"Arrayd In Maner Of Werre": Making A 15th Century Pavise

On the 17th of February 1448, a band of around three hundred Englishmen, led by Lord Moleyns, captured the East Anglian fortified manor house of Gresham Castle.¹ This action was not part of any larger conflict, but rather the result of years of disagreements between local families---indeed the next civil war, the Wars of the Roses, would not officially start for another seven years. Defending the castle was 26-year-old Margaret Paston and her twelve servants. Taken by surprise, the defenders were simply ejected, taking up residence with a nearby Paston-friend in Sustead. 

Gresham Castle (from Paston Footprints)

Two years later, Margaret's husband, John Paston, was still fighting in the courts to reclaim their lost property. In a petition to King Henry VI in 1450, he described Lord Moleyns' men as a small army "to the nombre of a thowsand persones... arrayd in maner of werre, with curesse, brigaunders, jakks, salettes, gleyfes, bowes, arows, pavyse, [and] gonnes."² While understood by Paston-historians as a bit of an exaggeration (their estimates are closer to 300), the letter does highlight some of the armaments of the local, East Anglian gentry. Of recent interest to me is the mention of "pavyse" or pavise (if however, like me, you're also interested by the reference to brigandines, please check out my earlier article here). Since I portray a crossbowman in service to the Pastons, I became enticed by the idea of recreating an English pavise. While John Paston described his enemy as possessing pavises, though, I'm using this source to, at the very least, place pavises within the experience of East Anglians in the second half of the 15th century. We don't know for sure if the Pastons' retainers were equipped with pavises, but we do know there were longbowmen, crossbowmen, and hand-gunners. My basic supposition then is that if Lord Moleyns' men had them, there's a decent chance that Pastons' men may have had them as well.

History Of The Pavise

French Siege of Duras in the Chronicles by Froissart (1377)

Pavises seem to have fallen into two main categories by the 15th century: an archer's shield or the hand-held shield of a man-at-arms (or "large and small" pavises as described in the inventory of gifts given by Duke Philip the Good of Burgundy in a 1449 as part of the wedding dowry of his great-niece Mary to King James II of Scotland). Judging based on surviving examples in museums like the Met, a typical archer's pavise may have been around 42 inches tall by around 20 inches wide. Made from wood as the core, it was then wrapped in canvas, glued to the wood with hide glue, then painted with gesso to establish a blank "canvas," whereupon a coat of arms and/or saint were often painted. Medieval historian and professor of history at Loyola University Kelly DeVries defines the pavise in his 2007 article "The introduction and use of the pavise in the Hundred Years War" as 

a large usually rectangular shield that could be held in the hands or propped up by a wooden or iron brace to provide protection for its user. Associated with the northern Italian town of Pavia -- although perhaps only in legend -- it is generally thought that these shields originated there sometime in the early to mid-thirteenth century.

DeVries further explains, referencing a mandement from the French King Charles V in 1365, that at least the French pavises were made from aspen, ideally. 

To help me understand the construction, I relied heavily on The Shieldery's video on YouTube, linked here. If you'd like to make your own, I highly recommend starting there.

Crafting The Pavise

The pavise shape I chose was simple: no "horn" at the top as is sometimes seen in some pavises, but rather, a basic "tombstone" shape that curves slightly back.

While I would have loved to start with aspen, due to cost and availability of materials, I opted to use pine. The process was almost exactly the same as in the video. I started by cutting down the boards to shape and size and glued them together using wood glue. I chose to screw down the two side boards to the center one to help the glue set, then backed the screws out a day later, drilled the holes a bit wider (3/8"), and hammered in 3/8" dowels, also glued. I'll note here that the process of building the shield was definitely not historically accurate. I effectively sped up the process by using modern tools, but also aided the longevity of the shield by using modern wood glue.

After trimming the dowel ends and finalizing the shape by planing and sanding, I then laid out linen canvas on the front, cut it so it overlapped that back a bit, and applied a thick layer of hide glue, spreading it around by hand (wearing latex gloves). Instead of using 100% authentic hide glue that I heated myself, I cheated a little by using Titebond's "genuine hide glue." If I make another pavise, I will gladly do this again as it was super easy to use and, after gluing the back canvas, took only a bottle and a half. Once the glue had cured and was no longer tacky---about two days---I applied gesso over the back in two layers, sanding between the layers.

