La salle des gardes dans les résidences royales françaises

The guards’ room, or just the ‘hall’ (la salle) as it was called until the early 17th century, was the first room in the royal apartment. At the beginning it was a common hall with varied uses, but then it became progressively the exclusive domain of the king’s body guards on duty, day and night when the sovereign was in. However, with its huge dimensions and its symbolical aspect, it has also been used for some exceptional monarchic events. Royal guards’ rooms were strongly related to the social hierarchy and their possession by other members of the Court in the royal residence was a privilege and a social indicator. However we can observe in general that the guards’ room was more modestly decorated compared with the other rooms in the apartment. Moreover its furniture was simple and common, contrasting completely with the strong symbolic role this room and its guards represented until the end of the ancient regime