A celebrated band of brigands and discharged soldiery, perhaps numbering as many as 1, 000 men, which took its name from the pilgrim's badge of a shell (coquille), and was active in Burgundy in the 1450s. Their secret language (jargon), customs, and organization under a ‘king’ are revealed by confessions and the ballades en jargon of Villon.
[Michael Jones]
