In the mid 14th century, Aymon of Savoy decided to redesign the Camera Domini. At this point, the bedroom of the counts and later dukes of Savoy was redecorated with figurative paintings. In 1587, the Bernese artist Andreas Stoss painted new images on the medieval decor. Restored several times throughout the 20th century, the mantelpiece decoration illustrates the history of these transformations.

The Chillon Castle Camera Domini is located on the first floor of a tower whose origins date back to the 12th century. Between 1336 and 1338, Aymon of Savoy decided to move the fireplace to the north-east corner of the room in order to build a staircase between his bedroom and the chapel. Jean de Grandson decorated the whole room with paintings from 1341 to 1344. Split into three parts, they depict an idyllic garden populated by animals against a blue background. The series of images is crowned by a depiction of Saint George slaying the dragon over the mantelpiece. The image of the patron saint of knighthood almost certainly alludes to the moral and physical qualities of the count himself. This link is reinforced by the presence of the Savoy crosses on the oak frame supporting the cornice. The choice of the fireplace as a prime location to display images of power did not escape the attention of the Bernese conquerors. At the end of the 16th century, the bailiff-governor Hans Wilhelm von Mülinen asked Andreas Stoss to paint a Bernese bear and the date ‘1587’ in the same place.

The small drawing room at the heart of the royal apartments (room 20) is home to the castle’s oldest chimney, built in 1336. It also contains an old wall coating, which was mostly covered with medieval graffiti. The ‘Savoyard knight’ design was engraved by a steady hand, at chest height on the southern wall.

The clearly defined graffiti provides a very precise description of the knight, fully clothed in armour, riding a rearing horse. He is wearing a helm, a hauberk covered in chain mail, greaves and sollerets fitted with spurs. He firmly grips a lance in his right hand and a shield covers his left shoulder.

His mount is heavily dressed. The rump cover bears the Savoy coat of arms – a white cross on a red background. The counts, and later dukes, of Savoy were the Lords of Chillon from at least 1150 to 1536.

Stylistic cross-checking dates this graffiti back to the beginning of the 14th century. It is not an original creation, but a pictorial remake of the equestrian seal of Count Amadeus V, Lord of Chillon from 1285 to 1323. Nevertheless, the engraving differs slightly from the original: the horse is no longer galloping but is instead on its hind legs, while the knight, instead of bearing a sword in his left hand, holds a long pike. Hence, what the composition lacks in panache, it makes up for in its stately demeanour, employing balanced shapes.

Between 1897 and 1899, while carrying out excavations in the Chillon Castle prison, archaeologist Albert Naef discovered and opened loopholes that had been walled in during the 14th century. On the seventh, he discovered the ‘consecration crosses’. These motifs were painted, engraved or sculpted on the walls, columns or pillars of churches at the time of their ‘dedication’, a ceremony to make them holy and avowed to God.

Naef found in Chillon’s accounts that one of the loopholes had been sealed in 1388. He also dated the crosses back to the 14th century. He linked their presence to one of two events that occurred in the castle during this period. The first was the massacre of the Jews of Villeneuve in 1348, accused of poisoning the fountains right in the middle of a plague epidemic. In Chillon, the populace seized around forty of the imprisoned jews and beat them. They were then taken to the village square and, with no opportunity for a trial, men, women and children were burned on several pyres built on the lakefront. The second was the hunt for a basilisk, a monster feared for its poisonous breath and petrifying abilities, in 1379. Sources mention that they searched the ‘crota’, i.e. a hole or basement in old local dialect, but elaborated no further. The exact location of the crota is not widely accepted by archaeologists. Naef also placed it inside one of the castle’s defence towers on the other side of the site. In both cases, the presence of consecration crosses would symbolise purification of the prison.

In 1842, the famous French writer Victor Hugo published a collection of his travel diaries entitled Le Rhin, in which he described a drawing that he observed in the prison of Chillon Castle during his visit in 1839. He attributes it to Michel Cotié, companion of the political prisoner François Bonivard at the beginning of the 16th century: ‘Nothing remains of him [Cotié] but a few charred drawings on the wall. They are half-natured figures that do not lack a certain style; an almost erased Christ on the cross, a Saint on her knees with her legend around her head in Gothic characters, a Saint Christopher […] and a Saint Joseph.’

Dating from the 15th century, this Crucifixion is located on the south wall of the prison, in a small enclosed space called a ‘croton’; the latter served as a chapel for prisoners in the Middle Ages. It has been attested since 1386 in handwritten sources.

In the centre, Christ on the cross is flanked by the Virgin and Saint John. To the right of Mary is Saint Catherine, while John is flanked to his left by Saint Christopher carrying the baby Jesus and Saint Anthony the hermit. They can be identified from the attributes and names written in phylacteries.

In 1899, archaeologist Albert Naef and his team closely examined the various figures represented around Christ on the Cross. They concluded that the drawings were made by different hands – or prisoners – at different times. However, their quality and homogeneity refute this hypothesis: it is inconceivable that captives could have produced these drawings in the dark. On the other hand, art historians have not detected indications of multiple hands or periods. The presence of a Savoy crest, even if it is no longer legible, leads us to believe that this drawing would instead have been the result of a commission from the House of Savoy for those sentenced to death.

Indeed, the presence of the saints is likely down to their consoling powers: Saint Catherine is the patron saint of virgins and the dying, Saint Christopher protector of death without confession, and Saint Anthony protects from the fire of hell.

During a campaign between 1914 and 1916, archaeologist Albert Naef and painter Ernest Correvon decided to complete the restoration of the chapel paintings on the western wall, whose medieval paintings had been almost completely destroyed. From a meagre original clue, they chose to recreate a painting symbolising Judgement Day.

Dating from the 14th century, the paintings are themed around the figure of Christ.

The frescos on the ceiling depict characters from the Old Testament, from Christ’s earthly lineage or prophets who announced his coming. This set ends with John the Baptist, making the transition to the New Testament. On the eastern wall, wall paintings represent the announcement of Mary’s pregnancy. The northern and southern walls depict the New Testament. They have been heavily repainted.

The western wall is the most damaged. A thin fragment of original painting remains on the left, representing the head of an angel. Reading this chronoligically, Naef and Correvon chose to represent ‘Judgement Day’, the end of time according to Christianity. They copied another painting from the narthex of Romainmôtier Abbey. However, during the 20th century, researchers rejected this hypothesis. They believed the presence of an angel alluded to the Ascension of Christ to heaven, to a Christ in Majesty with a procession of angels symbolising the resurrection, or to a Coronation of the Virgin after she had ascended into heaven. As it stands, the issue still has not been settled.