Building a medieval castle from scratch

In the forests of Burgundy in central France, there's a bold effort underway to build a medieval castle, as they would have in an era before electricity, using ancient tools and laying stones by hand. Correspondent Seth Doane visits Guédelon, a project that has expanded into a modern medieval village, and meets a new generation of specialist artisans embracing the ways of another time.
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[@Siansonea]

I always love seeing how Guédelon is getting along.

[@piccalillipit9211]

YEP - I have been following it for years.

[@MrDukeSilverr]

every couple of years someone makes a video about them, which is the only way im keeping up

[@nakenmil]

@@MrDukeSilverr haha, same for me. Always fun to check in. ^^

[@Gravelgratious]

One day you will see it completed, and then wonder wher the next one will be built?🤔

[@jared9643]

Yeah, every year or two a video comes out with the progress. Exactly what I was thinking as it was loading.

[@quuaaarrrk8056]

_"Why do you build a medieval castle"_ *"Because building a cathedral would have been more complicated"* I absolutely love this (slightly paraphrased).

[@matthewtaylor3347]

True appreciation of how hard it was to make these marvels of construction without modern technology.

[@cartoonraccoon2078]

Indeed! Also proof that every time we see stacked stones, "it 'must have been aliens' because people couldn't have..." is just silly. People can do work!

[@user-lvqk2wdp8sjn]

@@cartoonraccoon2078 And with all the modern tech and computers, people these days can only build gaudy McMansions and cookie-cutter skyscrapers.

[@intractablemaskvpmGy]

@@cartoonraccoon2078 This project is taking decades as the staff is small. In the actual period probably hundreds of laborers and these castles only took years to build. They sprouted up like mushrooms under Norman rule. Humans are very capable we don't need any stupid alien to help us lol

[@Dreagostini]

@@intractablemaskvpmGy Normal Castles are more like a Mott and Bailey. The castle in the clip is way more advanced than that.

[@FlyingFox86]

@@intractablemaskvpmGy It's not only because of the small staff, but also because they do tours of the castle in construction. They are both learning and teaching from the process of building it, so they don't want it to be finished quickly.

[@flashflame4952]

Craftsmanship!!! That's why I admire older buildings in NYC and hate when they randomly knock them down to build an ugly building that looks like an ice cube tray. No character whatsoever! The building of this castle is fantastic with people using real talent!!!

[@yvonneplant9434]

However there is some interest in re-learning stone work/craft. To help end all of use of glass.

[@arvedludwig3584]

Some years before the pandemic I read an article in which some architects were advocating for a return to older construction styles to make cities and twon more liveable again and less sterile.

[@DecibelAlex]

I'm sure they're not being demolished randomly in favor of an ice cube tray, but they've found some structural weakness and deemed the building unsafe. There was a building that collapsed recently because someone decided to knock out their fireplace when they were renovating their apartment

[@felipeortiz6386]

👏

[@Aurora57511]

Have you seen that the bricks are in 3-4 rows or more? I always wanted to know how all that detail work with the bricks on one row.

[@carolynkline8878]

There's a documentary series on this castle done in 2014 with Historian Ruth Goodman. I remember seeing it and was fascinated. Have been keeping tabs on the castle ever since. Would love to visit it some day. The show was called Secrets of the Castle. Highly recommended.

[@kristend344]

Peter Ginn was also in it - he's an archeologist. Very good series.

[@benanders4412]

They made some good progress in the last 10 years.

[@debbralehrman5957]

The BBC did a great Series about making a Castle. This one and they show a lot of the steps. Even how the workers lived. Thanks for showing it. It has been a few years since I last saw it. 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

[@donnajenkins4721]

I watched that too, 3 historians who go back in time and live in the time period. They did other series as well, living on a Tudor period farm, an Edwardian farm, etc. Very interesting and entertaining.

[@seitavw]

Another poster mentioned Secrets of the Castle. Maybe thats the one? Its on youtube!

[@donnajenkins4721]

@@seitavw yes that is the one.

[@panderson9561]

I remember seeing that years ago...and I mean YEARS ago. Can't believe they're still at it. Tells you how long it took to build a castle.

