Fete Medievales

Yesterday we went to Bayeux for their annual Fete Medievales. This year was their 21st. We had no idea this was going on until Saturday, when we saw the poster for it in Creully. This thing is HUGE. It's also in the center of Bayeux and winds through the streets. You can get lost easily and there's so much to see. Large crowd, too. Many more pictures than usual because of the size.

A couple of the people in costume. There was a good proportion of the people in costume, especially kids. The costumes were not Disneyfied, either. No Cinderellas walking around. The event was free, too, so they weren't doing it to dodge admission price.

Right in front of the cathedral, this is a small span of one of the less crowded areas. It gives you an idea of the crowd.

Garb for sale. Most of it is relatively well made, handcrafted, but using such things as velcro and zippers. Usually, both those things are not visible when worn.

Fete-goers in costume.

More garb for sale. I especially liked the tabard. It was womanly, yet protective for archery.

This is one thing I'm not used to seeing at Ren Faires, but there were a lot of them - senior citizens in costume. Most of them were better than this lady with the glitz, but notice what she's doing - she's making Bayeux lace. There were about twenty people making bobbin lace - no needle lace or crochet lace - throughout the fete. Many pieces were for sale. It seems there's a trend now to make bracelets and chokers using this technique.

The masons in the shadow-courtyard of the cathedral. The cathedral itself is being renovated and these pieces will eventually be part of it. They're using, in the main, medieval techniques, especially for the details. For the big stuff, they use power tools. I just think it was the perfect place to set this up. The masons and carpenters wore white shifts and did try to dress up somewhat. Most wore jeans, too. My husband was snickering because of the fits OSHA would throw at their practices. Not even in the pictures of their workshops was there a pair of safety glasses.

This man was making a leather sheath. He had a lot of swords for sale and evidently, later in the afternoon, was part of an arms demonstration.

A silversmith actually casting buttons. He finished them well, too. His stuff was beautiful.

Even the babies get into the act.

One of two gers that were set up. This one is of twill. The other was of felt and obviously custom made or brought back from Mongolia. I have to say these things looked much, much more comfortable than tents!

Speaking of the tents - which would you sleep in?

A guy demonstrating the making and parts of different weapons and armor.

Busking in front of the cathedral entrance. My husband took several pictures of the cathedral from different places in the festival. I'm going to put them in a separate post.