Hi Jon, here is one thread on gin poles, Craig has a nice system, Jim show some stuff, I rig a little different than both of those example, all the same concept.
Fun reading if nothing else.
My foreign language abilities are non existent but I love the pictures and videos, they say a lot.
In which case (if you haven't already scoured it), you might like:
http://www.charpentiers.culture.fr/delarbrelamaison/lartducharpentier/levageIt demonstrates the use of a "chevre" (a 2-pole gin pole). I had already considered this (and I'm still toying with the idea for getting the ridge beam in place), but I'm more likely to hire a genie superlift (or equivalent). For lifting the frames I have the advantage of a large slope to one side of the plot from the top of which I can attach lifting gear. This will allow the use of pulley blocks to raise the frames directly. In theory, a chevre mounted some distance up the slope would provide me with a crane... once I'm sure that the design for the house is valid, and I can order it all in time, I might come back to alternative lifting methods.
The other videos on the site are equally good. There's a few demonstrations of traditional carpentry techniques, and (from memory) some nice video footage of a treadmill-powered crane lifting large timbers up to the top of a castle.
