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00:02Castles dominated the medieval landscape, and Britain has some of the finest in the world.
00:09Most today are decaying relics, many of their secrets buried in time.
00:19Now, historian Ruth Goodman and archaeologists Tom Pinfold and Peter Ginn are turning the clock
00:28back to relearn the secrets of the medieval castle builders.
00:31This is the ultimate of medieval technology.
00:35The origins of our castles are French, introduced to Britain at the time of the Norman conquests of 1066.
00:49Here in the Burgundy region of France is Gedelong Castle, the world's biggest archaeological experiment.
00:59A 25-year project to build a castle from scratch, using the same tools, techniques and materials available in the
01:0813th century.
01:10It's a lot of hard work at the coalface, because this is industry.
01:15For the next six months, Ruth, Peter and Tom will experience the daily rigors of medieval construction.
01:22Drop down.
01:23And everyday life.
01:26How workers dressed.
01:29Eight.
01:30You can really smell your food, Ruth.
01:33And the art of combat.
01:38This is the story of how to build a medieval castle.
02:00It's September.
02:02After six months of working on the castle, the team are nearing the end of their stay.
02:08They're up at dawn to start their day on the Great Tower.
02:14Oh, I love the view from up here first thing in the morning.
02:18I know, you can see for miles, can't you?
02:20Yeah.
02:22I'm always really amazed, you know, when you think about how far medieval people travelled.
02:27You have this image in your head, don't you, of people sticking in their own village all their lives.
02:33And then you start looking at the evidence and people move miles and miles across the whole continent.
02:40Ordinary people like us, which I just find quite exciting.
02:44Well, when you think about it, you've got the skill set and you've got the tools.
02:47It's almost like a ticket to ride, isn't it?
02:49You can get out there because people need you.
02:52Talented builders and craftspeople were in constant demand for construction work.
02:57A job that could see them travel the world.
03:02I suppose once this project was finished, workers like ourselves, we would have had to have moved on, moved to
03:07the next castle.
03:08And that might have been the next town, could have been the next country.
03:11So there must have been 13th century ordinary working people who were better travelled and had a wider world view
03:19than many modern people.
03:35One group of craftsmen that travelled widely from project to project were the stone cutters, elite members of the construction
03:43team.
03:45Usually free men.
03:47Their experience of different sites made them experts in both military and religious architecture.
03:54In the 13th century, a mason like Clément Guérard might even have been on crusade, gathering influences from distant lands.
04:03This is your wooden template.
04:05Yes.
04:06You've got from the tracing floor.
04:08At the entrance of the chapel, there's going to be an ornate arch of alternating black and white stone.
04:15Peter and Clément are working on the first piece, but it's a complicated shape.
04:20It's very special.
04:21Here, it's round.
04:23Yeah.
04:24It's arch.
04:24Yeah.
04:25Ah, right.
04:26But here, it's a right angle.
04:29Right.
04:30I adjust this small part.
04:33I need right angle here.
04:36The stone will form the base of the arch.
04:39It must fit precisely into the existing walls, but it will also determine the shape of the curve.
04:47If it's even slightly wrong, the whole arch will be misshapen.
04:53Once the shape has been marked out, Clément uses a tool called a pitch to break off larger pieces of
04:58stone.
05:00This is a bit of pith.
05:01This is a bit of sandstone.
05:02This is very, very hard.
05:03It's very, very black.
05:04And it's going to intersperse with the limestone.
05:08But because it's harder, it has to be dressed in a slightly different way.
05:13You remember when it's black, it's very good quality.
05:17Yeah.
05:17It's the same as granite.
05:20Right.
05:21It's very hard stone.
05:23The pith is black and hard because of its high iron content, and takes four times as long to dress
05:29as limestone.
05:31It was used alongside white stones to make a strong visual statement.
05:36When you are here, you come middle.
05:39Ah, right.
05:40Always to the middle.
05:41Always to the middle.
05:42Okay.
05:45A hard-ended tool called a punch was used to finish the job.
05:50This is different, isn't it?
05:51As you say, it's so much harder.
05:53So it's just a different technique, different tools.
05:56In sandstone, no chisel.
05:58No chisel.
05:59No chisel.
05:59It's too hard.
06:01Masons were paid according to how many stones they dressed.
06:04So the final job is to add an identifying mason's mark to the stone.
06:09And now you make your mark on the top.
06:14Perfect.
06:15With old chisel.
06:17Yeah.
06:18Okay.
06:18And just on the line.
06:20And poke.
06:22Poke.
06:25Using these marks, archaeologists have been able to trace the movement
06:30to particular masons through the landscape.
06:33So we have a T for Tom, a P for Peter, and an R for the Rus.
06:43By the 1200s, medieval Europe was a busy, developing, connected place
06:48as workers and traders moved across the continent.
06:55A network of roads brought produce from across the world.
06:59Exotic luxuries like silks and spices.
07:04The textile industry was at its peak in 13th century Europe.
07:08And castles were a major consumer of fabrics.
07:12One of the most important elements of the industry was the trade in dyes.
07:19This is woad, the stuff that produces a blue dye.
07:23And it grows quite well in Britain.
07:25But in France, the climate means that it has a much higher concentration
07:30of the active ingredients that produce the blue.
07:33By the 13th century, it had become quite an important cash crop in northern France,
07:38where large quantities were grown and processed and sold right across northern Europe.
07:46Karen Grunow is an expert in traditional dyeing techniques.
07:50Why are we cutting it rather than pulling it, Karen?
07:53Because we need just the leaves.
07:54We don't need the roots.
07:55And it will grow up again.
07:57So two or three times in a year we can cut it.
08:00So you get several harvests out of the same plants.
08:02Well, that's useful, isn't it?
08:04It doesn't look very blue at the moment, does it?
08:07The woad leaves don't last long in their fresh form.
08:10So they were specially prepared before they could be sold.
08:15I'm not seeing any blue.
08:17It still looks just like green leaves.
08:19First, we have to ground these cut leaves.
08:23And then we have to make balls.
08:26This will open up a little bit, the leaves.
08:28And the first blue will come out.
