Couldn't Be More Medieval

A year ago or more, we'd heard and read about Guedelon, a site in France where people were building a medieval castle using only the tools and materials that workers would have used in the 13th century. I got all twitchy and excited. So we built it into the trip, which is medieval-themed anyway. Why not?

the human hamster wheel

Why not indeed. It's pretty astonishing. They've finished most of the castle itself, and built a small village around it where various artisans work. We arrived on a very chilly November day -- the last day they were open for the year, necessitating a great many emendations to Phil's vast itinerary. The place was full of workers, people who had trained in skills not used, for the most part, for 800 years. 

We watched them cut stone with medieval chisels and hammers, hoist huge rocks using a sort of human hamster wheel, make baskets and work iron in the ancient way. We

Everybody poops (even
800 years ago)

wandered through the castle, with its 4-foot-thick walls, and learned how those walls were created. It is obviously a labor of love; the workers do get paid (and probably get a PhD thesis out of it), but not nearly enough for the

making baskets 
(with dog in basket)

backbreaking work we saw going on. I thought about the cathedral and the palaces Eleanor and Blanche had built, and wondered how much more difficult those were, given how much larger they were, and whether the queens had any idea of the incredible effort involved. 

When we'd eaten a crepe (made on a heated stone, which I guess is medieval?), shivering all the while, we headed off to Chateau Ratilly, a nearby castle on which part of Guedelon is modeled. What exists there now is from the 13th century, as the earlier part was destroyed. And it is now an art center, particularly for pottery, so we got to argue about whether we could possibly fit a little pottery in the suitcases. We decided no; if there's extra room, it's will be devoted to wine.

Chateau Ratilly