Les Médiévales de Provins 2024

[kerouac2]

Well, I attended the medieval festival in both 2017 and 2022 (there are reports on both here), and it was time to give my camera a workout again, so off I went.  I considered myself clever for actually consulting the weather report for the weekend.  It was supposed to rain all day Saturday (and it did), but the weather was supposed to be fine on Sunday, at least in the afternoon.  However, it was surprisingly chilly.

There is a train from Paris-Est to Provins once an hour, and the trip takes close to an hour and a half, which is pretty incredible for an official suburb with direct train service.  There are other suburbs that take as long, but they always involve having to change trains or change to a bus somewhere.  I brought both a newspaper and a book for the train.

People began to gather at the train station about half an hour before departure because you know you can't afford to be late for any reason.  Who would want to wait another hour because they missed the train by 2 minutes?  This leads to some interesting scenes in the station to both the consternation and amusement of people going elsewhere.

People wearing costumes get a discount on the admission fee, and they are clearly not very strict.  I'm sure that just a cape will do.

Another reason to be early was that the train was packed.  Some people had to stand the whole way.

Provins is the terminus, so everybody gets off there.

[kerouac2]

There are some shuttle buses from the station in Provins, but the decent thing to do is to leave them for the disabled and the elderly. For everybody else, it is a long slog to get the medieval area, a lot of it uphill. I'd say the walk is close to two kilometres to the gate.

There is a symbolic search since France is still on high security alert and will remain so at least until the end of the year.



I bet the fake swords and daggers get special attention.



And then I was in.







There are all sorts of little spectacles in courtyards and squares.

[kerouac2]

The Tour César dominating the city is always impressive. It seems to have been invaded by ghosts this year.





We were approaching noon, and that sets off a lot of stomachs.











Some of these looks may not have been considered stylish even back then.

[htmb]

This looks like such a fun event!

[kerouac2]

Some people actually enjoy sword fights. I guess I am not normal.















I'm sure that many of these people try to attend as many medieval festivals as they can get to. (Pierrefonds in August?)









Many North Americans would probably just call this medieval speciality a 'sloppy joe'.

[kerouac2]

Walking on stilts was probably one of the principal special effects for shows of olden times.

















I always wonder if anybody could really manage to cook something in one of these.  Luckily he has all of these industrial containers behind him.

[bjd]

It certainly looks like a popular thing. Too bad the weather wasn't co-operating -- it looks cold. I'm sure people had fun anyway.

I wonder whether the performing participants travel from festival to festival to do their act. We saw a similar performance of medievally-dressed swordfighting in Sauveterre-de-Béarn two years ago but the actors were Spanish.

[whatagain]

One of those places I would gain a Kgms by attending.

[kerouac2]

There are always a lot of kilts  Since they date back to the 16th century, they are appropriate here.







I am always amazed that this side of Provins managed not to expand outside the walls. Most towns just kept going.



Well, there is always this temporary expansion along the outer wall. I didn't go down there this year.



going back in



City children always need to discover these exotic beasts.

[kerouac2]

I moved along to the medieval craft areas.

[kerouac2]

The archery zone is peculiarly attractive to many people.





Everywhere you look, something is on the grill.



I like the fact that there are areas without big crowds. Of course finding them requires a little effort.



And I was back in an area with artisans hard at work.





Cauldrons are for real cooking -- but they are never at the food stands. However, there are some very nice aromas.

[mich64]

Costumes, crafts, displays and plenty of food! Now if there was also a beer tent, I would have no problem getting my husband to the festival! 😉 Fun thread Kerouac! Makes for a good excuse to visit Pierrefonds in August too!

[bixaorellana]

This does look like fun. I imagine some of the participants stayed in character & at least pretended to speak in ye olde style. Note that I'm not even asking if you costumed.

The man in the middle in the first picture appears to be of Asian descent and the people on either side of him appear to be in medieval(?) Japanese garb. That would be based on my research, which was watching the original Shogun on tv.

The quite authentic looking woman in salmon pink is looking at her ye olde kindle, I believe.

It's not at all common to see a Vulcan in earthly medieval dress, such as the woman in the first inside picture.

You really got some great pictures. I love all of the ones with people who look authentic -- the one of the woman in the white headdress at the manuscript illuminating stand is lovely.

re: kilts -- my guess is that kilts were probably around in the middle ages (so, to @1450), but not plaid kilts.

Looking forward to more!

[kerouac2]

There were quite a few people wearing Japanese and Korean traditional costumes. Since I very much doubt that oordinary tourists travel with this, it implies that there are a considerable number of expats from those countries in France and they are delighted to have an excuse to show off their finery (especially the women?). But in any case there seemed to be a huge number of Japanese and Korean people attending this event, so it must be quite famous there now. On the other hand, there did not seem to be any people from the Americas. Considering the crowds already in attendance, I fear the day that the Americans decide that this is a must, June being the month with the greatest number of tourists from the United States.

[kerouac2]

Some of these people probably do not look "normal" when they wear contemporary clothing.









This food was being prepared for the lunch of the participants in this zone rather than the visitors.  I heard some of them getting impatient.









There were a number of medieval Mohammedans in spite of the numerous Crusaders.

[kerouac2]

looking out of another section of the walls











pre-covid doctor's mask to avoid contamination

[kerouac2]

[kerouac2]

I had to check because I had no idea that the slide trombone dates back to the 13th century under the name "sackbut."

[mickthecactus]

It seems to be an electric sackbut. They were certainly ahead of their time.

[onlyMark]

I see Friar Tuck has put in an appearance but can't spot Robin Hood. He did have a French connection and more than likely spoke it.

[whatagain]

I cannot imagine being able to walk in armour for long. Good for the guy that the heat is not here these days.

[kerouac2]

The grilling frenzy diminished at lunch time started winding down.





Provins is lovely as you can see, but it takes an effort to take a photo without the crowd.











time to move to the other side of the Tour César











Some of these people know they are going to pose for 3000 photos throughout the day. Considering the temperature, this was impressive.

[kerouac2]

The inside of the collégiale was much warmer.



It is alwasy devoted to books and comics about wizards, druids, celtic legends and all that stuff. And chess players.











There were some very elaborate crocheted dreamcatchers for sale.









It was time for me to leave, but plenty of people were still arriving around 15:00.



On the way down, I am always surprised by how high above the main city I am.



I got to the train station with 5 minutes to spare. Paris is 97 kilometres away.



All that's left is for me to show you a little bit of movement and noise.

[kerouac2]

I forgot to mention that while it was cloudy and cold in Provins, those 97 kilometres made all the difference in the world. When I arrived in Paris, it was sunny and balmy.