08:30So for the moment, there's no colour coming out of that at all.
08:34How on earth people discovered this, I don't know.
08:39When the world is ground up, enzymes are released,
08:43which start to convert chemicals in the leaves into the blue dye.
08:48And this first stage in which we're pressing it into balls,
08:52that's also about transport.
08:54This is for the transport.
08:56It is easier to transport these balls than the leaves.
08:59And then as this dries, the first chemical processes are happening.
09:03Yes, you will see when it is dry, this will be a little bit blue.
09:06The colour is changing already.
09:08I mean, that's...
09:09It's got a bluey tinge to it, hasn't it?
09:11I mean, it's still obviously green,
09:13but it is a slightly more bluey green.
09:15Well, there's my first one.
09:23Today, the forests of Guédelon provide a plentiful source of wood for building the castle.
09:29But this wasn't always the case.
09:32From the 11th century, huge forest clearances occurred across Europe
09:36as farms and towns expanded and new castles were built.
09:44Tom is helping to fetch some wood to make a new door.
09:48One of the great things about spending time at Guédelon
09:50is actually getting to work with the horses.
09:52And when you think about the amount of wood needed to build a castle,
09:56there is no better way than to get out here with a horse,
09:59tie it up, and off we go.
10:03The forest at Guédelon spanned 12 hectares.
10:06But today, as in the 13th century,
10:09wood is a valuable commodity and must be treated with care.
10:13Right now, we're taking this log out,
10:15and we're allowed to drag it
10:16because basically it's not being shaped yet,
10:18it's not being worked.
10:19So the ground, it doesn't matter if it comes into contact with the bark.
10:25Medieval woodcutters would have been based out in the forest,
10:28felling and processing the wood for the carpenters.
10:34A new door is needed for the castle,
10:37and the first stage is to split a tree trunk into planks.
10:42Jean-Michel has shown me these natural splits in the wood,
10:45and this is what we need to work off.
10:47We need to follow these to get our planks.
10:51Using wedges means it's possible to split timber of any size.
10:56They're hammered into a small cut at the top of the trunk,
10:59following the natural weaknesses in the work.
11:03I can actually start to hear the crackling of the wood
11:07as it's starting to split.
11:23Once split into planks,
11:25the outer ring of sapwood must be removed.
11:29You see here, this sapwood, up to the bark,
11:32this is going to be infested with insects,
11:33and also maintain the moisture a bit more.
11:36We want to work with this.
11:37This is solid, this is hard, it won't rot.
11:40This has to go.
11:45The planks and the door will be held together
11:47using a mortise and loose tenon joint.
11:50The mortise is the hole and is made using an auger.
11:54So I've got to make sure I'm lined up in the middle of the mortise.
11:59I've got to make sure I don't go forwards, backwards, to the sides.
12:03Mortise and tenon joints date back thousands of years
12:06and were used in the construction of Stonehenge.
12:14It hasn't told me to stop yet,
12:16so I must be doing something right.
12:19A line of holes are drilled on each side of the plank,
12:22and then the centre is chiselled out to complete the mortise.
12:26This tenon should slide reasonably easily in like that.
12:32I'm now going to bring this across.
12:35The loose tenon is threaded through each plank in the door.
12:38So we'll put the other two planks there,
12:40and the next stage will be to peg it.
12:43Making doors required advanced planning.
12:46The planks won't be pegged in place
12:48until the wood is seasoned for a year.
12:51When planks are fixed too early,
12:53they shrink and gaps open up between them in the door.
12:57This may seem like a complicated design and a lot of work,
13:01but it's actually based on medieval examples,
13:03and this door would have lasted hundreds of years.
13:09Blue was very fashionable in medieval France
13:12after being adopted as the heraldic colour of royalty.
13:16As Europe's largest exporter,
13:19French woad was of huge economic importance.
13:23Once dry, the woad is ground into a powder.
13:27To complete its transformation into a dye,
13:30a special ingredient is needed.
13:33And now you have to put urine on.
13:36That'll be this part that's feeling so foul.
13:39Yes.
13:39Yes, of course.
13:40Everything you ever need chemical-wise in the past
13:44is supplied by urine, as far as I can work out.
13:46The ammonia in the urine enables chemical reactions
13:49to complete the production of the dye.
13:53Lime is also added, which helps it form a sediment.
13:57Now we have to ground it again
13:59for to have, at the end, the real blue powder.
14:02It's quite a complicated process.
14:04It is very complicated.
14:05And now we know because it is so expensive.
14:09Because at the end, your powder,
14:11you have just one, two kilos of powders
14:14from a hectare of leaves.
14:18The powder dye is dissolved
14:20in an alkaline solution known as a vat.
14:24There is no oxygen in the vat,
14:26which alters the dye, making it look yellow.
14:29So now, in goes the first skein of silk into the vat.
14:34And I'm trying to introduce it gently
14:36so I put not too much oxygen into the vat.
14:39In it goes.
14:41So how long will we have to wait?
14:43This is the question.
14:44The longer it stays, the deeper will the blue be.
14:49Oh, look at that changing.
14:51Yeah.
14:53So at the moment,
14:54it's sort of looking the same colour as the vat.
14:57And as it comes out...
14:59It will be blue.
15:01It's green.
15:03When the silk is taken out,
15:04the dye molecules react with the oxygen in the air
15:07to slowly produce the final blue colour.
15:10It is beginning to change colour.
15:12Yeah.
15:13It's darkening.
15:14Yeah, it will be blue, I'm sure.
15:20Look how blue that bit there's gone by my finger.
15:23Yeah.
15:26Using the woad, as well as other dyes,
15:29Ruth will produce a huge range of colours.
15:41Medieval builders would have used ideas
15:43from castles and cathedrals across Europe.
15:47Master Mason Florian Ranucci has brought Peter to the town of Veselay,
15:52to the Basilica of St. Mary Magdalene.
15:56The Basilica was an extremely important church in the late 12th century,
16:00the place where Richard the Lionheart set off on the Third Crusade.
16:06Florian has drawn inspiration for the chapel arch
16:08from a particular architectural feature at Veselay.
