Behind the scenes of Château de Foix: tailor-made armor

When thinking about the new Château de Foix, the Ariège Tourist Sites team wanted to present to the public pieces that would allow everyone to get a more precise idea of ​​life in the Middle Ages. Thus, to evoke the most illustrious counts, the different eras in which they lived and the war stakes they had to face, it seemed necessary to represent their armor. 

To do this, the team called on talented craftsmen including Georges jolliot, one of the four people who officially work as an armor drummer in France. 

To say that Georges Jolliot grew up in the Middle Ages is not just a joke!

Cradled since childhood by the stories of knights, Cathars, fortified castles and "Excalibur" by John Boorman, this enthusiast first turned to the profession of stonemason.

It was not until years later that he tried his hand at working with iron, first to make his own armor which he showed during major medieval reenactments.

Living in Montels, a small village in Ariège, thanks to the advice of Nicolas Baptiste, armor historian and solid documentation, he imagined all the elements of the XNUMXth century weaponry of Gaston de Foix Nemours.

An exceptional professional for an exceptional project ...

Working by hand, with hammer, anvil and seamless, as at the time, it took this armor drummer more than a month to make Gaston de Foix Nemours' complete armor, i.e. nearly 360 hours of work.