The professional boulangerie: how bakers came to be
The French term boulanger, began to appear in the 13th century and refers to someone who makes loaves of bread and bakes them in their oven.
Seal Seal (200/300)Musée du Blé et du Pain
The first forms of fermented and baked bread appeared in Egypt. The process of making such bread was passed on to the Greeks and then the Romans. The craft was honed and exported across Europe.
Statue (1900/2000) by UnknownMusée du Blé et du Pain
In the Middle Ages, French workers began to group together in guilds, known as confréries. The French baker community selected Saint Honoratus of Amiens as their patron saint. According to legend, as a child, Honoratus announced his wish to join the priesthood to his nursemaid while she was baking bread for the family. She replied that when the peel she was using to bake bread grew leaves, she'd believe that he could be a bishop. And then a miracle happened—the peel was placed in the ground, and it grew into a tree! Honoratus was the bishop of Amiens in the year 554 CE.
Lithography (1848) by Achille TigetMusée du Blé et du Pain
The Société des Compagnons Boulangers du Devoir (Guild of the Companion Bakers of Duty) was founded at the start of the 19th century. Unlike in other workers' guilds, the bakers remain independent from all forms of power and are rather misliked by the other companions. This lithograph is a souvenir from a companion baker's Tour de France, in which they would journey to the various cities across France and work their trade.
In the open-air rotunda sits Master Jacques, one of the founders of the Companionship, while two companions kneel on the first step.
Higher up, two angels fly out of a cloud. The angel on the left holds symbols of the baking craft: the crèpe spreader, the peel, and the weighing scales.
The angel on the right holds tools for sketching and building: the compass, measuring triangle and mallet.
At the bottom, a companion with a cane and colors (the ribbon worn by the companions) can be made out in the landscape of Sainte-Baume, the pilgrimage site where Master Jacques is said to have retired before being murdered.
On the right, two companions are performing the rite of guilbrette (in which companions drink with linked arms) behind a tomb with an epitaph—two crossed canes accompanied by the cryptogram "R. N. P. 3. 5. 7." Each letter is separated by three periods.
Stick Stick (1900/2000)Musée du Blé et du Pain
The companion's cane offers support during their Tour de France. It can be used as a weapon in case of attack. It also plays a role in the rites during the ceremony. It's a symbol, unique to each companion, which can reveal information to those who know how to decipher it.
Stick DétailMusée du Blé et du Pain
The engraved detail depicts, at the top, an eye symbolizing the divine. In the center is the emblem of the companion bakers: the baker's peel and the crossed crèpe spreaders that lift up a dough scraper. Underneath, a fist (the symbol known as "good faith") and, surrounding it, the companion's name and guild name, owner of the cane "Jean Fouasse—La Sincérité," decorated with two crossed laurel branches.
Stained glass (1900/2000) by UnknownMusée du Blé et du Pain
During the 20th century, other guilds came into being such as the Ordre des Chevaliers du Pain (Bread Knights), which originated in French-speaking Switzerland. Its aim is to promote the expertise of bread-makers and the quality of their work.
Magnet (21ème siècle)Musée du Blé et du Pain
Boulangeries today
Still today, workers' guilds and associations continue to keep baking expertise alive. Mastery of this craft is celebrated through a number of competitions and prizes such as the status of Meilleur Ouvrier de France.
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