16:12All this architecture looks from an example
16:16coming from Byzantine or Roman art.
16:20For instance, they do use the two kinds of stone.
16:25You've got a Romanesque arch
16:27with black stone, white stone, black stone, white stone.
16:31This is Romanesque, it's Byzantine,
16:33so it's coming from the sort of, from the east.
16:38The technique of using coloured stone
16:40alternating with white stone
16:42originated in Byzantium.
16:45It spread to both the Islamic world
16:47and to Western Europe,
16:49where it inspired Masons
16:51who were rediscovering ancient techniques.
16:54From the 5th century,
16:57then 11th century,
16:59all the country,
17:01they don't use stone,
17:03so they forget.
17:04Right, so just using wood?
17:06Yes.
17:07So they have to look to the antique tradition,
17:13and so they see Rome,
17:17Greek architecture,
17:19Armenian architecture,
17:20so they think about it,
17:22and they do,
17:23oh, we can do something with stone like this.
17:27Well, why not?
17:28We try to do it.
17:32Byzantine-style black and white arches
17:34like these at Bezalay
17:35can be seen in medieval buildings
17:37throughout Europe.
17:38And now the Masons are ready
17:40to install theirs at Gedelon.
17:43We've got a former, built out of wood,
17:45unique for this doorway,
17:47and we're going to build up,
17:49continuing the black-white, black-white,
17:51the limestone and the piff from the quarry here
17:55to create a beautiful archway.
17:58Both sides of the arch are built in parallel
18:00to make sure the stones are absolutely level
18:02and the keystones will fit.
18:08The stone Clément and Peter, dressed in the lodge,
18:11is at the base of the arch,
18:12so it's vital that it's positioned perfectly.
18:19Now it all makes sense,
18:21this stone that we've seen Clément work on,
18:23we can see the bit that sticks out there
18:25that goes into the curtain wall
18:27that leads towards the great hall,
18:29the curve here that is going to become
18:31the curve of the doorway,
18:33that gothic arch.
18:37The stones have been measured precisely
18:39to allow room for the lime mortar,
18:41but only the parts exposed to the air
18:43will set properly.
18:46Certainly there are Roman buildings
18:48that have been taken apart,
18:52and inside they have found that that mortar,
18:54that lime mortar,
18:56in 2,000 years it has not gone off,
18:58in 2,000 years it has not set,
19:00it is still as wet as this is today.
19:05The last stones to go in are the keystones.
19:08The stones are marked with arrows
19:10to show their orientation,
19:12but it's not always foolproof.
19:22We're just spinning this keystone around.
19:28And there we have it,
19:29our final arch.
19:32Last-minute adjustments are made to the stones
19:34using wooden wedges,
19:35which will hold them in position while they're set.
19:39As much as this is,
19:40as precise as it can be,
19:41and it's almost down to millimetre perfection,
19:44when you're here,
19:45when you're at the coalface,
19:47you've just got to tickle it a little bit
19:49to get it to work.
19:51It's like when you buy your flat-pack furniture,
19:53there's always a few bits left over, isn't there?
19:55What do they do?
19:57Once the stones are in place,
19:58the wooden former can be removed
20:01to reveal the arch.
20:17While the door Tom made is seasoning,
20:20he's come to work on another door
20:21that was prepared a year ago.
20:26It must now be trimmed to size
20:27to fit inside the kitchen doorway.
20:32What I found really interesting, actually,
20:34they've orientated the saw blade
20:36at a right angle to the saw.
20:38So by turning the saw,
20:40you can use this two-handed up-and-down technique
20:42to work across and cut cleanly.
20:45And that's the secret.
20:48Two strap hinges
20:50will form an integral part of the door,
20:52spanning the planks
20:54and helping to reinforce them.
20:56Blacksmith Martin Claudel
20:58is making them from strips of iron.
21:01First, they need to be hammered flat,
21:03a task requiring a real team effort.
21:07Hammer, hammer, hammer, get it in.
21:09Bellows, bellows, bellows.
21:11Right temperature, out again.
21:12Hammer, hammer, hammer.
21:13Hammer, you really do need a team of people
21:15working with you, don't you?
21:16But it's so funny to work together.
21:19So you've got to be friends, otherwise...
21:22No, it's not working.
21:25But working together isn't always easy.
21:35And we need to strike
21:40less stronger, but more precise.
21:47The end of the strap needs to be trimmed
21:50and curved round
21:51to form the part of the hinge
21:52that will hang on the wall.
22:05And this curve must be firmly secured in place.
22:09So now we are ready for the forge weld.
22:14Forge welding involves joining
22:16two pieces of metal together
22:18using intense heat
22:19where the iron is nearly molten.
22:22Martin is using sand as a flux
22:24which keeps the surfaces clean,
22:27helping the metal to bond.
22:29We're almost at that crucial temperature now
22:31between 1,300 and 1,400 degrees.
22:34The heat coming off here
22:36is much more intense than it has been.
22:37This is when Martin's going to hammer
22:39those two bits of metal together
22:40to seal off that hinge.
22:42He's going to have to work really quickly.
23:06At the opposite end of the scale of metal work
23:09was the production of gold thread,
23:11a highly skilled craft,
23:14dominated mostly by women.
23:17Ruth and her daughter Eve,
23:18who works with historic textiles,
23:20are attempting to make some using gold foil.
23:24So there it is.
23:25It's not as thin as the usual gold leaf.
23:28Gold foil would have been made
23:30by hammering gold coins between leather
23:32until around half a millimetre thick.
23:35So we're going to want little ribbons cut
23:38that are sort of, you know,
23:41no more than a millimetre.
23:45It just seems to be getting the right amount of pressure,
23:49doesn't it?
23:51Well, it's kind of straight.
23:55Do you want to have a go at it,
23:56seeing if you can wrap it?
23:57Ruth and Eve are experimenting with their technique.
24:01They're holding the silk core in place
24:03between two pins
24:04while they attempt to wind the ribbons around the core.
24:12This is sort of madness, isn't it?
24:18People talk about lost crafts all the time.
