The Grand Hall — The Hunchback of Notre-Dame

On the sixth of January, 1482, the bells of Paris ring for a day history will not remember. Epiphany and the Feast of Fools share the date. There is to be a bonfire on the Place de Grève, a maypole at the Chapel of Braque, and a mystery in the great hall of the Palais de Justice. Most people choose the fire or the roofed hall. The crowd packs the law courts, where the Flemish ambassadors are expected and the Pope of the Fools will be chosen. The square outside is a sea of heads pouring down the grand staircase.

Inside, a blue-and-gold vault sown with fleurs-de-lis covers seven pillars and a black-and-white marble floor, and statues of the kings of France line the walls. A wooden stage sits on the marble table. The people have waited since dawn. Students, Jehan Frollo among them, mock Gilles Lecornu, Andry Musnier, and the university procession outside. Noon strikes with the envoys still absent. Jehan shouts for the mystery, and the devil take Flanders. The hall surges at the bailiff's sergeants, until an actor dressed as Jupiter steps out and asks them to wait for the cardinal.