Loans - Temporary exhibitions

Chillon Castle Foundation has been designing and implementing temporary exhibitions in various castle rooms since 2005. The subjects covered range from the history of the monument or, more generally, medieval history of the Savoy family, through to key themes such as the surrounding lake, mountains and landscape, travel, the Romance era and art.

These historical exhibitions build on the castle’s prestige and contribute to its scientific credibility. Each year, with this in mind, the Foundation builds new partnerships with internationally renowned institutions, regularly exhibiting (often unique) items of cultural significance, on loan from Swiss, French and Italian museums.

To prepare a banquet, cooks must be equipped with the utensils their art requires. In his culinary treatise Du fait de cuisine (On Cooking), Master Chiquart – head chef to the Savoy court – lists the needs of his brigade. Large knives in particular were required to butcher and prepare meat. Cooks’ tools were already well defined by specific tasks.

Carving squires cut the meat dishes before presenting them to the prince and his guests. Acting close to the lord with dangerous instruments, the carving squire had to be trustworthy, and was chosen from the nobles within the royal entourage. He held a prestigious position and had real technical know-how. The exercise of his art contributed greatly to the staging of the royal banquet. The carving squire, an official tasked with carving the lord’s meat, had to demonstrate ability and comprehensive knowledge of animal anatomy when it came to cutting meat in the correct place, on the first slice, and in accordance with the particular cut of meat. Once carved, he presented this to the lord on a knife blade, or in a more refined manner on a presentation stand such as this, typically German, creation. This example denotes particular metalworking expertise, with bone inlays in gilded brass.

This carving squire’s presentation knife, generously loaned by the Musée des Arts de la Table, was on display at Chillon Castle from 14 September 2018 to 28 April 2019 as part of the temporary exhibition ‘Mouthwatering – Eating and drinking in the Middle Ages’.

The manuscript S 103, kept at the Médiathèque du Valais in Sion, is the only known copy of François Chiquart’s culinary treatise. The latter was the maître queux (literally, the magister ‘who commands’, coquus ‘cook’) to the Duke Amadeus VIII of Savoy at the beginning of 15th century.

In 1420, the sovereign of the Savoy states ordered his cook to put his culinary skills and his knowledge of banquet preparation in writing. At a time when manuscripts were still very expensive, this decision was not intended to showcase a trade, but rather to recognise the dignity and legitimacy of the House of Savoy, recently elevated to the status of a duchy, and to keep in mind the prestigious banquets held on great occasions. The text was dictated to a scribe named Jehan de Dudens, who describes himself as a bourgeois and Annecy cleric in the introduction. The manuscript, composed of 122 sheets of paper, is divided into three distinct parts: the preparation of a banquet, recipes organised into menus, and a ballad of thanks accompanied by scholarly quotations.

Master Chiquart describes four banquet ‘performances’ where pomp took centre stage, whether through a complex ceremony or the quest for the most extreme dishes (birds covered with their plumage after cooking, gold powder, luxurious crockery, spectacular entremets, etc.) Everything with the aim of highlighting the brilliance of the Savoy court.

This manuscript, generously loaned by the Médiathèque du Valais, was on display at Chillon Castle from 14 September 2018 to 28 April 2019 as part of the temporary exhibition ‘Mouthwatering – Eating and drinking in the Middle Ages’.

This standing recipient has a handle and spout, designed for pouring water or a scented liquid onto guests’ hands to clean them at the beginning and end of a banquet. While most aquamaniles were in the shape of an animal, this example depicts the bust of a young, well-dressed man.

Hand-washing has been a part of table manners and hygiene, especially since the 13th century. It is done at the beginning and end of meals, and whenever necessary. In addition to towels, the long tablecloth was sometimes used to dry hands. Le Mesnagier de Paris, a manuscript on domestic and culinary economy written at the end of the 13th century proposes a recipe for hand-washing water: to make table water for hand-washing, boil sage in water, then drain the water and leave to cool (until tepid). Top with either marjoram, chamomile or rosemary and cook with orange peel. Bay leaves are also a good option.

These mixtures were herbal infusions with medicinal and disinfectant properties, sometimes mixed with rose water. Aquamaniles were vessels made of ceramic, alloy or precious metal, often in the shape of a character or an animal, especially a lion. They were used for washing hands before meals or mass. This one is in a Gothic style and probably came from North Germany, perhaps from Hildesheim Abbey.

This aquamanile, generously loaned by the Musée de Cluny-Musée national du Moyen Âge, was on display at Chillon Castle from 14 September 2018 to 28 April 2019 as part of the temporary exhibition ‘Mouthwatering – Eating and drinking in the Middle Ages’.

The Rule of Benedict of Nursia (6th century) was intended to guide monks in their community life and gives an indication of their diet in chapters 39 to 41. Monks were expected to lead a poor, humble lifestyle. Temperance was a key word used by a saint in an extract from the New Testament: ‘Take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down by the excesses of eating and drinking’ (Gospel according to Luke 21:34).

The Rule of Saint Benedict prohibits the consumption of meat from quadrupeds because it is assimilated to violence, blood and sexuality, fuelled by red meat; monks were only allowed to eat it if they fell ill. Their daily life consisted of two meals made up of bread, a little wine and purees or soups. Their diet mostly consisted of vegetables, legumes, fruits and eggs.

This late-11th-century manuscript is a compilation of several texts, including the Rule of Saint Benedict. It was written by two copyists in late Carolingian miniscule. The first word of the Rule (Avscvlta) begins with a letter decorated with vegetable branches in ink; a typology known as ‘arrow’ – a hollow letter with pointed twists. It was painted with minium, a lead oxide that gives it its red colour and contrasts with the rusty brown of the text body.

This manuscript, generously loaned by the Stiftsbibliothek of Einsiedeln, was on display at Chillon Castle from 14 September 2018 to 28 April 2019 as part of the temporary exhibition ‘Mouthwatering – Eating and drinking in the Middle Ages’.

The first medieval cooking treatises date back to the end of the 13th century and the beginning of the 14th century. The most famous – and the most replicated in the Middle Ages – is undoubtedly the Viandier. This was attributed to the master chef to Kings Charles V and Charles VI of France, Guillaume Tirel, known as Taillevent (circa 1310-1395). This scroll is the oldest known copy of this text.

Medieval culinary treatises are mostly anonymous. In the rare cases where the author is named, it was almost always a cook serving a great prince or prelate. The Viandier mentions a certain ‘Taillevent’ who was identified as Guillaume Tirel at the end of the Middle Ages, so great was his fame.

However, the rediscovery of this scroll of parchment in 1953 invalidated this information, since it predates the birth of Guillaume Tirel. It was quite common in the Middle Ages for anonymous culinary treatises to be attributed to famous chefs.
This text is a collection of 133 recipes, 116 of which are meat or fish based; this omnipresence of meat products, as well as the high spice content of the dishes described (cinnamon, pepper, cumin, cloves, saffron, nutmeg, etc.) definitely places this treaty at the heart of aristocratic gastronomy. The parchment is 13.3 centimetres wide and nearly 2 metres long, making it easy to roll it out on both sides and select only the desired recipe.

This parchment roll, generously loaned by the Médiathèque du Valais, was on display at Chillon Castle from 14 September 2018 to 28 April 2019 as part of the temporary exhibition ‘Mouthwatering – Eating and drinking in the Middle Ages’.