 The physician recommended a program of amusements . A member of the court suggested that Charles surprise Isabeau and the other ladies by joining a group of courtiers who would disguise themselves as wild men and invade the masquerade celebrating the remarriage of Isabeau 's lady @-@ in @-@ waiting , Catherine de <unk> . This came to be known as the Bal des Ardents . Charles was almost killed and four of the dancers burned to death , when a spark from a torch brought by Orléans lit one of the dancer 's costumes . The disaster undermined confidence in Charles ' capacity to rule . Parisians considered it proof of courtly decadence and threatened to rebel against the more powerful members of the nobility . The public 's outrage forced the King and Orléans , whom a contemporary chronicler accused of attempted regicide and sorcery , into offering penance for the event . 
