Château de Guédelon: Ils bâtissent un château fort…

Deep in the forests of northern France (and in the year of Our Lord one thousand two hundred and forty-six) a small group of people are making history. There is no electricity, no cars and no plastic; men shouting, hooves on stone and the hammer and anvil create the sounds of Guédelon – the site of one of the most incredible archaeological projects of the twenty-first century (sorry, Richard). It is not just a case of test pits or trenches; it’s almost archaeology in reverse. The Guédelon team comprises all members of the castle-building trade: quarrymen, woodturners, stonemasons, carpenters, blacksmiths, tile makers, rope makers… the list goes on. This wonderful bunch began building their medieval castle from scratch in 1997, using those techniques familiar to our thirteenth-century counterparts.

I was lucky enough to visit the site in September 2013 and have included a selection of photographs below. I must admit, I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect before our trip. I’ve visited countless castles in various states of grandeur and ruin, but never one literally in the throws of construction. Whilst walking around the city of Leicester I often find it incredibly frustrating that I can’t properly imagine how medieval Leicester would have been – how it would have looked and in particular, how it would have sounded. We can look at drawings, archaeological finds and contemporary accounts, but nothing comes close to actually being able to walk amongst it. Guédelon gives us this opportunity. 

I will be visiting Guédelon at intervals over the next few years. The project is due for completion in 2022, so there’s still time to have a gander! Those who want to take a more ‘hands-on’ approach also have the chance - volunteers are able to actually participate in its construction - different lengths of castle-building courses are available for individuals with no previous experience or students working towards professional heritage skills. I’m already planning to apply. How often can we say we’ve casually nipped across the Channel to build a castle?

Falling marginally short of a time machine, it really is remarkably refreshing to be able to leave our world behind (health and safety regulations do come along for the ride) and to become completely immersed in the atmosphere present at the Guédelon site. There is the most incredible attention to detail here. Everything is sourced locally; cloth is made from wool spun and dyed on site (much to my delight.) The dye itself is created from the landscape: yellow and red ochre, hematite, burnt charcoal dust… it’s all completely natural. Tiles are sourced from clay pits in the forest and pressed with its leaves and stone is quarried from the foot of the castle. Visitors (and those interested in absentia) are welcome to purchase products made onsite to support the project: http://www.boutique-guedelon.fr. Wooden bowls, anyone?

The catalyst for my blog post is the discovery that our own BBC Two will be providing Guédelon with some well-deserved publicity – Secrets of the Castle will be broadcast tomorrow (Tuesday 18th November) at 9pm and is the first of a five-part series (http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04snhsg.) Don’t miss it! I for one am incredibly excited to see the progress made in the last year or so. Further information on l’aventure Guédelon can be found at http://www.guedelon.fr.

A Tale of Two Simons: the Montforts

I’m enjoying Michael Wood’s BBC series The Story of England but found myself a bit taken aback by his rather breathless account of Simon De Montfort that ‘champion of liberty’ beloved of the peasants. Obviously, I was not there at the time and so for all I know Simon de Montfort was a great guy who a lot of miserable historians have later tried to discredit. Civic leaders in Leicester have certainly promoted him over the last one hundred and fifty years, his statue adorns the clocktower and he has a square, a street, a concert hall and a university named after him.

There were two Simon de Montforts, father and son, and both were earls of Leicester through a connection by marriage. Simon de Montfort the elder was only notionally so as he never visited England let alone Leicester. He was a crusader and general of international reputation, notorious for his brutal suppression of the Cathars during the Albigensian crusade in the South of France. The younger Simon de Montfort, unlike his father, did establish himself in England where he was destined to become a major player on the national stage. Little is known about his early life but it is likely that after his father’s death he was involved with his elder brother Amaury in the renewed crusade against the Cathars.

‘I went to England and asked my lord the King to give me my father’s inheritance’ so wrote the young Montfort. As a younger son his financial prospects were bleak. He acquired ‘the honour ’of Leicester with the permission of Henry 111 and, at first, the income he squeezed out of Leicester was absolutely essential to him but his position and income was greatly enhanced when he married the King’s sister in 1238. However, his relationship with Henry deteriorated and in 1263 to 1264 he led a group of barons in rebellion against the King. This culminated in military success for Montfort at the Battle of Lewes in 1264.

The rebellion was a reaction to alleged mismanagement of government on the part of Henry and sought to introduce a parliament that placed the sovereign under institutional control. A reforming parliament was held in 1264 and for the first time the principle of election was introduced with shires and selected boroughs to send two elected representatives. For this reason Simon de Montfort has frequently been credited as an early pioneer of the modern parliamentary system. His regime however was eroded by factionalism and soon collapsed. A royal force defeated Montfort and his followers at the Battle of Evesham in 1265 where Montfort himself was killed.

So what are the differences between Simon de Montfort the actual historical figure and the heroic Simon de Montfort created by myth and tradition? Montfort’s public cause was government reform, however, his commitment was clearly not only to the common good. He was consistently quick to advance his own interests in terms of power and he used the rebellion to significantly enrich himself and his family. Montfort’s relationship with Leicester was chiefly about the income that he derived from the estate and extorting money from local tradesmen. Notoriously, Montfort also expelled the Jews from the town Leicester demonstrating the same militant zeal that his father had shown before him.

This was not meant to be a complete hatchet job-replies are welcome from Montfort fans.

Maddicott, J.R., Simon de Montfort (Cambridge 1997).
Simmons, J., Leicester Past and Present. Volume One: Ancient Borough (Leicester 1974.).

Learning Latin

A student asks, 'How do I learn Latin using the Internet?' She receives good answers.

Also, don't forget that Dr Julie Coleman will be speaking about Slang History tomorrow. Do come along.