The French court during the Renaissance (between 1483 and 1589) differed from the later court of Louis XIV (which is more familiar to us.) Although significant politically, socially and culturally, the court itself was still evolving. It was nomadic (not based in Paris) and a microcosm of French society. All social classes (except the peasants) were represented, including women. It was also--as a contemporary put it--"in the image of the prince."
The Italian goldsmith and sculptor, Benvenuto Cellini--who had gone to France in hopes of a rich commission--described his visit to the court of King François I in 1540, a court on the move:
"We were following the court with the weariest trouble and fatigue; the reason of this was that the train of the King drags itself along with never less than 12,000 horse behind it; this calculation is the very lowest, for when the count is complete in times of peace, there are some 18,000 which makes 12, 000 less than average....we had to journey after it through places where sometimes there were scarcely two houses to be found; and then we set up canvas tents like gipsies, and suffered at times very great discomfort."
Finding accommodation for the court was a major challenge for the court quartermasters. At its largest, the court would swell to the size of an average French town, between 8,000 and 10,000 people. The king and his court would journey from royal châteaux (Blois, Amboise, Chambord, Fontainebleau)-- carrying the royal furnishings with them--to the châteaux of wealthy courtiers (such as the Duc de Montmorency at Écouen), religious houses, or inns. On some occasions, the countryside was unoccupied and even the king would sleep in a tent. Whenever the king stopped for the night, the court would scramble for shelter; their accommodations could extend over several square miles. Sometimes, the king and court would be received and accommodated as honored guests in a town.
Finding food for the court was another major challenge. The court scavenged food along the way; it was a vast hunting party. One ambassador complained to Cosimo de' Medici that "this court is like no other. Here we are completely cut off from business, and if by chance there is any business, no hour, day or month is aside for certain to deal with it. Here one thinks of nothing but hunting, women, banquets and moving house."