The Funeral of Jehan de Lyon.
PLATE XXI.
THE FUNERAL OF JEHAN DE LYON.
Froissart enters into great detail upon the subject of the petty quarrels which he supposes led to the revolt of Ghent. The favour of Jehan de Lyon with the Earl of Flanders, and his subsequent disgrace, he makes one of the principal causes. It is well known that Jehan de Lyon was the leader of the first serious rising, and the founder of the association called White-hoods. After the taking of Bruges, he was seized with sudden illness, at the small town of Damme, “after having supped in great revelry with the ladies of the place,” whence he was carried on a litter to Ardenburg, where he died. From the swelling of his body and other symptoms, it is supposed he was poisoned by some agent of the Earl of Flanders. “His body was conveyed to Ghent, where he was much beloved by all except the party of the earl. The clergy went out to meet the body, and conducted it into the town with as much solemnity as if it had been that of the earl himself.” This is the passage illustrated by the Illuminator.