Before I could gesso the front though, I had to install some hardware: two oversized steel staples and a leather handle, nailed in place with two, proper forged nails. I fired up my forge and, using a 1/4" mild steel bar, I hammered out the two "staples." Lacking a nail jig, I just had to buy proper hand-forged rose-head nails. Before hammering in, I drilled pilot holes to keep the wood from splitting, placing them approximately where they are located on the originals. The staples and nails ended up sticking out about an inch on the front, so I hammered these down and into the wood/canvas a bit---this is why I waited to gesso the front. As a side note, I made the handle from a scrap piece of veg-tanned sole leather (~16 oz) and the sling from 8 oz veg tan. 

After applying two layers of gesso to the front of the pavise, the final stage was painting. This, to me, was the most interesting and rewarding part, mostly because I've never painted before and I discovered that it's almost too easy to do. After consulting the member of our unit who portrays John Paston, we decided that I should paint the Paston coat of arms and griffon on the front and a depiction of the martyrdom of St. Edmund on the back (he, like the Pastons, was from East Anglia, and he was martyred by being shot by archers).

Image from the Paston Footprints

Image from Paston Footprints

Image borrowed from here (painting in Pickering Church)

The paint I'd use is egg tempera which The Shieldery explains in the same video linked above, but is also explained in articles here and here. Essentially, egg tempera is made by mixing equal parts egg yolk with water and then a drop or two of white vinegar as a preservative (apparently, the vinegar extends the life of the egg-mixture to about five days). To extract the yolk, use your preferred method for separating the egg white (I just used my hands), but then gently pinch the yolk with one hand and, while suspended over your collection vessel, poke it with a toothpick or pinch it with your other hand, allowing the yolk to drip out of its sack. The egg yolk mixed with a little water and vinegar is the glue for the paint. The paint itself is a 1:1 mixture of the yolk-glue with pigment. I used non-toxic cinnabar, titanium white, yellow ochre, red iron oxide (brown), black iron oxide, and ultramarine. Mixing the paint is straight-forward: lift some pigment with a scraper onto a palette and drop in egg-glue to the right proportions (I used a little eye-dropper), and then mix with the scraper. Making St. Edmund's pale flesh color, for example, required some yellow ochre, a small amount of cinnabar, and an even smaller amount of titanium white. Less white gave me the correct color for shadows while a little more white gave me highlight color. Having read those linked articles above, I started with dark and background colors first, working towards the front, doing my best to use the cross-hatching method. You can see my progress in the images below, from sketch, to background paint, to final, all over the course of three days. One great thing about egg tempera is that the paint dries fast, allowing you to paint over it fairly soon after. You can also remove mistakes easily by touching a wet Q-tip to the mistake and lifting the paint.

Sketch of St. Edmund

Dark layer painted first (some experimentation
 with glue-pigment ratio)

Lighter paint added

Details and shading painted in

After the paint had dried and cured for about a week, I used Liquitex's professional matte varnish in spray form to varnish the whole shield. While linseed oil may have been used to protect the egg tempera paint on historical shields, I wanted something modern to make this shield last a bit longer. The benefit of using the spray varnish is also that I didn't have to worry about accidentally making the paint run by brushing it.

Overall, I'm pleased with how well it turned out. This project inspired me to paint a lot more with egg tempera now. I do regret not trimming the canvas on the upper corners (you can easily see the folds of excess fabric on the inside top of the shield), but that's my only regret for now. If this post inspires you to make your own, please post in the comments below. As always, I'm more than happy to offer advice if you decide to make your own--just fill out the "contact me" form on the right!

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¹ Gresham Castle has become a favorite of mine. It's a great example of a local, yet substantial defensive structure. Made of stone with four crenellated curtain walls, four round towers (one at each corner), a moat, drawbridge, and inner-courtyard with the presumably two-story wattle-and-daub manor house, Gresham was no push-over. To see a 3D reconstruction for yourself, check out this link. Today, it's little more than an overgrown copse of trees with a moat, standing in the middle of a farm field. I had the pleasure of exploring the site a little this summer, by means of bushwhacking, and I can definitively say that very little still survives (click here to see pictures from when I visited).

² In modern English: "to the number of a thousand persons... arrayed in [a] manner of war, with cuirasses, brigandines, jacks [of plate or mail?], salets, glaives, bows, arrows, pavises, [and] guns."

