The Tithe Barn is one of the major sites here in the medieval town of Provins. The wonderfully preserved structure was once an indoor market where traders would come from all over Europe to trade. The barn as surprisingly spacious but what was surprising was that the main trading area was below the street level. There was a large area here which was dedicated for traders. Think of it at each trader having to rent a spot here in the barn. There were several exhibits of typical traders in Provins. It was very impressive how lifelike the were. The addition of the audio guide was also very thoughtful.
The audio guide was actually more of a first person narration. The voices on the guide would act out their parts depending on the exhibit which we were looking at. For example an Italian merchant, a local cloth merchant and yes, a money changer. It was interesting to see how these characters still exist in in modern times. The audio guide was very helpful in understand how life was back in the medieval times. If people are not at war, they are out making money. I would certainly prefer it that way. Although Provins is no longer the center for trade that it used to be, through these exhibits we can know more about how it was back then.
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