3– Bretagne— A Medieval Festival

May 26– A Medieval Festival

This was a grand day because we got to play “dress-up.” Sylvia had these costumes to help us become authentic “dames” of the Medieval era. We went to a Medieval Faire at an abbey at Bon Repot sur Blavet. Which titles do you think we held…Duchess? Viscountess? Baroness?

We first took a stroll through the abbey grounds…

And then through market tents.

One of the more interesting things was the “brioche on a stick.” This man was turning the “brioche” in front of a barbecue grill. Occasionally, when it looked cooked, he poured batter over the stick and slowly built up the brioche. 

Then it’s cut in pieces and sold for a pretty price. I chose the chocolate variety.

We took a break from walking when it started raining…the daily rain event. 

Then we went to see the jousting and other games. 

We also saw a few medieval huts and some women showing how life was lived in the olden times. 

One woman was giving out little pieces of authentic medieval bread and explaining how bread was eaten 1000 years ago. 

Bread was made in very large loaves and cooked in an outdoor oven.

After a few days, the bread got really dry and hard. Then it was sliced in large flat chunks and used as a plate. Two people shared the same plate / chunk of bread with their food. Thus was born the word “copain” which is now a French word for “friend.” (Also, pain is the word for bread and co is a prefix meaning together). Get it?

The faire ended with a parade of costumes from medieval times to the 19th century. We watched from afar (actually the seats were wet so we stood in the back).

Thus ends a typical Sunday in the medieval age. If you want to see a 2-minute video about the abbey, here you go…. (Scroll down on the page)

https://www.bon-repos.com/en/home/