"Of Engelond, To Caunterbury They Wende": A Medievalist Pilgrim's Journey To The UK

Whan that Aprille with his shoures soote,
The droghte of March hath perced to the roote,
And bathed every veyne in swich licóur
Of which vertú engendred is the flour;
Whan Zephirus eek with his swete breeth
Inspired hath in every holt and heeth
The tendre croppes, and the yonge sonne
Hath in the Ram his halfe cours y-ronne,
And smale foweles maken melodye,
That slepen al the nyght with open ye,
So priketh hem Natúre in hir corages,
Thanne longen folk to goon on pilgrimages,
And palmeres for to seken straunge strondes,
To ferne halwes, kowthe in sondry londes;
And specially, from every shires ende
Of Engelond, to Caunterbury they wende,
The hooly blisful martir for to seke,
That hem hath holpen whan that they were seeke.¹

It's been a dream of mine to walk the fields and forests of England as my English ancestors did, taking in the countryside at three miles per hour. While not a true pilgrim--I didn't visit England this past July with the hopes of absolving some sins--I like to think I went as an historical and cultural pilgrim. I would also like to note that, unlike Chaucer's pilgrims, I went in the summer, but I still happily got to experience the "Zephirus eek" and "smale foweles maken melodye."

My journey to the UK this past summer wasn't my first by any means, but it was special in that I was there for over three weeks, and it was almost entirely paid for as a grant from the school I teach at. The gist of my proposal is that I wanted to study the medieval history of England through exploration of historical sites, including Arundel, Winchester, Gloucester, Tewkesbury, Norwich, Oxford, Paston, and the buildings at the Weald & Downland Museum. What excited me most, however, was my plan to walk part of the pilgrim route from Winchester to Canterbury.

As a quick note to you, dear reader, I highly recommend clicking on the pictures to see the full detail of some of this photographs (save for a couple towards the end taken by my wife, all photos were taken by me). The small embedded images simply do not do the scenery of the English countryside or the details of the gothic cathedrals any justice. Note, too, that there are the occasional videos embedded, so please enjoy them--they're mostly birdsong or church music.

Portsmouth

My journey first started in Portsmouth. I had already been in the UK for a week by this point, having attended an international workshop on education at the Harrow School in London. Arriving at Portsmouth though, my goal for the next week was to visit Arundel Castle, the Weald and Downland Museum, and to walk part of the pilgrim route. It's here that I'd like to point out that the US needs to do better with public transportation as, in the UK, I was able to easily and cheaply travel almost exclusively by train and bus--and everything was on time. During my brief time in Portsmouth, I of course visited the maritime museum, the HMS Warrior and the Mary Rose, in particular. 

Arundel Castle

Saturday morning, I traveled out to Arundel Castle. It was hosting a medieval reenactment that weekend, so I naturally had to attend. This was the first reenactment I'd ever attended in the UK, so I was eager to experience it. While a small event, I was actually a little surprised by how "mainstream" it was (some buhurt armor and medieval-inspired kit and objects). I loved, however the sword combat and archery--stuff not allowed here in the States. The castle and grounds, laid out in well-maintained gardens, were absolutely gorgeous and well worth the day-excursion.

Weald & Downland Living Museum

The next day, I traveled out to the Weald & Downland Living Museum. If you've ever watched "Tudor Monastery Farm," "Good Omens," or the "Hollow Crown," among so many other films and documentaries, then you've seen some of the museum. Traveling there was a little challenging, but after a train and a bus ride, I hustled in under some pouring rain to grab a cup of tea and wait out the weather. The site itself is beautiful, surrounded by rolling hills and woods. The buildings--ranging from a 13th century stone house to buildings only recently constructed--depict English rural life over the centuries. I was drawn in particular to the late-medieval market towards the beginning of the walk, highlighted by the 15th century market hall, the Tudor Bayleaf Farmstead, and the kitchen next to the Bayleaf house. There's something magical about meandering alone past picturesque medieval buildings on a cool, damp, yet somehow sunny day, to the sounds of wrens and robins. 

My trip to the museum was capped off in two distinct, but very special ways: chatting with Marc Meltonville² about historic cooking and brewing (after sampling some of his 19th century ice cream), and enjoying a proper Sunday roast at the quaint 16th century Partridge Inn, just a quick walk from the museum.

