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Title: Brittany
Author: Baring-Gould, S. (Sabine)
Language: English
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*** Start of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "Brittany" ***
BRITTANY
THE LITTLE GUIDES
CAMBRIDGE AND ITS COLLEGES
OXFORD AND ITS COLLEGES
ST PAUL'S CATHEDRAL
THE TEMPLE
WESTMINSTER ABBEY
THE ENGLISH LAKES
THE MALVERN COUNTRY
SHAKESPEARE'S COUNTRY
SNOWDONIA
BEDFORDSHIRE AND HUNTINGDONSHIRE
BERKSHIRE
BUCKINGHAMSHIRE
CAMBRIDGESHIRE
THE CHANNEL ISLANDS
CHESHIRE
CORNWALL
CUMBERLAND AND WESTMORLAND
DERBYSHIRE
DEVON
DORSET
DURHAM
ESSEX
GLOUCESTERSHIRE
HAMPSHIRE
HEREFORDSHIRE
HERTFORDSHIRE
THE ISLE OF WIGHT
KENT
LANCASHIRE
LEICESTERSHIRE AND RUTLAND
LINCOLNSHIRE
LONDON
MIDDLESEX
MONMOUTHSHIRE
NORFOLK
NORTHAMPTONSHIRE
NORTHUMBERLAND
NOTTINGHAMSHIRE
OXFORDSHIRE
SHROPSHIRE
SOMERSET
STAFFORDSHIRE
SUFFOLK
SURREY
SUSSEX
THE EAST RIDING OF YORKSHIRE
THE NORTH RIDING OF YORKSHIRE
THE WEST RIDING OF YORKSHIRE
WARWICKSHIRE
WILTSHIRE
NORTH WALES
SOUTH WALES
KERRY
BRITTANY
NORMANDY
ROME
SICILY
[Illustration: CALVARY, PLOUGASTEL]
BRITTANY
_By_
S · BARING · GOULD
_With Illustrations by_
J · WYLIE
AND FROM PHOTOGRAPHS
AND THREE MAPS
I rather would entreat thy company,
To see the wonders of the world abroad,
Than living dully sluggardiz'd at home,
Wear out thy youth with shapeless idleness.
_Two Gentlemen of Verona_
Act I. Sc. i.
LONDON
METHUEN & CO. LTD.
_36 Essex St. Strand_
_Third Edition_
_First Published_ _July 1902_
_Second Edition_ _April 1914_
_Third Edition_ _1921_
PREFACE
Brittany can hardly claim the attention of the tourist as a
superlatively beautiful country. The way in which trees are clipped
and tortured out of shape disfigures the sylvan landscape; and of
mountain scenery there is none. The ranges of the Montaignes Noires
and the Monts d'Arrez are insignificant. Yet the valleys are pretty,
but never grand. The charm of Brittany is to be found in the people
and in the churches. The former with their peculiar costumes, and
their customs are full of interest, and the latter are of remarkable
beauty and quaintness. The ordinary tourist will hardly see much of the
costume unless he attends a _pardon_, the Patron of the Irish peasant;
the patronal feast at some chapel frequented only on the day of the
pardon. But the student of men and manners will find much to interest
him at such a gathering. The churches are of extraordinary beauty,
they are for the most part of granite, but of a fine-grained granite
that lends itself to elaborate carving. And the kersanten stone is
employed, a dark volcanic product that is undercut and preserves its
sharpness through centuries, and is employed for carving of lace-like
delicacy. The coast scenery is fine, but not of the finest description,
and varies very greatly from the granite cliffs of Finistère to
the sandy _dunes_ of the Morbihan. The towns are not comparable to
those of Normandy for the number and richness of their mediæval
domestic buildings, but are set in far more charming surroundings.
The cathedrals are, for the most part small, Quimper and S. Pol de
Léon and Tréguier have the finest, but these are of a French type,
whereas the village churches possess a stamp peculiar to Brittany,
where spared. Unhappily a passion has possessed the people of late to
pull down their ancient churches and build new Houses of God in very
questionable taste. In the diocese of Vannes the modern architecture is
execrable, but the architects of Quimper are of a vastly higher type.
They follow the old lines, and imitate what is good, whereas in the
Côtes du Nord and in Morbihan, the modern work is insufferably vulgar
and bad. The whole country teems with prehistoric antiquities, but
these will only interest those who have made such monuments a special
study; nevertheless Carnac and Locmariaquer and Gavr' Inis cannot fail
to impress the ordinary traveller with a sense of astonishment at the
majesty of the rude architecture of a lost and mysterious people of
whom almost nothing is known, and whose one religious idea seems to
have been, the cult of the dead.
The people are intensely religious. Religion is their passion; and
the efforts made by the Republican government to tread it down, and
to de-Bretonise the people, have only intensified their religious and
national enthusiasm. The Breton peasant is said to have a hard head.
He is obstinate and resists outside pressure to alter his creed or
his customs. The old Royalist tendency of the Breton is a thing of
the past. He is content to be under a republic, if the republic will
only leave him alone. Fishing and shooting may be obtained on easy
terms, and both are good. The roads are excellent for the cyclist,
and the costumes and the architecture present inexhaustible subjects
for the camera. The inns are always clean, the charges are moderate,
and the fare very passable. No part of Europe is so accessible, and
contains so much of interest in varied directions as Brittany. It is
a delightful land for a brief visit, it is full of matter for study
by one who can make there a prolonged stay. The climate is mild, and
not so rainy as the West of England and Wales. The kindly people will
always treat a traveller with gracious courtesy. But Brittany, it must
be remembered, is divided into two very distinct portions, that in
which only French is spoken, and that in which the language is Breton,
closely akin to Welsh. And of Brittany, by far the most interesting
portion is Finistère, where old costumes and old customs are clung to
more tenaciously than elsewhere.
S. B. G.
CONTENTS
PAGE
I. GENERAL FEATURES AND GEOLOGY 1
II. BOTANY 6
III. HISTORY 11
IV. ANTIQUITIES 24
V. THE PARDONS 26
VI. ICONOGRAPHY 29
VII. GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS 31
DESCRIPTION OF PLACES IN BRITTANY,
ARRANGED ALPHABETICALLY 36-238
INDEX OF PLACES 239
INDEX OF SUBJECTS 244
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS AND MAPS
CALVARY, PLOUGASTEL _Frontispiece_
PAGE
GEOLOGICAL MAP OF BRITTANY 1
MAP OF BRITTANY SHOWING LIMITS OF BRETON
TONGUE 11
FOUGÈRES 16
(_From a Photograph by Messrs Neurdein frères, Paris._)
THE BRIDGE, AURAY 40
(_From a Photograph by Messrs Neurdein frères, Paris._)
STE. ANNE D'AURAY 42
(_From a Photograph by Messrs Neurdein frères, Paris._)
THE LINES OF ERDEVEN 57
THE LINES OF CARNAC 68
(_From a Photograph by Messrs Neurdein frères, Paris._)
N.D. DE LA FONTAINE, DAOULAS 82
S. SAUVEUR, DINAN 84
TOWER, DINARD 87
PLOARÉ 92
S. FIACRE 97
FOUGÈRES 100
(_From a Photograph by Messrs Neurdein frères, Paris._)
LA ROCHE AUX FÉES, ESSÉ 112
THE COURT, JOSSELIN 113
CALVARY AND OSSUARY, S. THÉGONNEC 123
MORLAIX 146
CHURCH AND OSSUARY, TRÉGASTEL 150
PONTCROIX 173
N.D. DE CONFORT 174
IN QUIMPER 180
(_From a Photograph by Messrs Neurdein frères, Paris._)
THE CATHEDRAL, QUIMPER 182
(_From a Photograph by Messrs Neurdein frères, Paris._)
LOCRONAN 183
QUIMPERLÉ 186
(_From a Photograph by Messrs Neurdein frères, Paris._)
THE CATHEDRAL, RENNES 188
(_From a Photograph by Messrs Neurdein frères, Paris._)
S. BRIEUC 196
(_From a Photograph by Messrs Neurdein frères, Paris._)
LE KREISKER, S. POL DE LÉON 205
(_From a Photograph by Messrs Neurdein frères, Paris._)
TRÉGUIER CATHEDRAL 217
VANNES 226
(_From a Photograph by Messrs Neurdein frères, Paris._)
MAP OF BRITTANY 238
[Illustration: GEOLOGICAL MAP OF BRITTANY
SHOWING THE GRANITE AND ERUPTIVE ROCKS DOTTED]
BRITTANY
I. GENERAL FEATURES AND GEOLOGY
Brittany, the extreme Western promontory of the North of France,
comprises the five departments of Côtes-du-Nord, Ille-et-Vilaine,
Finistère, Morbihan, and Loire-Inférieure. It is distinguished into
Upper and Lower Brittany. In the former the French language is spoken,
in the latter the Breton, and French is an acquired tongue.
The back-bone of Upper Brittany is the chain of the Menez that runs
from East to West, and then branches, forming on the North the
Montagnes d'Arrée, and on the South, the Montagnes Noires. The system
may be likened to a hay-fork or a pair of tongs, where the prongs of
the fork form the above-named ranges. The whole rests on an elevated
plateau that slopes to the sea North and West, and on the South dies
down into the plain of the Vilaine and the Loire.
On the North this plateau is seamed by the rivers that have cut narrow
valleys and ravines through which they make their way to the sea. Such
are the Rance, the Gouet, the rivière de Morlaix, with the result
that there is no coast-road, and the traveller passes along the main
arteries of traffic at some distance from the sea, catching a glimpse
of it only once at the Anse d'Iffinac, and has to branch off from it
to the coast so as to make acquaintance with the bold and picturesque
coast.
The mountain range is nowhere high, and rarely reaches a thousand feet.
The highest point is the Mont Saint Michel which attains to slightly
over 1200 ft. The freshman arriving at Cambridge asked where was the
Gogmagog range, and was told that he might see it when an intervening
cart got out of the way. Owing to the ridges rising out of an elevated
plateau, they are almost as insignificant as the Gogmagogs. However,
the Menez-hom most nearly attains to the dignity of a mountain, as it
stands above the Bay of Douarnenez, reaches however only to 990 ft.
Along the Western confines of the department of Ille-et-Vilaine, the
Menez spreads out into high tableland sown with lakelets acting as
feeders to the Vilaine.
The Monts d'Arrée, starting from the Coat-an-Noz in Côtes-du-Nord,
extend to the peninsula of Crozon, they attain their highest point at
the Mont S. Michel, and decline as they approach the sea. They rarely
rise 300 ft. above the tableland on which they are planted, and this
prevents them from having an imposing appearance.
The Montagnes Noires flank the central plain on the South. Their
maximum height is 1050 ft. After running S.W., they bend abruptly
towards the N.W., and terminate in the Menez-hom in the Crozon
peninsula.
In the Morbihan, the Lande de Lanvaux, running from W. to N.E., extends
50 kilometres, and rises to the height of from 240 to 320 ft. between
the basins of the Claye and the Arz which unite at Redon to feed the
Vilaine.
The North coast of Brittany is eaten into bays from which the sea
retreats to considerable distances, and is fringed with reefs and
islands. It is a favourite resort of Parisians, throughout its stretch,
from Dinard to Plestin.
The West of this peninsula is torn into shreds of promontories with
deep inlets between them. The promontories of S. Mathieu, Crozon,
Sizun, and Penmarch are bald, but bold. Below the point of Penmarch
the coast rapidly trends S.E. and alters in character; it loses its
bleak desolation and ragged rocky nature, and forms landlocked seas, as
those of Belz and the Morbihan; and the rocks make way for sand-dunes.
The island chain that constitutes a natural breakwater to the bay of
Quiberon is the wreckage of the barrier of another inland sea, broken
up by the Atlantic surges. South of the mouth of the Loire the island
of Noirmoutier stretches almost sufficiently far out to enclose another.
The plateau formation of the country is not conducive to beauty, and
its lovely sites must be sought in the valleys, and its wildest scenes
on the coast. The deep cleft ravine of the Rance, the sweet valley of
the Elorn, that of the Aulne, canalised, the Blavet, the Laïta and the
Arz, will richly repay tracing upward.
The promontories of Crozon and Sizun till of late years were bare and
untilled, and heath-grown; but the use of sardine heads as manure has
given a great impetus to agriculture, and the demand for fir balks for
the South Welsh mines has caused the planting of vast tracts with the
Austrian pine.
* * * * *
The geological structure of Brittany is simple. It consists of an
immense upheaval of granite through beds of Silurian and Cambrian
schist. Rare deposits of lime occur in the folds of these beds. Dykes
of quartz and diorite have traversed the schist and granite, and the
face of the country is spotted with eruptions of igneous matter. It is
as though the crust had been full of blowholes through which the molten
diorite had rushed to the surface. The presence of quartz or diorite in
the neighbourhood can always be recognised by the employment of one or
the other to metal the roads.
The granite extends from the bay of Mont Saint Michel to the extreme
point of Finistère and reappears in the isles beyond; it is interrupted
only here and there by the sedimentary beds. The Châteaulin district,
however, and the basin between the prongs of the mountain fork, are all
of Cambrian and Silurian beds. But from the Pointe du Raz the granite
extends almost uninterruptedly to the Rhone.
The Brittany granite is for the most part fine grained and soft, so
that it lends itself easily to be carved, and has been freely employed
in churches and secular buildings from the 11th century. But it is
readily corroded by the weather, and this has given to denuded surfaces
a smooth and rounded shape, and has taken the angles off exposed masses
that form tors, and has occasioned the fall of many into utter ruin.
A band of syenite runs from near Lamballe to Cap Fréhel, where it forms
magnificent cliffs. Syenite again comes to the surface at Trégastel
and on the coast north of Morlaix. The Monts d'Arrée are of Cambrian
schist and furnish slates here and there of good quality. Taking a
section across the inner basin, the granite is quitted at Plounéour,
then the ridge of Cambrian schist is reached, after crossing the
culminating point of S. Michel, which is of Cambrian sandstone; when we
reach S. Herbot we are on Silurian beds. Continuing our course south,
the sandstone makes way for slaty schists, and to this succeeds the
grauwacke of Brasparts. The Montagnes Noires belong to the Silurian
system.
The Kersanton stone, so extensively employed for figure and foliage
sculpture in Lower Brittany, is an amphibolite with mica freely
comminuted and distributed through the substance. It is very dark in
colour, and hardens with exposure. It comes from quarries to the south
of the Rade de Brest.
An interesting deposit is the tertiary limestone of S. Juvat beside the
Rance. It is of no great extent, but is of vast commercial importance.
The bed is composed of an agglomerate of shells and bones. In places it
lies under a deposit of as much as 45 ft. of sand. It is a veritable
mine of wealth in a country so destitute of lime as is Brittany.
A mineralogical curiosity is the staurotides found at Baud, Scaer,
and in various places about the Blavet. The peasants attach a
superstitious value to them as marked with the cross, and in some
they affect to recognise the nails. They are often sold on stalls
at a Pardon. They are formed by trapdykes that have penetrated the
schist, and fused and run together some of its constituents, which have
afterwards crystallised, sometimes as parallel prisms, at others as set
transversely forming the ordinary or the S. Andrew's Cross.
II. BOTANY
The botany of Brittany is little varied owing to the slight variation
in the soil and subsoil, schist and granite. It is but in rare spots
where occurs limestone that the flora is different. It may be roughly
divided into the class of plants that affect the inland districts and
the moors, and that which flourishes on the seaboard. The flora of a
slate and granitic region, whether in Scotland, Cornwall or Brittany,
is much the same. In the Guérande, where there are extensive marshes,
an interesting collection may be made of aquatic plants, both those
living in sweet water bogs and those that grow in brackish water.
A complete flora cannot be here attempted; a brief account must
suffice, with indications as to the habitat of the rarer specimens.
As one leaves the Loire, pre-eminently the mouth of the Vilaine, it
is easy to note the gradual disappearance of many plants that are
common south of them. A few that abound there may still occur, but as
stragglers and stunted. And this contrast becomes more striking the
further north we go. The cause of the poverty of the Breton flora is
the uniformity of the soil and the absence of calcareous rocks, and
this deprives us of an entire series of plants that abound in Normandy
although the climate there is more rigorous. A small number does exist,
but only, as already intimated, where there are pockets of limestone,
or else on the seaboard, where they can feed on the wreckage of shells
cast up by the sea, and carried inland by the gales with the sand.
The following is a list of the plants found in calcareous soil in
Brittany:--
Fumaria parviflora.
Diplotaxis muralis.
" viminea.
Arabis sagitata.
Lepidium campestre.
Thlaspi perfoliatum (L. Inf.).
Helianthemum vulgare.
Althæa hirsuta (L. Inf.).
Silene inflata.
Anthylis vulneraria.
Astragallus glycyphyllis (Ren.).
Potentilla verna.
Galium spurium.
" tricorne (L. Inf.).
Dipsacus pilosus (Ren.).
Scabrosa columbaria.
Cirsium acaule.
" eriophorum (L. Inf. Rennes).
Centaurea scabiosa.
Podospermum laciniatum.
Chlora perfoliata.
Lithospermum officinale.
Anchusa italica.
Cynoglossum pictum (Ren.).
Salvia sclarea.
" pratensis (L. Inf.).
Stachys germanica (L. Inf.).
Stachys annua.
" recta (L. Inf.).
Ajuga Chamæpitys.
Potamogeton Hornemanni (Rennes).
Orchis pyramidalis.
" hircina.
" palustris.
Ophrys aranifera.
" apifera.
Juncus obtusiflorus.
Carex nitida.
" paludosa (L. Inf.).
Avena putescens.
Bromus erectus.
" arvensis.
Equisetum Telmateia.
Adianthum Capillus Veneris.
The maritime region is more rich and interesting, and in addition to
such as may be found in limestone districts already registered, the
following is given as a list of plants that grow in sand:--
Glaucium luteum.
Silene Otites.
" conica.
Spergula nodosa.
Medicago minima.
Ononis repens.
Ornithopus compressus.
Vicia lathyroides.
Buplevrum aristatum.
Corrigiola litteralis.
Asperula cynanchica.
Graphalium luteo-album.
Chondrilla juncea.
Cynanchum vincetoxicum.
Linaria supina.
Salix repens.
Asparagus officinalis.
Allium sphærocephalum.
Muscari cornosum.
Koeleria cristata.
Aira canescens.
Testuca uniglumis.
Geranium sanguineum.
Trifolium strictum.
Rosa pimpinelli folia.
Epilobium parvi florum.
Herniaria glabra.
Oenanthe Lachenalii.
Salvia verbenaca.
Samolus Valerandi.
Thesium humifusum.
Carex punctata.
Brittany, as already intimated, possesses no true mountains, only
elevated moorland. There are consequently to be found there no true
mountainous plants. Lycopodium Selago is rare on a few elevated spots;
Viola palustris and Polystichum oreopteris belong to a submountainous
district. The only exceptional plant is a peculiar form of Silene
maritima that grows on the summit of all the rocks of the Monts d'
Arrée. This range was once doubtless covered by forest, as is shown by
the presence on it of Vaccinium myrtillus, a plant that lives in the
shade of trees, and which lingers on, in a stunted condition, although
the sheltering boughs are long departed.
The following is a list of some of the plants of Lower Brittany that
are rare in the departments of Finistère, Morbihan, and Côtes-du-Nord,
omitting the names of those already given as pertaining to calcareous
soils and the seaboard sands:--
Thalictrum flavum.
Fumaria micrantha.
Raphanus maritimus.
Crambe maritima.
Cochlearia anglica.
Helianthemum umbellatum.
Viola palustris.
Astrocarpus Clusii.
Arenaria montana.
Lavatera arborea.
Ervodium maritimum.
Ulex Galii.
Adenocarpus complicatus.
Trifolium Michelianum.
" angustifolium.
Lupinus reticulatus.
Potentilla vaillantii.
Pyrus aucuparea.
Scleranthus perennis.
Eryngium viviparum (sp.).
Torilio heterophylla.
Sium angustifolium.
Œnanthe pimpinelloides.
Peucedanum officinale.
Linosyris vulgaris.
Artemisia gallica.
Crepis setosa.
Erica vagans.
" setosa.
Linaria pelisseriana.
" supera.
Teucrium scordium.
Statice rariflora.
Plantago carinata.
Quercus toza.
Zostera nana.
Epipactis palustris.
Malaxis paludosa.
Gladiolus illyricus.
Pancratium maritimum.
Juncus obtusiflorus.
Eriophorum vaginatum.
" gracile.
Carex teretiuscula.
" triformis.
Polypogon littoralis.
Agrostis spica venti.
Cynosurus echinatus.
Isoetes Delalandei.
These in addition have been noted in Finistère:--
Diplotaxis muralis.
Astragallus Bayonensis.
Pyrus aucuparea.
Cineraria spathulæfolia.
Gentiana campestris (sp.).
Erythria diffusa.
Lithospermum prostratum (sp.).
Anchusa italica.
Galeopsis versicolor (sp.).
Teucrium scordium.
Urtica membranacea (sp.).
Triglossum Barrilieri.
Orchis palustris.
Narcissus reflexus (sp.).
Scilla verna.
Juncus squarosus.
