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Portraits
link up chronologically with those in the Hall of Ancestors...
The Banquet Hall
The
interior of the Banquet Hall is furnished with a suite of mainly Renaissance
furniture. This is supplemented with paintings from the royal portrait
gallery of the latter half of the 17th century. An interesting piece
of furniture is the so-called washbowl, which along with a small vessel
served for washing of the hands and which according to iconographic
materials formed an indispensable part of the interior of banquet halls
in the Gothic and Renaissance periods.
The
Banquet Hall neighbours with
the Hall of Ancestors in the interior of Charles's palace. The series
of portraits in the gallery of rulers, which today is the largest preserved
gallery of this kind in the Czech lands (57 portraits in all), continues
in this magnificent hall.
The
portraits in the Banquet Hall link up chronologically with those
in the Hall of Ancestors. In addition to Charles's father, John of Luxembourg,
whose consort was Eliska Premyslovna, we can see Charles's son Zikmund
and other Czech kings in historical succession up to Ferdinand III of
the Habsburg dynasty. The front of the hall is dominated by a portrait
of the Emperor Charles IV with the Czech royal crown on his head. Behind
him is the building of Karlstejn Castle, the foreground being occupied
by the important document designated The Bulla Aurea.
The culture of Charles's period is
also manifested in the then contemporory table customs which Charles
IV undoubtedly learned in France. Greater demands were placed on the
equipment used on banquet tables where apart from ceramic and wooden
vessels splendid silver and glass articles found use. In addition to
glass vessels, several unique samples of wooden table crockery have
been preserved at Karlstejn. In all probability they date in the 15th
century, particularly the small bowls and spoons which were usually
set in decorated handles.
To be seen in the Banquet
Hall is also a number of exhibits from the Gothic and Renaissance
periods which have been preserved at Karlstejn. Particularly notable
is a set of historical table utensils made of wood (small bowls and
spoons) and pottery. An idea of table culture at the time of Charles
IV and also of the type of meals served is evoked to a certain extent
by interesting documents from the period of reign of that sovereign
and his son Vaclav IV. These have the form of fragments of accounts
of the master chef of the royal kitchen of Charles IV or records of
the Benedictine monk Jan of Holesov.
The
said kitchen accounts refer, for example, to various kinds of
meat, spices, wine and beer which appeared on the royal table. The records
of Jan of Holesov, which represent a unique medieval source, provide
information about various customs practised during celebrations of church
saints, particularly at Christmas. At Charles's time the Christmas Eve
menu was very rich. It comprised numerous courses among which various
gruels, soups and especially fruit in many forms prevailed. Fish, now
traditionally served on Christmas Eve in the Czech lands, did not form
a part of the menu.
The
samples of copies of historical glass which supplement the presented
picture of table culture during Charles IV's reign come from the typology
of the glass goblets used in the given period. Particularly interesting
are the so-called "kutrolfs", drinking vessels and tall goblets.
