Home » France » 1000th Anniversary of Chartres' Cathedral Medieval Festival

In contrast to the epic novels I usually end up sending out, this blog will be a short one I promise. I had a computer adapter problem (nothing a visit to www.ebay.fr couldn’t fix though) so I haven’t had computer access = couldn’t go through the hundreds of photos I’ve been taking, until this past week. So my weekend in Strasbourg at the giant Christmas market is coming, as is the road trip to Normandy and Mont St. Michel last weekend.

1000th Anniversary of Chartres' Cathedral Medieval Festival

Lisa Damico
2007-03-08 20:17:23

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In contrast to the epic novels I usually end up sending out, this blog will be a short one I promise. I had a computer adapter problem (nothing a visit to www.ebay.fr couldn't fix though) so I haven't had computer access = couldn't go through the hundreds of photos I've been taking, until this past week. So my weekend in Strasbourg at the giant Christmas market is coming, as is the road trip to Normandy and Mont St. Michel last weekend.

As you can see in the photos, Chartres hosted a medieval festival in honor of the 1,000th anniversary of the commissioning of the Cathedral by Bishop Fulbert. Artisan booths lined the Place des Epars (the main plaza) selling any and everything - homemade candy, medieval dresses and swords, incense, jewelry, stain glass, etc. They even hauled in tons of sand to set up a jousting field in front of the Cathedral for jousting games. Apparently there is a community of medieval enthusiasts who travel from French Medieval Festival to French Medieval Festival selling things or participating in the entertainment. Highlights of this medieval entertainment in Chartres included the jousting obviously, a fire dance that night and a magic show.

The people with the elaborate face paint in the photos put on the magic show in which they juggled and played drums for the crowd. The "magic part" was stealing unsuspecting people's wallets then holding the wallets up in front of the crowd, I have to admit seeing the poor guy realize his wallet was no longer in his pocket but in the hands of a red spandex clad old man on stilts was quite entertaining. The other assistants and I made a full day of the Fête de Fulbert even eating the traditional medieval dinner before attending medieval dance lessons and the fire dance.

Another notable event prior to my Italy vacation included the required medical visit in Orleans, about an hour and a half away by bus, for which Rachel and I had 8:30 appointments. The first big difference between a check up in France and in the US is that doctors' office in France are not located in hospitals, but instead in private apartment buildings. We checked in and sat in the hallway waiting to be called in by the nurse which happened soon enough. Basic things like my weight and height were recorded, she asked
if I was on any medication - all this she asked in French and I was feeling very pleased with myself that I was conducting medical business in French until the end of the interview when she asked something that I didn't understand. Since usually a "oui" and a head nod do the trick when you're not sure what's going on, I thought she's probably just telling me I can leave . . . oh no, as I later figured out this was not the case. She reaches into a giant bowl on her desk, much like a Halloween bowl full of candy that I hadn't noticed before, and gives me a handful of what I think are match booklets. I say "merci" because of course that's what a polite person does in France, I walk out into the hall and realize I'm hands are not full of complimentary matches . . . but condoms wrapped up like a gift box bearing the French governments good wishes to "Enjoy." I'm not usually one to blush, but this did the trick and the "match booklets" got quickly shoved into my purse.

Ok that's enough for this blog, between Christmas parties
and teaching my students "Must Be Santa" I'm determined to post the other two this week before I leave for Christmas vacation in Italy on Saturday. Enjoy!