« La Buffette », une résidence patricienne des XIIe et XIIIe siècles à Provins

« La Buffette », a patrician residence of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries in Provins. The hôtel de la Buffette is located in the upper city at Provins, a short distance from the place des Changes, one of the economic hubs of the city. It is composed of a residence with a tower dating from the mid twelfth century and an annex, from the thirteenth century, which embraces the southern flank and was originally much larger. The tower is a remarkable building which still rises two stories and is covered with impressively constructed vaults and appointed with engaging capitals (one represents the « Temptation of Adam and Eve »). The upper story is particulary well designed for a residence, with chimney, sink, a small chamber for the latrine and a wardrobe annex. The adjoining building is also equipped with several latrines. Probably built by a noble family from Brie, the Bristaud, the « tower manor » is one of the rare examples of an aristocratie Romanesque residence in northern France. The construction is of very high quality, comparable with that of contemporary religious buildings such as the collegiate church of Saint- Quiriace. The « tower manor » passed into the hands of a bourgeois family in the thirteenth century and took on the form of a large composite residence.