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# The 1398 Ball of the Burning Men in Froissart's Account and Edgar Allan Poe's Story
- URL: https://theparnassian.com/en/zhan-fruassar-opisyvaet-uzhasy-bala-goriashchikh-liudei-1398-goda-kogda-ot-iskry-vspykhnuli-kostiumy-i-maski-iz-lna-propitannogo-smoloi/
- Published: 2023-10-12T07:02:30.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-02T18:48:06.000Z
- Author: Alexandr Radayev
- Tags: Books, Monarchies, Mores

Jean Froissart describes the horrors of the “Bal des Ardents” of 1398, when a spark set alight costumes and masks made of linen soaked in pitch. Charles VI, dressed as a wild man, managed to save himself by hiding beneath the skirts of the Duchess de Berry; one or two of the guests contrived to put out their blazing attire by leaping into a vat of wine. Others perished.

Edgar Allan Poe has a story based on this appalling incident, telling of a misshapen dwarf who was carried off from his native land and made a court jester. One day the jester conceives a grudge against the king, who has struck his beautiful friend, a dancer, and devises a cruel plan. The jester proposes that the king and his courtiers dress up as orangutans for a masquerade. During the festivities he sets fire to the costumes of his enemies and escapes from the palace together with his beloved

![](https://theparnassian.com/content/images/2026/09/photo_10039@12-10-2023_10-02-30.jpg)

![](https://theparnassian.com/content/images/2026/09/photo_10040@12-10-2023_10-02-30.jpg)