Scerpus cœspitosus.
Eriphorbium vaginatum.
Carex dioica.
" punctata.
Crypsis aculeata.
" schœnoides.
Bromus velutinus.
Lycopodium selago (sp.).
Grammitis leptophylla (sp.).
Polystichum oreopteris.
Hymerophyllum tunbridgense (sp.).
These also in the Côtes-du-Nord:--
Erodium botrys.
Selinum curvifolia.
Cirsium acaule.
Gentiana amarella (sp.).
Symphytum tuberosum.
Eufragia latifolia.
Polygonum bistorta (sp.).
Paris quadrifolia.
Aira flexuosa.
Côtes-du-Nord has the advantage of the limestone bed of S. Juvat,
where many of the plants given in the first list may be gathered.
Ille-et-Vilaine is still more favourably situated for calcareous rocks.
There is a considerable basin south of Rennes, with a corresponding
flora, generally known to botanists as the limestone tract of S.
Jacques.
Such plants as are common throughout the country have not been included
in the lists.
[Illustration: MAP OF BRITTANY SHOWING LIMITS OF BRETON TONGUE]
III. HISTORY
Brittany, whose ancient name was Armorica (Ar môr, by the sea), and
which was known to the Britons and Irish as Llydau, was originally
peopled by the race of the Dolmen-builders, a brown eyed and dark
haired people, who strewed it with their monuments. To them followed
the Gauls, blue eyed and with flaxen hair; these latter were
divided into five tribes that occupied severally the departments of
Ille-et-Vilaine (Redones), with their capital at Rennes; Côtes-du-Nord
(Curiosoliti), with their headquarters at Corseul, near Dinan;
Finistère (Osismi), their capital of Carhaix; Morbihan (Veneti), with
their centre at Vannes; Loire Inférieure (Nanneti), with a capital at
Nantes.
These tribes were subjugated by Cæsar, and the Veneti almost
exterminated by him. Under the Romans, the culture and the language
of the conquerors were rapidly assimilated. Christianity took root at
Rennes and Nantes and Vannes, but almost nothing was done for the rural
population, which probably still spoke its agglutinative tongue akin
to the modern Basque. The stately bishops of these Gallo-Roman cities
confined themselves to ministering to the cultured residents within
their walls, and in villas scattered along the coast. The Gallo-Roman
population had dwindled to an incredible extent, under the exactions
of the imperial tax-gatherers, so that all the country residences fell
into ruin, and the impoverished Gallo-Romans withdrew into the towns.
But early--very early in the 5th century, fleets of British settlers
came over, flying from the swords of Picts and Scots, and occupied the
land about the mouth of the Loire. By 469 they were so numerous as to
be able to send a contingent of twelve thousand men to the assistance
of the Romans against the Visigoths.
As a consequence of the Saxon invasion of Britain the immigration
grew, and the dispossessed islanders sought and found a new home in
the Armorican peninsula, where they established themselves under their
own princes, with their own institutions, civil and ecclesiastical,
and their own tongue. Thenceforth Armorica ceased to be so called, and
received the name of Lesser Britain, and the current language became
British, identical with that now spoken in Wales, and spoken till
the 17th century in Cornwall as well. Contact with France along the
East has gradually thrust back the Breton language, but it is still
spoken from Guingamp, in a slanting line to the mouth of the Loire.
Two British kingdoms were formed, Domnonia and Cornubia; the former
included the Côtes-du-Nord and Finistère above the river Elorn, and
Cornubia or Cornouaille was the district below that river, the basin
between the Monts d'Arrée and the Montagnes Noires, and stretched to
the river Ellé at Quimperlé. All the department of Morbihan was the
Bro-Weroc, a county, but the British chief did not call himself its
king, probably because the colonists did not get hold of Vannes, the
capital, which they enveloped but left unmolested.
At first the British colonists admitted their allegiance to their
native princes in Britain, who certainly came over, and were granted
certain lands as the royal _dominium_ in the newly settled land. Thus
we have Geraint, King of Devon, with his palace in Belle Ile, and
portions of the newly-acquired territory on the Blavet, in Morbihan,
and near Matignon, in Côtes-du-Nord. His son Solomon, or Selyf, as
was his British name, also came over, and is said to have fallen at
Langollen, probably whilst endeavouring to enforce taxes on the native
original pagan inhabitants.
But as the insular power of the Britons was broken, the colonists
considered themselves independent, and acknowledged a loose and
ill-defined submission to the Frank kings at Paris, who, however, left
them to be governed by their native rulers.
But not only did Britons settle in the land. Large numbers of Irish
arrived from Ossory and Wexford, at the close of the 5th century, and
settled along the west and north coast. No traces of them are found
south of Hennebont, or west of Guingamp, but all the coastline of
Cornouaille and Léon was studded thick with them.
Now only was a serious attempt made to convert the native population.
The chiefs who came over were attended or followed by their brothers
and cousins who were ecclesiastics, and these were granted lands on
condition that they educated the young of the freeborn colonists of the
tribe, and ministered in sacred matters to the tribesmen.
The work of the evangelisation of Ireland seems to have sent a thrill
through Brittany, and to have been taken up there with energy.
Missionary colleges were formed by some of the assistants of Patrick,
which should serve as training places for those who were to assist in
carrying on the apostolic work in Ireland.
The principal _Irish_ founders in the country were:--Fiacc, Bishop
of Sletty, called in Breton Vi'ho; Tighernac, Bishop of Clogher and
Clones, in Breton Thégonnec; Eugenius, Bishop of Ardstraw, in Breton
Saint Tugean; Senan, Abbot of Inniscathy (Breton Seny), Setna, his
disciple, in Breton Sezni; Conleath, Bridget's domestic bishop, in
Breton Coulitz, Ronan and Brendan.
The principal _British_ founders were:--Cadoc, Brioc, Tugdual,
Leonore, Paulus Aurelianus, Curig, Caradoc, Gildas, and his crippled
son Kenneth; David, Samson, Malo, Arthmael, Meven, and Mancen or
Mawgan--this latter closely allied with the Irish mission. Nonna,
mother of S. David, Ninnoc, Noyala, and disciples of S. Bridget,
established institutions for the education of the daughters of the
freemen of the tribe to which the schools were attached.
In 845, Nominoe, who had been invested with the lieutenancy of
Brittany by Louis the Pious, led a revolt against Charles the Bald,
and established the independence of Brittany that lasted till the
Duchess Anne brought it under the French crown, 1491. From the close
of the 9th century, and throughout the 10th, the coast was ravaged by
the Northmen, Frisians and Danes, and the insecurity inland caused
the desertion of the country and the flight of the monks carrying the
relics of their founders to walled towns in the heart of France. That
Brittany should thus fall a prey to these invaders was largely due to
the divisions that existed among its princes, who could not or would
not combine against the common foe. At length Alan, Count of Vannes,
did succeed in rallying the Britons, and defeated the Northern pirates,
which secured rest for fifteen years. For the first time under him did
the Gallo-Roman towndwellers consent to make common cause with the
descendants of the British colonists.
On the death of Alan (907) the Northmen reappeared, and a great many
Bretons under Count Matthuedoi of Poher fled to England and threw
themselves on the protection of Athelstan.
In 938, Alan Barbetorte, godson of Athelstan, returned from England
and drove out the Normans. Nantes was in such complete ruin that when
Alan sought to reach the fallen altar of the cathedral church, there to
offer up his thanks for victory gained, he was constrained to hew his
way to it through a thicket of thorns and brambles.
After the expulsion of the Northmen Brittany was reorganised. Hitherto
the colonists had been divided into tribes, each of which was a _plou_,
and no Gallo-Roman could enter into one such. But after the victories
of Alan Barbetorte the plous were not reconstructed, and the feudal
system succeeded to that which was tribal.
Brittany was now broken up into a hierarchy of counties and
seigneuries, and the king abandoned the royal title and contented
himself with that of duke. The great counties were those of Léon,
Cornouaille, Poher, Porhoët, Penthièvre, Rennes and Nantes. Five barons
defended the eastern frontier, holding their fiefs under the Count
of Rennes; these were Châteaubriant, la Guerche, Vitré, Fongères and
Combourg. The whole vast inland forest was given to the Counts of
Rennes, it was Porhoët. It was divided into two parts. In the east the
seigneuries of Gael, Loudéac and Malestroit were created as fiefs.
In the west there was but a single seigneurie, that of Porhoët; the
viscount lived at Josselin. Later it was broken up and gave birth to
the viscounty of Rohan.
[Illustration: FOUGÈRES]
The old kingdom of Cornouaille became a county with vassal barons at
Pont l'Abbé, Pont Croix, the abbot of Landevennec, and the viscount of
Le Faou. In the interior were the viscounts of Poher and Gourin.
The old kingdom of Domnonia was divided into three counties, Léon,
Penthièvre and Tréguier.
The Ducal crown did not long remain in the family of Alan Barbetorte.
After internecine war lasting forty years, Conan, Count of Rennes,
assumed the title (990), and the dukes of his house spent their time
in fighting and crushing their own kinsmen. Geoffrey I. had married a
Norman wife, and he had by her two sons, Alan and Eudo. In 1034 Eudo,
jealous and ambitious, demanded of his brother a share in the duchy.
Alan gave him the counties of Tréguier and Penthièvre, and thus Eudo
became the ancestor of that great and dangerous family of Penthièvre,
which maintained undying rivalry with the ducal house, and made of
Brittany a field of civil war for centuries. Conan II. succeeded as
a child of three months, and his uncle ruled in his name, aided by
the Normans. When Conan came of age, he had to fight against Eudo;
he invaded Normandy, but was cut off by poison. When William the
Conqueror became King of England, Brittany was nipped between France
and Normandy, and became an object of ambition to both, and a common
battlefield.
For five hundred years this continued. Brittany writhed and strove for
her independence, and had no desire to become either a province of
France or an English colony. The war broke out under Duke Hoel in 1076
when he invoked the aid of Philip I. against William the Conqueror.
However, under Alan Fergant and Conan III. the land had rest for eighty
years, and then the trouble began again with renewed violence. Conan's
death in 1148 gave rise to a war of succession that lasted eight years.
Conan IV. assisted by the English succeeded in establishing himself in
the ducal seat, and he favoured the English in every way. Henry II. of
England married his son Geoffrey Plantagenet to Constance, daughter
of Conan IV., the heiress of Brittany, and Geoffrey was crowned at
Rennes in 1169. This was of advantage so far that it introduced Norman
civilisation into a duchy that was backward and barbarous. The churches
built in the 12th century were erected by architects of the Norman and
French schools. Such are the cathedrals of S. Pol-de-Léon and S. Malo
and the churches of Guérande. Geoffrey died in 1187, and his son Arthur
fell into the hands of his uncle, King John, who had him murdered at
Rouen (1203). Constance did not die broken-hearted and despairing, as
represented by Shakespeare, but married Guy de Thouars, and had by him
a daughter and heiress, who was married to Pierre de Dreux.
We may pass over the ensuing history till we reach John III. who died
in 1341, without issue, and who, hating his half-brother, Jean de
Montfort, bequeathed the succession to his niece Jeanne de Penthièvre,
whom he married to Charles de Blois, nephew of Philip VI. of France.
This was the signal for the outbreak of the terrible and desolating
War of the Succession of the two Jeannes. In it, neither of those most
interested were for the most part of the time leaders of their hosts.
At the outset Jean de Montfort was taken prisoner (1342), and was kept
in prison till his health was broken, and he was discharged only to
die (1345). But his intrepid wife Jeanne of Flanders carried on the
conflict. At the Battle of La Roche-Derrien (1347) Charles of Blois was
captured and conveyed a prisoner to England, and the conduct of the war
fell to his wife Jeanne. The English espoused the side of Montfort,
and the French that of Charles of Blois. The success of the battle of
La Roche was followed by the signal victory of Mauron (1352). The war
dragged on, and Charles was released in 1356, to renew the contest with
fresh cruelty. He had now as his best assistant Bertrand du Guesclin,
an heroic and honourable soldier, and one of the best captains France
has produced. But in the decisive battle of Auray (1364) Charles was
killed, and Du Guesclin taken prisoner. A few months later, Jean de
Montfort the younger was recognised duke under the title of John IV.
But the war was not at an end. Now that Charles was dead, the Bretons
of Penthièvre rallied about Oliver de Clisson, and the old strife
continued under other names.
The country was ravaged by Companies, under commanders who passed from
one side to the other as suited their convenience. John IV. attempted
to have Clisson assassinated in Paris (1392). The attempt failed,
and served only to exasperate Clisson and aggravate the war. It was
resolved into a family vendetta. In 1420 Oliver de Clisson, grandson of
Charles de Blois, and of Oliver, treacherously obtained possession of
John V. and imprisoned him. A war ensued, and before the duke could be
liberated, much blood was shed; as the cause of the Penthièvre family
was not, on this occasion, espoused by France, it was crushed and the
apanage of Penthièvre was confiscated.
Francis I. (1442-50) conceived an animosity against his brother Gilles
de Bretagne whom he accused of favouring the English. He delivered him
over to his mortal enemy, who starved the unhappy prince to death.
Pierre II. succeeded, but as he died without issue, as well as Francis,
the succession passed to Arthur of Richmond their uncle. He was
succeeded by Francis II. who died in 1488, leaving an heiress, Anne,
who married first Charles VIII. of France (1491), and on the death of
Charles (1498) married Louis XII., and thus, the duchy was finally
united to the crown of France.
The Reformation made no way with the people of Brittany, but was
embraced by the Rohan, the Rieux, the Laval, and other noble lords,
who coveted the estates of the Church. The chateaux of Blain and Vitré
were for a while centres of Huguenot propaganda in Brittany. The
province would, however, have remained at peace, but that its governor,
the Duke de Mercœur was a devoted adherent to the house of Guise, and
he proposed to make of Brittany a stronghold of the League. When Henry
IV. came to the throne in 1589, he was a Calvinist. There were three
parties in Brittany mutually antagonistic, the Leaguers supported from
Spain, the Huguenots and the Royalists. The city of Rennes, without
abandoning the Faith remained true to Henry IV. Nantes became the
headquarters of the League. The Huguenots, from Vitré, and the castles
of the family of Rohan, swept the country ravaging and burning. Nine
years of war ensued between 1589 and 1598. A swarm of brigands placed
themselves under the flag of the League, or of the King or of the
Bible, and wrought intolerable misery. Moreover, the peasants, maddened
by their sufferings, rose against all alike, besieged the castles
indiscriminately and massacred every man in harness. Brittany was
almost depopulated, and wolves preyed on human corpses in the open day.
One of the worst ruffians of this period was Fontenelle, a cadet of the
Breton family of Beaumanoir. He sacked Roscoff, Carhaix, and ravaged
the diocese of Tréguier. But his worst atrocities were committed at
Pont l'Abbé and Penmarch, which was once a flourishing town rivalling
Nantes, but which has never recovered the butcheries there committed
by Fontenelle, and its ruined houses have never been rebuilt. The
atrocities committed by him at Pont l'Abbé defy description. He
delighted in seating his victims on iron chairs and broiling them to
death, or in immersing them in mid-winter in vats of ice-cold water,
and thus leaving them to perish in dungeons. In some parishes visited
by him, where the population had numbered a thousand adults, he reduced
it to twelve. To the miseries produced by civil war succeeded a Black
Death, which almost completed the depopulation. Fontenelle was taken
in 1598, but pardoned; he was arrested for fresh crimes in 1602, and
slowly tortured to death.
The province remained in peace till 1675, when taxation became so
burdensome, that the people rose in insurrection. It was put down with
great barbarity.
We pass on to the Revolution, and to the noble stand made by the Breton
peasantry against the bloodthirsty ruffians, who had grasped the reins
of power. Liberty, Equality and Fraternity in the mouths of these
latter meant Tyranny, Robbery and Massacre. Again the soil of Brittany
was drenched in blood. The curés were hunted like wild beasts, and when
caught were hung, guillotined or shot. Under the Terror the moderate
Breton deputies who belonged to the party of the Girondins had to fly
for their lives. The Convention sent down into Brittany Carrier and
others, the scum of humanity to "purify" the country. Twenty eight
Girondists were guillotined at Brest. Anyone who was held suspect was
at once sent to his death. The Loire at Nantes was choked with the
bodies of inoffensive men, women and children, drowned in the Noyades.
The _Chouans_, as the peasants were called who rose against their
tyrants, were commanded in Morbihan by Cadoudal. In July, 1795, an
English fleet disembarked several regiments of French _emigrés_. Hoche
came upon them, and exterminated all in cold blood, to the number of
952. Nantes and S. Brieuc were taken by the peasants, but the firm hand
of Bonaparte now held the reins, and put down all opposition. Cadoudal
was guillotined.
At the present day, Brittany is still the stronghold of Catholicism in
France. As to the rights of legitimists, Orleanists or Bonapartists,
the peasants concern themselves little, but to touch their religion is
to touch them to the quick. The Republican Government does all in its
power to destroy the cohesion of the Breton people, and its attachment
to the Faith of its Fathers. The masters have been forbidden to employ
the Breton language in the schools, and in 1901 an order was addressed
by Waldeck Rousseau to all the Bishops and Clergy of Lower Brittany
forbidding them to preach in the language understood by the people,
on pain of withdrawal of their stipends: an order that has been very
properly disregarded.
Meanwhile national or rather provincial feeling is deepening and
intensifying. Opposition only makes the Breton the more stubborn.
The Breton has not much ambition. All he asks is to be left alone
to work out his own destiny, strong in his religious convictions,
"Français--oui, mais Breton avant tout."
IV. ANTIQUITIES
The prehistoric remains that abound in Brittany consist of _Dolmens_,
_i.e._ a certain number of stones set on end rudely forming a chamber,
and covered with one or more capstones.
The _Allée Couverte_ is a dolmen on a large scale. Both served as
family or tribal ossuaries.
The _Menhir_ is a single standing stone; the _alignment_ is a number of
these uprights often in parallel lines, extending some distance.
The _cromlech_ according to the signification accorded to it in France
is a circle of standing stones.
The _lech_ is the lineal descendant of the menhir. It is a stone often
bearing an inscription, or a rude cross, set up by the British or Irish
settlers. The lech is sometimes round.
_Tumuli_ and _Camps_ are numerous, but they are not often referred to
in the following pages.
Of _Roman remains_, there are relics of an aqueduct near Carhaix, and
there have been numerous villas uncovered, notably near Carnac, but
these are almost all recovered with earth. The most remarkable Roman
monument extant is the Temple of Mars, a fragment near Corseul.
The _Venus_ of Quinipili, a Roman Gallic idol, shall be spoken of under
the head of Baud.
Of early churches,--earlier than the 10th cent. there are none, there
are but the crypt of Lanmeur and perhaps the arches and piers of
Loconnolé near Morlaix, and possibly the Western arches of Plouguer by
Carhaix that can be attributed to the 10th century. After that come
considerable remains of _Romanesque_ churches, beginning with the plain
unmoulded round arch resting on plain rectangular piers, and gradually
becoming enriched. (11th century and beginning of 12th.)
_First pointed_, with lancet windows, no tracery, and arches struck
from two centres. (Middle of 12th century and beginning of 13th.)
_Second pointed_ or _Geometrical_. Tracery becomes rich in windows, but
always of a geometrical design. (Middle of 13th century and throughout
14th.)
_Third pointed_ or _Flamboyant_. Tracery like flame, recurving,
gradually all cusping abandoned. Arches employed in ornamentation
struck from four centres. (15th century and beginning of 16th.)
_Rénaissance._ At first classic detail with Gothic outline, and tracery
in its last decay. At last all tracery abandoned, and design stiffens
and loses all Gothic feeling. (Middle of 16th century to middle of
17th.)
_Baroque._ Round headed windows, no tracery, clumsy mouldings, no
taste whatever, but barbarous enrichment. (End of 17th century and
18th.)
V. THE PARDONS
The Pardons are the religious gatherings of the people, not often in
the towns, but about some chapel on an island, on a hill top, in a
wood. There may be seen the costumes in all their holiday beauty.
A Pardon begins with vespers on the night before the Feast. Pilgrims
arrive for that, and sleep in the church, the chapel, under hedges.
They sing their cantiques or hymns till they sing themselves to sleep.
The first mass is said at 3 A.M. and the true pilgrims communicate till
the last has received, when they depart. An ordinary visitor arriving,
say at 10 A.M., will hardly see a single pilgrim. The rest come to
join in the devotions. They attend mass, take part in the afternoon (3
P.M.) procession, and buy memorials, and ribbons, and sweetstuff, and
pictures at the stalls.
Almost every Pardon has a character of its own, and a description
of one by no means attaches to all. In Côtes-du-Nord the Pardon is
only found genuine in the Breton speaking portion, elsewhere it has
degenerated into an ordinary village feast.
Sometimes, and in some places, there is an evening procession carrying
lighted candles, in some a bonfire figures lighted by a figure of an
angel which descends from the chapel or church spire. At some there
are wrestling and games in the afternoon, at others there is dancing,
but usually all is quiet and the peasants disperse after the afternoon
procession.
By the sea, the arrival of the boats with maidens in white and banners
is a pretty sight; at one Pardon, the sailors proceed, barefooted in
their shirts, in performance of a vow, when delivered in a storm.
