The Princess of France and her company of ladies Rosaline, Maria and Katherine tell the men wooing them (Ferdinand the King of Navarre, Biron, Longaville and Dumain) that they must wait and undergo tests to prove that their love is not simply infatuation. King Ferdinand and his compatriots decide to isolate themselves for three years to study great books vowing that they will keep no company with women during this time. However, when beautiful women arrive on a diplomatic mission, the men immediately fail to keep their oaths. The ladies discover the situation and the gentlemen realise that they truly love the ladies. The ladies banish the men to a hermitage for a further year before they will associate with them.