Europe

Castle building gets medieval

By The World ⋅ August 11, 2009 ⋅ Post a comment
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Squirrel cageMedieval enthusiasts in the Burgundy region in France are building a castle, from scratch, using tools and techniques from the Middle Ages. At right, a builder walks inside the ‘Squirrel Cage,’ a medieval device for lifting heavy loads.  It functions like a hamster wheel.  As the man walks he turns the wheel, winding a rope attached to a pulley.  This raises a wooden pallet laden with stones or other heavy building materials. The World’s Gerry Hadden reports.

Click here to see more of Gerry Hadden’s photos from the Guedelon Chateau.

Discussion

3 comments for “Castle building gets medieval”

  • http://www.holtongallery.com Matt Holton

    Great story – glad to see some old crafts are getting real work.

  • http://www.ethangilsdorf.com/ Ethan Gilsdorf

    This is indeed a wonderful project.

    I visited Guédelon recently during research for my new book “Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks: An Epic Quest for Reality Among Role Players, Online Gamers, and Other Dwellers of Imaginary Realms.” The book has an entire chapter on Guédelon and other medieval and fantastic construction projects.

    I hope you’ll take a look at http://www.fantasyfreaksbook.com/. Thanks for considering…

  • Sophie Desprez Whitehouse

    I am a transplanted Burgundian in North Reading Massachusetts, I have visited Guedelon a couple of times,when it was first started and 5 years later and I cannot wait for my next visit to Guedelon and its surroundings! I use their website when I teach a unit on the Middle Ages in my French Literature and Civilization class at the Pingree School in South Hamilton and love it when you offer such great stories. Thanks from the bottom of my heart,it transports me close to home. I spent a good part of my childhood and teenage years near Noyers sur Serein, a village which is itself a 12th century treasure.
    A dedicated Franco-American,
    Sophie Desprez-Whitehouse