page_title: Palais de la Cité
section_title: Philip IV
hierarchical_section_title: Palais de la Cité / History / Philip IV
caption_attribution_description: English: Interior of the Great Hall (built directly above the vaulted Gens d'Armes' hall) of the old royal palace of Paris, France (western part of the Cité island). Engraving by Jacques Ier Androuet du Cerceau, circa 1580 (that hall was later rebuilt as the Salle des Pas-Perdus of the Palais de Justice). Français&#160;: Intérieur de la Grand'Salle (construite directement au-dessus de l'actuelle Salle des Gens d'Armes) de l'ancien Palais royal de Paris (partie ouest de l'Île de la Cité). Gravure de Jacques Ier Androuet du Cerceau vers 1580 (cette salle serait par la suite rebâtie et deviendrait la Salle des Pas-Perdus du Palais de Justice). On peut voir la double nef voûtée de bois, portée par des piliers ornés des statues des rois.
context_page_description: The Palais de la Cité, located on the Île de la Cité in the Seine River in the centre of Paris, was the residence of the Kings of France from the sixth century until the 14th century. From the 14th century until the French Revolution, it was the headquarters of the French treasury, judicial system and the Parlement of Paris, an assembly of nobles. During the Revolution it served as a courthouse and prison, where Marie Antoinette and other prisoners were held and tried by the Revolutionary Tribunal. The palace was built and rebuilt over the course of six centuries; the site is now largely occupied by the buildings of the 19th-century Palais de Justice, but a few important vestiges remain: the medieval lower hall of the Conciergerie, four towers along the Seine, and, most important, the Sainte-Chapelle, the former chapel of the Palace, a masterpiece of Gothic architecture. Both parts of the Conciergerie and Saint-Chapelle are classified as national historical monuments and can be visited, though most of the Palais de Justice is closed to the public.
context_section_description: Philip IV (1285-1314) and his Chamberlain, Enguerrand de Marigny, reconstructed, enlarged and embellished the Palace. On the north side of the Palace, he expropriated land belonging to the Counts of Brittany and constructed new buildings for the Chambre des Enquetes, which supervised public administration; the Grand'Chambre, another high court; and two new towers, the Tour Cesar and the Tour d'Argent, as well as a gallery connecting the palace to the Tour Bombec. The royal offices took their names from the different chambers, or rooms, of the palace; the Chambre des Comptes, chamber of the accounts, was the treasury of the kingdom, and the courts were divided between the Chambre civile and the Chambre criminelle. 
  On the site of the old Salle de Roi he built a much larger and more richly decorated assembly hall, the Grand'Salle which had a double nave, each covered with a high arched wooden roof. A row of eight columns in the center of the hall supported the wooden framework of the roof. On each of the pillars, and on columns around the walls, were placed polychrome statues of the Kings of France. In the center of the hall was an enormous table made of black marble from Germany, used for banquets, the taking of oaths, meetings of military high courts, and other official functions. A fragment of the table still exists, and is on display in the Conciergerie. The Grand'Salle was used for royal banquets, judicial proceedings, and theatrical performances.
  At the west end of the island, where Place Dauphine is today, was a walled private garden, a bath house where the King could bathe in the water of the river, and a dock, from which the king could travel by boat to his other residences, the Louvre fortress on the right bank and the Tour de Nesle on the left bank.
  The lower floor beneath the Grand'Salle contained the Salle des Gardes for the soldiers who protected the King, as well as the dining room for the household of the King, including officers, clerks, court officers and servants. High court officials had their own houses in the city, while lower officials and servants lived within the Palace. The household of the King at the time of Philip IV numbered about three hundred persons; counting the servants of the Queen and of the King's children, the number grew to about six hundred.
  Philip made several further major changes to the Palace. He reconstructed the south wall of the Palace, and moved the wall on the east side to enlarge the ceremonial courtyard, The new wall, more that of a palace than a fortress, had two large gates and echauguettes, or small elevated posts for watchmen at the angles of the wall. He restored the Salle d'Eau, extended the logos de Roi, or royal residence further south, built a new building for Chambre des comptes, or royal treasury, and enlarged the garden. The works were almost complete when the King died in 1314. Philip's successors made a few further additions; Jean II (1319-1364) constructed new kitchens on two levels northwest of the Grand'Salle, and built a new square tower. Later, his son, Charles V (1338-1380) installed a clock in the tower, and it became known as the Tour de l'Horloge.
caption: The Grand'Salle of the Palace in the 16th century, by Androuet du Cerceau
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