ABSTRACT
Born in the ancestral castle at Badefol-sur-Dordogne, Seguin fought on the French side at Poitiers in 1356, but the king's capture there led to a truce and an end to the payment of troops Badefol was soon at the head of a route, or company, numbering about 2,000 men and nicknamed the Margot. This company joined with other bands in 1360 to form a large force, called the Tard-Venus, that pillaged eastern France. They captured Pont-Saint-Esprit on the Rhône in December and demanded a large payment before leaving. The ballade evolved from the courtly chanson in the late 13th century and was originally meant to be sung. By the late 14th century, with the separation of text and music, it became littera sine musica. In the early 15th century, the law clerks of Paris and other cities organized professional associations called basoches, one of whose functions was the staging of dramatic spectacles.
