On the 7th of March 1500, between seven and eight o'clock in the evening, a brilliant procession wound its way through a covered passage from the Archducal Palace in the old town of Ghent to the church of Saint John. The line of route was lit by more than a thousand torches which flashed on the gorgeous clothes and jewels of the princes and high officers of state who had come to grace the baptism of the infant son of the Archduke Philip and Joanna of Castile. The baby's step-great-grandmother, Margaret of York, widow of Charles the Bold, carried him in her arms, seated on a chair covered with brocade, and borne on the shoulders of four men from the palace to the church; at her right walked Margaret, Princess of Castile, the infant's other godmother, dressed in a mourning hood and mantle. She had come to her brother's Court two days before to stand sponsor for her nephew, who had been born in the palace at Ghent on February the 24th. The little prince, wrapped in a cloak of rich brocade lined with ermine, was baptized by the name of Charles, in memory of his great-grandfather the last Duke of Burgundy, his father conferring upon him the title of Duke of Luxembourg. After the ceremony, which was performed by the Archbishop of Tournay, trumpets sounded, and money was thrown broadcast about the church, whilst the heralds cried 'Largesse, largesse!' The procession then re-formed and returned to the palace in the order in which it came, arriving between eleven and twelve at night. A visit was immediately paid to the Archduchess Joanna, who was informed that her son had been duly baptized. She received the congratulations of the assembled guests lying in her state-bed, which was hung with green damask and covered with a gorgeous quilt of brocade. Near at hand were displayed the beautiful presents the infant had received. Gold and crystal cups, flagons, goblets, and salt-cellars sparkling with precious stones and pearls, amongst them his Aunt Margaret's gift, 'a standing cup of gold with cover weighing four marks, set with precious stones, a great balass ruby on top, surrounded by twenty smaller rubies and diamonds.'[16] [16] A. R. Villa, _La Reina Doña Juana la Loca_. [Illustration: GHENT, SHEWING THE OLD BELFRY, AND CHURCH OF ST. JOHN, WHERE CHARLES V WAS BAPTISED]