Document from the house of John, Duke of Berry, issued by his chamberlain to acknowledge the debts of Louis, Duke of Orléans and his company incurred in the bathhouse, in French, dated 13 February 1392

single sheet document, vellum, c.60x265mm, 4 lines and two signatures of members of staff of the Duke of Berry, tag for seal cut out from lower border and folded down, some folds

'Michel Foret varlet de chambre de monsieur le duc de berry...' (who commissioned among other works of art one of the most famous illuminated manuscripts, the Très Riches Heures), confirms the large debt of 'douze frans dor' incurred by Louis de Valois, duc d'Orléans (second son of King Charles V of France) and his followers, which were to be paid by Louis de Valois' uncle, the Duke of Berry. These debts are stated to have been run up in the bathhouse - at this time notorious sites of brothels (see L. Lydia Otis, Prostitution in Medieval Society, 2009, pp.98-99).