The Pilgrim's Way

My next major excursion was to Winchester and to start my journey on the pilgrim route. Leaving my suitcase in the Airbnb in Portsmouth and taking only a backpack with a couple days' clothing and water, I set off by train. Due to a packed schedule, my plan for the "pilgrimage" was to walk just the first two days of the route: Winchester to Alresford, and Alresford to Alton, a total of about 20 miles. Following a guidebook, the start of my route was at Winchester Cathedral. Before setting out, I toured the stunningly gorgeous cathedral and even paid homage to Jane Austen at her burial site. After a quick stop for coffee and a sausage roll, I was on my way.

Following my guidebook, the first major stop along the way was Hyde Abbey, the presumed resting place for the body of Alfred the Great. Built in 1110, the monastery was eventually abandoned and mostly demolished following the Dissolution. 

Once I left this landmark, Winchester seemed to abruptly end and I was in the country. Walking a trail and passing only three people along the way the entire day, I got to see some lovely scenery. The views were mostly fields, though I enjoyed the occasional tree cover, and all to the tune of the nearby stream and some excitable wrens ("smale foweles maken melodye"). While it was mostly sunny my entire first day, it did begin to rain about halfway through, as evidenced months later by reviewing my guidebook with its wet pages starting after Martyr Worthy and all the way to Alresford.

Part of what excited me most about this pilgrim's journey was visiting the churches along the way. These were the same churches that pilgrims historically visited, so it was a way for me to connect with the past. Plus, I do enjoy the beautiful architecture of medieval English parish churches. The first church was St. Mary's in King's Worthy. While it was mostly rebuilt by Victorians, parts of it date back to the 12th and 13th centuries, including notably the tower.

The next church was St. Swithun's in Martyr Worthy. A pretty church with a lovely red door, I was struck by its simple beauty. Again, like St. Mary's, it was mostly rebuilt later, but the nave was built in the 12th century and the doorway is described as "Norman." It was here that I ran into a couple of folks who were on the camino and I saw again later that evening at the Bell Inn.

Continuing along the path from Martyr Worthy, the next church I stopped at was St. Johns in Itchen Abbas. Much less historical than the first two churches, St. Johns did however provide some respite from the drizzle outside. A couple miles past St. Johns and an old mill run, I was rewarded by a gorgeous view of a field full of blooming borage. Stopping for a moment to enjoy the scenery and snap a couple of pictures, I was off to my last church for the day. 

Though entirely of Victorian design, St. Peter's in Ovington was a pretty parish church. Decorated with memorials to veterans from the First and Second World Wars, it was a nice place to take a short break. While not actually dating back to the middle ages, St. Peter's does sit on the site of a medieval church (which was present at least as far back as 1284). The one testament to its medieval past is the original doorway, sitting alone in the churchyard.

The remainder of my walk the first day was uneventful save for my arrival in Alresford. Wandering from the guidebook's instructions to end at the Cricketers Pub, I walked the mile into town (New Alresford) to stay at the Bell Inn. By this point, I was thoroughly soaked through, owing mostly to my reluctance to wear my rain jacket through much of the on-and-off drizzle. Frankly, the very light, cool rain felt good while I was walking. It did however make me look a bit frightful as I pushed open the door of the Bell Inn to discover many occupied tables in a cozy though not informal restaurant. Gaining my room for the night, I quickly removed my damp and disheveled self upstairs where I spent the next hour blow-drying my trousers, shirt, and shoes, in addition to a quick shower and change of clothes. Dinner that night in the inn included pate, chicken and leek pie, and an affogato, but also as I discovered, some excellent wines (the Bell Inn has made a name for themselves by maintaining a superb collection of wine). After a walk of nine miles, I was ready for a good night's sleep.

Day two of the pilgrim journey saw me leave Alresford on my way to Alton. Writing a note to myself before the start of the day's walk, I had to slightly change the first mile due to some construction. This detour worked out though as I passed some lovely thatched-roof cottages and eventually left the town behind me to wade into the rye fields. 

Distracted by the beauty of the English countryside, I apparently missed a turn a few miles in, walking an additional mile and a half before realizing that I must have overshot my turn. Just barely getting enough cell service to call up Google Maps, I noticed a footpath in the satellite image of a nearby farm field that would get me back on track. Taking it, and kicking myself for not paying closer attention, I gradually became grateful for the mistake as the scenery opened up on a sunny field, full of wildflowers, especially my favorite poppies. 

Confident once again, I returned to the path and made my way to St. Peter's Church in Ropley. The village itself is pretty and apparently earned a spot in England's "25 most idyllic villages," but I was especially impressed by the 11th century church. Described in my guidebook as a "roofless ruin" following a 2014 fire, what I saw and relaxed in for a brief moment was a fully restored medieval church. It was only two years prior (so in 2022), that the town restored the church after it spent nearly a decade in ruins.