24:21This is something that you could say really,
24:23really is lost.
24:27This doesn't appear to be working terribly well.
24:29Maybe we could turn it by rolling it
24:32with our fingers.
24:34Oh!
24:35Oh, I think I've got it.
24:40It did it!
24:41It's working!
24:41It did it!
24:42Look at that!
24:44Look!
24:45It looks like gold thread.
24:47Yeah.
24:47It's got that sort of stiff, bouncy flexibility
24:51that's completely different from the silk.
24:55Gold thread was typically found in a special type of embroidery
24:58known as opus anglicanum,
25:01made almost exclusively in London.
25:04Renowned for its complicated stitching,
25:07it appeared on the finest fabrics,
25:09from the vestments of bishops and popes
25:12to elaborate wall hangings in great castles.
25:17Ruth is attempting to make a small piece to mount on a cushion.
25:22Eve is making silk braid on a box loom
25:24to use as a trim.
25:27So, this is something that is supposed to have
25:31a seven-year apprenticeship.
25:33Right.
25:34And you're doing it with how many years' apprenticeship?
25:36About five minutes.
25:38Brilliant.
25:38Yeah.
25:39So, I don't know quite how it's going to go.
25:42Using the silk she dyed,
25:45Ruth starts with split stitching,
25:47a technique where each stitch is punctured by the next.
25:51It means that you get a very dense line,
25:53but it also means that you can be very accurate
25:56in where the line twists and turns to.
26:00The second technique,
26:01an underside couched stitch,
26:03was used to attach the gold thread.
26:06So, I'm going to have a go at some of this gold.
26:09So, if I lay a little piece of our gold thread across there.
26:13Now, the sewing is done with this thread,
26:17this fine linen thread.
26:20So, what has to happen is it comes up and round it.
26:27Now, the point is that I have to get this thread
26:30back through exactly the same hole that it came up in.
26:34But that's not where you stop.
26:35Then you grab hold of the linen thread from behind
26:40and you have to pull.
26:42And what I'm trying to do is to pull it so hard
26:44that it pops a bit of the gold thread through the fabric.
26:48I'm hauling the thread through.
26:52During its heyday in the mid-13th century,
26:55Opus Anglicanum was traded for huge sums,
26:58only affordable to nobles, kings and the richest clergy.
27:04I don't know, nowadays people think of this as, you know,
27:06sort of a lady's occupation, as a bit of frippery on the side,
27:09but there was a real industry in the 13th century run by women.
27:13Indeed, the best English embroidery seems to have been done
27:17in professional, secular workshops in London.
27:21Yeah.
27:22You can have your own shop, you can be in charge of yourself
27:25and of apprentices and staff.
27:28And it's the only profession that you can really do that
27:31and get the full recognition as being a master of your trade.
27:38At the chapel tower,
27:40the next phase of the entrance hall has begun.
27:44With the addition of the doorways,
27:46this chapel is really taking shape.
27:49I mean, this is the internal doorway.
27:51Pintel's here.
27:52Only the Lord is going to come into this space.
27:54You then have this kind of lobby area
27:56with the external, ornate doorway,
27:59this black and white,
28:00this Byzantine-influenced structure.
28:04Up the spiral staircase.
28:08And then you've got the arch there.
28:10And this external door to the chapel
28:12needs to be connected to that,
28:14to the internal doorway of the chapel,
28:15by barrel vaulting to enclose all this space.
28:19The barrel vault will form a curved ceiling,
28:22linking the two chapel entrances
28:23and creating a corridor.
28:27It will be built on top of a wooden former.
28:31Arches mark out the shape of the vault,
28:33and the lathes provide a surface
28:35on which to place the stones.
28:38Leia-Mason Constantin-Lamel is in charge.
28:40And like that, if you want to have the demonstration,
28:45just cover that, and you have the name.
28:49Right, yeah.
28:50Like that, you can see,
28:51it just looked like a bubble.
28:54Yeah.
28:55You have the name.
28:56There wasn't very creative for the name.
28:59The lathes are laid loosely in place
29:01and not nailed,
29:02so they can be easily removed
29:04once the vault is built.
29:07To fit tightly in place,
29:09the stones need to have regular edges,
29:12so the first job is to straighten them off.
29:16Yeah.
29:17So, just that little lump there needs to come off.
29:24Oh!
29:26Now, that's the problem.
29:27I have actually hit that one too many times.
29:31You can just see there's a crack forming there.
29:33My lovely square edge is compromised.
29:37You can see it's all the way there.
29:39I'll probably break that off with my hands,
29:43which I can.
29:48The stones are tested on the former
29:50to ensure that there are no gaps,
29:53which might cause weakness.
29:57The thing I realise
29:58is this castle gets built twice.
30:01Firstly, every stone is put in place
30:03to see if it fits there.
30:05Then it's taken out,
30:07mortar's added,
30:08and it goes back in.
30:10By the end of it,
30:12enough energy will have expended
30:13to have built two castles.
30:15Once their positions are finalised,
30:17they're mortared into place.
30:23But the weather isn't on their side.
30:26The rain will wash away the mortar,
30:28so there's a drive to get it finished
30:30and covered up.
30:33It's like a row of rotten teeth.
30:34It's like a porcupine that's been run over.
30:37It's not nice.
30:38But when we remove those formers,
30:41it should be beautiful stone.
30:44Finally, the last stone is in place.
30:48You can check that it's already good.
30:52Yeah.
30:52If it wasn't,
30:56the former couldn't resist.
30:59That is trust.
31:07With the advent of Gothic architecture,
31:10increasingly ambitious structures
31:12could be built in castles.
31:16On the tracing floor,
31:18Clément is planning what will be
31:19one of the most complicated projects
31:21at Guedalon so far.
31:24This all looks so much more intricate
31:27than the other things I've seen,
31:29so much more delicate.
31:29What are you drawing up?
31:32It's a grand,
31:33a grand fenêtre.
31:35A big window.
31:37for the chapel?
31:38Oh, well,
31:38that would have to be grand,
31:39wouldn't it?
31:39Yes.
