The ''Pas de la Dame Inconnue'' ("pass of the unknown lady") was a ''

pas d'armes __NOTOC__ The () or passage of arms was a type of chivalric hastilude that evolved in the late 14th century and remained popular through the 15th century. It involved a knight or group of knights (' or "holders") who would stake out a traveled s ...

'' planned for 1463, but which never took place. An account of the planned ''pas'' is found in

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...

manuscript Landsdowne 285. On 3 February 1463, "a gentleman claiming to be a foreigner" appeared at the court of Duke

Philip the Good Philip III (french: Philippe le Bon; nl, Filips de Goede; 31 July 1396 – 15 June 1467) was Duke of Burgundy from 1419 until his death. He was a member of a cadet line of the Valois dynasty, to which all 15th-century kings of France belonge ...

of Burgundy in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

bearing letters of credence from "an unknown lady" who claimed that her lands had been usurped by a more powerful neighbour. She asked that the duke supply three knights from his household to defend a ''pas'' against three knights from each kingdom in Christendom on 1 October 1463. The most valiant knight would then defend the lady's rights in closed lists on 1 April 1464. The three knights who volunteered to defend the ''pas'' were

Anthony, bastard of Burgundy Antoine de Bourgogne (1421 – 5 May 1504), known to his contemporaries as the Bastard of Burgundy or ''Le grand bâtard'' ("the Great Bastard"), was the natural son (and second child) of Philip III, Duke of Burgundy, and one of his mistresses ...

; Philippe de Crèvecœur; and Pedro Vázquez de Saavedra. They were at Saint Andrew's in Bruges in September 1463 awaiting the arrival of their opponents. The heralds of

Charles the Bold Charles I (Charles Martin; german: Karl Martin; nl, Karel Maarten; 10 November 1433 – 5 January 1477), nicknamed the Bold (German: ''der Kühne''; Dutch: ''de Stoute''; french: le Téméraire), was Duke of Burgundy from 1467 to 1477. ...

, Philip the Good's son and Anthony's half-brother, informed the courts of Europe of the unknown lady's appeal. By September, King

Christian I Christian I (February 1426 – 21 May 1481) was a Scandinavian monarch under the Kalmar Union. He was king of Denmark (1448–1481), Norway (1450–1481) and Sweden (1457–1464). From 1460 to 1481, he was also duke of Schleswig (within ...

sent a squire to the Burgundian court at

Hesdin Hesdin (; vls, Heusdin) is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in northern France. Geography The N39, from Arras to Montreuil, used to be the main thoroughfare of the town. In the 1950s, a circular route was created to help traffic flo ...

to inform them that he would be sending nine knights, three for each of his kingdoms of

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

and

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

. He also asked to be informed "of the secret of this ''pas'', of the nature and condition of the lady and of her quarrel." According to the chronicler

Georges Chastellain Georges Chastellain (c. 1405 or c. 1415 – 20 March 1475), Burgundian chronicler and poet, was a native of Aalst in Flanders. Chastellain's historical works are valuable for the accurate information they contain. As a poet he was famous am ...

, the man behind the ''pas'' was the bastard of Burgundy himself, who hoped to surpass

Jacques de Lalaing Jacques de Lalaing (1421–1453), perhaps the most renowned knight of Burgundy in the 15th century, was reportedly one of the best medieval tournament fighters of all time. A Walloon knight, he began his military career in the service of Adolp ...

as one of the most renowned knights in Europe. Although some ''pas d'armes'' were elaborately staged, even theatrical, productions, there is no evidence that the ''Pas de la Dame Inconnue'' was intended to be other than an authentic physical competition between knights. It was, however, never held. According to a letter of challenge written by one of Anthony's squires in 1466, the ''pas'' had been proclaimed throughout Christendom in 1463 before being called off because of

Pope Pius II Pope Pius II ( la, Pius PP. II, it, Pio II), born Enea Silvio Bartolomeo Piccolomini ( la, Aeneas Silvius Bartholomeus, links=no; 18 October 1405 – 14 August 1464), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 August ...

's crusade. Duke Philip summoned all those who had taken vows to compete in the ''pas'' to

Bruges Bruges ( , nl, Brugge ) is the capital and largest City status in Belgium, city of the Provinces of Belgium, province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium, in the northwest of the country, and the sixth-largest city of the countr ...

on 15 December 1463, where he announced his intention to honour the unknown lady by joining the crusade. The knights vowed to accompany him. In the event, Philip did not go, but the bastard Anthony departed

Sluis Sluis (; zea, label=Zeelandic, Sluus ; french: Écluse) is a town and municipality located in the west of Zeelandic Flanders, in the south-western Dutch province of Zeeland. The current incarnation of the municipality has existed since 1 January ...

on 21 May 1464 to join the papal fleet in

Ancona Ancona (, also , ) is a city and a seaport in the Marche region in central Italy, with a population of around 101,997 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona and of the region. The city is located northeast of Rome, on the Adriatic S ...

Notes

Bibliography

* * * * * * {{refend Pas d'armes 1463 in Europe