Château-fort Guédelon
A few hours drive from Paris, in the commune of Treigny, in Bourgogne, a fortress castle is being constructed. For the past 10 years, volunteer men and women have lived and labored on the site, applying the same methods and tools used in the 13th century to construct a château-fort that would resemble a similar edifice built by main man Philippe Auguste.
A visit to the site offers a rare opportunity to play Robin Hood and Maid Marian in the sprawling woods surrounding the artisanal village, but is also a terrifically edifying experience. Our guide's knowledge of medieval defense tactics and fortress architecture was impressively vast; I picked up a lot of useful vocabulary on the topic of Philippian castle architecture.
Each artisan - blacksmith, mason, carpenter, hemp-braider...? - was more than happy to share their expert knowledge of their metier. The level of hygiene among a few of the masons remains historically accurate as well. A few fellows had accumulated such a nest of hair grease and dust to rock Middle Age dreads. (Curiously, the lady folk appeared to have discovered the wonders of saponified animal fat.)
... something I really, really loved about this place is that Guédelon sounds like "git along," which is so fun to say when running up and down purposefully non-uniform stone stairs...
Caveat re. the grub: don't let François' and Thomas' expressions of glee in the above shot fool you - the tavern serves insipid fare for astronomical prices, which I'm pretty sure is not how things were done in the Middle Ages. Inflation or not, the gastro-historians are needed desperately.
A visit to the site offers a rare opportunity to play Robin Hood and Maid Marian in the sprawling woods surrounding the artisanal village, but is also a terrifically edifying experience. Our guide's knowledge of medieval defense tactics and fortress architecture was impressively vast; I picked up a lot of useful vocabulary on the topic of Philippian castle architecture.
Each artisan - blacksmith, mason, carpenter, hemp-braider...? - was more than happy to share their expert knowledge of their metier. The level of hygiene among a few of the masons remains historically accurate as well. A few fellows had accumulated such a nest of hair grease and dust to rock Middle Age dreads. (Curiously, the lady folk appeared to have discovered the wonders of saponified animal fat.)
... something I really, really loved about this place is that Guédelon sounds like "git along," which is so fun to say when running up and down purposefully non-uniform stone stairs...
Caveat re. the grub: don't let François' and Thomas' expressions of glee in the above shot fool you - the tavern serves insipid fare for astronomical prices, which I'm pretty sure is not how things were done in the Middle Ages. Inflation or not, the gastro-historians are needed desperately.
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