31:41The chapel window
31:42is a Gothic arch
31:43made up of 34
31:44individually carved pieces
31:46and incorporating
31:47two smaller arches,
31:49a popular design of the time.
31:51That's a very,
31:52very Gothic shape,
31:54isn't it?
31:55It's a,
31:55one of sort of,
31:57whenever you're thinking
31:57of Gothic arches,
31:59that's pretty much
32:00what you have in mind.
32:01It's a good period
32:02for the stone mason.
32:03Yes.
32:0413th century,
32:04it's perfect.
32:05Church,
32:06cathedral.
32:07Of course,
32:08Gothic architecture
32:09had been around
32:09for quite a while
32:10by 1250,
32:11but it had been developed
32:13and was concentrated
32:14in ecclesiastical buildings,
32:15churches,
32:16cathedrals,
32:17monasteries.
32:18For a castle,
32:19this is quite fashionable
32:21and new
32:22to have
32:23a gothically pointed window.
32:28You do really have to think
32:29in sort of three dimensions,
32:31don't you?
32:32I mean,
32:32how it's going to look
32:33from every angle,
32:33the front,
32:34the back,
32:34the sides,
32:35the...
32:35I dreamed
32:36a part of a window.
32:39Do you really?
32:40Yes.
32:42I work all the day
32:44on the castle.
32:46I dream about it
32:47at night.
32:49Yeah.
32:51Now,
32:52these windows,
32:53you have just
32:54two stones ready.
32:56These stones
32:57and these stones,
32:59it's here.
33:00It is two here.
33:01just the two
33:02out of all of it.
33:03It's a good way.
33:05A good start.
33:09The mortar
33:10is still setting
33:11on the chapel tower vault,
33:13so Peter has come
33:14to help Tom
33:14install the kitchen door.
33:17That car
33:18looks a bit too small
33:18for this door.
33:19blacksmith.
33:25Blacksmith,
33:26Vincent Grenant
33:27and carpenter,
33:28Stéphane Boudy
33:29are both needed
33:30for what is a tricky job.
33:33I do love the fact
33:34this is a moment
33:34at Gédlon
33:35where the crafts come together.
33:36You've got the blacksmith
33:37and you've got the carpenter
33:38and you've got the jokers.
33:41The door needs
33:42to be edged
33:43carefully into place
33:44and held in position
33:45before the hinges
33:46can be nailed down.
33:48I think this entire castle
33:49has been built
33:50in small wooden wedges.
33:54One of the main problems
33:55we've got is
33:55this is 100 kilos
33:56worth of door at least.
33:58They've got to get it right
34:00and right now
34:01they're not sure
34:01whether to try
34:02and shave off
34:03some of that render
34:04or actually cut
34:04some of that wood
34:05to fit it in.
34:10These strap hinges
34:11are starting to fit
34:12into these chiseled grooves.
34:13The hinges must be
34:15attached precisely.
34:16A few centimetres
34:17out of place
34:18and the door won't open.
34:29Wow.
34:31We have a door.
34:33Looks like an eye made
34:34done from this side.
34:35The nails need to be
34:36bent over
34:37to anchor them in place.
34:39So hold the stage hammer
34:40against it
34:41ahead of the nail
34:42door in tight
34:43against the wall
34:44and then you're
34:45bending that over
34:46to create a staple.
34:47Damn.
34:47Oh, blimey.
34:49There's a lot more
34:50movement in this
34:50than you think.
34:54Oh, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
34:56You were on the wrong nail.
34:58I'm holding this one.
35:07This process of hammering
35:09the nail over
35:09and tucking it in,
35:11it's really acted as a staple.
35:12Pull these together.
35:13I didn't realise
35:14you'd have a little claw
35:16digging back into the wood.
35:18This isn't getting shifted
35:19for anything.
35:22With valuable produce
35:23stored in the kitchen,
35:25heavy doors would have
35:26helped keep the area secure.
35:29Perhaps the most expensive
35:30commodities in a castle
35:31kitchen were the spices
35:33imported from the east.
35:36The returning crusaders
35:38of the 13th century
35:39had acquired a taste
35:40for spice
35:40and it became popular
35:42with wealthy lords.
35:44Ruth is making gingerbread.
35:47Because of its long
35:48journey to Europe,
35:49ginger was only available
35:51in dried form
35:52and must be ground
35:53into a powder.
35:55This is the first
35:57and the most important spice
35:58that I'm going to be using
36:00in making some gingerbread.
36:02Every single grain of spice
36:04that was used
36:05had to come the overland route,
36:08the old silk route.
36:09You mustn't think
36:10of a Chinese merchant
36:11making his way
36:12all the way
36:13to medieval France.
36:14Instead,
36:15you must think
36:16of that Chinese merchant
36:17selling his wares
36:18to another merchant
36:20who takes them
36:20to the next market
36:21and sells them
36:22to another merchant.
36:23By the time it gets here,
36:25it may well have passed
36:25through 30, 40 different hands
36:28with a small profit
36:29accrued
36:30at every stage
36:32of the journey.
36:33Spices were desired
36:34as much for their
36:35culinary properties
36:36as they were
36:37as a status symbol.
36:39Gingerbread also included
36:41nutmeg,
36:42red peppercorns,
36:43cloves,
36:43and cinnamon.
36:47The extreme expense
36:49of something like this,
36:50and I do mean
36:51extreme expense,
36:53meant that the only people
36:55who could afford it
36:55were the nobility
36:56and royalty.
36:58You were, after all,
36:59eating something
37:00that was worth
37:01more than pure gold
37:02by quite a long way.
37:06The ground spices
37:07are made into a paste
37:08with honey.
37:10Next, bread is combined
37:12with some red wine.
37:16This is best done
37:17with a hand.
37:19The spice and honey paste
37:20is added.
37:24And the mixture
37:25is set on a board.
37:27I'm just going to take
37:28the pulp
37:29and spread it out thin.
37:35Doesn't look very appetising
37:36at this stage, does it?
37:38So I'm going to tide it up
37:40because once it is dry,
37:42I want to cut it
37:43into perfect little lozenges.
