Sunday, April 26, 2015

Sloppy Kings

Reading in this book on the Middle Ages about "one occasion, in 1463, when two kings met who, though not openly in conflict with one another, nevertheless didn't particularly like one another... Without any words being exchanged, their apparel made it abundantly clear what they thought of one another. As the French diplomat Philippe de Commynes reported, 'The king of Castile was ugly, and his clothes displeased the Frenchman... our king dressed himself in great haste, and as badly as he could.'"