ABSTRACT
A banquet held within the medieval fortress of the Bastille in Paris on 22 December 1518 exemplifies how architecture could be adapted to the needs of a new phase of international diplomacy calling for display and magnificence on an unprecedented scale. The Bastille lay close to a broad street often used for tournaments. It had an inner courtyard that could accommodate a large crowd of people and high walls sturdy enough to support a rain-proof awning. The banquet was the culmination of a series of encounters between English and French ambassadors which resulted in the Treaty of London. This included the return of the town of Tournai to France following its English occupation. The banquet was a response to a lavish entertainment given in England to a French embassy in September 1518. This was soon followed by an English embassy to France led by the earl of Worcester which was received by Francis I in Paris on 11 December. Several ceremonies followed, culminating in the banquet at the Bastille on 22 December, described by Edward Hall and other contemporary writers. Among the best accounts is Sylva by Bernardino Rincio, a Milanese doctor.
