Guédelon: A Modern Building of an Ancient Castle

Guédelon: One Man’s Castle in the Sky Gets Down-to-Earth

Have you ever found yourself reading a very old book and wondering “How did they do it all?” The castles, the battles, the art, the clothing? I still can’t read a history book, or even a historical novel, without trying to imagine the historical context around each story. So when I found out about Guédelon, I got really excited! In a century when houses are built in less than a year, and even skyscrapers take only a few years, it’s hard for us to fathom what the architectural feats of yesteryear actually involved. Guédelon bridges the gap between our imaginations and reality. Visionary Michel Guyot and a team of historians, archeologists, stone-masons, wood-cutters, and builders have combined historical study with a kind of reverse archeology to build, from scratch, a medieval castle–using only medieval building techniques! Talk about bringing history to life!

Homeschool field trip anyone? You can read more about their amazing project here: The Guédelon adventure- An introduction

Next Week’s Friday Foray: How the Chrysler Motor Company looked to ancient Rome as they designed their cars.

Valerie grew up in France where her father Francis Foucachon was a church planter with Mission to the World. She studied under Wes Callihan in high school through Schola Classical Tutorials, and then attended Logos School where she graduated Summa Cum Laude. She is currently a Senior at New Saint Andrews College, and an official Latin Nerd. She shows her love for the classics by quoting from the Aeneid at random times (in Latin of course).