Leaving Ropley behind, I wandered into some of the most memorable areas of my entire trip. Coursing through a field occupied by some shy sheep, I experienced my first and only encounter with another walker. An elderly couple walking dog stopped to say hi and ask where I was headed (I suspect my backpack gave away that I wasn't a local taking a morning stroll). When I responded "Canterbury," the couple seemed shocked, but the gentleman quickly retorted that I still had some distance to go, yet I might get there sooner if I took a train. 

Thanking them for their advice, I continued on my way through the pastures and into a proper wood. Surrounded by silence and trees, I imagined for the moment what it must have been like for medieval pilgrims, walking through the occasional woods, neither seeing or hearing another human. Of course, medieval England had so few woods, as much of the landscape was used for farming or pasture, but there definitely were some ancient forests and some smaller woods, created to farm sticks so useful for tools and wattle walls and fences, but also from "waste" land (land that was abandoned for one reason or another). Appreciative of the time I could reflect on this, I found myself also grateful that the small forest wasn't much bigger, as I definitely took a different path than the one directed in my book.

Leaving the wood behind, I once more found myself walking through some grain fields with gorgeous views of the rolling countryside from atop a hill. Descending the hill, crossing a road, and ascending the next hill, I entered into the most intensive part of my walk. Overgrown with bracken and an adjacent hedgerow, I waded my way along the path. I was, however, treated to the sight of a domesticated kestrel, performing tricks above my head. Eventually, I left this path and entered a footpath where the walking was easier and the trees rose up over me, as a natural arch. I stopped here for a moment to take in the sight of a flock of partridges, the sounds of robins and wrens, and to admire some honey bees (in the US, honey bees are not native, so I had to admire the bee in its more natural environment).

Still, continuing on, I passed through Four Marks and strolled under a canopy of trees, admiring the fields sprawling over the distant hills to my right. I walked past a picturesque farm along an old, sunken road, as I made my way towards the town of Chawton. Before entering the town, I took a detour to visit St. Nicholas Church--a 13th century parish church. 

St. Nicholas is where Jane Austen and her family worshipped in the early 19th century, and where her mother and sister are buried. It was such a pretty building with a stunning churchyard, but it's also right next to the equally stunning 16th century Chawton House (eventually owned by Jane Austen's brother). Making my way back on the path, I continued on, past Jane Austen's house in the town of Chawton, and ending up in Alton. I did try to visit All Saints Church--a late 19th century parish church--which was right along the path, but it was closed at the time, so my two-day pilgrim's journey officially ended as I walked into the Alton train station. My total distance traveled the second day was about 14 miles, making the whole journey 23 miles.

While my "pilgrimage" was only two days, I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and consider it the crowning moment of my entire near-month visit to the UK. It is still an unfinished pilgrimage though; I'm now planning my next excursion when I can continue, if not finish the route.

Gloucester

Spending my last couple days in Portsmouth, I poked around the city and prepared for my next excursion: the Battle of Tewkesbury. Arriving in Gloucester on a beautiful Friday afternoon made the nearly four hour train-hopping journey all worthwhile. I excitedly explored the city and pleasantly stumbled into a practice session for a choir group in the Gloucester Cathedral. After enjoying the music while roaming around and eventually just sitting and listening, I received what turned out to be a private tour of the cathedral's crypt. My day in Gloucester ended with a cask ale at the Pelican Inn.

Battle of Tewkesbury

Saturday was another day I was particularly looking forward to: my second reenactment in the UK, and apparently the largest free medieval reenactment in Europe. One long bus ride out of Gloucester saw me in the picturesque town of Tewkesbury. Recognizing I was a bit early for the event, I stopped into Tewkesbury Abbey, admired the funerary effigies and the stunning architecture, and followed it up with a tea and scone with cream and jam at the Abbey's Tea Room. 

A short walk from there brought me to the Tewkesbury battlefield, already heavily congested with spectators and participants. What surprised me the most about this event was how similar it was to a Ren Faire here in the US. Since it's on the historical battlefield, I guess I figured that historical standards would have been increased, but what I saw in the main visitor-area was mostly Ren Faire merchants and visitors dressed in Ren Faire garb. Determined to still enjoy the experience, I bought a mead, ate a scotch egg and sausage roll, and visited the handful of sutlers carrying historically-accurate items. I went in looking to buy two things: ceramic dishware and a 15th century drinking glass--I found both! During my rambling around the merchants' tents, I managed to attend the opening ceremony delivered by Professor Ronald Hutton and the mayor of Tewkesbury, Paul Jones.