A visitor who desires to be present at one of the most popular Pardons
should secure rooms a month beforehand, and even then he may be
dispossessed if the Government or military authorities have seized
on the occasion of a Pardon to billet a regiment on the place, an
experience the writer has twice had to undergo.
Another quarter century will probably see the last of the Pardons.
It will not be due to the decay of the religious feeling among the
people--that need not be feared--but to Governmental opposition, and
the indecent behaviour of the tripper, which will perhaps induce the
clergy to discourage them. (Matt. vii. 6.) A word to the invariably
courteous and kindly curé will often secure for the visitor a place
of vantage in the gallery, and it is only due to him to ask if he
objects to a snap-shot with the kodak at the procession. To photograph
a man when engaged in his devotions, or a woman making her painful
pilgrimage barefooted is not calculated to impress the peasant with
the good-feeling of the English visitor. The Breton is tender-hearted
and sensitive, and should ever be respected. At a great Basse-Bretagne
Pardon and fair, one may wander till late among the thousands gathered
there, enjoying themselves on merry-go-rounds and at shooting stalls,
and see no horseplay, no rudeness, no drunkenness.
At a Pardon one sees and marvels at the wondrous faces of this
remarkable people:--the pure, sweet and modest countenances of the
girls, and those not less striking of the old folk. "It is," says
Durtal (_En Route_), "the soul which is everything in these people, and
their physiognomy is modelled by it. There are holy brightnesses in
their eyes, on their lips, those doors to the borders of which the soul
alone can come, from which it looks forth and all but shows itself."
Goodness, kindness, as well as a cloistral spirituality stream from
their faces. One incident may be noticed to show of what stuff their
charity consists. After the wreck of the _Drummond Castle_ when the
bodies were washed up on the Ile-Molène, the women readily gave up
their holiday costumes--costumes which it takes a girl twenty years of
economies to acquire--and in these they clothed and buried the dead
women washed ashore.
The Pardons in the Bigauden district are the most showy. The Bigaudens
delight in bright colours, but they are not a religious or a moral
people, and they do not exhibit the fervent and deep-seated piety of
the genuine Bretons. The Bigaudens occupy the promontory of Sizun and
Pont l'Abbé. This people, peculiar in appearance and distinct in
character from the Bretons, are supposed to belong to the primitive
population of Ivernians before the coming of the British colonists.
They are looked on with mistrust, if not aversion by the Bretons, whom
they can generally over-reach in a bargain.
VI. ICONOGRAPHY
It may interest some travellers to be able to identify some of the
more common Saints of Brittany whose statues are to be found in the
churches, chapels, and over the Holy Wells. A few of the Roman Saints
are added who are thrusting the native ones from their niches.
Ste. Anne, with the B.V.M. at her side, sometimes with her on one arm
and Christ on the other.
S. Armel, in a brown habit, with a cap on his head, an amice over the
right shoulder, with a dragon whom he holds by a stole.
Ste. Aude or Haude, as a damsel carrying her head.
S. Bieuzy, as a monk with his head cleft.
S. Brioc, as a bishop with a wolf licking his feet.
S. Budoc, as a bishop with a barrel at his side.
S. Cadoc, as an abbot holding a bell.
S. Corentin, as a bishop carrying a fish.
S. David, as an archbishop with archiepiscopal crozier.
S. Edern, as a monk riding on a stag.
S. Efflam, in ducal habit, with sceptre, treading on a dragon.
S. Fiacre, in brown habit, holding a spade.
S. Fingar, Eguinger, or Guingar, as a prince, with sword and palm
branch.
S. Gildas, in monastic habit, with a snarling dog at his feet.
S. Gwen Teirbron, seated, with crown, and three breasts, her children
on her knees or at her feet.
S. Gwénole (Winwaloe), as an abbot, no special symbol.
S. Haude, a damsel carrying her head.
S. Herbot, as an anchorite with an ox at his feet.
S. Hervé, as a blind monk, a boy or a wolf at his side.
S. Meliau, as a king or duke, bearing sword and palm branch, or sceptre.
S. Melor, a boy with one hand and one foot cut off.
Ste. Ninnoc, in robes as a nun, a stag at her feet.
Ste. Noyala, as a princess holding her head in her hands.
S. Paul of Léon, in episcopal habits, treading on a dragon, and with a
bell in his hands.
S. Samson, as archbishop.
S. Solomon, in royal robes, and with a dagger in his breast.
S. Thégonnec, as a bishop with a cart drawn by wolves.
S. Theilo, as an abbot or bishop riding on a stag.
S. Tujean, as a bishop with a mad dog at his side.
S. Vincent Ferrier, in monastic habit, holding a trumpet, and with
wings.
S. Yves, in a white robe with long sleeves and doctor's bonnet, giving
judgment sometimes between a rich suitor and a poor man.
S. Anthony of Padua, as a Franciscan, with the Child Jesus on one arm.
S. Barbara, with a tower at her side.
S. Cornelius, as Pope, with an ox at his feet.
S. Eligius, as bishop, with a horse at his side.
S. Isidore, dressed as a Breton peasant in bragoubraz (baggy breeches),
holding a sickle.
S. Joseph, aged and holding a lily, sometimes with the Child Jesus on
his arm.
S. Roch, as a pilgrim showing a wound in one leg.
VII. GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS
In the humblest village one may reckon on obtaining good meals, but not
always on having dry sheets. It is not customary to air the latter,
and except in hot dry weather, it is well to be on one's guard in this
matter. Water should never be drunk. Too frequently it is drawn from
the well in the yard, and is contaminated. Coffee in out of the way
parts, even at such headquarters as Carhaix, is not coffee at all,
but roast lupin berries.[1] The ordinary charge for déjeuner at 11.30
is 2.50, with cider and coffee, and 3 francs for dinner at 7 p.m. But
in second class inns is 50 centimes less. A bed is usually 1.50 or 2
francs. Sanitary arrangements are rudimentary. Usually one can rely
on freedom from vermin, but it is well to be provided with a small
bottle of oil of lavender, a preservative against bugs; but it will be
needed exceptionally only. The commercial traveller is all pervading.
He is sometimes interesting, occasionally objectionable, if a _farceur_
usually the latter. On entering a café or railway carriage, it is
customary to raise the hat, so also in leaving. For Maps get those of
the État Majeur, 57 Brest, 73 Châteaulin, 60 Dinan, 41 Lannion, 88
Lorient, 58 Morlaix, 117 Nantes, 40 Plouguerneau, 74 Pontivy, 87 Pont
l'Abbé, 72 Quimper, 90 Redon, 75 Rennes, 59 S. Brieuc, 42 Tréguier, 89
Vannes, 102 Belle Ile, 56 Ouessant. Of these each has 4 sheets, N.W.,
N.E., S.W., S.E., except these--102 Belle Ile has a single sheet, S.E.,
Lannion has only N.E., S.W., S.E., 56 Ouessant has only N.E., 87 Pont
l'Abbé only N.E., Tréguier only N.W., S.W., S.E.
[1] This is mixed with chicory, and is very liable to upset the
stomach.
Each sheet costs about 25 centimes or 2½d. The same can be had in
colours at 1 franc per sheet, but there is no great advantage in these
latter.
In this book routes have not been given, as there is such a diversity
of manner of travelling in these days, some going by train, and some by
bicycle and motor car. For the latter the best map is that published
by the cycling club, as it gives the roads that are suitable, and the
hills are all indicated. The line adopted in this book has been to
give the chefs-lieux d'arrondissement, and a few other places that are
suitable as centres, and to indicate what is to be seen within an easy
range all round.
Less details have been given relative to the Department of
Ille-et-Vilaine, at least as to certain portions of it which do not
offer much of interest to encourage a visit, and with regard to Loire
Inférieure only the truly Breton region of Guérande and S. Nazaire has
been included.
The following list of headquarters is recommended, whence excursions
may be made radiating on all sides. Places of little moment and regions
that need not occupy a visitor's time are omitted.
_Côtes-du-Nord._--DINAN. Thence Lamballe, Plancoet, Ploubalay, Dol,
Jugon, Becherel.
GUINGAMP. Thence Belle-Ile, Pontrieux, Plouagat, Bourbriac.
LANNION. Thence Perros-Guirec, Plestin.
LOUDÉAC. Thence Uzel, Plouguenast, La Chèze, Mur.
PAIMPOL. Thence Lézardrieux, Pontrieux, Plouha and Iles de Bréhat.
PLOUARET. Thence Plestin, Begard and Belle-Ile.
ROSTRENEN. Thence S. Nicolas du Pélem, Maël Carhaix, Goarec.
S. BRIEUC. Thence Etables, Châtelaudren, Quintin, Lamballe.
TRÉGUIER. Thence Lézardrieux, La Roche-Derrien.
_Finistère._--AUDIERNE. The Cap Sizun.
BREST. Thence S. Rénan, Ploudalmezeau, Lannilis, Plabennec, and
Ouessant.
CHÂTEAULIN. Thence Crozon, Le Faou, Pleyben.
CHÂTEAUNEUF-LE-FAOU. Thence Pleyben and Montagnes Noires.
HUELGOËT. The Montagnes d'Arrée.
LANDERNEAU. Thence Daoulas, Ploudiry, Sizun, and the Montagnes d'Arrée.
LANDIVISIAU. Thence S. Thégonnec, Plouzévédé, Ploudiry and Sizun.
LESNEVEN, the coast by Plounéour-trez.
MORLAIX. Thence Lanmeur, Taulé, Plouigneau, S. Thégonnec.
PONT-AVEN. Concarneau, Fouesnant.
PONT L'ABBÉ, the Penmarch peninsula.
PLOUDALMEZEAU, Lannilis, and the coast.
S. POL-DE-LÉON. Plouescat and the Ile-de-Batz.
QUIMPER may be made a centre for much, owing to several lines of
railway diverging from it. Briec, Rosporden, Douarnenez, Pont Croix,
Plougastel S. Germain, Pont l'Abbé.
QUIMPERLÉ. Thence Bannalec, Pont-aven, Pont Scorff.
_Morbihan._--AURAY. Thence Pluvigner, Belz, Carnac, Quiberon.
BAUD. Thence Pluvigner, Locminé and the Blavet River.
GRAND-CHAMP. Thence the Landes de Lanvaux, and S. Jean de Brévelez.
HENNEBONT. Thence Pont Scorff, Plonay, Lorient, Port Louis.
LA FAOUËT. Thence Gourin and Guéméné.
PLOERMEL. Thence Josselin, Mauron, Guer, La Trinité-Porhoet.
PONTIVY. Thence Cleguerec, Guéméné, the Blavet valley, Mur, Rohan.
ROCHEFORT-EN-TERRE. Thence Elven, and the Lande de Lanvaux,
Malestroit, la Gacelly, Questembert.
VANNES. The Morbihan, and Sarzeau, Elven and Grand Champ.
_Ille-et-Vilaine._--BECHEREL. Thence Tinténiac, Hédé.
DINARD. Thence S. Malo, Cancale, S. Servan, Châteauneuf, Dol.
DOL. Thence Combourg.
FOUGÈRES. Thence Louvigné, S. Briac-en-Congles, S. Aubin-du-Cormier.
MONTFORT. Thence S. Méen and Montauban.
REDON. Thence Allaire, la Gacilly, Pipriac, Fougeray, S. Nicolas.
RENNES. Thence Mordelles, Guichen, Château-Giron, Janzé.
VITRÉ Thence Châteaubourg and Argentré-du-Plessis.
_Loire Inférieure._-GUÉRANDE. La Grande Brière and the Saltmarshes.
LE CROISIC. Sea coast and Saltmarshes.
S. NAZAIRE, mouth of the Loire.
_Contractions_
Arr. = Arrondissement.
C.N. = Côtes-du-Nord (Department).
Chl. = Chef-lieu.
Com. = Commune.
F. = Finistère (Department).
I.V. = Ille-et-Vilaine (Department).
L.I. = Loire Inférieure (Department).
M. = Morbihan (Department).
N.D. = Notre Dame.
P. = Pardon.
* = A convenient staying place whence to
make excursions, and where are
tolerable inns.
_Cheflieux and Surroundings_
ARGENTRÉ (I.V.) chl. arr. Vitré. In the neighbourhood are many small
lakes, forming one of the arms of the Vilaine, one of the sources
of which is in the forest of Pertré. The château de _Plessis_ is of
the 15th cent. and has been restored. In it is a portrait of Mme. de
Sevigné by Mignard. The circular chapel is of the 17th cent.
At _Primel_ is a chapel of the 15th cent. A calvary is in the parish
churchyard.
At _Etrelles_ the church is of the beginning of the 16th cent.
ARZANO (F.) chl. arr. Quimperlé. An uninteresting place, but some
pretty scenery on the Ellé and Isole. The neighbourhood is best visited
from Quimperlé.
* AUDIERNE (F.) a com. of Pontcroix. A large fishing village, at the
mouth of a tidal creek, into which flows the insignificant Goujen. The
entrance to the harbour is dangerous. The river front of the village or
town is occupied almost wholly by _buvettes_. Sardines are here tinned.
The church, originally dedicated to S. Rumon, the same as S. Ronan,
has been transferred to the patronage of S. Raymond Nonnatus. It is
well-situated, and of renaissance period, but has preserved an earlier
internal arcade. The south porch is of the usual 16th cent. type in
Lower Brittany, but with renaissance details. Ships are carved over the
church. The tower with gallery is mean. A curious recess with stoup
outside the W. end, with broken circle above it. An old house in the
street bears the date 1668. Audierne swarms with children who pester
the visitor with begging. It is an unattractive place, but has good
inns, and forms a centre for an interesting district. _See also_ Pont
Croix.
At _Primelin_ is the Chapel of S. Tugean (a Saint Antianus) in a
hamlet, surrounded with trees. It is a noble structure throughout,
in the flamboyant style. A noble south porch with statues within of
six apostles. The tower without spire is early flamboyant, and has a
curious side turret with spire. The W. doorway is good with the four
doctors of the church above it. The N. transept is double, divided by
round pillars surmounted by Doric capitals. The carved wood roof of
the chancel and N. transept deserve notice. Rich rococo altarpieces.
Paintings (1705) about the baptistery. A good statue of S. Tugean
represents him with a mad dog on one side and a boy kneeling on the
other. The Saint is patron against hydrophobia. Outside the chapel is
a cell into which were thrust those who had been bitten, and were not
cured. They were communicated with the Host, thrust to them at the end
of a stick, and there left to die. S. Tugean's key is preserved in the
church. The P. on the last Sunday in June is very famous. Near the
windmill is a small dolmen, or rather a kistvaen, the cover of which
has been lifted and propped on small stones. This was used by lepers to
lie in, expecting a cure.
_Plogoff_ has a church of the 16th cent., but possesses remains of
an earlier period, pillars with Romanesque capitals. The Chapel of
S. Collodec (Kenan, B. of Duleek) has a pretty spire, and a carved
granite cross. P. 1st Sunday in July. The Pardon at the Chapel of N.D.
de Bon Voyage is on the 3rd Sunday in July. The Enfer de Plogoff is
a chasm into which the sea enters. The Pointe du Raz rises 240 feet
above the sea, which is here rarely at rest. It commands a fine view
of the stretch of coast from the Pointe to S. Mathieu on the north,
and to Penmarch on the south. The _Ile de Seine_ lies nine miles away
to sea, west of the Pointe du Raz, the passage is dangerous on account
of the currents. It possesses little to attract a visitor, a couple of
menhirs, called the Fistillerien or the Gossips, and a dolmen.
The _Baie des Trépassés_ takes its name from the number of dead bodies
washed ashore in it after a wreck. A Byzantine writer speaks of this
bay and tells a curious story about it. He says that here the boatman
was called up at the dead of night to convey passengers to the Ile de
Seine. He took his oars and launched his boat, and heard a sound as of
people entering his barque, but saw no one. The boat settled deep in
the water, and he rowed over with his invisible burden. On reaching
the Isle of Seine, he could hear the passengers disembark, and coins
were cast to him, but still those whom he had ferried over remained
invisible. He had, in fact, conveyed the souls of the dead to the Isle
of the Dead. And this strange occurrence took place repeatedly.
The _Etang de Laoual_ is supposed to cover the cursed city of Is, where
Ahes, daughter of King Grallo, carried on high revelry and debauch. The
wrath of heaven was kindled, and the sea overwhelmed the city. Remains
of a Roman city remain at _Troguer_, and this was the termination of
the Roman road from Carhaix (Vorganium). At the Chapel of S. They (the
Cornish S. Day) the P. is on the 1st Sunday in July.
_Cleden-Cap-Sizun._ The coast here is bold, and there are numerous
prehistoric monuments. At _Goulien_ is a menhir 18 ft. high, and there
are remains of a Roman camp.
_Beuzec-Cap-Sizun._ The church (S. Budoc) has a fine 16th cent. tower.
Near the hamlet of Kerbanalec is an allée couverte. The holy well of
Ste. Azenora (the Cornish Sennara), mother of S. Budoc, is supposed to
have the peculiarity of filling with milk the breasts of any man who
drinks thereof. Mothers nursing their children frequent it. P. at N.D.
de la Clarté on the Sunday after the 15th August.
* AURAY (M.) chl. arr. Lorient. On a height above the river of Auray
and the harbour. The river is a tidal creek, very unsavoury when in
flow or when left dry. A large export of pine logs takes place hence
to Cardiff for the mines. There are several old houses in the town,
especially by the bridge. The halles have a vast roof on bold timber
work. The Church of S. Gildas was built in 1636, and is utterly
Italian, except for the vaulting. The south entrance is not without
merit. The Church of S. Goustan dates from the 16th century. In the
chapel of the Pêre Eternel is rich carved stall work derived from the
Chartreuse.
[Illustration: THE BRIDGE, AURAY]
Within an easy stroll from Auray is the _Chapel de Ste. Avoye_. Here,
according to legend, the Saint, who is the same as the Cornish S. Ewe,
arrived in a stone boat from Britain. The chapel is surrounded by a
few farmhouses and trees. It is a renaissance structure. The W.
tower consists of only three sides, two bold buttresses carried up a
great height, with a back, sustaining a pent-house roof, which in turn
supports a spirelet of slate. The arrangement is probably unique. There
was a porch below, but it has fallen. The tracery has been removed from
the windows, and some good stained glass sold. Within is a fine but
late screen with the twelve apostles on one side and cardinal virtues
and other allegorical figures on the other. In the nave is a piece of
the so-called "boat of S. Avoye," in which she is supposed to have
come over. Actually it is, probably, a large grinder for corn polished
within. On it are cut three symbols, one a cross, one like a T, and the
third like I. Children that are delicate are placed in the "Boat" to
recover strength. Over the altar is a painting representing S. Avoye in
prison fed by the B. V. Mary. There are two Pardons, the principal on
the 1st S. in May, the second on the 3rd S. in September. Outside the
chapel are stone benches along the wall. In Breton the Saint is Santez
Avé.
_Ste. Anne d'Auray_ is a great pilgrimage resort, with a pretentious
modern church in nondescript style intended for renaissance, 1866-75,
with bad glass. In 1623 a peasant dug up an image, probably of one of
the Deæ Matres of Gallo-Roman times, so common in Brittany, at a place
called Ker-anna. He jumped to the conclusion that it represented the
mother of the B. Virgin. The Carmelites heard of it and resolved on
making capital out of it; they ran it with great success and built a
convent and church on the spot in 1645. The statue was destroyed in
1790, but the cult continues unabated. The Pardon is on the Sunday
after July 26, and attracts vast crowds. In front of the church is a
Santa Scala copied from that at Rome, and indulgenced with nine years
for every step ascended by pilgrims on their knees. A large tank
receives the miraculous spring of S. Anne, and is dominated by her
statue. The pilgrims sing lustily the cantique of Ste. Anne d'Auray to
this air:--
[Illustration: Musical score]
There is here a statue of the Duc de Chambord (1891) in bronze, flanked
by those of Bayard, Du Guesclin, Ste. Geneviève, and Joan of Arc.
[Illustration: STE. ANNE D'AURAY]
The _Chartreuse_ near the Auray railway station is now a deaf and
dumb asylum. It occupies the site of the battle in which, in 1364,
Jean de Monfort defeated and killed Charles de Blois. He founded
the monastery, but only a small portion of the old structure remains.
Here is the chapel, on the N. side of the church, in which rest the
bodies of the royalists who had been landed from English transports
at Quiberon, and whom Hoche and his republican soldiers shot down in
cold blood to the number of 952 between 1st and 25th August 1795. The
butchery took place not far from the Chartreuse, and the bodies were
buried on the spot since called le Champ des Martyrs. In 1814 they were
transferred to this chapel erected to contain them. It was completed in
1829. In the midst of the chapel is the mausoleum of white marble.
The chapelle expiatoire is situated at a quarter of an hour's walk from
the Chartreuse and is in the Greek style, and is on the site of the
massacre. Near by is a cross commemorative of Montfort's victory over
Charles de Blois.
