Cour du mortier d’or -Golden Mortar Courtyard

You’re now stepping into the Golden Mortar Courtyard—a hidden gem that offers a rare glimpse into what private courtyards once looked like behind Troyes’ half-timbered façades. Its beauty today is thanks to a meticulous restoration carried out in 1981 by the Compagnons du Devoir, a traditional guild of craftsmen. In keeping with carpenter tradition, they discreetly carved the face of their master into the wood—see if you can spot it! The real showstoppers here are the sculpted beams, which immediately catch the eye. Take a closer look at the delicate figures of the Virgin Mary and the angel Gabriel—the craftsmanship is astonishing. You’ll also notice military motifs, including carved soldiers’ heads, suggesting that the original owner may have held a prominent position in the French army. And the name? It likely comes from a nearby pharmacy—back when mortars were used to grind medicinal herbs and ingredients. The courtyard was originally part of a street called Rue des Quinze-Vingts—a name that might sound unusual. Like many street names around here, it carries a bit of forgotten history. It refers to a Parisian hospice founded in 1260 by Saint Louis to care for 300 knights who had returned from the Crusades blinded in battle. The hospice had 15 rooms with 20 beds each—fifteen times twenty, or quinze-vingts in the old French counting system, which was based on twenties rather than tens. This system might seem unusual today, but in the Middle Ages, the French actually counted in twenties rather than tens. And they weren’t the only ones! The Aztecs, the Mayans, and even the Celts also used base-20 counting systems. It’s a quirky habit that left some lasting traces in the French language. They may no longer say “two twenties” or “three twenties” for forty and sixty, but they still say quatre-vingts (four twenties) for eighty and quatre-vingt-dix (four twenties and ten). Some medieval oddities really do stick around!