Échanson

See under Cupbearer.

Term (also Hofschenk) for the function at manorial courts or noble houses of providing and tasting drinks, especially wine. Due to the constant (and often well-founded) fear of intrigues and attempts at poisoning, this responsibility was usually entrusted to noble persons in whom the sovereign had full confidence. Already in the Bible in the 1st Book of Moses (Genesis) a cupbearer of the Pharaoh is mentioned. At the court of Alexander the Great (356-323 B.C.), Iolaos (son of the general Antipater) was one of the cupbearers. According to a hypothesis that is no longer considered credible today, he poisoned Alexander on behalf of his father. In the Middle Ages, the bouteiller was responsible for the cellar or the drinks at the courts of princes (Latin: buticularius or pincerna, English: butler). The Échanson (waiter) was responsible for tasting the drinks before they were consumed. It was also common...

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