37:46It gets dished out
37:47rather parsimoniously.
37:50A little lozenge,
37:51now and again,
37:52only for your very best guests.
38:00The barrel vault
38:01has been setting overnight,
38:03and now the formers
38:04need to be removed.
38:06If the masons
38:07have got it wrong,
38:08the whole vault
38:09could collapse.
38:11There's no reason
38:12why this should fall in,
38:14but you never know.
38:16It is the ultimate appraisal
38:18of their work.
38:19And that's the reason
38:20why I've got a hard hat on,
38:22because this is medieval technology,
38:23but we are in the modern world.
38:27The first stage
38:28is to lower the scaffolding uprights
38:30that are supporting the formers.
38:32This will drop all the scaffolding down,
38:34and then we can start
38:35taking the forms out.
38:38As they hit that wood,
38:39as they hit those wedges,
38:40I can feel the vibrations
38:42in this arch.
38:49But don't show it,
38:52it's good.
38:53Potentially it's good.
38:54Now I'm very glad.
38:55Because I don't tell you,
38:58but...
38:58Here we go.
39:00The vault can push.
39:02Yeah.
39:04And now,
39:05I think, yes,
39:06but nothing has been pushed.
39:10So,
39:11good.
39:12We are going to see now.
39:17I'm actually standing
39:18in this dangerous position,
39:19it seems.
39:20With the scaffolding lowered,
39:22the wooden lathes can come out,
39:24followed by the formers.
39:33As the formers and lathes come out,
39:37the fresh mortar is dropping down
39:39from the barrel vault.
39:41But it emphasises the fact
39:43that the mortar
39:44isn't integral to the structure.
39:46It's the stones themselves
39:48that create the arch
39:49that creates the strength
39:50in the vault.
39:58You're now indoors, Florian.
40:00You've got a roof
40:01over your head.
40:02Hmm.
40:03You're happy, are you?
40:04Yes.
40:06That's a wonderful word.
40:08Now all that's left to do
40:09is a bit of clearing up.
40:13Ah!
40:15It's still raining mortar here.
40:19It's up.
40:20It is up.
40:22What do you think?
40:23I can see a hole.
40:25Always a critic.
40:28You made a nice, like,
40:29Battenberg cake out of steak.
40:32Always thinking of your tummy.
40:34Don't listen to him.
40:35I think it's lovely.
40:42It's late summer
40:43and life at the castle
40:45is in full flow.
40:49Livestock would have been
40:50kept in the grounds,
40:50from poultry to sheep
40:52and at Gedilon
40:54they're enjoying the sunshine.
40:57These are our castle sheep.
40:59They're from the Isle of Wesson
41:00off the coast of Brittany.
41:02They're essentially
41:02the closest thing
41:03you're going to find
41:04to medieval sheep.
41:05They're much smaller
41:06than modern breeds
41:07and when they were around the castle
41:09and when they were around the castle
41:09in the medieval time
41:10they would have been
41:10essentially wild.
41:14Ruth has finished
41:15her embroidery cushion.
41:18Well, it's good for me.
41:21I can see why I'd need
41:23another six years,
41:24eleven months
41:24and three weeks
41:25apprenticeship mind
41:26to be any good really.
41:29First attempt.
41:35And Peter is dealing
41:36with the effects
41:37of working
41:37on a medieval
41:38building site.
41:40The problem
41:41with lime mortar
41:42is it just
41:42the lime is so caustic,
41:44it's so corrosive
41:45and it just dries
41:46out the skin.
41:47So I've taken
41:49to just applying
41:50a bit of pig fat
41:52which for me
41:54just keeps my hands
41:56soft and supple.
41:58One of the major problems,
42:01it does smell
42:02and there's more dogs
42:04than people on this site
42:06and I'm currently
42:07the dog's best friend.
42:16Castle building
42:16was seasonal work
42:18lasting from the spring
42:19to the autumn.
42:20At the end of a season
42:22unfinished walls
42:22would be sealed
42:23with a layer of mortar
42:24to protect them
42:25from rain and frost.
42:28But for the decorative
42:29chapel window
42:30this won't be possible
42:32so the team
42:33are working hard
42:33to finish the project
42:34before the winter
42:35weather arrives.
42:38Well, it's more
42:39than two stones now.
42:40We've got one,
42:41two, three, four, five,
42:41six plus those two
42:43that were here before.
42:45But we've got
42:4634 in total to do
42:48so the Mason's Lodge
42:49you can hear it
42:49is ringing
42:50with people working
42:51and when you look
42:52at them
42:52I mean the intricacy
42:53the complicated nature
42:55of this stone carving
42:56it's no wonder
42:57it's taking so long.
42:59In fact,
43:00so much work
43:01is there to do
43:02they've opened
43:02a second lodge
43:03over the far side
43:04of the castle
43:05and anyone
43:06who can work stone
43:07at all
43:07is being dragooned
43:09into making the window.
43:11Intricate stonework
43:12was in high demand
43:13and Masons
43:15were employed
43:15based on their work
43:16in other buildings.
43:19Window design
43:20was particularly important
43:21and something
43:22the lord of a castle
43:23would have direct influence over.
43:29Ruth has come
43:30for a lesson
43:30in fine masonry
43:32with Mathieu Carnivillier.
43:33How long
43:35has this stone taken?
43:37Um, three, four, four, four days.
43:39Four days?
43:40Yeah, and she's not finished.
43:42A stonemason's apprenticeship
43:43lasted seven years
43:45so for Ruth
43:46so for Ruth
43:47this is a very valuable stone
43:48to start on.
43:54So what's the technique?
43:55It's not difficult.
43:58Hard work though.
44:03Just lift
44:04from an angle.
44:05Like this.
44:06Ah, ah, I see.
44:10And I'm just sort of
44:12wearing down the surface.
44:17Too hard, too soft?
44:19Yeah, it's perfect.
44:20It's okay.
44:20It's a really strange mix
44:22between something
44:23that's very delicate
44:24and on the other hand
44:25really heavy.