After perusing the merchants, I visited the two military encampments which alleviated my concerns for historical accuracy. I chatted up some soldiers about crossbows and artillery, learned about painting from a camp follower, and admired some fine armor. 

If I had any doubt about attending the event due to the Ren Faire vibes earlier, the battle did plenty of good to dispel them. Narrated by Dr. Hutton, the battle was absolutely incredible to witness. While I've seen Youtube videos of armored combat, I've never seen it in person on this scale. The battle started off with archers launching volleys of arrows at each other, soon followed by artillery and handgonnes, and then crowned with hand-to-hand combat. I vowed then to find a way to participate in the future.

Ultimately, I left the event but on the way back to the Tewkesbury bus stop, I stumbled on a small museum--the John Moore Countryside Museum--set up as a late-medieval merchant's storefront and house. Similar to the Weald & Downland Museum's Horsham Shop, the ground floor was set up as a storefront, while the second floor (I think Brits call this the first floor) was laid out as the bedchamber. A quaint little museum building, I loved that it's just one part of the whole block facing Church Street--as sort of cutaway of the modern shops to the left and right showcasing what the street would have looked like five hundred years ago.

Gloucester & Oxford

After returning to Gloucester, I spent Sunday strolling around the city and visited the Gloucester Museum. While small, they did have some impressive artifacts highlighting the city's history. I was pleasantly surprised by some of the medieval objects like shoes, livery badges, and arrowheads/bolts. As a bit of a cordwainer, I spent some time with the shoes, getting as many different angles as I could with my phone-camera. Again, it wasn't the biggest museum I've been to, but I really enjoyed the objects they had on display there.

The next day, I took off for Oxford. This was meant to be a short excursion as I had wanted to spend a little more time there when I last visited Oxford with students a few months earlier. I went back to the market to buy a steak and ale pie, poked around the shops, and visited Oxford Castle. One thing stuck out to me in my visit to Oxford: the city was fairly modern. Unlike Gloucester, Norwich, or York for example, Oxford just didn't satisfy my medieval-craving, so I eagerly prepared for my next destination.

Norwich And The Pastons

Norwich was on my list of places I had to go to. I'd been all over the UK, but I had never been to East Anglia. Since joining a medieval unit in 2021 that focuses on the Paston family and their household, I finally had an excuse to go (if I needed any to begin with). Norwich would be my home for the next week as I explored the city but also the surrounding country, looking for Paston hotspots. It's also where I met up with my wife as she joined me for my last week in the UK. We toured all of the big Norwich places, from the cathedral to the Paston's house on Elm Hill. While the cathedral wasn't as impressive as Winchester or Gloucester, it was still a beautiful work of architecture. 

Seeing the Paston's house felt a little surreal--I'd been studying this English family for a few years now, even reenacting them in the US--and then to finally stand in front of one of their homes was just an indescribable experience. Thankfully my wife was as excited as I was and we both got some pictures standing in front of it. As it turned out though, our Paston experience was only just starting.

I decided that seeing what we saw in Norwich wasn't sufficient--we really needed to get out of the city and explore. I sprang the idea on Alexa: should we rent a car for the day? I've never driven in the UK before and, while I can drive manual, it had been a few years. Thankfully, the local Enterprise had an automatic-transmission car, and an EV at that. Using some suggestions from a contact in the Paston Footprints organization, we set out from Norwich on the left side of the road. It's here that I'd like to toss in that, if you ever travel to Europe and you need to use cellular data (Google Maps, for example), I highly recommend Airalo. While it already saved me on the pilgrim route the week earlier, it came in super handy again for navigating East Anglia.

Our first stop was to Gresham Castle. This easily set the tone for the rest of our day-trip. Between driving down narrow country lanes and getting a little turned around when cell service got a bit spotty, the drive was fairly exciting. The destination was more than worth it though. While I knew Gresham Castle is just ruins, I thought I'd surprise my wife by neglecting to tell her just how ruined it is. Parking on the side of a road near some farm fields with no substantial stone architecture in sight was her first indication that this was going to be a fun experience. Walking into one of the fields towards a large copse of trees heightened her suspicions that this castle was in fact not the usual tourist-destination.