[@videoinformer]

Fantastic synergy between construction, scholarly research, historical and practical education of scholars, trade workers, and the general public, and tourism that funds the project! The greatest value in the project, by all measures of value, is in its ongoing work rather than in it being so complete as for work to end.

[@whitefam2000]

been following this for the better part of over 10 yrs now. My wife found it, and at that time they were saying it would take minimum of 25 yrs to build. Here we are 2+ yrs past that minimum, what a wonderful project.

[@ignatiuskhan]

Correct me if I'm wrong but everything has been built using techniques and materials of the time. Only 3 contemporary items can be found on the site,: ropes, goggles and working shoes, all this for insurance reasons. Everything else, from the iron for the tools, to the last roof tile was produced on the premises, with the materials found on the premises.

[@dandomine]

Ropes were definitely available in medieval times, as for the other two one can forgive them for keeping themselves safe.

[@ignatiuskhan]

@@dandomine Ha ha! I know they had ropes in the middle age. They make ropes on the site but they are not used to haul heavy loads. What I meant is that workers on the site must use plastic/nylon/or whatever ropes for insurance purposes.

[@dandomine]

@@ignatiuskhan Sorry, misunderstood that!

[@patrickd9551]

As a modern (as far as I can claim that) blacksmith, I can tell you that the steel they use is very much modern and not locally sourced. You can see the homogeneous steel as it's being heated to red hot. Old fashioned iron has a different look to it. Next they would use a medium/high carbon insert in their tools for the working end, you would see a line between the two different materials. Creating iron bloom and subsequently steel from raw materials is a highly laborious process, that will yield a low(er) quality material compared to modern materials. The blacksmithing processes however are very much of the age. You don't have to be 100% authentic, it's close enough.

[@louisegogel7973]

Interesting comments! ty everyone!

[@CheifR0cka]

I'm jealous of these people. To have a passion like they must in the first place, and then getting to live their dream life like the stone mason said. I can't even imagine how peaceful that feels.

[@steveconn]

That's amazing using original pigments to do their wall designs. Like a French colonial Williamsburg.

[@G31M1]

I remember reading about this in a book about castles as a child. Now I'm 26 years old and it warms my heart that these people are still continuing the project!

[@scottymcm]

I think it's also important to note that going back and exploring long abandoned/forgotten methods can help reveal things we may have missed when upgrading to the next best thing. We may had improved but what did we give up for that and can we utilize what was given up today now that technology has gone even further! I absolutely love seeing how the castle has progressed over the years.

[@robynmasters335]

My grandfather was a carpenter. I do lots of types of art and crafts. As a creative type, I can say that I appreciate and love doing things old school, far more than to use modern technology.

[@brett76544]

I was hired to replicate an end table for this one couple, they took photos, measurements, and the initials and symbol of the maker. It was the guy that trained my grandfather, so I sent them an image of the design for the table about 10 minutes later and my mark. same symbol as the guy that made it, but with my initials. those guys were in California, and I was in PA. I ended up making a buffet for their dining room in the same design and my uncle made a few more things for them. One thing I learned, how to turn a 4 ft log into a chest and even the brass work on it.

[@JasonFightsCrime]

They had a similar project in Arkansas where they were building a castle using authentic techniques. We visited it once or twice. I think it shut down about 15 years ago.

[@leeburks4540]

They assumed locals would volunteer labor, as I recall. Its remoteness from urban centers worked against it; not enough enthusiasts around who could afford to donate time & labor. I never understood why the round tower had arrow slits on the ground floor!

[@JasonFightsCrime]

@@leeburks4540 If it was just a bit closer to Branson, I wonder if they could have drawn more folks.

[@louisegogel7973]

Is anyone thinking of giving it a go again? It would be an awesome workshop project for people going there for month long learning by doing.

[@ommsterlitz1805]

typical american laziness

[@JacobBarbee-jf4fy]

One more world war away from this castle too being a thing of the past.....

[@momopirou3107]

every now and then a video about Guédelon is released, its a nice way to see the evolution. first one I saw they were finishing the main building, and not a single tower had a roof

[@garotadagavea]

This will be very useful. This is a repository of conservation skills.

[@LadiesMan-bo2cc]

That is so Epic. This is something I’d want to volunteer on the weekends!