44:28The most detailed stones
44:29are dressed by
44:30the experienced Masons
44:31but simpler stones
44:33are supplied
44:33by the second lodge.
44:37So this is just
44:39getting the stone ready
44:40for the skilled work
44:42over there.
44:43You are not normally
44:45a mason, are you?
44:46No.
44:47No.
44:48You're usually
44:49one of the guides
44:50but absolutely
44:51everybody is being
44:52pressed into service
44:54to do a little bit extra.
44:56This looks pretty good to me.
44:57Can I have a go?
44:58Okay, you can.
45:01Like music.
45:06So always at an angle
45:07so that I'm not going
45:08into the stone
45:08I'm going across the stone.
45:11This is
45:12an awful lot more
45:15crude
45:15than I was doing
45:16in the other lodge.
45:17It's actually
45:18a heck of a lot easier.
45:19You might think
45:20trying to chip big bits off
45:21is harder than
45:22chipping teeny weeny
45:23weeny weeny bits off
45:23but it's not.
45:25These are so much
45:25lighter for a start.
45:32The stones
45:32for the windowsill
45:33are ready to be
45:34put in place.
45:44I think out of everything
45:46that we've done
45:47here at Gedlon
45:48I find this
45:48the most stressful
45:49because the amount
45:50of work that's gone
45:51into this
45:52and you get it wrong
45:53and you crack that stone
45:55that's it
45:56you know
45:56well not that's it
45:58but
45:58that'll be forever
45:59in the record
46:00of Gedlon
46:01your mistake.
46:03The carving
46:04on the limestone blocks
46:05is incredibly delicate.
46:08Flat braided ropes
46:10known as torche
46:11are used to protect
46:12the stones
46:13during transit
46:14and even the wooden roll
46:16is especially shaped
46:17and smoothed
46:18so they don't cause damage.
46:21I mean I've been into
46:22probably hundreds of churches
46:23I've looked at
46:24possibly thousands
46:25of windows
46:26so I have never appreciated
46:28just how much work
46:29goes into making them.
46:31That's a real mixture
46:33of pre-planning
46:35execution
46:35but they're just
46:36making adjustments
46:36as they go
46:37and they're talking
46:38all the time
46:38communicating
46:39it's a real team effort
46:40we've learned a lot
46:41from this.
46:50Before their time
46:51at the castle
46:51comes to an end
46:53Ruth has gone
46:54to experience something
46:55which would have been
46:56commonplace
46:56yet extraordinary
46:57in the 13th century
47:00going on pilgrimage
47:03for many people
47:04who lived in the same community
47:05their whole lives
47:06this was a chance
47:07to see the world
47:08and temporarily escape
47:10the monotony of daily life.
47:15Pilgrimage is a really big thing
47:17at this point in history
47:18isn't it?
47:19everyone is going
47:19on pilgrimage
47:20who can
47:21hundreds and hundreds
47:22of people
47:23are surging
47:24up these paths
47:26meeting together
47:27exchanging ideas
47:29feeling part
47:30of a bigger world
47:32Ruth is on her way
47:33to the town of Veselay
47:34to visit the Basilica
47:36of St. Mary Magdalene
47:38one of the most important
47:39pilgrimage churches
47:40of the 13th century
47:43Chris Kelly
47:44who runs the visitor centre
47:45will be her guide
47:48it sort of looks
47:49like a castle
47:50doesn't it
47:50or a fortified city
47:52I suppose
47:52absolutely
47:53it is a fortified city
47:54you can see the width
47:55of this gate
47:56which is more than
47:57four metres
47:58which is enormous
47:59so in fact
48:00you can understand
48:01it's not for defensive purposes
48:03it's for processions
48:04in fact
48:05it's the pilgrim entrance
48:07so wide
48:08because there were
48:09so many people
48:09and this goes direct
48:11up to the Basilica
48:14from the early 11th century
48:16the relics of Mary Magdalene
48:18were displayed at Veselay
48:20news of miracles spread
48:22and the church soon
48:24became a centre
48:25for pilgrims
48:26one of the four
48:27starting points
48:28on the road
48:29to Santiago de Compostela
48:31Veselay was a religious
48:32destination
48:33of huge importance
48:37today the pilgrimage
48:38of Les Pères de Famille
48:40is taking place
48:42this ritual
48:43of walking across
48:44the landscape
48:44to come for spiritual reflection
48:46is the same now
48:47as it would have been
48:48in the Middle Ages
48:50so when the pilgrim
48:52arrived here
48:52he would
48:53when he walked in
48:55through those doors
48:56naturally
48:57his eyes
48:57are drawn up
48:58to this
49:00semi-circle
49:01of sculpted stone
49:02and the first person
49:03he's going to see
49:04is Christ there
49:05so we've got Christ
49:06in the centre
49:07yes
49:07and he seems to have
49:08ridiculously big hands
49:09as far as I can see
49:10yeah
49:11so the hand represents
49:13welcome
49:14he's welcoming everybody
49:15who comes into this place
49:17on the far right
49:18there are two
49:19people with very big ears
49:22yes
49:23some people say
49:24they look like wings
49:25in fact
49:26they're seen as a reference
49:28to
49:29St. Benedict's rule
49:32open the ears of your heart
49:34and listen to the master
49:36inside
49:37that is to say
49:38be who you are
49:40to the fullness
49:41of who you are
49:42I think most of us
49:43when we think about
49:44medieval people
49:45and their experience
49:46of religion
49:47we tend to think
49:48that people were
49:49largely ignorant
49:49but this
49:50this is a very
49:51sophisticated
49:52way of thinking
49:53of course
49:54the monks
49:55their roles
49:55is to explain
49:56to each person
49:57when they arrive
49:58you could think of it
49:59like a visit
50:00to the Mona Lisa
50:01in the Louvre
50:01and experts have to tell you
50:03what to think
50:03almost about it
50:05yes
50:05it's got an element
50:06of that tourism
50:08and
50:08yes you might call it
50:10spiritual tourism
50:12a once humble church
50:13the basilica was expanded
50:15to make room
50:16for all the pilgrims
50:17kings
50:19nobles
50:20and abbots
50:20came along
50:21with thousands
50:22of ordinary folk
50:22to venerate the relics
50:24and confess their sins
50:27pilgrimage can be understood
50:28as a physical journey
50:30that helps you
50:31to have
50:32a spiritual journey
50:33by leaving behind
