 It was an undertaking that earned the praise of Christine de Pizan.According to his "Livre des faits", in 1399 Jean Le Maingre, tired of receiving complaints from ladies, maidens, and widows oppressed by powerful men bent on depriving them of the lands and honours, and finding no knight of squire willing to defend their just cause, out of compassion and charity founded an order of thirteen knights sworn to carry "une targe d'or esmaillé de verd & tout une dame blanche dedans" ("a shield of gold enamelled with green and a white lady inside").The thirteen knights, after swearing this oath, affirmed a long letter explaining their purpose and disseminated it widely in France and beyond her borders.