[@a11young]

Incredible segment

[@amm019]

This reminds me so much of a guy I remembered back at my home state of Colorado, who was building his own castle up in the rockies.

[@jct35j]

Truly wonderful...rediscovering ancient knowledge.

[@Stevelemontrudy]

Dream job. I love learning how people did stuff before modern tools and techniques.

[@thomasalden6263]

I love the attention to detail and history, Great Wall art, and living history

[@karansjet3823]

My town used to be a roman fort so we also have something like this in our town but roman style. It used to be a lot bigger back in the day, but sadly due to lack of tourist they had to scale down a lot. It used to also show how the tribal people outside of the roman fort (and more specifcally locally) lived. You could even go there and bake bread the roman way etc... very cool.

[@wirelesmike73]

The knowledge of the old ways, along with the benefit of modern research to prevent the use of harmful substances. The best of both worlds, brought together to keep history alive for the modern age. I love to hear that the skills developed and honed there are helping to restore Notre-Dame. Proof, if there ever was any, that the ways of the past were not only better in some ways, but still as relevant as ever. Imagine how hard it would've otherwise been to find people with the knowledge and hands-on skill for such an undertaking, were it not for the years that this wonderful place had been growing. Amazing. I hope to go there and see it myself, someday.

[@jfrancobelge]

In many French cities for the last ten years or so they had to destroy buildings from the 1960's, recent 50-60 year old buildings, because they were already on the point of collapsing, whereas in the historic centers some buildings built centuries ago, as far back as the middle-ages, are still standing straight and strong.

[@YouCanCallMeReTro]

Using their skills to help repair the Notre Dame to me is everything coming full circle. Its a beautiful thing what they're doing.

[@pscar1]

L'un de mes endroits préférés. Je l'ai visité pour la première fois il y a 20 ans et plusieurs fois depuis. C'est toujours intéressant de voir comment progresse la construction.

[@louisegogel7973]

Très bien!

[@user-ms1pg2ok4i]

Even the way they are building the castle is a work of art. Lovely.

[@jcarm185]

This is one of the coolest projects happening on our planet today I would argue; its not only fascinating but doing a superior job at preserving historical techniques and technologies.

[@TheSouthIsHot]

I would love to visit this castle.

[@49lucky]

Yes compared to instant homes made today.😅😅 Just beautiful.

[@osar2870]

Yes but takes 100x longer and costs 1000x more money

[@vaenii5056]

Incredible. Definitely one of the places I would love to visit.

[@A.G.798]

Nach 27 Jahren wird es aber langsam Zeit das die Burg endlich Fertig wird, und der Wassergraben gefüllt wird.

[@SoItGoesCAL34]

Thanks, that is very interesting. My Dad was a stonemason. I bet he would have enjoyed visiting.

[@brandonhamilton833]

So cool to see it grow over the years

[@jamesburton1050]

The original definition of using tools to make tools!!

[@bethanycousineau197]

WHAT AN EXCITING PROJECT!!!!!

[@Dene181]

It is a really special place!

[@ShikamaruXT]

There also is a smaller, more rural project in south-west germany, north of lake constance, called Campus Galli. Experimental archeology kinda goes hard

[@medusagorgon8432]

I would genuinely love to work there myself! Such an awesome thing.

[@mathgasm8484]

Peasant jobs nice! I would love a castle.

[@Llamadosalvaje]

Wow! Amazingly!

[@2_thumbs_up_baby]

Absolutely beautiful. Magnificent castle A great credit to the workers and everyone involved

[@casthelion416]

I have been there twice, last time was 7 years ago, amazing to see how much they have progressed.

[@SuperLn1991]

Well, they are going extremely slow on purpose so they can still get money out of the tourists and keep using it to teach kids from schools around.

[@christianwestling2019]

Extremly impressive. That they helped with Notre Dame shows that the intentions; keeping these traditions alive; worked.

[@scotsmanofnewengland7713]

Someone built a castle type home in Eastern Connecticut which is up for sale and it is very impressive and massive.

[@KlyBell]

This is SO COOL! Thank you for sharing this.

[@franciscowashington2155]

Construindo um castelo 👍👍

[@jjjjns]

So cool

[@guntherschmitt2229]

Simply amazing!