50:35everyday life
50:36you are
50:36putting yourself
50:38into the right frame
50:39of mind
50:40to help yourself
50:41grow
50:41inside
50:57it's been an endeavor
50:58of epic proportions
51:00but the intricate carved stones
51:02for the chapel window
51:03are now ready to be installed
51:06over 2,700 hours work
51:09have gone into shaping
51:10and refining
51:11the delicate pieces
51:13crafted out of 15 tons of stone
51:17how long do these take to make them
51:1915 days
51:20are you pleased with the results
51:22yes perfect
51:23time it's not important
51:25as long as you get it right
51:26with stonework this delicate
51:28it's important to get it securely installed quickly
51:31so the surrounding walls
51:33can be built up to protect it
51:36this is a massive push
51:38to get this finished
51:39because the chapel's
51:40got to be covered up
51:41before those
51:42that bad weather sets in
51:43otherwise all that work
51:45can be
51:45can be undone
51:47and this really is
51:48medieval crunch time
51:51one of the most critical pieces
51:53is the mullion
51:54the central pillar
51:55which will support both
51:57of the internal arches
51:58in the window
52:01but there's a problem
52:03it's too tall
52:06this must be corrected
52:07before the stone can go in
52:08or the rest of the window
52:10won't fit together properly
52:12that mullion for the window
52:14is a centimetre too long
52:16so Clément is going to have to shave
52:19a perfect centimetre
52:20off the bottom of that mullion
52:22prior to it going in
52:23prior to them finishing the window
52:26I mean there's already a time pressure
52:27and things like this
52:28it's just going to
52:29you can't plan for that at all
52:30can you
52:31this is good long isn't it
52:32this is the whole purpose
52:34learning as you do
52:39Clément's last minute adjustment
52:40will be put to the test
52:42as the rest of the stones
52:43can now be painstakingly eased
52:45into position
53:08are they happy?
53:09it's hard to tell
53:13and the formers are removed
53:16everyone who worked on the window
53:17has come to see it
53:18finally revealed
53:35well I have to look everywhere
53:38because it's beautiful everywhere
53:39all the gothic forms
53:41are made by the light
53:44so here it's white
53:47and here it's dark
53:50it's like a painting
53:52now the key question
53:54are you happy?
53:57I think yes
54:00he's not sure
54:01but he thinks
54:01yes I am
54:06with the window finished
54:07the team's time
54:09at Guédelon
54:10is coming to an end
54:12the seasonal nature
54:13of castle building
54:14meant many of the workers
54:16were itinerant
54:17moving from place to place
54:19and seeking other employment
54:20in the winter months
54:24all that's left to do
54:25is to tidy the site
54:26and clear the hovel
54:28but with 13th century
54:29accommodation
54:30so sparsely furnished
54:31there's not much
54:32to pack up
54:33Ruth just needs
54:35to clean the floor
54:37these rushes have been down
54:38for a couple of months now
54:39they are beginning
54:40to get quite trodden down
54:42and quite broken up
54:44underneath the surface
54:45which still looks
54:46reasonably clean
54:47I really was expecting
54:48to see insects moving around
54:50I was expecting
54:51to see mouse droppings
54:53and it's just not here
54:55so this is obviously
54:56the moment
54:56to clear it all out
54:58so this is
55:31Probably the most important thing I think I've learned on site is how to put technique
55:36before anything else.
55:38You don't go in with pure strength or force, but you learn the techniques that allow you
55:42to work for long periods of time and work accurately.
55:45If you get your technique right, then everything else will follow.
55:52I really liked seeing the way the geometry has come into play.
55:57We all studied this at schools.
56:00It seems so distant and pointless, and yet, here, we can see exactly what it's all for.
56:07And now, when I look at all of the built world, I can see the geometry.
56:11I can see why those lessons actually were really important.
56:19Gedlong is the largest experimental archaeology project in the world.
56:23But the castle itself is merely a by-product.
56:26The experiment is creating the chantier medieval, the medieval building site.
56:31Having seen just how much work goes into laying, say, a single stone.
56:36Whenever I see a ruined castle, I won't be looking at the building itself.
56:41I'll be looking at the hundreds of craftspeople that were involved in that project.
56:47The thousands of hours of labour that went to make it.
56:52And the community that surrounded it.
57:01How do you build a castle?
57:03Well, I know now.
57:20Hi, Ruth.
57:21Aha, look.
57:22What have we got there?
57:23Ooh.
57:23We have some wine and some gingerbread.
57:26Bit of a treat.
57:27Doesn't that look amazing?
57:29It does, doesn't it?
57:30It's incredible.
57:31I mean, this morning, it was just pieces of stone in the Mason's Lodge, and it just looked like a
57:36ruin.
57:36And they brought them up here, put them together, and it just is beautiful.
57:41I really have got a new respect for the builders of the past.
57:44It's changed my view entirely.
57:47Such a fitting place to end our journey, because we started down there on the chapel floor.
57:53We've marked out the centre, and in a season, we've come up, we're 12, 15 feet higher up, at least.
58:00With our food of kings.
58:02Food of kings.
58:02I'm going to try this.
58:03Drink of men.
58:05Oh, that's full of flavour.
58:08Well, I think, don't you?
58:10To the window and to Gedelon.
58:12To the window and Gedelon.
58:14Window and Gedelon.
58:21Well, we do get along, you know.
58:23Most of the time.
58:24But we do get along, you know.
58:34But we do get along, you know.
58:39Most of the time.
58:41What is the point?
58:56In theisation of olvides earth?
58:57The first time.
58:57Time.
58:57The fifth day.
58:57The first time.
58:57The second time.
58:57The sixth day.トcro
58:57His government disroom Communism. The second
58:57time. The fourth
58:58day. The seventh
58:58And will
58:58day. The fourth
58:58day. The fifth
59:01day. The third