_Plougoumelin._ The parish church modern and bad. The Chapel of N.D. de
Becquerel has a fine west porch of the Breton commingling of flamboyant
and renaissance. An unfailing spring issues from under the wall of the
apse. The water is thought to cure diseases of the mouth. Several lechs
are in the parish. One called the Pierre du Serment is about 4 ft. 6
in. long, is in the churchyard and lies prostrate. Another is between
the parsonage and the cemetery, and a third, round, with three hollows
sunk in it, is at the presbytère. A tumulus by the river of Auray at
Le Rocher covers an allée couverte. There are six others, smaller, in a
line with it running from S.W. to N.E. They have yielded copper vessels
and flint weapons, and belong to the intermediate age, before alloy was
introduced for the formation of bronze.
_Crach._ Here in the commune are numerous prehistoric remains. Rather
over a mile from Auray on the road to Crach is a fine dolmen, the
coverer 22 ft. long, and having on it a circle of hollows. Other
dolmens at Keryn, Kergleverit, and Parq-er-Gueren, near the Chapel
of S. Jean. Several menhirs on the common. The Château de Plessisker
is of the 17th cent. P. at Crach on the 1st S. in July. _See also_
Locmariaquer.
BAIN (I.V.) chl. arr. Redon, on the Route nationale from Rennes to
Nantes. In the cemetery a cross of the 16th cent. Château de la Noé of
the 15th cent. By a little lake are the remains of a castle converted
into a farmhouse.
* BAUD (M.) chl. arr. Pontivy. A district in which much hemp is grown
and cordwaining is carried on. The women wear coiffes like sunbonnets,
and sabots with leather toe-pieces and straps neatly embroidered. The
church, a mean structure of 1687, is about to be pulled down. It is
dominated by the far more stately Chapel of N.D. de la Clarté of the
16th cent. Vaulted throughout with very peculiar straight groining and
vaulting in the S. aisle. The chapel has an apse, the tracery has been
removed from the windows and the old stained glass got rid of to make
way for sad modern rubbish. The tower is later than the chapel and is
unfinished. A huge ducal crown of Brittany is suspended in the apse.
The crown is closed above, a right claimed by the dukes. P. 2nd July.
In the woods of the old château of Quinipili (guide advisable) is the
rude granite statue of the famous Venus of Quinipili removed from
Castannec on the Blavet. It is 6 ft. high, with the hands crossed
over the breast and with a sort of stole hanging down in front, and a
band about the head on which are cut IIT. The statue, which received
idolatrous worship, was transferred in 1695 to Quinipili, by Count
Pierre de Lannion, along with a huge granite basin that stood before
it. He set it up on a pedestal in his grounds and cut a pseudo-classic
inscription on the base. As the original statue was indecent, he set
a sculptor to alter it, and probably the stole is due to this man's
chisel.
_Camors._ There are two dolmens in the forest, and an allée couverte
at Kerpenru. Of menhirs, one is on the lande of Penher, three at
Kerguelen, a stone-row of twenty uprights at Kernoul. Seven menhirs
in the wood at Floranges, and six in the forest of Camors. At
Porhoet-er-Saleu, are the remains of the castle of Conmore, Count of
Poher, and regent of Domnonia. He is regarded as the Bluebeard of
Brittany, although he was actually only thrice married, to the sister
of Jonas, King of Domnonia, to that of Meliau, King of Cornouaille,
and lastly to Triphena, daughter of Weroch, Count of Vannes. This
latter marriage was effected by the persuasion of S. Gildas. Conmore,
however, so ill-treated his wife that she ran away to her father at
Vannes. Gildas, who was at the time at Castannec, was furious with
Conmore, and local legend asserts, that he came before this castle,
gathered up a handful of earth, and casting it against the walls cursed
it, that it should never again be inhabited. S. Triphena is invoked
in the neighbourhood by women with troublesome husbands, and little
wooden crosses may be found on the site of the castle set up by them
in token that they have made a vow to S. Triphena to rid them of their
annoyance. The church of Camors is dedicated to S. Senan, abbot of
Iniscathy.
_Guénin._ The church is of 1773. The Chapel of N.D. de Menez-guen is
flamboyant but late, 1577, with alterations made in 1604 and 1751. It
is a cross church with a central tower. One descends by several steps
into the chapel. Lean and lanky girls go to it and pray for fat to be
laid on. P. 1st S. in July. Pilgrims take water from the fountain to
give to their cattle.
_Questinic._ Chapel of S. Mathurin, P. 2nd S. in May. Chapel of
Locmaria, renaissance 1574, a cross church with central tower and
spire, and some old glass.
_Bieuzy._ The station of _S. Nicolas des Eaux_ gives access to several
points of historical and architectural interest. The train from Auray
to Pontivy cuts by a tunnel through a neck of land round which the
river Blavet makes a great loop. This loop was occupied in Roman times
by a walled town Sulim, of which numerous remains have been found;
and the sides are so precipitous that no enemy could attack it, save
on the north. The road from the station to Bieuzy has been engineered
by a great sweep up the height, but the pedestrian can ascend to the
Chapel of La Trinité by a sharp scramble, and by clinging to the broom
and heather. This finger of land, almost surrounded by the river on
all sides, was covered with ruins in the beginning of the 6th cent.
S. Gildas came hither from Rhuys about the year 530, and founded a
little colony of monks where is now the hamlet of Castannec. Finding
that there was a gross image of Venus among the ruins that the people
worshipped, he and Budoc (Bieuzy) his disciple threw it down and
rolled it along to their monastery and built their wall over it.
The image remained buried thus under the wall till the ruin of the
monastery by the Northmen, and perhaps for some time after. Castannec
was never restored to any extent, by the returned monks of Rhuys.
In 1125 Castannec was made into a parish, and the church was where
is now the Chapel of La Trinité, and it was served by the monks of
Redon, but the population was small and the revenue insufficient, and
was united to Bieuzy. Then it was that in removing the remains of the
old priory the image of the Venus was restored to light, and at once
received a religious cult from the peasants, who called it Groah en
Goard, the Woman of la Couarde, which is the name of the promontory.
It was placed near a large basin scooped out of granite, and in this
women came to bathe, invoking the assistance of the Venus of Couarde.
In 1661 a mission was held at Baud, and the missioners besought Count
Claude of Lannion to destroy the idol. He had it accordingly rolled
down the hillside into the river. However, the peasants fished it up
and replaced it in 1664. Then the Bishop of Vannes interfered, and at
his request the Count sent masons to smash it. They, however, contented
themselves with injuring one arm and one of the breasts and again
rolled it down into the Blavet. In 1695, Pierre de Lannion, who had
succeeded his father, drew it forth from the water and had it conveyed
to Baud to ornament his château of Quinipili; and there it remains to
the present day with the granite basin before it, but not in quite the
same condition, for, as has been said already, the Count employed a
sculptor to work the statue over and give it a more decent appearance.
Near the Chapel of Ste. Trinité a path leads to the hermitage of S.
Gildas. It is advisable to obtain a child as guide. The Saint with
his disciple Budoc, or Bieuzy, was wont to retire to a cave under an
overhanging rock beside the Blavet during Lent, and at certain times
when he desired to be private. He built up the face of the cave and
divided it into two parts, one for himself and one for Bieuzy. A
chapel was added in the Middle Ages, and this was restored in 1837.
It consists of two parts, and is under the rock in a most picturesque
situation. The bell is attached to the rock. The structure is of the
15th cent., but the E. window and an arch are 1st pointed (perhaps the
window is due to the restorer) and there are rude windows round-headed,
that may possibly be of a still earlier date. An arch divides the
chapel into two with an altar in each. In the outer chapel, on a
pedestal, is the bell-stone of Gildas, a slab of diorite, on which
stands a couple of pebbles, and when the stone is struck with these
it rings. At Mass on the day of the Pardon, Whitsun-Monday, and on
S. Gildas's day, Jan. 29, the bell-stone is used for ringing at the
Sanctus, Elevation and Communion. On the left side of the principal
altar is a block of rock and masonry used for the pain bénit, which
is distributed among the pilgrims. There was another bell-stone, that
of S. Bieuzy himself, but this was carried away, and broken in the
transaction, by a seigneur of Kervèno in 1660, but the rector reclaimed
it and in 1702 succeeded in recovering it, and it is now placed in the
churchyard of S. Bieuzy near the cross. The church of Bieuzy has a
modern spire and nave. The choir and transepts are renaissance of 1560.
There are three superb stained glass windows of this date in the apse
representing the scenes of the Passion; one subject, the Risen Lord,
appearing as a gardener to the Magdalen, deserves notice. The S. door
of the church is flamboyant with a flamboyant window above. A S. door,
blocked in the choir, has some lovely flamboyant foliage on it. There
is a picturesque renaissance house opposite the church. It is worth the
visitor noticing the type of well in all this district. The structure
of granite for the support of the drum for the chain is very striking,
and there is an excellent example in a yard near the E. end of the
church at Bieuzy. A few yards from the village is the Holy Well with a
niche for the Saint. The water is sought for those who are off their
heads.
Returning to the station, _S. Nicolas des Eaux_ is next visited. The
chapel is in a very dilapidated condition. It is a flamboyant cruciform
structure (1524) with a fine double doorway and with foliage about it,
and with late flamboyant tracery in some of the windows, but from most
it has been hacked away.
_S. Nicodème_ is perhaps the most beautiful example of flamboyant in
Morbihan. It was completed in 1539, and a bell bears the date 1507
which is about the date of the spire and tower. The west entrance under
the tower is peculiarly bold and beautiful, with its lace work fringed
arch. A flight of steps leads down to the chapel, and on the left is
a singular Holy Well, composed of three gabled structures united at
the back. The date on this well is 1608, but it is impossible to hold
this to be the true indication of its erection, and must commemorate
a reparation, for the character of the sculpture and the general
design are of a century earlier, and in its quaintness and originality
indicate the same master hand that had planned and drawn the marvellous
tower and spire. The three fountains are to (1) S. Gamaliel with an ox
at his side and a biniou player; (2) S. Nicodemus with a human-headed
ox by him; and (3) S. Abibo with a horseman at his side. Hard by is an
immeasurably inferior Holy Well to S. Cornelius, constructed in 1790.
The chapel itself is not equal in beauty to tower and spire. It
contains a minstrel gallery of stone in the N. transept. The
altarpieces are bad rococo. Two little oxen are stuck up against the
N. wall of the chancel to commemorate the success of an invocation to
S. Cornély. There is a very curious retable at the side representing
the Resurrection. S. Nicodemus is represented carrying a napkin, three
nails and with a heraldic wreath about his head. Most of the windows
have had their tracery removed. The Pardon here is very famous and
largely attended. The first Saturday in August is held as a great fair
here, and at it girls sell their hair. Young women wearing black caps
and not coiffes are such as have parted with their natural ornament. On
the Sunday following is the Pardon. An angel descends from the gallery
of the spire and sets fire to a great pile of brushwood and firework
hoops.
_Bubry._ The church is modern and bad, near it are two lechs, one with
four equal faces, and the other has a cross pattée on two faces. The
ossuary is full of skulls arranged in order. In the "place" is a great
granite basin fed with water from the fountain of S. Helen. The Chapel
of S. Yves is five kilometres to the south of this village, and is in
a jumble of flamboyant and renaissance. The date 1598. This chapel
drew so many pilgrims, and such abundant donations, that the near-by
Seigneur de Kernivinen became jealous, and going to the chapel one
day of the Pardon, fell on the rector and boxed his ears, because he
refused to give up to him a share of the spoil. This was in 1630. He
was put into the ecclesiastical court and condemned to restore 10,000
livres which he had carried off from the chapel, and to pay a fine of
2000 which was to be given to the hospital. P. of Ste. Helene, 4th S.
in July. This is spoken of as well attended.
_Melrand._ The Chapel of Locmaria is fine. It has a bold, square tower
surmounted by a spire: it is all of flamboyant work with a few details
showing that the renaissance was at hand. The E. window, partly hidden
by a retable of 1680, contains in twelve tableaux scenes from the Life
and Passion of our Lord. In the N. transept window is a fine Jesse
tree, in one of the S. transept the angelic salutation. Near the chapel
is a Holy Well of 1574. P. at Guellouët in Melrand, 1st Sunday in July.
BECHEREL (I.V.) chl. arr. Montfort. On high ground. In the church a
Romanesque font. Old gateway, 16th cent. House of the Little Sisters
of the Poor is here. The headquarters or Mother-House. _Les Iffs_
has a church of the 15th cent. containing nine windows of superb
stained glass, the finest in the Department. The tower is of the 16th
cent. On a height is the Château de Montmuran of various dates. In
the chapel, Du Guesclin was dubbed knight in 1354. He married Jeanne
de Laval, granddaughter of the Countess of Montmuran, for whom he
defended the castle against the English. The E. window of the chapel
is good early flamboyant and contains fine old glass. The château is
very picturesque. The Château de Caradeuc, partly ancient, in a park
with fine trees, and well kept, has within, among other paintings, two
Murillos.
BEGARD (C.N.) chl. arr. Guingamp. A Cistercian abbey was founded
here in 1130 by Stephen III., Count of Penthièvre. It was rebuilt in
the 17th century, except the Romanesque church. It is now a lunatic
asylum. According to local tradition, Begard was first settled by such
ragged hermits that the place was called after them, a settlement of
"Beggars." A menhir is at Kergouézennic 18 ft. high.
_Kermoroch._ The chapel of Langoerat, 1373, has in it stained glass and
paintings. There are ruined castles at Perrier and Leshorz.
_Pedernec._ A ruined castle at Runangoff. The Chapel of N.D. de Lorette
dates from 1514. A 16th cent. manor house at Kermathaman. A menhir 25
ft. 6 in. high.
BELLE ILE (C.N.) chl. arr. Guingamp. Prettily situated in the valley of
the Guindy. The church is modern, the old church is turned into halle.
The Chapel of Locmaria is made into the cemetery chapel. It stands on
a rocky height above the river and the road to Trégrom. It is late
flamboyant, the pillars are surrounded by stone seats. The W. door has
boldly carved foliage in coarse granite. The roodscreen, with figures
and foliage in the panels of the gallery, has been removed to the W.
end.
_Plounevez-Moedec_ on very high ground, traversed by the main road from
Paris to Brest, straight as a bowstring. The church has a 2nd pointed
arcade and E. windows and N. aisle. The rest flamboyant. The gallery
at the W. end is one removed from the chapel of Keramanach, with the
vaulting wantonly taken away. The tower, renaissance, has been restored
recently. The chapel of _Keramanach_ (S. Fiacre) may be visited equally
well from Belle Ile or from Plouaret. It is late 2nd pointed with
square end, E. window and S.E. window of same period, as also N. aisle.
There are remains of good stained glass in the windows. The porch has
rich 16th cent. groining. The W. bell turret has a gallery. The chapel
contains a fine alabaster reredos of the 15th cent., each panel has
been let into a wooden frame. On the road from Plounevez to Trégrom is
a menhir 30 ft. high.
_Locquenvel._ Church of 15th and 16th cents. with stained glass
representing the legend of S. Envel.
BELZ (M.) chl. arr. Lorient. In very desolate country. The road
from Auray runs through plantations of Austrian pine grown for the
Welsh collieries, or over furzy moors. Belz itself is an utterly
uninteresting place, with an ugly church, and a ruinous but large
chapel near it. Belz lies, however, near the curious inland sea of
Etel, and was formerly head of a pou or pagus. A mile and a half
beyond Belz is the hamlet of S. Cadou, occupied entirely by fishermen
and their families. The women wear scarlet petticoats which they take
care to display. A stone causeway 140 ft. leads to the _Isle of S.
Cadou_ and his chapel. S. Cadoc, son of Gwynllyw, King of Gwent or
Monmouthshire, arrived here about 525 and founded a monastery and
school on the island. To facilitate the passage and repassage of his
pupils he constructed the causeway, having learned the art of dyking at
Llancarvan. It was here, pacing it with Gildas, that they discussed the
salvability of Virgil. Cadoc, who loved that author, could not believe
that he was lost, but Gildas held the harsher view. As they talked,
Cadoc turned over his Virgil to point out some remarkable passages,
probably the prophecy of the Incarnation, to his friend, when the wind
swept the volume out of his hand into the sea. He slipped in rushing
to recover it, and some pieces of iron in the causeway are supposed to
indicate where his foot slid. Only with difficulty did Cadoc recover
the precious book. The chapel has an early Romanesque apse, with rudely
carved capitals to the pillars supporting the chancel arch. The chapel
was much spoiled at its alteration in 1842. In the S. transept is the
stone bed of S. Cadoc with a receptacle under it, in which strange
sounds are thought to be heard. These are due to the echo of the waves
and winds. The gallery of the flamboyant screen has been removed to the
W. end. In the nave are four paintings. (1) S. Cadoc arriving at the
isle; (2) S. Cadoc settling on it; (3) Pirates land and he protests
that he has nothing; (4) Cadoc departing, with the inscription:--
Oratoire mon œuvre adieu, dit-il pleurant,
Belz t'oublierai je? Non. Il cingla de céans.
P. S. after 21st Sept. Numerous megalithic remains are to be found
about Belz. A menhir at Kervoen, another at Mélionec; remains of an
allée couverte 30 ft. long at Kernours; a dolmen in good condition
at Kerlutu; others at Kerhuen, Kervoen and Kerlourd. At Crubelz in a
tumulus is a chamber of masonry nearly 11 ft. high. Roman bricks were
found in it, and it would seem to have been constructed in Gallo-Roman
times, but in accordance with earlier traditions and usages.
[Illustration: LINES OF ERDEVEN]
_Locoal_, on an arm of the sea of Etel, united to the mainland by
a causeway like that at S. Cadou. Locoal was a locus penitentiæ of
S. Gudeval or Gurval, Bishop of Aleth. He scooped out a cave and
dwelt therein. Disciples came to him to the number of 188. To protect
themselves against the high tides they erected the dykes that still
remain. At length, desiring greater retirement in his extreme old
age, Gudeval retired with seven disciples into the forest of Camors,
where he died in 640. Some lechs remain; one near the cemetery is 4
ft. high, with a cross cut on it in relief, surmounted by a circle and
cross. Another on the way from Locoal to Mendon, 7 ft. 6 in. high,
with two crosses cut on it, bears on it the words CRUX PROSTLON; it is
the tombstone of the wife of Count Pasquitien, the murderer of King
Solomon. She died in 875. The parish church was burnt by the Spaniards
in 1592, and again accidentally in 1765.
_Etel_, at the mouth of the channel that connects the inland sea with
the ocean, is a small port partly closed by a rock and by moving sands.
Near the village is a dolmen with seven supporters. A little further on
is one with five.
_Erdeven_ (Ar deven = on the sand-downs). All this district is covered
with wind-blown sands. The most remarkable prehistoric monument is the
alignment of Kerzerho, which extends over two miles and a quarter, and
is composed of 1030 stones, with, however, gaps caused by pilferers.
Unhappily the stones are still being broken up and carried away. The
lines are on the S. and S.E. of the village. After passing an isolated
menhir and a ruined cairn, the rows are reached running east. Then
comes a gap where the stones have been carried off to build walls,
but presently they reappear, the blocks smaller. Then ensues another
hiatus, and then another succession of ranges of fine stones stretching
to a tumulus. The northern line reaches to a tumulus, the Mané Bras. On
the summit are the ruins of two dolmens, with traces of an enclosing
circle of uprights. To the east of Kerangre is another group of
monoliths. At Mané Groh are two dolmens. The dolmen of Corcomo is the
finest in Morbihan.
_Plouhinic._ Near Kerfourchen two fallen dolmens and a menhir. From the
windmill to the west alignments running S.E. Near the Mill of Gueldra
the lines recommence in eight rows, and may be traced to Kervué and
Kervelhué.
BOURBRIAC (C.N.) chl. arr. Guingamp. The church is in part Romanesque,
and possesses a crypt. The windows are of 15th cent. The tower 1635. At
Tanvedou is a tumulus enclosing a dolmen.
_S. Adrien._ Chapel of Avangour, 1576, with marble retable of same
period.
_Cadout_ (S. Illtyd). Church of 14th and 15th cents., with a sculptured
retable. On high ground the manor house of Bois-de-la-Roche, 15th cent.
restored.
BRÉHAT (ISLE DE) (C.N.). Opposite Roscoff lighthouses. On the Isle of
Lavré the remains of a Celtic monastery have been traced, consisting
of a group of bee-hive huts and an oblong chapel. One hut is fairly
perfect, and is kept in repair as a sea mark. In the church is
preserved a piece of oriental silk called the stole of S. Pol de Léon.
