A team of 50 builders is constructing a castle using same techniques/materials used in Middle Ages

[The Straight Story]

A team of 50 builders is constructing a castle using the same techniques and materials used in Middle Ages

(Video at link below)

In the heart of Puisaye, in Yonne, Burgundy, a team of fifty people have taken on an extraordinary feat: to build a castle using the very same techniques and materials used in the Middle Ages.

The materials needed for the construction of the castle - wood, stone, earth, sand and clay - are all to be found here, in this abandoned quarry. Before the gaze of thousands of visitors, all the trades associated with castle-building - quarrymen, stonemasons, woodcutters, carpenters, blacksmiths, tile makers, basket makers, rope makers, carters and their horses - are working together to complete the castle.

Guédelon offers a unique opportunity to witness the different stages of a castle's construction, each phase being of interest in its own right.





http://www.guedelon.fr/en/the-guedelon-adventure_01.html

You can also participate in building it:
http://www.guedelon.fr/en/participate-in-the-building-of-guedelon-castle_07.html

[Ken Burch]

1. The same techniques? They're having serfs do the work?

n/t.

[MineralMan]

4. And a lot of skilled craftspersons.

Yes, serfs did the unskilled work, but traveling craft workers did the actual building. The economy of the day was pretty simple and pretty crude. The results, however, were often quite spectacular.

[ananda]

5. Did you see Pillars of the Earth?

It's about a master builder who travels from job to job in England
during the Middle Ages. Really really good story.

[MineralMan]

7. No, I'm afraid I didn't. I've been reading books about medieval

technology, though, for many years. What was accomplished by itinerant crafts workers during that period is truly remarkable.

Yes, the poor were exploited then, as now, but that was the agrarian system that was in place. Now, we have a different system. Is it better? Yes, in many ways, but people are still exploited.

Joseph and Frances Gies have put together a series of books about life in medieval times. Using the words of actual people of the day, you get a good view of life, from all aspects and at all levels. A good starting point is "Life in a Medieval Castle." Other books of theirs include "Life in a Medieval Village," and "Cathedral, Forge and Waterwheel." The last book is about the technology of medieval Europe, and is just fascinating. All are still in print and are available at Amazon and elsewhere. Your local library probably has some of them, too.

There are many other books available, as well. Most of us have a very limited view of life in those days, and it's interesting to see what it was really like.

[catabryna]

2. Rick Steves has program about this...

I listened to it last week.

http://www.ricksteves.com/radio/protected/descriptions.cfm?showID=356

[tridim]

6. Rick just needed a place to keep his stash. nt

[MineralMan]

3. Very cool. Nice project, and thanks for posting this.

I was unaware of it.

[jberryhill]

8. Don't they need extraterrestrial aliens for that?

I'm sure I saw that on the History Channel

[The Backlash Cometh]

9. Which will prove very interesting since all the ingredients to the recipes for the mortar are

unknown, but it's thought that ox blood was part of it.