[@joe-vl3nd]

Watch Time Travelers guide to Elizabethen England 👍🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

[@Paulnikon]

This is fascinating. Every bit of it.

[@007NowOnline]

Thats so freaking cool. Would like to visit it one day.

[@rustynailmendlesohn8710]

What a truly wonderful story😊. I enjoyed that a lot.👍👍 TY

[@Legna1826]

Love the medieval castles and the look of them. good video

[@justinremschneider9614]

Beautiful!

[@vsznry]

This is awesome. I hope they have a brewery.

[@Valecto]

There is definitely an inn, but I can't recall there being a brewery (I may be wrong though). Keep in mind Guedelon is in Burgundy... so wine is pretty easy to get.

[@kellysalyer1972]

Finally got to go there last summer while on vacation. I had a great time there.

[@louisegogel7973]

Awesome!

[@svitapeneela]

I've been there - it's great 🙂

[@adorabledeathwish]

Amazing!! I want to be a part of the village

[@murilo2188]

I remeber reading about this castle as a child, now I'm 20 is crazy how time passes

[@chrisgriffith9252]

27 years into a 25 year project... This is so awe inspiring

[@madmartigan8119]

Love how much they've gotten done, I watched a documentary on it or TV show can't remember, they are really putting in their souls

[@Level_Up_Nation]

I remember when they broke ground on this. I'm happy to see that they didn't give up. Personally, I would have built a keep instead, something smaller.

[@d11m11b]

❤I would love to find more projects like this

[@randygerman2176]

Fantastic!!

[@pattdunn9845]

This is amazing !!

[@mrwest5552]

Excellente

[@MissAngela007]

Amazing

[@DannyShipley-rb4nj]

It’s nice…to take the nature and design in ways, another time…😮

[@Yvolve]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="199">3:19</a> For those wondering where the Freemasons came from, the Notre Dame fire is a great example: they used skilled workers from hundreds of kilometres away. All trades in those days were ruled by a Guild you had to be a member of. This was to ensure quality but also to protect the local trades market. It meant you couldn't work outside of your Guild's area, with huge fines and expulsion for those who did. The only tradespeople allowed to work where they wanted, were the masons as they were needed to build massive cathedrals. It was impossible to all get them in the Guild of the area or the communicate with they Guilds the workers belonged to. A system of secret handshakes was developed, amongst other things, to identify yourself. It is impossible to forge a complex handshake, which you need to know. Being able to work in a highly sought after trade, made masons rich and influential for their social position. The ability to move to different cities for work, meant they travelled much more than the average person and learned a lot more. Not just knowledge, but people. Over time, it became a society of rich and powerful people. Nothing secret, as it has been known since the day they started.

[@deannamadrigal7503]

So beautiful! This is how we used to live... A Hard Day's Work and something to be proud of, to be connected to Nature and everything around us not like California forever and Silicon Valley.

[@p.ipebomb]

Sooo you want MORE cars, MORE traffic, MORE parking lots, instead of a walkable city like 'California Forever'?? 😂 Go look at Saudi Arabia's plans for the future, like 'Kalbod', and 'Neom' and then you'll see that we're not doing a darn thing in USA 😂

[@p.ipebomb]

Soooo you want MORE cars, MORE traffic, MORE huge parking lots instead of a 'walkable' city like 'California Forever'? Go look at Saudi Arabia's plans for the future like 'Kalbod' and 'Neom' and then tell me if we're ever going to build Megalithic structures like that in USA

[@uria3679]

I hope this project gets more attention and help

[@thatScoutdog]

This is cool I saw the castle before but they were always old uploads I'm glad this was an update instead and how they helped Notridam is neat didn't know that eather

[@louisegogel7973]

Yes it is an awesome offshoot of real benefit!

[@Jebbis]

There is a great series called “secrets of the castle” that goes through how and why the castle is being built.

[@MrArray1967]

What am I doing here on my couch 🛋️ 🤔 What a marvelous project I should have known about 30 years ago. Oh, at that time I didn't know, what I know today. Sh...

[@louisegogel7973]

What about going now?

[@itzcaseykc]

Awesome to see how some are still using age-long techniques to make buildings and structures like this in our day-n-age to resemble the past.