Gresham Castle was built in the early 14th century as part of Edward II's campaign for building new fortifications across England. Constructed around the original manor house, the castle was stone with four walls, four towers, a moat, and a drawbridge. Despite this impressive architecture, it was still just a fortified manor house, and not a massive castle. What's left of it today is the moat and the base of the stone walls, overgrown with vegetation. Still, it made for a really neat stop, especially as we managed to cross the moat and stand on top of what was once the manor house, after wading through a sea of nettles first.

As we were leaving Gresham, we made an impromptu stop at the nearby All Saints parish church. The stunning 12th century stone tower drew us in, and definitely did not disappoint up close, either. Inside, the church was clearly "modernized" by subsequent generations--especially the Victorians--but the late-medieval sacramental font with its intact depictions of the Catholic seven sacraments was a surprise. During the Reformation in the 16th century, most of these fonts were destroyed, but apparently this one was simply plastered over, allowing more recent restoration by meticulously removing the plaster from around the deeply-set relief carvings. This brief visit was completely unplanned, but ended up being a highlight of the trip.

Next, we visited the town of Paston, with St. Margaret's Church, the Great Barn, and the Paston house. The town of Paston was of course the "Paston headquarters" and where their mansion still stands. The church is a beautiful example of a small, local parish church with medieval (15th century) paintings still adorning the wall, though faded from having been plastered over during the Reformation. This is also the location of John Paston's burial. If you'd like to see a fascinating 3D reconstruction of what the inside of St. Margaret's would have looked like in the mid/late 15th century, check out the Paston Footprints' page here.

After St. Margaret's, our third stop was in Mautby. The ancestral home of Margaret Mautby Paston (wife of John I), it's a beautiful area with a lovely parish church (St. Peter and St. Paul), funded in part by Margaret herself. Exploring the grounds, I discovered her recently-placed grave marker, though it only hints at the real location of her burial as the section of the church she was buried in was later demolished. Inside the church was a curious 13th century knight's tomb with most of his funerary effigy. The state of it suggests it had to have been outside for centuries before being moved into the church. Like St. Margaret's Church in Paston, St. Peter and St. Paul's is built of stone, faced with the local Norwich flint, but also thatched. It's the thatched roof standing proudly over the stone structure that gives this building its stunning beauty.

Our final Paston-destination was Caister Castle. Built by Sir John Fastolf by 1440, this was one of England's first all-brick castles. John Paston I, serving as personal lawyer to Fastolf, ended up inheriting the castle following the knight's death in 1459, though through rather dubious means. Today, the castle is in ruins, but some of it still remains, notably the tower and niches built for skeps (as beekeepers, my wife and I definitely geeked out over these). The 100-foot tower offered a spectacular view of the surrounding countryside and no doubt was an impressive symbol of Fastolf's and the Pastons' power.

We ended our day with some dinner in and strolling around Great Yarmouth.

The rest of our week in Norwich, we explored some local museums like the Hungate Medieval Art Gallery. This gallery is located in a medieval parish church within the city of Norwich. It's mostly stripped down on the inside, but it features some beautiful paintings, stained glass, and reproductions of funerary brasses. 

Another stop was outside of Norwich: Ely. We had visited Cambridge, but on our way back, we stopped at Ely to check out the cathedral. Despite England's mild temperature my entire stay, it did get into the low 80s F (27ish C) so our enthusiasm to do much outdoors was waning, but it was absolutely worth visiting. When we walked into the cathedral, a wedding was just wrapping up, so we managed to catch some music and posh dress before enjoying the cathedral's architecture. Fascinated by all things green-man, my wife picked up the "green man tour brochure" so we set out hunting for the depictions of the mythological, floral-crowned visage. Impressed and overwhelmed by the cathedral, we eventually returned to Norwich where we ended our trip, traveling to Greenwich the next day, and from there, Heathrow soon after.

Thank you for reading! I hope my trip inspires you to visit some of these beautiful medieval sites in England and maybe even make a pilgrimage of your own, too. Is there something I missed when I visited one of these places? Should I have gone somewhere instead of seen something else? Let me know in the comments below or send me an email by filling in the "contact me" on the right!

¹For a free "modern translation" of Chaucer, consider reading it here at Harvard University.

²If you're interested in 18th century cooking, I highly recommend Marc Meltonville's book The Tavern Cook