Lawyers’ House at 60 rue Saint-Jean

60 Saint-Jean Street

The courtyard of the Maison des Avocats, located in the heart of Old Lyon, is a place full of history that immerses us in the medieval atmosphere of the city. Today, this building houses the Musée Miniature et Cinéma, but its past is much older and more fascinating.

Built between 1300 and 1528, the Maison des Avocats is distinguished by its main building at the back, visible from the Rue de la Bombarde. Carefully restored, this part has an elegant Tuscan-style gallery that overlooks the inner courtyard. In the center of this courtyard, there is a well, dating from 1516, which bears witness to the rich history of the place.

The oldest façade, at 60 rue Saint-Jean, once served as the entrance to a medieval inn called the "Auberge de la Croix d'Or". This inn welcomed merchants and travelers who came to participate in the famous fairs of Lyon. The large carriage door, still visible today, allowed horse-drawn carriages to access the courtyard directly.

This place was also frequented by members of the Basoche, a brotherhood of students and legal clerks, employees of lawyers and prosecutors. These associations, very influential in cities with a Parliament, played an important role in social and legal life until the Revolution. In Lyon, the Basoche was distinguished by its religious processions and more solemn ceremonies, contrasting with the noisy and theatrical festivities of other cities.

The history of Basoche still resonates through the walls of this courtyard, where one can easily imagine the lively meetings, discussions and shows that were sometimes critical of the authorities. The famous farce by Maître Pathelin, created before 1474, is one of the works that could have been performed there, with its emblematic expression "Let's get back to our sheep", which has survived the centuries.

By visiting this court, we delve into a rich and living past, where legal traditions and daily life of the medieval era intermingle.

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Pierre Bossan

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