There follows a refutation of the argument that such _ludi_ are but the relaxation of the bent bow in a fashion sanctioned by antiquity. On the contrary, they are due to original sin, and the snares of devils. The bishops are besought to follow the example of St. Paul and St. Augustine, of bishops Martin, Hilarius, Chrysostom, Nicholas and Germanus of Auxerre, all of whom made war on sacrilegious practices, not to speak of the canons of popes and general councils, and to stamp out the _ludibria_. It rests with them, for the clergy will not be so besotted as to face the Inquisition and the secular arm[1043]. The _conclusiones_ thus introduced yield a few further data as to the ceremonies of the feast. It seems to be indifferently called _festum stultorum_ and _festum fatuorum_. It takes place in cathedrals and collegiate churches, on Innocents’ day, on St. Stephen’s, on the Circumcision, or on other dates. ‘Bishops’ or ‘archbishops’ of Fools are chosen, who wear mitres and pastoral staffs, and have crosses borne before them, as if they were on visitation. They take the Office, and give Benedictions to the readers of the lessons at Matins, and to the congregations. In exempt churches, subject only to the Holy See, a ‘pope’ of Fools is naturally chosen instead of a ‘bishop’ or an ‘archbishop.’ The clergy wear the garments of the laity or of fools, and the laity put on priestly or monastic robes. _Ludi theatrales_ and _personagiorum ludi_ are performed. The manifesto of the Theological Faculty helped in at least one town to bring matters to a crisis. At Troyes the Feast of Fools appears to have been celebrated on the Circumcision in the three great collegiate churches of St. Peter, St. Stephen, and St. Urban, and on Epiphany in the abbey of St. Loup. The earliest records are from St. Peter’s. In 1372 the chapter forbade the vicars to celebrate the feast without leave. In 1380 and 1381 there are significant entries of payments for damage done: in the former year Marie-la-Folle broke a _candelabrum_; in the latter a cross had to be repaired and gilded. In 1436, the year after the council of Basle, leave was given to hold the feast without irreverence. In 1439, the year after the Pragmatic Sanction, it was forbidden. In 1443, it was again permitted. But it must be outside the church. The ‘archbishop’ might wear a rochet, but the supper must take place in the house of one of the canons, and not at a tavern. The experiment was not altogether a success, for a canon had to be fined twenty sous _pour les grandes sottises et les gestes extravagants qu’il s’était permis à la fête des fols_[1044]. Towards the end of 1444, when it was proposed to renew the feast, the bishop of Troyes, Jean Leguisé, intervened. The clergy of St. Peter’s were apparently willing to submit, but those of St. Stephen’s stood out. They told the bishop that they were exempt from his jurisdiction, and subject only to