* BREST (F.) chl. d'arrond. Was a fishing village about a mediæval
castle on the site of a Roman camp, till Cardinal Richelieu resolved
on giving to France the command of the seas, when he fixed on Brest
for a great dockyard, 1631. His undertaking was not followed up by
Mazarin, but Colbert pursued it with energy, and extensive works were
executed. Thanks to this great minister and to Admiral Duquesne,
Brest became a naval and military port of the first class. The Breton
parliament had not relished the undertaking, and forbade the delivery
of timber to the royal works, and ordered the cessation of the forging
of cannon, but the royal will was supreme, and the opposition of the
parliament disregarded. The port was extended, and the rocks blasted;
barracks, storehouses, workshops, were created, and fine quays were
constructed. Vauban fortified it, Recouvrance was united to Brest by
a turning bridge. From Brest issued a fleet of 80 ships of the line
under Tourville in the naval campaigns of 1690 and 1691. In 1694 an
Anglo-Dutch fleet in vain attempted an attack on Brest. In the 18th
cent. its quays and fortifications were extended. Granite basins were
constructed capable of receiving vessels of 120 guns. Dajot, whilst
engaged on the defences of the place, constructed the terrace planted
with elms, that gives such a fine view of the harbour. Issuing from
Brest, the fleet commanded by d'Orvilliers met, July 27, 1778 the
English fleet off Ouessant. A French convoy was guarding a fleet of
vessels laden with grain from America, when it was attacked by Admiral
Howe. The French were under Admiral Villaret de Joyeuse. The English
fleet, which had been in quest, had been for four days unable to find
the French owing to fog. The engagement took place on the 27th July.
There were 26 French men-of-war and 35 English.
After Trafalgar Napoleon abandoned the ambition of making France a
great naval power, and it was not till under Napoleon III. that fresh
activity was displayed at Brest.
The harbour is perhaps the finest in Europe. It is 36 kilometres in
circumference, and is entered only through the channel of the Goullet,
illumined by five lighthouses.
The castle of the 13th cent., on a precipitous rock, is flanked by
seven towers; the two largest are on the N.E., and the entrance is
between them. The tower of Azenore belongs to the end of the 12th
cent., and takes its name from the mother of S. Budoc, who was daughter
of the Count of Léon, and married to the Count of Goelo. The tower
of Caesar of the 12th cent., that des Anglais is of 1374, that de la
Madelaine is of the 15th cent., as is also the donjon.
Brest, apart from its dockyard, is a very uninteresting place. The
Church of S. Louis (1692-1778) is ugly, with modern stained glass in
the French style representing Breton saints. But Brest may be made a
centre for some interesting excursions, as to _Landevennec_, which is
more easily reached from Brest by steamer than by road.
_Landevennec_ is where a very important abbey was founded by S.
Winwaloe, in French Guenolé, at the beginning of the 6th century. The
Saint had settled first in the islet of Tibidy, but finding the place
too strait for him, came to Landevennec, where King Grallo granted him
lands in a warm and sheltered situation, under a hill that cut off
the blasts from the Atlantic. The ruins are in private grounds, but
visitors are admitted. The abbey church is of the 11th cent., and is
without transepts, but has a large chapel of a later date built on at
one side. In a crypt is the reputed tomb of King Grallo. The monastic
buildings were rebuilt in the 17th century. The Grève des Anglais is
so called because it was here that landed an expedition against Brest
which failed, because betrayed to the French Court by Marlborough and
Godolphin. The consequence was that eight hundred British soldiers fell
into a trap and were butchered to the last man.
_Goueznou._ Here is the sole church near Brest that possesses any
archæological value. But it is a really remarkable edifice. It has the
finest apse in the Department, next to Lampaul-Guimiliau, containing
three great gabled late flamboyant windows. The church also possesses
a tower with two galleries crowned by a spire. The porch was begun
in 1643, and belongs to the same family as those of Landerneau and
Trémaouézan. It was finished in 1644, so that there was no long delay
in its completion. The main body of the church was constructed in
1607-15. About ten paces west of the church is the monumental fountain
of the Saint. It consists of a tank in an enclosure surrounded by
stone seats for the accommodation of bathers. On the south side is
a small altar surmounted by a niche, that contains a statue of S.
Gouezenou. P. Ascension Day. _Lambezellec_, with a modern church, has a
much frequented Pardon on the 2nd S. in August. _Plouzané._ Lechs and
menhirs. P. Sunday nearest 10th Aug.
_Guipavas._ The church possesses a porch enriched internally with
statues, 1565.
_Le Conquet._ Modern church, but with glass of the 16th cent. preserved
in it. In it is the tomb of Michel de Nobletz, a famous Jesuit, born
1577, died 1654, whose beatification is proposed. He laboured in Lower
Brittany to turn the people from their pagan superstitions. On the
promontory of Kermorvan two dolmens and a circle of upright stones.
_Plougonvelen._ Fine coast scenery. Here, in an imposing position above
the sea, are the ruins of the Abbey of S. Mathieu. The monastery was
destroyed at the Revolution. The church (1152-1208) was much altered
in the 14th and 15th cents. The abbey was founded in the 6th cent.
by S. Tanguy. Near it is now a lighthouse. Of the parish church the
only portions that are ancient are the porch and the N. transept. P.
Sunday nearest 21st Sept. Off the promontory can be seen the clusters
of islands leading in a N.W. direction to _Ouessant_. Of these the Ile
de Banque, le Guéménés, and the Ile Molène are the principal. Ouessant
and these islands can be reached from Conquet, a steamer leaving there
thrice a week. The _Ile Molène_ is only three-quarters of a mile long
and about half-a-mile wide, and contains 570 inhabitants. Property in
it is minutely subdivided. It was here that the bodies were washed
ashore after the wreck of the _Drummond Castle_ on June 16, 1896. The
_Ile d'Ouessant_ is about seven miles long and three broad; plenty of
fresh water is found on the island, that contains 2280 inhabitants. It
was here that Paulus Aurelianus, a native of Glamorganshire, landed
when migrating from Britain at the head of a considerable party. He,
however, did not remain above two or three years in the island, and
then crossed over to the mainland. The church Lampaul (Lann-Paul) on
Ouessant was founded by him. The cliffs are abrupt, and the rocks
pierced with caves and natural arches. The island produces potatoes,
and gives good feed to sheep. It is in process of being extensively
fortified for the protection of Brest.
BROONS (C.N.) chl. arr. Dinan. Bertrand du Guesclin was born here in
1320. The castle has completely disappeared, but a column has been
erected on the site in commemoration of the fact.
_Sevignac._ The Château of Brondineuf of the 12th cent. is well
preserved.
CANCALE (I. V.) chl. arr. S. Malo. A little port, and a favourite
watering place. It is noted for its oysters. During one part of
the year nearly all the male population is absent on the banks of
Newfoundland engaged in the cod-fisheries. The rochers de Cancale are
a mass of granite rising precipitously above the sea not far from the
mainland. Much granite is quarried at Cancale. The church of S. Méen is
modern.
* CARHAIX (F.) chl. arr. Châteaulin. An old Roman town, Vorganium,
lies high and in dreary country. Scanty remains of a Roman aqueduct are
pointed out. The church (S. Tremor) is modern and good, with a fine
East window; the tower is of 1529-35, with a West doorway, the carving
of foliage on which is deserving of notice. More interesting is the
church of Plouguer, originally very early in the 11th cent., containing
some arches and piers and clerestory windows. It was enlarged in the
16th cent. (1574), and was ruthlessly mutilated in the 18th when the
flamboyant tracery was hacked out of the windows, and the screen was
demolished. The tower is remarkably fine, with bold splayed belfry
windows. It was intended to support a spire which was never added.
There is a handsome old house in the town of carved stone and timber.
P. at S. Roque last S. but one in August.
_Carnoet_ on very high ground. Here is the _peniti_ or place of retreat
of Gildas with a chapel, by the river, and high up in a clump of trees
under a camp that dates from the invasion of Brittany by the Northmen,
is a curious chapel of S. Gildas of late flamboyant melting into
renaissance. It has a W. spirelet, gallery and two bells, the spirelet
sustained on an arch. Within, sunk in the pavement, is an 11th cent.
sarcophagus, reputed to be the bed of S. Gildas, who died in 570. In
the N. aisle is a range of six stages of fowl hutches. On the Pardon,
29th Jan., the peasants make offerings of fowls and horsehair; the
former are put into these hutches where they cluck and cackle through
mass, and then are sold by auction for the benefit of the chapel and
its maintenance. The camp above is an admirable typical example of the
Norseman fortress, consisting of a tump, hollowed out in the middle,
that sustained a wooden superstructure; and a base-court.
_Cleden-Poher_ has a large church of the middle of the 16th cent., but
with alterations made in 1689, at which date the sacristy was built.
It has a fine west porch, and in the apse a good flamboyant window in
six bays with a column up the centre against which, within, stands
a statue. In a Chapel of N.D. de Cleden the vault is covered with
paintings of the 18th cent. The high altar has a retable into which
are let sculptured panels of the 16th cent., and others, representing
the seven sacraments, are about the apse. The venerated image of N.D.
dates from the 14th cent. The Calvary in the graveyard is of 1575. At
the N.E. corner of the churchyard is an ossuary, transition between
flamboyant and renaissance. P. 15th Aug.
_Treffrin_ (C.N.) possesses a fine Roman camp at Kermoisan, with
remains of a tower in it. The Church of N.D. is of 1580, the porch of
1582, richly decorated, and contains niches within containing statues
of the twelve apostles; the corbels supporting them are all different
in design.
_Locarn._ The church is of the 12th cent. with additions and
alterations of the 16th. It contains the tomb of the patron, S.
Harn, in granite, 14th cent. The east window has stained glass of
1572 representing scenes of the Passion. The pulpit is renaissance,
syrens occupy the angles. There is a Holy Well with an early statue
of the Saint above it. A Calvary, the base ornamented with sculptured
dolphins. In the presbytère is a magnificent silver-gilt processional
cross of the 16th cent. In the parish are several menhirs, at Quellence
Buis, Loquevel, Grand Follezon, etc., but of no great height.
_Le Moustoir_ (C.N.). Church of 1507, in the shape of a T. The cornice,
on which rests the vault, represents grotesque figures and groups. The
E. window retains its old glass, representing the Life of the Virgin.
In the tracery are the four great prophets. On the N. side a fireplace
for heating the water for baptism.
_Maël Carhaix_ (C.N.). On the Place is a Roman military milestone
with inscription stating that it was erected in the reign of Septimius
Severus. The Church of S. Pierre (1530) has old stained glass
representing the Fathers of the Church and Bishops. The glass is of the
same date as the church. At Maël Carhaix is the cave whence issues the
spring that supplied Vorganium with water by an aqueduct.
* CARNAC, com. of Quiberon. Noted for the vast numbers of its
prehistoric monuments. It lies on the low flat shores of the Baie de
Quiberon, and is a great place for the cultivation of oysters. To
obtain a good general view of the place it is well to ascend first of
all the Mont S. Michel, a huge cairn piled up over a natural elevation
of granite. It is oblong in shape and rises to about 60 feet. On the
summit is a chapel of the Archangel, with an old granite cross. The
mound was dug into in 1863 when a dolmen was discovered that contained
over a hundred polished stone axes, a necklace, and other objects of
the early bronze age. Further excavation in 1890 has disclosed another
dolmen, in which, along with some stone implements, were two bronze
buttons. The cairn is built up carefully of stones laid in order over
a sheet of pebbles, and above them more of the same and of seaweed
had been spread, and then above this fresh stones have been piled.
From the summit the alignments of Carnac can be seen on the north. To
visit these latter the following course should be pursued. Take the
road to Ker Malvezin, and in a few minutes, on a bit of rising ground
on the left is seen a dolmen on which a cross has been erected. Very
soon after the road traverses the lines of Le Menec. There are still
standing eleven of these rows and they run from E.N.E. to W.S.W. The
total length is 3510 feet, and there are 1169 stones in them. The
tallest of them is 13 feet high, but the majority from 3 to 4 feet.
It is well to turn to the left and pursue the rows to the western
extremity where is a semi-circular enclosure, evidently not in its
original condition, and it is doubtful whether it be not a modern
erection made out of stones pilfered from the rows to form a farm
enclosure attached to the farm of Le Menec.
[Illustration: THE LINES OF CARNAC]
Having retraced our steps to the road, we cross it and follow the
avenues of upright stones till we reach and cross another road, that
to Ploemel. The road has broken through the lines, which continue
only a few yards to the east, and then are brought to a conclusion
by blocking stones, that is to say, slabs set at right angles to the
lines. From this point ensues a gap for about 345 yards where is a
little plantation of Austrian pines, a stone quarry, and some furzy
enclosures. The lines are not, however, wholly interrupted; a few
upright stones and several that are prostrate testify that there was
some continuation. We follow a new road through the plantation and
between walls till we come abruptly on a fresh cluster of stones, and
these the largest we have yet seen. This is the commencement of the
Kermario group. These started from several tumuli enclosing dolmens,
but of such only one, an allée couverte pertaining to the southernmost
line, remains. The lines though mutilated are instructive. They start
from this allée couverte and run about 250 yards to a pair of blocking
stones, planted at right angles to the rows. The Kermario alignments
run N.E. up a hill crowned by a disused windmill that has been
constructed out of the blocks, then they continue some way till walls
and a wood interrupt their course. Ten rows remain, and the number of
the standing stones is 982. The largest of the menhirs is prostrate;
apparently it had been purposely thrown down to form a coverer to a
Gallo-Roman grave that has been discovered beneath it. What is of
special interest is the fact that a Roman camp was formed in these
lines, and that those who constructed the camp made use of the stones
for their wall of enclosure, breaking up some, and employing others
in their original position where it served their purpose. From the
easternmost end of the Kermario group occurs an interruption of about
398 yards, and then we come upon a third set of stone rows, that of
Kerlescant, which stretches 885 yards, but is much mutilated about the
village. Thirteen lines can be traced containing 540 stones, but there
were others, some 40, that lie to the north, and are the poor remains
of another series of stone rows. On the east again the alignment is
supposed to describe a curve towards the north, and then recommence and
run east again to the Crach estuary. Near the rows is also a ruined
allée couverte. The whole extent of rows cannot be estimated as short
of 4½ miles.
Poor fragments of other alignments remain at Ste. Barbe, near a couple
of windmills by the station of Plouharnel, and again, and remains of a
stone circle by the dolmen of Keriaval. The dolmens are very numerous,
but not in the commune of Carnac to the extent that they are in the
adjoining parishes. An enumeration of them may be omitted here, as
at Carnac for a franc at the Musée Milne may be had a serviceable
little book, "Carnac et ses Monuments," by M. Le Rouzic, with a map.
One word of caution must however be given--not to accept the wild
theories promulgated relative to dolmens and alignments. A close and
scientific comparative study of these monuments has led to a pretty
certain determination as to their purposes. The dolmens and allées
couvertes were sepulchres, family or tribal; and the alignments consist
of stones erected by members of the tribe or families belonging to the
tribe in honour of the several dead who were laid in the dolmens. The
stone circles were either places where the dead were burned and funeral
feasts were held, or were places of tribal gatherings for palavers;
generally they served both purposes. Isolated menhirs were either
memorials to the dead, or boundary marks between tribal lands. All
dolmens were originally buried under cairns or tumuli.
The parish church at Carnac was rebuilt in 1639 and has a well
proportioned tower and spire, with spirelets at the angles. Above the
west door is a statue of S. Cornelius, who throughout Lower Brittany is
the patron of horned beasts, as S. Eloi (Eligius, B. of Noyon) is of
horses. On the north side is an extravagant baroque porch, with a stone
crown or baldachin above it. The fountain of S. Cornély is west of the
church. A tramway now connects Carnac with Belz and Erdeven.
The Pardon of S. Cornély takes place on Sept. 13, and is a curious
sight. Cattle are brought to the church and offered to S. Cornély, and
those thus offered are sold afterwards by auction, and are eagerly
bought.
_Plœmel._ East of S. Cado is a menhir standing and two others fallen;
east of S. Laurent by the roadside a menhir leaning, opposite a stone
cross. In the tumulus of Mané-Bodgad near Kermarquer, a sepulchral
chamber. The church has been rebuilt and is a despicable structure. In
the cemetery is a lech fallen. Another found there has been trimmed and
set on the top of the tower.
_Plouharnel._ The largest dolmen in the Department is that of
Corconneau in this parish. It measures 6 feet high inside, and is
25 feet long. Four hundred paces to the east are the remains of an
alignment composed of 21 menhirs. To the south the ground is strewn
with ruined dolmens and menhirs either fallen or standing, relics of
alignments that have been plundered. At Ste. Barbe, to which allusion
has already been made, some 30 stones remain of an alignment, and the
remains of a stone circle. At Vieux Moulin are six standing stones,
and a little further the dolmens of Mané-Rémor and Runmeur. Further
north at Kernevez a dolmen that has had its coverer displaced, and at
Cosquer two or three more. On descending to the south at Runesto a
dolmen half buried, and at Kerguvat, on the way to Carnac, a dolmen
with a gallery. Between the village and the station is the tumulus of
Rondossec that contains three dolmens, one of which when explored gave
up two gold torques. The church is modern and bad.
For _Erdeven_ see under Belz.
CAULNES (C.N.) chl. arr. Dinan. Once a Roman station. Relics found
there are preserved in the Mairie. The church has undergone great
alterations. The tower was rebuilt in the 18th cent., but the old W.
entrance of the 16th cent. was preserved.
_Guitée._ Alignments of quartz blocks standing on others in which are
cavities that have been found to contain ashes. There are five rows and
run N. and S. One has in it 15 stones fallen, and 7 standing; one of
them is 11 feet high. Another, a blocking stone, is 15 feet high. The
second row has 12 stones fallen, and 2 upright; one of the prostrate
blocks measures 15 feet 6 inches. The third line has 11 stones, all
prostrate. The fourth line consists of 7 stones standing and 4 fallen.
One of those erect is 18 feet 6 inches high.
CHÂTEAUBOURG (I.V.) chl. arr. Vitré. The church has a renaissance
portal. There are remains of a priory of the 14th cent. converted into
a private house.
CHÂTEAUGIRON (I.V.) chl. arr. Rennes. Ruins of a castle. Two towers
fairly well preserved.
CHÂTEAULIN (F.) chl. d'arr. Prettily situated on the Aulne which is
canalised, so as to connect Brest with Nantes. The hills rise to a
considerable height above Châteaulin, as here the Monts d'Arrée and
the Montagnes Noires draw together, the latter to be prolonged into
the Peninsula of Crozon. But though prettily planted, there is not
much of interest in the town. The church (S. Idumet) is modern and
unsatisfactory. On a rock on the right bank of the river is the site
of the castle that has been completely destroyed. The chapel however
remains. The piers and arches are of the 12th cent. The tower is
renaissance and is beautifully proportioned. The archway into the
churchyard is 16th cent., and the cross and ossuary of the same period.
P. 1st Sunday in Sept. From Châteaulin the _Menez-hom_ (990 ft.) may
be visited for the sake of the view over the Rade de Brest and the Bay
of Douarnenez. Ste. Marie du Menez-hom is a chapel (1574-91), with
renaissance bell tower. The iron gate to the churchyard is of 1730, the
Calvary of 1544.
_S. Nic_, most picturesquely situated, has a quaint granite church of
the prevailing style of fusion of Gothic with renaissance.
_S. Ségal_ (Cadwalader). In this parish the Chapel of S. Sebastian
is of the dimensions of a church. It possesses some old glass. The
Calvary is of the same type as that at Ste. Marie du Menez-hom. It
consists of a cross with a double pair of arms beneath; on the topmost
are SS. Mary and John, on the lower Roman soldiers on horseback. P.
Sunday after 22nd July.
_Loperec._ The church (S. Bridget) has a spire of 1668, and an
interesting Calvary of 1552. The porch dates from 1586, with niches
containing statues of the twelve apostles, these carved in 1615. In
the church is some fine work of the barbaric style of Louis XIV.,
especially the retable of the altar of the Rosary. P. last Sunday in
August.
_Cast._ Has a Holy Well of the 15th cent., much resorted to, especially
on the Pardon, 2nd Sunday in May. At Lelzach are menhirs. The Mur
du Diable is a wall rudely constructed of blocks not set in mortar,
probably prehistoric.
_Quéménéven_ (S. Ouen, who has displaced S. Eugene, B. of Ardstraw).
In this parish is the Chapel of Kergoat, one of the most renowned and
favourite places of pilgrimage in Lower Brittany. The great Pardon is
on the Sunday after the 15th August.
* CHÂTEAUNEUF-DU-FAOU (F.) chl. arr. Châteaulin. A picturesquely
situated town on the Aulne. The well timbered heights of the Montagnes
Noires rise to the south. The castle has disappeared, and its site is
occupied by the hideous modern chapel of N.D. des Portes in a parody
of Romanesque. The very interesting 16th cent. chapel was destroyed
to make way for this monstrosity. However, the beautiful doorway
(1430) has been preserved. The Pardon, very largely attended, with
a procession bearing candles on the eve, is on the last Sunday in
August. The parish church (S. Theilo, B. of Llandaff) has been rebuilt
and is successful. The tower of the old church, 17th. cent., remains.
The patron has been relegated to a place of no consideration in the
S. transept to make room for saints more modern and in the Roman
Martyrology.
_Spezet._ The interesting Chapel of N.D. du Crann is of 1502, and
possesses seven magnificent stained glass windows of 1548. There are
chapels of S. Tudy, P. 3rd Sunday in July, and S. Bridget, P. Sunday
after the Ascension. But the P. at N.D. du Crann, the most important,
is on Trinity Sunday.
_Landeleau._ The church (S. Theilo) is fine and has a porch of 1540. P.
Monday in Whitsun Week.