[@JeffDeWitt]

This is such a cool project and I wish these folks all the best. It's also going to REALLY confuse people in a few hundred years!

[@mikecobalt7005]

:) You all are Amazing, every time I look in it's better. To *watch (KZbin wise) a castle being built in all of the right ways and by the people with the right skills it's like a fantasy come to life.

[@susannpatton2893]

This would be the most fantastic thing to do. I would like to see a follow up for when they make the stain glass please There are a few outrageous things id love to do before i go to the beyond Archeological dig and this. ❤

[@gram2977]

Absolutely amazing! Great story, so fascinating.

[@DiceLegenz]

Very cool

[@benjaminlamey3591]

This is experimental archeology. by recreating the techniques, they help understanding the remains found in archeology. they help understanding what the times really were, help understanding the economy of the times and give a new light to the text that are left from these times.

[@TheStallKross]

I love experimental archeology

[@tyler3201]

I wish I lived in France so that I could see this place. I would ask to film shorts there and help advertise the place in return.

[@bnln1939]

Wow!

[@chrismaggio7879]

OK, if ever there was a worthwhile project, this is it.

[@chrismaggio7879]

Though they didn't explain how ancient wifi worked... 😁

[@ThreezeNiNja]

If I ever were to visit Europe, this would be the reason.

[@mho...]

crazy to see how far they have come!, remember this "story" since digging the first holes 😅

[@AlayaViaja]

Gracias por compartir 1👋🇪🇸

[@sumguyman8656]

I started tracking this project about 5 yrs ago and have been wanting to go pitch in ever since. It's like being in kingdom come deliverance for real lol! It's hard to imagine that this was likely the life of many, thousands of years ago. You work on a castle untill you die in ur what? 40s? If you're lucky and didn't get hacked up in battle doing ur landowners bidding.

[@Threetails]

🎶Guedelon gang, Guedelong gang, each one builds castles in their own way, the mason has a chisel and the carpenter a saw, Guedelon gang Guedelon gang!🎶

[@kristend344]

Secrets of the Castle with Ruth Goodman and Peter Ginn is very good. The spent three months there documenting how the process of how things would have been done during the time period, and how the workers would have lived. They were working one of the corner towers during that time. The artisans did have advanced math (e.g. geometry) - they just didn't share it, considering it a trade secret.

[@AsoSnT]

magnifique

[@nancymolina10195]

I feel like I want to work there! What it feels like in back history when old people were young n worked so hard during 24 hrs of their hardest work to build n castle, black smith n more. Cuz I’m also unemployed person, but I do have trouble with allergies, but never mind of that. Plz higher me.

[@samdumaquis2033]

Wow

[@tommywolfe2706]

I believe it was on the history squad or the one that does features about doing excavations in a few days, if you know what I am talking about you know. The reference was a castle that took YEARS to build. They employed so many people around the clock that there was a line of people constantly for years, all hours of the day, and it was there for so long that merchants set up shop next to the waiting line so people could get things while they were waiting to do their work. If I remember correctly, it was around the clock work and a few thousand people were employed. I think it took 5 years to build. Its an English castle, there are records of this, so maybe what I said, to those that are curious, is enough for them to know which one. But the idea that this castle was unique in that regard is probably not true. Its likely that some castles too much more work, people and time. Now, imagine our modern idea of what a worksite is supposed to be like. Also, it has taken that long, but a "medieval village" has sprung up around it. Much like castles back then. People got used to the influx of people and settled there. And it offered protection. Even without war, a castle seems to be an economy builder.

[@bamargerin]

Who else already knows about this from Tom Scott?

[@L.Spencer]

I didn't but I like his videos.

[@loganleroy8622]

I knew about it from a British documentary series from over a decade ago. It's amazing to see the progress they've made. At this point I wonder if they'll ever finish construction or if they'll keep trying to add to it.

[@danielfox3003]

I always thought it would be cool to build a castle but with all the modern conveniences on the inside.

[@yc__]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="83">1:23</a> Well, in Meßkirch (Germany) they are currently building a whole monastery after they were inspired by Guédelon.

[@louisegogel7973]

That is sehr schön!

[@zulafaur]

A Christma's party at this place would be epic or a show.