The 3rd edition of the Médiévales dunoises has some new features in its program. The Echo tells you the story of Alys, the 3.6 meter giant who has been amazing the people of Dunois since Saturday June 29…
Not far from the lists, Place Royale, Alys stands out with her 3.60 meters. This giant draper from the 15th century is one of the new features of the 3rd edition of the Medieval Dunoises of Iron and Fire, in Châteaudun. “I gave the idea to Gérald Machurez, deputy mayor for culture, who is also my neighbor!” explains Thierry Leterme from Dunois, also known as the local referent for Eure-et-Loir nature.
The third edition of the Médiévales dunoises inaugurated this Friday, June 28 in Châteaudun with the announcement of a new project for Julien Cohen
The elected official has the idea of offering an exhibition on the North of France at the Châteaudun media library. “I have cousins who are members of the Les Amis d’Alys association, from the North of France… like him!, explains Thierry Leterme. This is how Alys went to Châteaudun for the Médiévales Dunoises.”
The association Les Amis d’Alys, which will celebrate its 10th anniversary in 2026, is made up of around fifteen porters-accompanying people. Its president, Pierre Loyer, 26, also a second cousin of Thierry Leterme, is one of the few giant makers in France. He himself wove the wicker structure of the draper. His friend, Jordi Arnau Espuga Giné, a Catalan giant creator, made the head and hands in papier-mâché.
“Reviving the tradition of the giants”
“The association’s initial idea was to revive the tradition of giants, most certainly drawn from religious processions,” explains Pierre Loyer, who worked for “3-4 months” in his workshop to give substance to Alys.
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The figure of the draper is not insignificant.
“Alys was financed by Comines traders. It was therefore necessary to make the link with trade. Comines was for a very long time the world capital of ribbon. Representing a draper seemed obvious.”
Pierre Loyer (president of the association Les Amis d’Alys)
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Unlike the other Comines giants, Alys is carried by the members of the association. The other giants are generally made of metal and are not carried but rolled.
Océane Fermyn, vice-president of the Friends of Alys, and Erwann Dekesel, who arrived “this year”, are among the porters-accompanying. “We take turns every 5 minutes because our giant weighs between 60 and 65 kg. The weight rests on our skulls and shoulders”, they explain.
The name Alys is taken from the Lys, a river in northern France and Belgium. On the draper’s skirt there are nods to the town of Comines: the bulb of the belfry, a UNESCO world heritage site, and the patterns of the Byzantine mosaic tiling of the church. “We are happy to revive this tradition,” confides Pierre Loyer. “The most beautiful stories are often the invented ones…”
Julie Guillaud