CHÂTEAUNEUF (I.V.) chl. arr. S. Malo, on the high road from S. Malo to
Dinan. It is near the estuary of the Rance but is not on it. The castle
has been almost wholly destroyed and a modern castle built on the site.
The parish church, which is small, has a picturesque tower and some
flamboyant windows.
_S. Suliac_ possesses an interesting church of the 13th century. It
contains the tomb of the Saint Tysilio, as the Welsh call him, who
is the reputed author of the original History of the Britons, from
which Geoffrey of Monmouth drew some of the facts which he embroidered
with elaborate fiction. He was the son of Brocwel, King of Powys. On
his father's death, an elder son succeeded to the principality, but
reigned only two years and died childless. Thereupon the widow proposed
to marry Tysilio, and take him out of his monastery to become King of
Powys. Tysilio had no inclination either for the lady or for the crown,
and refused. His sister-in-law was exasperated and so harassed him and
his monastery, that he deemed it expedient to quit Wales. He came to
Brittany and landed at Aleth (S. Servan) and founded a monastery where
is now Saint Suliac. On the death of his sister-in-law he returned to
Wales, and became Bishop of S. Asaph in succession to Asaph, who was
his first cousin. In his old age he seems to have retired to die in his
Breton Monastery.
CHÂTELAUDREN (C.N.) chl. arr. S. Brieuc. The castle, originally a Roman
camp, was the residence of Aldor or Audrien, prince of the British
colonists who settled here. The castle was destroyed in 1808. It is
now in private grounds, prettily situated above a little tarn. The
parish church is modern, but on the height above the town is N.D. du
Tertre, a church, 2nd pointed but with a flamboyant east window. There
are remains of old glass. There is a 2nd pointed stone altar of S.
Margaret. The spire was added later and there are internal buttresses.
The wooden ceiling is covered with paintings. Near the chapel is a
picturesque 16th cent. mansion. In the parish church alabaster bas
reliefs of the 16th cent. are preserved in the sacristy.
_Bocqueho_, on the main road to Quintin, has a flamboyant Chapel of
N.D. de Pitié with stained glass of the period representing scenes of
the Passion.
CHÈSE, LA (C.N.) chl. arr. Loudéac. There are halles of the 17th cent.,
and a church of the 18th.
_La Ferrière._ The church is partly of the 13th and partly of the 14th
cent. The south chapel is of the 16th, with good glass of 1546 and
1551. Ruins of the abbey of Lantenac, founded in 1150; a portion of the
cloisters remain, and a chapel of the 15th cent.
_Plèmet._ Chapel of S. Lubin of the 16th cent. with contemporary glass.
In one window the legend of S. Lubin; in another the life of S. John
the Baptist.
CLEGUEREC (M.) chl. arr. Pontivy. Church modern, but in the churchyard
a cross of the 17th cent. In the Chapel of S. Morvan is the tomb of the
Saint, a rude granite sarcophagus. Near the church, by the roadside,
is a lech with crosses cut on it. In the chapel of the Baptist is
16th cent. glass. Several allées couvertes are in the parish. One at
Parc-er-bé, near the hamlet of Rotherbaz, 36 ft. long. At Bod-er-Mohet
remains of another, 72 ft. long, divided into compartments within. Near
by a menhir 12 ft. high. P. at S. Gildas, 1st S. in May. P. at S.
Jean, S. after the 24th June. That at S. Anne 4th S. in July. Pretty
lake at Ste. Brigitte.
COMBOURG (I.V.) chl. arr. S. Malo. Church modern and very bad. The
castle belongs to the Châteaubriant family, and is shown on Wednesdays.
It is a structure of the 14th and 15th cents., and has been carefully
restored. It stands above a little lake in a picturesque situation, and
has good grounds and trees about it. In the dining-room is a bust of
Françoise de Foix, who was the wife of the Count of Châteaubriant. The
count was compelled to be at Court, but long refused to allow his wife
to appear there, and only yielded when Francis I. insisted upon it. The
King fell desperately in love with her, and made her his mistress. The
count was forced to swallow his rage, but when the fickle king turned
to Mlle. d'Helly, afterwards Duchesse d'Etampes, then he carried her
back to Châteaubriant where he starved her to death. The castle is
supposed to be haunted by an old Châteaubriant with a wooden leg and
by his black cat. The author of Réné and Athalie spent much time here
in his youth, and his room and chair are shown. A ruined dolmen is at
Chevot.
_S. Leger._ Church of the 15th cent. A prehistoric monument goes by the
name of La Chaise de Saint Leger.
_Cugnon._ A menhir called La Pierre longue, 20 ft. high.
CONCARNEAU (F.) chl. arr. Quimper. A fishing port, where sardines are
tinned. It is also a resort of artists. Concarneau is picturesquely
situated on a bay, and is divided into the New and the Old Town, the
former very modern and uninteresting. The Ville Clos occupies an islet
and is enclosed by walls flanked by towers. Entrance is obtained by
three gates: the principal is to the west and is defended by two great
towers, and has a drawbridge. Some parts of the fortifications date
from the 14th century. One large bastion is attributed to the Duchess
Anne. There is an aquarium in the place, and the studios of the Breton
artists should be visited. The Chapel of N. Dame de Bon Secours is of
the 15th cent. Two kilometres distant to the N.E. is the Château de
Kerjolet, rebuilt and given to the Department in 1890 by the Countess
Chaveau-Narishkine. It contains a museum in which are preserved
specimens of all the coiffes and costumes of Lower Brittany, as well
as antiquities prehistoric and mediæval. The factories for tinning
sardines may be inspected. The costume about Concarneau is pretty, and
the place is noted for the good looks of the women.
_Lanriec._ Here is an allée couverte, here is also a cromlech, or
circle of standing stones. P. 2nd Sunday in September.
_Trégunc._ Numerous prehistoric monuments. A fine menhir at Ker ar
Gallon, another 30 ft. high. A stone circle 248 ft. in diameter. A
dolmen on the Lande de Kerlan 24 ft. long. P. de S. Marc, the S. after
25th April. P. de N.D. de Bon Secours, 3rd S. in September. P. of S.
Philibert, last S. in August, and that of S. Elizabeth the ensuing
Sunday.
CORLAY (C.N.) chl. arr. Loudéac. Church of S. Elouan of 1576. Old Holy
Well. The Chapel of S. Anne was built in 1198, destroyed in the war
of the two Jeannes, and rebuilt in 1485, and dismantled in 1599. On
the Lande de la Justice foundations remain of the old gallows; allée
couverte, called Le Tombeau de Gargantua, near the hamlet of Faouët, on
the road to Uzel.
_Haut Corlay._ Near the village is the Men Bixiquet, a menhir 9 feet
high. North of the Tertre aux Colombs, a rectangular fortification
enclosing tumuli, a vast number of others are outside.
_Plussulien_ (S. Sulien). The church is of the 16th cent. The Holy Well
of S. Sulien is of the 16th cent. as well. The Chapel of the N.D. de
Saleon of the 15th cent.
CROISIC, LE (L.I.), chl. arr. S. Nazaire. A little port and bathing
place. It is here that Cæsar stood to watch the naval fight between
Brutus and the Venetian fleet, which resulted in the complete
destruction of the latter. The Venetii had large vessels with leather
sails, whereas the Romans had galleys. The success of the latter was
wholly due to the failure of wind to fill the Venetian sails and enable
the great ships to move. By this means the Roman galleys were enabled
to attack each huge hulk separately, and the Venetian fleet was thus
destroyed piece-meal. After this Cæsar in cold blood slaughtered all
the nobles, and sold all the population he could lay his hands on
into slavery. Le Croisic lies on a slight elevation that runs as a
ridge banking out the Loire from the low tract of salt marsh on the
other or inland side. N.D. de la Pitié (1494-1507) has a N. porch of
1528, and a tower of the 17th cent. The Chapel of S. Goustan is partly
Romanesque, and has a miraculous Holy Well near it. A marine hospital
for scrofulous children is at Le Croisic.
_Batz_, on the same ridge as Le Croisic, is also a sea-bathing place
and in much resort. The church (S. Winwaloe) is of the 15th and 16th
cents., with a stately tower rebuilt in 1677. The pillars of the
earlier 13th cent. church remain. The church was restored in 1866. In
Batz is a little museum in which are preserved the old costumes of the
district.
_Pouliquen_ (The White Pool), also a sea-bathing place. On the rock of
Penchâteau is a chapel containing a 15th cent. alabaster bas-relief.
CROZON (F.) chl. arr. Châteaulin. The bleak promontory of Crozon
spreads out to the west and forms the headland of Camaret, then
intervenes the bay de la Chèvre, and to the north the headland of
Crozon. The church (1602-15) contains a retable representing the
martyrdom of the Theban Legion. The spire is modern. There is a stone
circle at Tyahurey in the midst of a vast lande, a dolmen at Rostudet,
and stone rows at Kercolleoch and Landaoudec. The coast to Morgat is
fine, much gnawed into by the Atlantic, and full of caverns. There are,
however, good stretches of sand. Dinant takes its name from the rocks
that shoot up like walls and towers of a fortress. The bay of Dinant is
beautiful, and here also are many caves, notably that of the Korrigans
or water-sprites. P. Sunday after 29th June.
_Camaret_ is a little port given over to the sardine fishing and to the
tinning. The Chapel of Rozmadou dates from 1560. At Toulinquel is a set
of stone rows. At Kerloch a little lake. The Benediction of the Sea
takes place on the 3rd Sunday in June.
_Lanveoc_ (S. Fiacc, B. of Sletty). Here are prehistoric remains. P.
Sunday nearest to 26th July.
DAOULAS (F.) chl. arr. Brest. An Augustinian abbey was founded here
in 1170. To this period belong the body of the church and portions of
the choir. A porch was added in renaissance times. Glass of the Breton
school of the 16th cent. remains in the church windows. The cloister
is Romanesque, and of the same date as the foundation of the abbey.
Semi-circular arches rest on columns alternately single and coupled,
and with early foliage in the capitals, and with ornamented bases. In
the midst of the cloister is a basin also of the 12th cent. Chapel
of B.V.M. 1550, and Chapel of S. Anne 1667. Daoulas is at the head
of a long tidal creek, between hills, in a pretty situation. The
Kersanton stone, so largely used for sculpture in the churches of Lower
Brittany in the 16th and 17th cents., is quarried not far from here.
[Illustration: N.D. DE LA FONTAINE, DAOULAS]
_L'Hôpital Comfront._ A commandery of the Knights of S. John was here.
The church is in the common transition style between flamboyant and a
renaissance, with an open bell tower for two bells and a side turret,
disengaged with cupola, containing the stair. The west front has a
doorway much like that at Rumengol. In the church is a statue of S.
Barbe of 1511. P. Easter Monday.
_Irvillac._ Church with a renaissance tower and spire. P. des Reliques
3rd Sunday in July. P. des Marches, with wrestling, 3rd Sunday in
October.
* DINAN (C.N.) chl. d'arrond. In a picturesque situation, 225 feet
above the Rance which flows through a gorge to the sea, between granite
cliffs broken by bays down which flows abundant foliage. The town is
walled round on all sides save that on which is the railway station.
Three gates remain, and a postern of the castle. The original castle
stood in a different position, and was called the Château de Gan. It
has disappeared, and a vulgar and pretentious modern house occupies
its site. The present castle was erected in 1458 and 1480. Of the
twenty-four towers which originally surrounded the town fifteen remain
in a more or less ruinous condition. Portions of the wall date from
the 13th cent. The most picturesque portion of the town is the Rue
de Jerzual leading to the old port on the Rance, in which are many
ancient houses. In some parts are houses with arcades. The Tour de
l'Horloge, singularly picturesque, is of the 15th cent. The Church of
S. Sauveur is in part Romanesque, the lower portion of the west front
to the bottom of the window, and the S. side of the nave. But the N.
aisle, transepts and choir are flamboyant inclining to renaissance. The
central slated crown to the tower is singularly beautiful in outline
and proportion. There is one window in the N. aisle which contains
old glass. A chapel contains the heart of Du Guesclin. The Church of
S. Malo is late flamboyant of the 16th cent. throughout, except the
S. transept front, which is renaissance. The W. window is modern, and
remarkably bad in design. The church contained good old glass of the
period, which the curé sold, and has supplied its place with utter
rubbish. The Chapel of S. Joachim outside the Porte S. Malo is mainly
Romanesque of the 11th cent. It was chapel to a priory. At Ste. Esprit
is a granite cross sculptured with figures on the site occupied by the
Earl of Lancaster when investing Dinan. Near this is a large lunatic
asylum, with beautiful grounds, to which admission is accorded. The
chapel built by the lunatics, if architecturally bad, is effective
after its fashion, and well intended. From the Porte S. Malo a pretty
walk, planted with limes, leads to La Fontaine, a chalybeate spring in
a deep valley. A noble viaduct connects Dinan with Lanvallay. In
summer an expedition may be made by boat or steamer to the Chapel of
S. Hubert, an expedition well repaying the trouble. The Château de la
Garraye is of the 16th cent., prettily situated, falling annually into
more complete ruin. That of La Conninais, however, is kept up. A tower
and the chapel are late flamboyant, but the main building is a century
later.
[Illustration: S. SAUVEUR, DINAN]
_Léhon_ has a ruined castle on the height, and by the river the remains
of a priory. The church, of the 13th cent., has been restored; the
ugly east window is modern, and the stained glass is all bad. In the
churchyard is the Romanesque doorway of the parish church, which was
pulled down when the priory church was put in order.
_Corseul._ The ancient capital of the Curiosoliti, with Roman remains,
notably a temple of Mars, of very peculiar construction, an apsidal
chapel with a huge extended peristyle before it, like a cloister. The
parish church, a wretched modern structure, contains a Roman cippus.
In a picturesque situation is the Château de Montfilant, of the 12th
cent., with to the N. traces of a prehistoric camp. In the farmhouse
on the site of the castle are some statues, one of 16th cent., of S.
Agatha carrying her amputated feet, and another of S. Anne of the 17th
cent.
_S. Helan._ The church has some old glass in the E. window,
representing the saint, who with six other Irish bishops visited S.
Remigius at Rheims in 509. On their way, after having landed at
the mouth of the Rance, they founded churches along their route up
the river. At La Ganterie on the road to Dol, at the 8½ kilometre
milestone, a little to the left is a ruined allée couverte, on the site
of a prehistoric workshop for tools. The site is interesting not to the
archæologist alone, but also to the mineralogist. The stones of which
the dolmen is composed are diorite, and the material of which the tools
were fashioned is the silex in the granite fused by a dyke of diorite
which has run it into flint clots. The tools here fabricated were of a
rude description.
_S. Samson._ A fine menhir at La Tremblaye, in a little wood, 30
ft. high, but inclining, as it was undermined by treasure seekers.
According to popular superstition, if re-erected, Dinan would perish
by a flood. A delightful walk may be taken from S. Samson to Dinan,
by a road that leads down to the river, and comes out by the mouth
of the glen of La Fontaine. From it the grand view of Dinan with its
spires and viaduct may be obtained. The Rance at this point formerly
swept round a rocky peninsula, but this was cut through and the course
rectified, when the river was canalised. The walk may be extended by
taking in _Taden_, where are the neglected tombs of the Count and
Countess de la Garaye. At their own desire they were buried among the
poor, to whom they had devoted their lives, in the churchyard.
[Illustration: TOWER, DINARD]
_Trigavou_, between this place and Pleslin, is a wrecked series of
alignments. Though a monument historique, the peasants have been
recently blowing up the stones with gunpowder, and the remains are in
too great disorder to be planned. In the church on a beam is a carving
that represents a hare which when pursued by hunters took refuge in the
sacred edifice.
_Le Hinglé_, a walk of a mile and a half from the station, takes to the
Château of Chalonge, with a tower and picturesque gables. It is being
well restored by the proprietor.
DINARD-SAINT ENOGAT (I.V.) chl. arr. S. Malo. Picturesquely situated
on an indented coastline opposite S. Malo, and connected by a tramline
with S. Lunaire and S. Briac. It is a favourite resort for wealthy
Americans during the summer, and has a casino, where those who like
to lose their money may do so. Bathing is best obtained at S. Lunaire
where are good sands. Scanty remains of a priory founded in 1324. The
chapel in ruins contains a colossal statue of the Virgin and child of
the 15th cent. An old house, traditionally supposed to have been once
occupied by the Black Prince, has a couple of picturesque towers with
conical roofs and gables. A house quaintly decorated with numerous
statues of saints.
_S. Lunaire_ has an excellent beach. Lodging houses are extending
rapidly along the coast from Dinard to S. Briac, and in process of
time there will be a continuous line of houses. The modern church
is portentously vulgar, but the little old church has been happily
spared. It has a low slated tower at the junction of the transepts.
Within is the tomb of the saint, who was son of Hoel and Pompeia,
and born in South Wales. His father was founder of Llanhywel in
Pembrokeshire, and his mother lies buried at Langoat near La Roche
Derrien. He was brother of S. Tugdual the founder of Tréguier, and
nephew of S. Brioc. The story goes that he left his portable altar
behind him in Wales, and that two doves crossed the sea bringing it to
him in their beaks. On his tomb a dove is represented with the slab in
its beak. The fact on which this legend is founded is probably that
his sisters, crossing later, brought to him what he had forgotten. One
sister was called Sceva, Ste. Sève as she is now called. Another story
told of him is that when he settled at this spot on the coast, with
his monks, to his dismay it was discovered that seed corn had been
forgotten. Then Leonore knelt in prayer, and presently a robin was seen
perched on a stone with an ear of wheat in its beak which it let fall
when scared. The grains were sown, and on the following year all the
produce of the little harvest, and eventually all the district round,
derived its wheat from "Robin Redbreast's Corn."
_S. Briac._ Situated above a picturesque bay partly closed by an islet.
It has a little port. The church is modern except the tower, which is
renaissance. An extensive alignment existed here, extending to the
headland above the sea, but the exigences of builders have almost if
not wholly destroyed it. The saint from whom the place takes its name
was an Irishman, a native of Ulster, who joined Tugdual and Leonore
in South Wales and followed them to Brittany. Briac was given a site
for a monastery where now stands the town of Bourgbriac, where is his
Holy Well. He soon made of it a flourishing school for missionaries,
who were sent throughout the district. After many years he went on
pilgrimage to Rome, and on his way back halted at Arles, where he
remained two years. Then he returned to Brittany, where he died at an
advanced age about 570, and was buried at Bourgbriac.
On the further side of the river is Lancieux; the church contains a
Roman cippus but is otherwise destitute of interest and will shortly
be rebuilt. The vast bay west of Lancieux is divided in twain by the
tongue of land on which is S. Jacut. Here the tide goes out as much
as 5 kilometres. To the north of the promontory of S. Jacut are the
islands of Les Ebbiens on which is a battery.
Off Dinard is the fortified isle of _Cézambre_, but visitors are not
suffered to land there. Here was a monastery founded by S. Brendan
about 524, and when S. Malo arrived from South Wales, he was hospitably
received by Festivus, the Irish monk left there in charge. A Chapel of
S. Brendan was much resorted to by girls in want of husbands, who vowed
candles to the Irish saint if he would supply them with a suitor. But
since the military authorities have denied access to the island, the
damsels have had to aspire at home.
DOL (I.V.) chl. arr. S. Malo. A dull town, formerly a cathedral city,
and for three hundred years seat of an archbishop. The few old houses
in the town are not particularly interesting. The former cathedral, now
parish church (S. Samson), belongs for the most part to the 13th cent.
The west part is flanked by two towers of the 14th and 15th centuries.
That to the south has retained some remains of the original Romanesque
church. King John of England burnt the church. At the crossing of
the transepts a third tower of the 13th cent. was begun but never
completed. The N. side of the church formed part of the fortifications
of the town, and the wall of the chapels of the choir is surmounted by
a crenilated parapet. The choir has a square east end like an English
church, and with a magnificent 2nd pointed or geometrical E. window
full of glass of the same period, badly restored. It represents the
Last Judgment, scenes of the Passion, and the Life of S. Samson. The
pillars of the nave belong to the original Romanesque church. After
it was burnt they were retained, but disengaged columns were grouped
about them and bound to the cylinders by bands of iron. Those in the
side aisles are meaningless, supporting nothing. Behind the high altar
is the Chapel of S. Samson. In the wall at the side are openings into
a chamber into which the insane were admitted, and kept for a while
enclosed near the tomb of the Saint, in hopes of a cure. In the N.
transept is the sadly defaced tomb of Bishop Thomas James (1504) and
of his brother, a canon. It was a peculiarly rich piece of renaissance
work, by the Florentine family of Juste, two brothers of which were
brought to Dol to execute it. After its completion they settled at
Tours. It was barbarously mutilated at the Revolution. The S. transept
has a rich porch, the statuary in which has been recently restored.
About a mile and a half out of Dol on the Combourg road is the Pierre
du Champ Dolent, a menhir 27 feet high above ground and sunk nearly as
many feet beneath the surface. It is dwarfed by a huge crucifix planted
on the top. Near by is _Carfeuntin_ with a hideous modern church
replacing one of the 13th that has been wantonly destroyed. Here is the
Holy Well of S. Samson.
