. 167.—­Merchants and Lion-keepers at Constantinople.—­Fac-simile of an Engraving on Wood from the “Cosmographie Universelle” of Thevet:  folio, 1575.]

The people of the Middle Ages had an insatiable love of sight-seeing; they came great distances, from all parts, to witness any amusing exhibition.  They would suffer any amount of privation or fatigue to indulge this feeling, and they gave themselves up to it so heartily that it became a solace to them in their greatest sorrows, and they laughed with that hearty laugh which may be said to be one of their natural characteristics.  In all public processions in the open air the crowd (or rather, as we might say, the Cockneys of Paris), in their anxiety to see everything that was to be seen, would frequently obstruct all the public avenues, and so prevent the procession from passing along.  In consequence of this the Provosts of Paris on these occasions distributed hundreds of stout sticks amongst the sergeants, who used them freely on the shoulders of the most obstinate sight-seers (see chapter on Ceremonials).  There was no religious procession, no parish fair, no municipal feast, and no parade or review of troops, which did not bring together crowds of people, whose ears and eyes were wide open, if only to hear the sound of the trumpet, or to see a “dog rush past with a frying-pan tied to his tail.”

[Illustration:  Fig. 168.—­Free Distribution of Bread, Meat, and Wine to the People.—­Reduced Copy of a Woodcut of the Solemn Entry of Charles V and Pope Clement VII into Bologna, in 1530.]

This curiosity of the French was particularly exhibited when the kings of the first royal dynasty held their Champs de Mars, the kings of the second dynasty their Cours Plenieres, and the kings of the third dynasty their Cours Couronnees. In these assemblies, where the King gathered together all his principal vassals once or twice a year, to hold personal communication with them, and to strengthen his power by ensuring their feudal services, large quantities of food and fermented liquors were publicly distributed among the people (Fig. 168).  The populace were always most enthusiastic spectators of military displays, of court ceremonies, and, above all, of the various amusements which royalty provided for them at great cost in those days:  and it was on these state occasions that jugglers, tumblers, and minstrels displayed their talents.  The Champ de Mars was one of the principal fetes of the year, and was held sometimes in the centre of some large town, sometimes in a royal domain, and sometimes in the open country.  Bishop Gregory of Tours describes one which was given in his diocese during the reign of Chilperic, at the Easter festivals, at which we may be sure that the games of the circus, re-established by Chilperic, excited the greatest interest.  Charlemagne also held Champs de Mars, but called them Cours Royales,