Jean Petit

For that, he needed a lawyer, or rather, in the medieval context, a theologian.

And he found one in Jean Petit, a master of theology at the University of Paris.

Petit was a Norman, a respected scholar, and, crucially, he had received financial support from the Duke of Burgundy.

He later admitted openly that the Duke paid him a generous pension.

Before our speech, on the 8th of March 1408, in the great hall of the Hotel Saint-Paul, the king's own residence, a carefully staged assembly gathered.

The king himself was ill at the time, so the session was presided over by the Dauphin and attended by the great princes, members of the royal council, representatives of the university, and a delegation of the leading citizens of Paris.

In front of them all, Jean Petit stood up and delivered what has become known as the justification of the Duke of Burgundy.

It lasted around four hours.