Among others, St. John
Chrysostom speaks of men who execute movements on inclined ropes
at unheard-of heights. In the ruins of Herculaneum there is still
visible a picture representing an equilibrist executing several
different exercises, especially one in which he dances on a rope
to the tune of a double flute, played by himself. The Romans
particularly liked to witness ascensions on inclined ropes, and
sometimes these were attached to the summits of high hills, and
while mounting them the acrobats performed different pantomimes.
It is said that under Charles VI a Genoese acrobat, on the
occasion of the arrival of the Queen of France, carried in each
hand an illuminated torch while descending a rope stretched from
the summit of the towers of Notre Dame to a house on the Pont au
Change. According to Guyot-Daubes, a similar performance was seen
in London in 1547. In this instance the rope was attached to the
highest pinnacle of St. Paul's Cathedral. Under Louis XII an
acrobat named Georges Menustre, during a passage of the King
through Macon, executed several performances on a rope stretched
from the grand tower of the Chateau and the clock of the
Jacobins, at a height of 156 feet. A similar performance was
given at Milan before the French Ambassadors, and at Venice under
the Doges and the Senate on each St.
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