_Mont Dol_ is a height rising out of the great marsh of Dol, that was
overflowed by the sea in 709. This was a prehistoric site and numerous
flint weapons are there found. The church of the 11th, 12th and 15th
centuries contains curious mural paintings.
DOUARNENEZ (F.) chl. arr. Quimper. Prettily situated on a tidal creek
that has its mouth almost closed by the Isle of Tristan. The railway
station is high above the town and the ravine is crossed by a viaduct.
The town itself is given up to sardines and is pervaded by bad odours.
It has a very bad modern church. That of S. Helene is of the 17th
cent. with glass of the period. The Chapel of S. Michel is of 1664 and
has a painted ceiling. Douarnenez was the headquarters of the brigand
Fontenelle during the wars of the League. He had his castle on the
island of Tristan where he crowded his prisoners into the dungeons so
dense that they could not lie down, and kept them there till they died,
in a condition of indescribable filth. As one died, he made the rest
throw him out at the window into the sea. Some, who he thought might
ransom themselves, he placed in metal chairs over slow fires, others
he left in bitter winter weather immersed to their necks in barrels of
cold water. He carried on his barbarities, not for any cause, though
he professed himself to be a leaguer. He warred on all alike for the
sake of rapine and out of wanton love of slaughter. He was finally
broken on the wheel in 1602. Douarnenez is connected by rows of houses
with _Ploaré_, where is a fine church very late flamboyant resolving
itself into renaissance, and typical of a style very general throughout
Finistère. A singular feature is to be noted in the pinnacles about
the spire. Two of these have tall crocketed spirelets, but taste was
changing whilst the tower was approaching completion, and the two
other pinnacles are truncated Italian lanterns. The tower was begun
in 1555. The side aisles are gabled over the aisle windows, and as
usual in Breton churches there is no clerestory. The buttresses are
surmounted by pinnacles that are crowned with cupolas. The cusping has
gone from the tracery, a sure mark of decay of the style. There is a
fine porch with niches, but no statues. A fireplace and chimney for
heating the water for baptisms, shows that this usage was carried on to
the latter half of the 16th cent. As we shall see under Le Juch there
is a later example.
[Illustration: PLOARÉ]
_Poullan._ The church (S. Cadvan) is flamboyant verging into
renaissance. It has a thin tower with two galleries, and a pretty
porch. The side aisles are peculiarly narrow. The capitals of the
pillars are quaintly carved. The octagonal vestry is of the 17th cent.
Several dolmens. A menhir near the seamark at Kermenhir. P. 1st S. in
September.
_Le Juch._ Renaissance tower. Fireplace in the church for warming the
water for baptism, as late as 1710. The east window has in it 16th
cent. glass representing the Crucifixion.
_Guengat._ A small late flamboyant church. Ossuary adjoining the porch
1557. Owing to the fall of the tower in 1700, the church was restored
in 1706. It contains some fine glass of the 16th cent. representing the
Last Judgment and the Passion. The date is 1571. The porch flamboyant.
Curious uncouth and late tracery in two gabled windows beside the
porch. The third has flamboyant tracery. A Calvary in the churchyard
is of the 16th cent. In the presbytère are preserved a beautiful
chalice, and a processional cross of 1584. P. de S. Ivy, 2nd S. in May.
Patronal feast last S. in August.
_Kerlaz._ Church (S. Germain) picturesque and interesting. It has
a crocketed spire with subsidiary turrets and spirelets partially
detached. The church contains old glass in the east window representing
scenes of the Passion and S. John the Baptist presenting the donor and
a canon. Font of 1567, tower 1660, Calvary 1645, lychgate 1558.
ELVEN (M.) chl. arr. Vannes. The Chapel of S. Germain is of the 16th
cent. At the door is a sarcophagus supposed to be that of S. Germain.
This Germanus is probably not the Great Bishop of Auxerre, but the
nephew of S. Patrick, who was tutor of S. Brioc, and finally apostle of
the Isle of Man. Elven is a good place whence to explore the Lande de
Lanvaux. This upland ridge is strewn with prehistoric remains, dolmens
and menhirs, notably La Loge aux Loups, a dolmen; an allée couverte Le
Léty, a menhir at Carhaix, another at Villeneuve. An allée couverte
at Villepierre, two dolmens in the wood at Coetby and two menhirs
called Baboun et Baboune at the outskirts of the wood of Lanvaux. At
S. Guyomard a menhir 22 feet high. At Plaudren beside the road, La
Quenouille, about 18 feet high. Near it numerous remains of dolmens
and fallen menhirs. Another group at Plaudren, a fallen menhir, 16
feet high, and two others prostrate of less height, an allée couverte
called Mein-gouarec near a curious rock shaped like a crouching lion.
ETAPLES (C.N.) chl. arr. S. Brieuc. A watering-place in some repute
with good sands. The church is of the 15th cent., but with a tower of
1786. Etaples is in the ancient county of Goelo.
_Lantec._ The parish church (S. Oswald) is a mean modern structure.
How the great Northumbrian king should come to be here commemorated
is hard to understand. He is represented over the altar as a chubby,
smirking boy. The Chapel of N.D. de la Cour is a noble structure of
1460, of the finest and purest flamboyant, before it became degenerate
and adulterated with Italian detail. Chancel and side aisles are
vaulted. The nave has modern wood vaulting. The superb east window is
filled with the finest stained glass, silvery in tone, with the colour
set in it as jewels, after the English school, and entirely different
from the prevailing Breton character of glass which, like the French,
is overladen with colour. The modern glass in some of the windows is
bad as bad can be. The tracery of the chancel windows is admirable.
There is a second stained window, old, in the S. transept. In the
chapel is the tomb of Guillaume de Rosmadec, 1608, in kersanton stone.
P. 16th August, when pilgrim fishermen make the circuit of the chapel
barefooted and in their shirts alone.
_S. Quay_ is a watering place.
LE FAOU (F.) chl. arr. Châteaulin, at the head of a long arm of the
sea. It is reached from Henvec station. The church is of the 16th cent.
late flamboyant, with a slender unsatisfactory tower, 1626-40. The
porch is of 1593, with statues of the apostles.
_Rumengol._ The story goes that as King Grallo was riding with S.
Winwaloe from Is, which had been overwhelmed by the sea, and reached
the hill that commanded the valley, he saw a fire on the height
opposite, and found that the pagan inhabitants were holding a sacrifice
on the rou-men-goulon, the Red Stone of the Dawn. He vowed to build
there a church. This is represented in the E. window. The church is
late flamboyant with renaissance detail. The porch is of the usual type
and contains, over the door, an adoration of the Magi. A hundred paces
to the east is the Holy Well. In the little structure is a bas-relief
of the Annunciation, and statues of S. Winwaloe and S. Fiacre. One
of the most largely attended Pardons of Brittany takes place here on
Trinity Sunday, the pilgrims arrive over night and sleep in the church.
* LE FAOUËT (M.) chl. arr. Pontivy. Fine timber and slate Halles.
The church of the 16th cent. is of little interest, but the chapels of
Ste. Barbe, S. Fiacre, and S. Nicolas in Prisiac, are well deserving
of a visit and a study. Ste. Barbe is planted on a rock above a pretty
valley, and is reached by a staircase of stone. A bridge connects the
upper platform with another chapel, that of S. Michel. The wooden
belfry is on the platform above. The chapel of Ste. Barbe is of fine
flamboyant work, 1489. The structure is curious: there is no nave,
it is composed of long transepts and a small budding chancel. It was
vaulted in 1512. Some very fine old glass remains, side by side with
some very villainous modern stuff. Below, in the valley, is the well of
Ste. Barbe. The P. of Ste. Barbe is on the last Sunday in June.
[Illustration: S. FIACRE]
S. Fiacre is a superb example of the architecture of the 15th cent. The
main spire, with its flamboyant gallery, is corbelled out on the west
gable and is tied by two flying buttresses to two smaller towers with
spirelets. The S. porch is vaulted and has niches within. The chapel
contains very fine glass of 1550, but falling to pieces and fragments
detaching themselves with every storm. The subjects represented are
the Nativity, the Passion, and the legend of S. Fiacre. A roodscreen
of 1480 has been badly "restored" and painted. The condition of
the magnificent glass is disgraceful. The chapel is a "monument
historique," so that the curé can do nothing to it, and the State will
do nothing for its preservation. The foliage carving in granite is
admirable for its boldness. The Chapel of S. Nicolas in Prisiac has a
very fine roodscreen, quite perfect and untouched, covered with curious
paintings; it is, however, later than that at S. Fiacre. There is here
also some good old glass. The chapel is in a sad condition of neglect.
It possesses a broken wheel set with bells for ringing by pilgrims
to call the attention of the Saint to their prayers. Le Faouët may be
reached from either Gourin or Quimperlé. The P. at S. Fiacre is on the
4th Sunday in July. S. Caradec Trégomel, a splendid late Gothic chapel,
one of the finest monuments of 15th cent. in Brittany.
* FOUESNANT (F.) chl. arr. Quimper, with nice sands. A pleasant
holiday resort. The costumes of the women are very pretty. The church
is Romanesque, but was frightfully maltreated in the 18th cent., when
large round-headed windows were introduced. The tower was struck by
lightning and rebuilt at the same time. The piers are 11th cent. From
above them rise pilasters that sustain relieving arches under which
are the clerestory windows. The capitals have byzantine-looking work
on them. The Chapel of Ste. Anne, in the midst of trees, was built in
1685, and has a tower for two bells and spire between two detached
turrets surmounted by cupolas. This chapel is the object of visit when
the Pardon takes place on July 28. Peasants and girls in white arrive
by water in boats with their crosses and banners.
_S. Evarzec._ Here was a commandery of the Knights of Malta at Moustoir
(13th cent.). A dolmen and menhir.
_Goueznach._ A ruined allée couverte. Chapel of N.D. de Bonsecours, P.
Sept. 8. Chapel of S. Cado, P. Sept 25; that of Ste. Barbe, P. June 5.
_Benodet._ A favourite bathing resort. The church (S. Thomas à Becket)
was erected in his honour in 1241, seventy-one years after his death.
But it has undergone much alteration and enlargement. All that remains
of the original church are two bays of the apse. The foliage of the
capitals has all the freshness and charm of work of that period.
_Perguet_ (S. Bridget) was formerly the mother church of Benodet, but
now the relations are reversed. Externally, on the N. side may be seen
Romanesque work, and the small windows of the period. The S. side has
been completely transformed by the addition of a little ossuary and
a porch and a transept of the 16th cent. But on entering the church
the early character of the building becomes manifest. The arcades of
the nave and the chancel arch are of the 12th cent. The three bays
on the north are bold and rectangular, and, as at Fouesnant, support
relieving arches that enclose the clerestory windows. This is all 11th
cent. But the chancel arch shows distinct signs of the coming on of
the reign of the pointed style. The choir is flamboyant. Here also the
Byzantine character of the ornamentation of the 11th cent. capitals may
be observed. The east window contains 16th cent. glass, and represents
the Crucifixion. Among the statues in the church are S. Bridget and
S. Patrick, but the latter has been altered into S. Paternus. In this
church is a fireplace for warming baptismal water. The tower is of
1595. On the highway from Quimper to Benodet is the Holy Well of N.D.
de Drenec. The basin is surmounted by a niche containing a statue of
Our Lady of Pity. In times of drought the parishioners of Ergué Armel
come here to pray for rain; but those of Clohars Fouesnant go in quest
of it to Petit Ergué.
_La Forest Fouesnant._ This pretty little church is planted near the
sea. The spire is bracketed out above the west gable, and contains a
stone cage for bells. The Calvary is the earliest in the Department and
is of the 16th cent. In the presbytère is a noble chalice of the first
half of the 16th cent.
* FOUGÈRES (I.V.) chl. d'arrond. Picturesquely situated on a hill
above the Nançon. Originally a frontier town between Brittany and
France, it has preserved its venerable fortifications, but they are
crowded in by buildings. The castle was founded in the 11th cent.,
destroyed in 1166, rebuilt in 1176, has been restored. It is planted on
a rock, and was flanked by ten towers including those that commanded
the entrance. It is divided into four distinct portions, the avantcour,
the main court, the donjon, and the postern court. The entrance is
between three towers of the 12th cent. The keep was destroyed in 1630.
It rose in the midst of the second court, flanked by three towers
that still remain, that of Melusine dates from 1242. The Church of S.
Sulpice was rebuilt in 1410, but the nave and tower were not completed
till 1490. The slate spire leans. The choir, begun in the 16th cent.,
was not completed till 1765. The Church of S. Leonard was erected
1407-44, but underwent alterations in 1586-1637, and contains fragments
of old glass. Altogether Fougères is a most interesting place, and
rivals Vitré.
[Illustration: FOUGÈRES]
In the Forest of Fougères is a fallen dolmen, Pierre du Tresor, also an
alignment of 80 stones, called Le Cordon des Druides, near the ruins of
a convent founded in 1440.
LA GACILLY (M.) chl. arr. Vannes. Near the town on the road to
Malestroit, a menhir 15 ft. high, La Roche Piqué, and near it another
of the same height but fallen. On the Lande de Signé E. of Gacilly a
circular camp and the slope of the hill is pitted with excavations. The
parish church was formerly chapel to the castle and was of 14th cent.,
but was altered and enlarged 1626-31.
The Chapel of S. Jugon, 4 kilometres W.N.W. Jugon was a peasant boy who
led a devout life. P. Whitsun-Monday. Peasants take little bags of seed
to have it blessed at the end of Mass. This is then mingled with what
is to be sown.
_Cournon._ A fine dolmen, La Tablette. One of the coverers was broken
in 1820. W. is a menhir 9 ft. high, further W. other blocks that may be
the remains of an alignment.
_Les Fougerêts._ A pretty gorge with grottoes in the sides called Les
Chambres du Coucou.
_S. Congard_ (Cyngar) near Bignac. An allée couverte measuring 43 ft.
long and 4 ft. 6 in. high within. It has five coverers, of which one
only has fallen. A menhir near the wood of Misny. The Chapel of N.D.
de Quimper is an object of pilgrimage on Whitsun-Monday, and here,
possibly, may still be heard the barking of the pilgrims, an hysterical
phenomenon, that formerly accompanied the Pardon of Josselin. At
Wesley's revivalist meetings a similar phenomenon was noticed.
* GUINGAMP (C.N.). A pleasantly situated town in green surroundings,
with the little river Trieux flowing through it. The finest view of
the town with the towers of the church is from the garden of the Hôtel
de France, whence water, foliage and old buildings group admirably.
The Church of N.D. de Bonsecours is indebted to a miraculous image for
the lavish expenditure upon it. This image stands in the N. porch, and
has been accorded a gold crown from the Pope, and has been profusely
"indulgenced." The church was formerly the chapel of the Counts of
Ponthièvre. It was rebuilt in the 14th and 15th cents. and added to
in the 16th. The church consists of a nave with four aisles, double
transepts and an ambulatory round the choir. The transept and S.
transept front are of the 12th cent. The central tower and spire of
the 13th. To the same period belong the tower and turret on the N.W.
The arcade on the N. of the nave is of the 13th cent. On the S. side
the arcade is renaissance. In the spandrils are the cardinal virtues
sculptured in relief, and corbels support statues. Above the arcade
is a triforium consisting of three ranges. Above the arcade on the
north side the triforium is of the 14th cent. The choir is composed
of four bays of the 15th cent. The apse is of the same date. A
curious feature is the carrying of the triforium across the church
above the chancel arch. The transepts are lighted by rose windows of
the 14th cent. The principal porch containing the miraculous image is
closed by a grating and converted into a chapel; it contains modern
statues of the apostles. The W. doorway is a magnificent specimen of
renaissance work. Owing to the windows being all filled with modern
coloured glass overloaded with colour, the interior cannot be well seen
except on sunny days. The vaulting of the choir is sustained by flying
buttresses within the church. The fine S.W. tower is an excellent but
unfinished work of the renaissance. In the market-place is a leaden
fountain of the renaissance. A few picturesque old houses remain. The
P. is on the 1st Sunday in July. A procession with torches takes place
on the Saturday night, and bonfires are lighted in the Place. After
the religious ceremonies follow dances. N. of Guingamp on a height is
the little Chapel of S. Lambert with some early 11th cent. work, but
for the most part it was transformed in the 18th cent. The abbey of
Ste. Croix is of the 16th cent., but the church has the piers of the
transept of the 13th.
_Grâces._ The church is entirely flamboyant of 1508, and a typical
specimen. All the aisle windows are under gables. The baptistery is of
the end of the 16th cent. The relics of Charles de Blois are preserved
here.
_Pedernec._ A menhir 25 ft. high. On one face three cup-hollows. The
church was rebuilt in 1847, but the S. side aisle and arcade and a good
rose window in the transept, of the 16th cent., have been preserved.
Also a delicately carved roodscreen, out of its proper place.
_Coadout._ An allée couverte at Pen-poul-ar-hus, destroyed in 1863,
except for three stones, has one much polished. On this, according to
local tradition, S. Illtyd and S. Briac were wont to meet and pray
together, and it contains hollows supposed to have been worn by their
knees.
_Pommeret-le-Vicomte._ Remains of a dolmen at Kerbic, one coverer and
four supports still in situ. The church is of various periods. The
oldest portion is the east end, and is of the 14th cent. with a large
window. The tower and spire of 1712. In the graveyard a Calvary of the
15th cent. with a pulpit at its base. The Chapel of N.D. du Paradis is
interesting, 16th cent., with a Calvary of the same period, with the
apostles carved in relief on the octagonal base.
GOURIN (M.) chl. arr. Pontivy. An unattractive spot with poor hotel
accommodation. Hence conveyances may be had to Le Faouët. At Kerbiguet
a menhir 12 feet high and two others prostrate. The parish church is
of 1500 with a tower of 1745. Numerous chapels are scattered over the
parish: that of S. Hervé to the N.E. is of the 16th cent. and has
stained glass representing saints, and scenes in our Lord's life.
_Langonnet._ A menhir at Bodéro, 13 feet high. The parish church
has flamboyant windows and doorways, but a few pillars of the 12th
cent. remain. The tower is modern. On the S. side of the church is an
ossuary. In the cemetery a lech. The chapel of the Trinity, 1500-68,
with fine old glass representing the Jesse tree, the Passion, and the
Last Judgment, and the Life of the Virgin. The abbey of Langonnet was
founded in 1130 and is on the bank of the Ellé. It is converted into a
reformatory. Chapel of N.D. de la Pitié, P. 15th Aug.
_Le Saint_ (S. Samuel). Partly Romanesque, but with flamboyant windows.
The chapel of S. Adrian is an object of pilgrimage.
GRAND-CHAMP (M.) chl. arr. Vannes. On the north the Lande de Lanvaux,
which was once crowded with megalithic remains. Many still are to be
seen. A fine dolmen is on a rocky elevation a kilometre N. of Locperet.
The capstone measures 16 feet long. Numerous menhirs further on in the
direction of Croix-de-bois, perhaps the relics of an alignment. The
church (S. Tugdual) has been destroyed and replaced by a structure
of 1866. At Locperet is a flamboyant Chapel of S. Bridget. Another
of N.D. de Burgo is of 1528 and 1538, and near it a Holy Well. P. at
Locmaria-Grandchamp on Aug. 10th; at Moustoir des Fleurs on the 4th S.
in August. At Grand-Champ itself on the 2nd S. in Sept.
_Locqueltas._ A menhir, called Le Fuseau de la Femme de Gargantua,
15 feet high. At _Plaudren_ another 18 feet high, and bearing the
same name. It is near the road to Josselin on the Lande. The whole
neighbourhood is strewn with remains of dolmens and with fallen menhirs.
GUÉMÉNÉ (M.) chl. arr. Pontivy. Anciently Kemenet-Guegnant, owes its
origin to a castle of Guegnant, nephew of Alan Canhart, who erected it.
The fief passed to the family of Rohan. The castle was converted into a
prison for English soldiers in 1792. It is now a ruin.
_Silfiac._ A Chapel of S. Laurent of the 16th cent. with curious
carvings; near it the Holy Well of S. Nodez, which is supposed to cure
corns, and other maladies of the feet.
_Langoelan._ A dolmen on the E. of the hamlet of Villeneuve and in an
islet of the Scorff. The church is flamboyant. Le Merzer marks the
spot where Selyf or Solomon, King of Devon and Cornwall, coming to
Armorica to see his domains there, encountered the pagan natives and
was murdered by them. He was son of Geraint, who fell at Langport in
Somersetshire in 522, fighting against the Saxons. His wife was S.
Gwen, sister of Nonna, mother of S. David, and he was the father of S.
Cuby. The Chapel of S. Solomon has been destroyed.
* GUÉRANDE (L.I.) chl. arr. S. Nazaire. An interesting town
surrounded by its machicolated walls of granite, erected in 1431 by
John V., and flanked by ten towers. There are four gates; that of S.
Michel is a veritable fortress in itself defended by two lofty towers.
The Church of S. Aubin is of the 12th and 16th cents., and has two
porches, and an external pulpit of stone of the 16th cent. Within the
church the pillars have carved Romanesque capitals. There is good
glass of the 16th cent. N.D. la Blanche is a graceful chapel, erected
in 1348 by Jean de Montfort. A menhir with cup-markings at Escoblac.
