Bal Des Ardents

On 28 January 1393, Queen Isabeau of France and her husband King Charles VI (the sixth) of France gave a fancy dress ball. The ball was held to celebrate the remarriage of a lady in waiting. A lady in waiting is a female assistant to a princess or queen. For the occasion, the thrill seeking and eccentric French king got a group of his friends (five men of the French nobility) and they (Charlie included) dressed up in linen costumes as wild men and had a great time until they set themselves alight by a torch that a spectator brought to light up the interior and the men were burned alive! Four of the dancers died and Charles made it thanks to the Duchess of Berry using the train of her dress as a makeshift medieval fire blanket. Apparently, this little dance gone wrong was too much for Isabeau who fainted in terror.
King Charles VI of France would live for another 29 years after this and his mental state would deteriorate rapidly later in his life.