The King Who Doesn't Lie

The Roi que ne ment was popular game of the 13th and 14th century. It was played by adults, particularly those of an age to seek courtship, but also, according to Froissart, by children under twelve.

A ruler for the game was chosen, who might be male or female, a king or queen of the game. Their court, when the record was clear, was always a mixture of male and female.

In most accounts the ruler asked everyone present a question, and was then required to answer their questions in return. One account had the ruler ask questions without being questioned in return, and another has the reverse. The questions were frequently courtly but sometimes bluntly sexual. A response might provoke a follow up question ("Good madam, be what reson?") or debate.

For late 15th c. demandes d'amour in the Winchester Anthology, see pp. 95 r to 107 v.

Courtly literature: culture and context ; selected papers from the 5th Triennial Congress of the International Courtly Literature Society contains an interesting article on the game by Richard Firth Green, who makes a convincing argument that the demandes d'amour that survive in several manuscripts were play aids for the game.

International Courtly Literature Society, Keith Busby, and Erik Kooper. 1990. Courtly literature: culture and context ; selected papers from the 5th Triennial Congress of the International Courtly Literature Society, Dalfsen, the Netherlands, 9-16 August, 1986. Amsterdam: J. Benjamins Pub. Co.