Dolmens at Kerléour, Kerlo, and Sandun. A circle of stones at Kerbourg.
Guérande is a good place for a botanist to stay at who desires to study
the flora of the saltmarshes on one hand, and of the Grande Brière on
the other. The production of salt goes on largely in the salines, and
is carried on by private owners. It requires about 40 consecutive dry
days between June and September to evaporate the water. The annual
production averages 6600 tons. The Grande Brière is divided into 17
communes, and is a vast freshwater peat bed occupying the basin of an
ancient lake.
_S. Lyphard_ was a Roman station at the point where the lake of La
Brière formerly discharged into the sea. The church is of the 11th
cent. The peasants of the Bruyère wear a peculiar costume, and are true
Bretons.
LA GUERCHE (I.V.) chl. arr. Vitré. The church, of which portions belong
to the 13th and 14th cents., contains some old stained glass. At 2
kilometres to the S. is the Church of Rannée, in part Romanesque.
GUICHEN (I.V.) chl. arr. Redon. Old chateaux at Gaylieu and
Gressillonnoye.
HÉDÉ (I.V.) chl. arr. Rennes. Ruins of the castle on a rock. The church
is Romanesque. _S. Gaudran_, good glass of the 17th cent. in the
church, and two silver reliquaries of the 12th cent.
HENNEBONT (M.) chl. arr. Lorient. Prettily situated on the river
Blavet. The town is divided into the Ville Clos within its ancient
walls and the new town. A bridge connects them. The old town was
fortified by Duke Jean I. (1237-86). It played a signal part in the War
of Succession. Jean de Montfort had secured the place. At the end of
May 1342, Charles of Blois laid siege to it. Within was the Countess
Jeanne, who held out with determination, set fire to the camp of the
enemy, and leaving the town unperceived threw herself into Auray,
where she gathered reinforcements which she introduced into Hennebont
without the feeble Charles being aware what she was about. At last
provisions failed, and the magistrates insisted on capitulation. The
countess entreated for a couple of days' delay, and at the last moment
saw gleaming in the west on the sea the sails of an English fleet sent
to her relief. Charles hastily retreated, but again a few months later
laid siege to the place. He was, however, again repulsed. The parish
church (N.D. de Paradis) on the further side of the river. It is the
principal monument in Hennebont, and was erected in 1514-24, and is
consequently flamboyant before it sank in debasement. The W. front is
light and graceful and has a porch and a tower flanked by a couple
of turrets tied to it by galleries sustained on flying buttresses.
The spire rises to 150 feet. The choir ends in an apse lighted by two
stages of windows. A procession takes place on the last Sunday in Sept.
in commemoration of the cessation of an epidemic in 1699. The chapel of
S. Antoine is partly Romanesque.
_Kervignac._ A fine dolmen near the road from Hennebont to Landévant.
On the south, near Kermadio, is another. A third, small, near Lopriac.
This is one of the most ancient parishes in the diocese of Vannes. It
is mentioned as early as the 6th cent. At this time a cloud of locusts
came down on the country, and the Count Weroch, fearing famine, sought
Gunthiern, a refugee king of Gwent, who had settled at Quimperlé and
was in great repute for his austerities. Gunthiern gave water he had
blessed to the envoys of Weroch, and this drove the locusts away. In
return for this favour, Weroch granted to Gunthiern the plou of Vineac.
The Chapel of N.D. de la Clarté is of the 15th cent. That of S. Laurent
contains some remains of the screen. A Holy Well of S. Gildas is still
in request in the hamlet of Kanden.
* HUELGOAT (F.) chl. arr. Châteaulin. A picturesquely situated
townlet at the extremity of a lake that discharges amongst masses of
granite down a ravine. The ruinous condition of the granite is not due
to earthquake or to glacial action as supposed by some, but to its
composition. It contains a large amount of soluble silicate of potass.
This disappears under the action of the rain and the granite crumbles
away. Huelgoat is four miles from the nearest railway station. The
road is through the valley of the Argent, between pine-clad hills. The
granite here encounters the schist. The church is a mean renaissance
structure, but the Chapel of N.D. des Cieux is more interesting. It is
of the 16th cent. and contains some old glass of the period. A camp on
a height above the town is attributed to King Arthur.
_S. Herbot._ A chapel in the parish of Loqeffret is a picturesque
structure at the roots of the Monts d'Arrée. A stream here falls in
a pretty cascade 400 feet over rocks, and at no great distance from
the chapel are the inconsiderable remains of the renaissance Château
de Rusquec. The Chapel of S. Herbot is actually a large church and
merits attentive study. It possesses a fine square tower without spire
or pinnacles. The date is 1516. The W. front is fine. Throughout, the
carving of the granite is admirable, the foliage is treated with great
boldness. The tower of S. Herbot seems to have served as a model for
that of Carhaix, which is a few years later. On the south is a deep
porch also well sculptured, with the apostles within, and 24 little
statues in the arcade of the entrance. The date of the porch is 1498.
The apse is flamboyant like the rest of the church, but the buttresses
are later additions in 1618 and 1619. The interior is adorned with a
beautiful renaissance screen and returned stalls, but no roodloft. On
the W. face the twelve apostles, on that inside the minor prophets and
the sibyls. In the chancel is the tomb of the Saint, a hermit of whom
nothing authentic is known. It is a work of the 15th cent. There are
some old stained glass windows. That on the S. at the E. end represents
S. Yves between a rich man and a poor suitor. The date is 1556. The
central window contains the story of the Passion, that on the N., S.
Laurence on the gridiron. The date 1556, which is also probably that
of the central window. Outside the screen are two altars piled up
with cows' tails. These are offered to the Saint. Formerly they were
hung about the sanctuary. There is a little ossuary on the W. side of
the porch. The E. window is of earlier character than the rest in the
church, and is of the same character as that of Pont l'Abbé with a
transom supporting a rose. Most of the windows testify to the decline
of flamboyant, when the flames assume a tadpole form and the lights are
uncusped. In the churchyard is a Calvary.
_Brennilis_ has a church with tower and W. façade of 1485. There
are two windows of good old glass representing the Conception, S.
Christopher, and a monk. Also the life of the Virgin. The church
possesses a processional cross of 1650.
JANZÉ (I.V.) chl. arr. Rennes. The church is partly Romanesque. In the
suburbs a menhir with a hole cut in the face to receive an image of the
B.V.M.
_Essé._ Here is one of the finest covered avenues in Brittany. It
consists of a main structure with an ante-chamber, and is divided
within into compartments. The total length is 43 feet.
[Illustration: LA ROCHE AUX FÉES, ESSÉ]
JOSSELIN (M.) chl. arr. Ploermel. The capital of the ancient county
of Porhoet (Poutre-coet = the land beyond the wood). The story goes
that once upon a time a workman here found an image of the Virgin in
a bramble bush. As it soon established its character as miraculous,
a town sprang up about the sanctuary. Guethenoc, Count of Porhoet,
planted a castle here and called it after his son, who completed his
father's work in 1053. The castle became the headquarters of the counts
and then dukes of Rohan. The original castle had been taken in 1168
by Henry II. of England, and utterly destroyed, but it was rebuilt by
Eudes II. in 1173, and was held throughout the War of Succession by the
partisans of Charles de Blois. In 1370 it was acquired by Olivier de
Clisson, when fresh fortifications were added, notably the keep. Alan
IX. Viscount, (1429-62) constructed the beautiful front towards the
court. Richelieu had the towers and about half the castle blown up, in
1629, and in 1760 the duke himself pulled down two more towers.
What remains of the castle has been most carefully and tastefully
restored by the present duke, who graciously allows it to be shown to
visitors. The front to the river which bathes its walls is furnished
with three towers resting on the rock, and gives some idea of what the
castle must have been when complete. The inner façade that looks upon
what was the Cour d'honeur is a superb example of domestic architecture
in the 15th cent., already under the influence of renaissance ideas.
The ten gables of the dormer windows are connected by a balustrade
of the richest design, greatly varied, but repeating the device of
the Rohans, A Plus. The Church of Notre Dame was originally late
Romanesque, and still retains pillars and a window of the period,
but the bulk of the church is much posterior. The choir and lateral
chapels and the crossing of the transepts date from 1390-1407. The rest
of the church is later still. The N. transept was added in 1491. In
this church, in 1351, the Franco-Breton company of Thirty made their
communion before meeting in deadly combat the Anglo-Bretons of the
same number at the cross of Mi-voie. They made a vow before the statue
of S. Cadoc that still remains in the church. In Notre Dame is the
tomb of Olivier de Clisson, 1507, who married Marguerite de Rohan. An
"indulgenced" procession takes place here on Whitsun-Monday. Formerly
it was accompanied by barking women, taken with hysterical excitement
which made them utter sounds like the barking of dogs. This phenomenon
first appeared in 1728 and was renewed annually. Nothing of the sort
takes place now. The bold square tower is of the 17th cent. with
picturesque slate cap. A new tower and spire are being added at the E.
end. This is well enough, if the old tower be left, and the grouping
will be effective; but if the latter be pulled down as is proposed, the
new spire will be a poor substitute. Inside the church on the right
hand is a niche containing a skull to which the peasants make offerings
of grain, to cure headaches. None know whose skull it is, but it has
recently been enclosed in a wooden silvered bust of S. Laurence.
[Illustration: THE COURT, JOSSELIN]
The priory church of Ste. Croix is of the 11th cent. Romanesque. S.
Martin's was erected in the 12th cent. and is now a ruin. In 1793
the Republican garrison of Josselin swept the country to capture the
priests, and was fallen upon and defeated by the exasperated peasantry.
In 1795 they burned the church of Guegon and smashed the Calvary, but
were again attacked and driven off by the peasants.
The famous Battle of the Thirty took place on the _Lande de Mi-Voie_,
between Ploermel and Josselin. The English-Bretons were under Captain
Bramber or Bemborough, and the French-Bretons under the Sire de
Beaumanoir, governor of Josselin. Although it has been regarded as a
battle between English and French, there were actually but three or
four of English nationality on the De Montfort side, the rest were
Gascons, Angevins and Flemings. Success would perhaps have been with
the Anglo-Bretons, had not one of the French perfidiously violated the
rules laid down before the engagement, mounted his horse and by this
means broke the Anglo-Breton line.
The country around is well-wooded and pretty. The town is dirty and
ruinous.
_Guegon._ The church is in the late Romanesque of the 12th cent., when
the style was in transition to 1st pointed. The south aisle is of 1560
and late flamboyant. In a window is stained glass representing the
apostles; it is of 1563. The tower and spire were the loftiest in the
diocese, but were struck by lightning in 1705.
_S. Servan._ To this parish Gobrian, Bishop of Vannes, retired in 717
and here died in 725. He was buried in his oratory. A village grew up
about his tomb that bore his name. This is now a chapelry, and the
chapel is of the 11th cent. with additions of the 15th cent. The nave
is floored, forming an upper chamber which served as a hospital for the
sick seeking health at the tomb of the Saint.
JUGON (C.N.) chl. arr. Dinan. A prettily situated town at the junction
of two valleys, each occupied formerly by a lake and dominated by
a strong castle at the fork. One of the lakes has been drained and
the castle has been destroyed. The church has nave and S. tower, 2nd
pointed and good. There is a curious W. doorway. Choir and transepts
are flamboyant. The church has been "restored" in execrable taste. The
road from Jugon to Dinan runs over high and dreary country, moors only
partially reclaimed.
LAMBALLE (C.N.) chl. arr. S. Brieuc. A little town in a plain dominated
by a ridge of granite that runs to the east and is crowned at its W.
termination by the beautiful Chapel of Notre Dame, and by a windmill
at the E. termination. In Lamballe are some picturesque old houses,
and there is a haras for the improvement of the breed of horses in
Brittany. The town possesses three churches, one of which is Notre
Dame, and was a chapel of the counts of Penthièvre, and is by far the
finest in the town, but it is now only occasionally that divine service
is performed in it.
The parish church of S. Jean is of the late middle pointed style,
1425, with an octagonal tower of 1420 at the base, but much later at
the crown. The church has been atrociously mutilated, all the tracery
cut out of the windows in the 18th cent. to be replaced by an iron
framework to sustain the glass. The Church of S. Martin was of early
Romanesque of the beginning of the 11th cent., but the arches to the
east show the beginning of the pointed style. The S. transept possesses
a good middle pointed geometric window. The tower was begun in 1551 and
became purely renaissance before completion. The quaint wooden porch
was added in 1519.
The Church of Notre Dame is a magnificent structure, and richly repays
a close study. The most ancient portions are the N. transept, with
lancet windows, the noble gateway and the W. front, together with the
arcade of the nave. But the side aisles are late flamboyant. The choir
and S. transept were erected by Charles de Blois and are admirable
examples of 2nd or middle pointed architecture at its very best. The
choir is vaulted but not the nave. To sustain the vault on the S. side
are buttresses within the church forming side chapels and pierced
with delicate tracery. There is a double triforium. The choir has a
square end lighted by a noble E. window, very tall and of only four
lights. The clustered pillars on the S. side of the choir and the piers
sustaining the central tower are remarkably fine. There is a little
flamboyant screen with a renaissance organ-case above it in the S.
aisle of the choir.
_S. Aaron._ On the Lande du Chêne-hut is an allée couverte composed of
13 stones, three of which are coverers, and two others lie in the soil.
The whole is 30 feet long.
_Meslin._ Five allées couvertes on the Lande du Gras. One is in the
middle of the Lande, one just below the mill, a third in the Champ des
Caves, a fourth at Bourdonnais. In the Lande du Gras is a menhir 10
feet high.
* LANDERNEAU (F.) chl. arr. Brest. An excellent centre for many
interesting excursions. The town is commercial and thriving. It
possesses a few old houses and a quaint mill. The Church of S. Houardon
has been rebuilt, but the beautiful tower and superb porch have been
preserved. The date of the porch is 1604, and the tower is of much the
same date. Landerneau was a great artistic centre in the 16th and 17th
cents., and its architects and sculptors erected the splendid work
in the Elorn valley and the region around. The style they created is
very original and deserves attention. They delighted in adorning the
churches with noble porches, bold, and often with the gable crowned
with a spirelet. Within, niches hold statues of the twelve apostles.
When all other detail is Italian, the foliage remains of flamboyant
character. The second church in Landerneau is that of S. Thomas à
Becket, 1607, small and uninteresting. To the W. is an ossuary of 1632
converted into a habitation. The valley of the Elorn presents many
scenes of considerable beauty. The rocks are of white quartz breaking
through the leafy covert of the hills.
_Pencran._ A steep ascent of a mile leads to this very interesting
church, with fine porch and two calvaries and a spire. The date of the
porch is 1553. The sculpture here in Kersanton stone is peculiarly rich
and delicate. Among the groups of figures may be distinguished Adam and
Eve, and the serpent, the expulsion from Paradise, Cain and Abel, Adam
delving whilst Eve spins, the Ark and the drunkenness of Noah. In the
tymphanum is the Nativity, much mutilated. Within the church are the
Descent from the Cross and the Mater dolorosa, groups carved in 1517.
_La Roche Maurice._ In a most picturesque situation, the church
embowered in trees on a height above the river, and a ruined castle
on a rock of white quartz. The castle belonged to the dukes of Rohan
whose eldest sons bore the title of Princes de Léon, on account of the
large family possessions in Léon. The church has a slim tower with
double galleries and two sets of open bell cages, and is an excellent
typical example of a style very common in the Department of Finistère.
Its date is 1589. The porch with some fine foliage in Kersanton stone
is of 1530-40. In the churchyard is a good ossuary of 1640. On it is
represented Death darting at all sorts and conditions of men, with the
inscription "Je vous tue tous." At the entrance to the churchyard are
three pillars that support the cross of Christ and the two thieves.
Within the church the magnificent east window with its stained glass of
1539 at once arrests the eye. It represents the story of the Passion
and reproduces that in S. Mathieu at Quimper, and that in the church
of Tourch. After the stained glass, the screen attracts attention. It
is renaissance and is the sole example left in its proper position
in a parish church in the dioceses of Léon and Quimper. P. Ascension
Day. But at Pontchrist, a ruined renaissance church by the river in a
picturesque situation, on the 4th S. in July.
_La Martyr._ This was the scene of the murder of Solomon, King of
Brittany, in 874. Solomon had assassinated his cousin Erispoe, who was
king, before the altar of the church of Penpont, and so won the crown
for himself. He was a contemptible creature. He proceeded to buy off
the Northmen and to promise to pay tribute to Charles the Bald, and
undertook to undo all the ecclesiastical organisation formed by Nominoe
and surrender the jurisdiction over the Breton sees to the Archbishop
of Tours, if the Pope would absolve him of the murder. But this was
too much for the Bretons to endure, they rose in revolt, headed by
Pasquitien, son of the assassinated king, and Solomon, finding himself
deserted on all hands, fled with his son towards the coast, hoping to
take refuge in England. But he was overtaken where is now La Martyr,
where he had taken sanctuary in the church, dragged forth along with
the boy and both were killed (874). For some unaccountable reason the
Bretons have regarded this despicable murderer as a saint. The tower of
the church belongs to the 13th cent. The entrance to the churchyard
is by a triumphal arch adorned with statuary. This is the earliest
of the kind in the country and belongs to the 16th cent. The porch
is remarkable for its style and for the delicacy and richness of the
sculpture. It belongs to the latter part of the 15th cent. The ossuary
is of 1619 and is attached to the porch. The interior of the church is
of the 14th cent. It had originally a fine screen in Kersanton stone,
that has been destroyed, but the basement of the parclose screens
remains. Four stained windows of 1567 represent the Passion, the
Crucifixion, the Resurrection, the Noli me tangere, the apparition of
the risen Christ to His mother, and the Ascension. Also the death,
assumption and coronation of the Virgin, and a Jesse tree. The Duke and
Duchess of Rohan are represented as the donors. The church possesses a
magnificent reliquary of the renaissance period. P. on the 2nd S. in
July. A great horse fair follows, lasting three days.
_S. Divy._ This church possesses a ceiling painted with a series of
subjects from the life of S. David. P. Sunday after Ascension and 2nd
S. in September.
_Dirinon_ (S. Nonna). The name signifies the steps of Nonna. The church
stands on very high ground. It is in the usual style of transition
between flamboyant and renaissance (1588-93). A chapel in the
churchyard contains the tomb of S. Nonna, mother of S. David, and wife
of Sandde, grandson of Ceredig, who drove the Irish out of S.W. Wales
and gave its name to Cardigan. The tomb, however, is a work of the 15th
cent. At a little distance from the village is her well (1623). At the
further end of the village is that of S. David. P. 2nd S. after Trinity.
_Plougastel._ The costumes of this district are very picturesque.
The men wear blue or violet jackets and three waistcoats and sashes.
The church is modern, but in the churchyard is a marvellous Calvary
(1602-4) consisting of an arcade under a platform crowded with statues,
and a frieze surrounds it, carved with subjects in bas-relief. P. at
La Fontaine Blanche, Easter Monday and the 15th August; at S. Jean on
the 24th June. By the Chapel of S. Guénolé is a rude stone, against
which barren women rub themselves in the hope of becoming mothers.
* LANDIVISIAU (F.) chl. arr. Morlaix. A small town on the high
road from Morlaix to Brest. It forms an excellent starting point for
several interesting excursions. The church is modern, but has a tower
and spire of 1590, partaking of the fault of all those in Léon and
Cornouailles of this period. It is thin and pinched. The date of the
superb porch is 1554. It is an interesting study, as it serves as a
link between those of pure flamboyant and such as are true renaissance.
About the great arch are subjects from the Old Testament. Within are
the twelve apostles; the corbels supporting them are curious and
varied; symbolical. For instance, one represents two drunken soldiers
carrying off two girls, one carrying a mirror, another a sceptre,
signifying that damsels with vanity or arrogance fall an easy prey. In
the cemetery outside the town is an ossuary, date about 1620. In the
town is the Holy Well of S. Divisiau, almost buried among houses. It
supplies a large public washing basin. Two ranges of an arcade surmount
it, containing ten panels that have come from some tomb of the 16th
cent. Landivisiau, with its comfortable hotel, is a good starting-place
for excursions to places where the accommodation is not all that could
be desired.
[Illustration: CALVARY AND OSSUARY, S. THÉGONNEC]
_S. Thégonnec._ This place is richly deserving of a visit with its
church, and churchyard overcrowded with piles of granite, Calvary
and ossuary and triumphal arch. The last mentioned is of 1587 and
is cumbrous but effective. These triumphal arches first made their
appearance at the close of the Gothic period. This is wholly Italian in
character. The ossuary adjoins it and belongs to a later period, but
is far purer in design, 1676-7. The façade is very rich and beautiful.
Within in a crypt is a Holy Sepulchre, life sized figures of 1702.
The Calvary dates from 1610 and represents scenes of the Passion.
The oldest portion of the church is the west doorway with the little
bell-turret rising above it; this dates from 1563. At a later date the
huge tower was erected on the south with a porch in its basement, built
between 1599 and 1610, the statues added in 1632. Above the porch is
the statue of S. Thégonnec (To-quessnac, a disciple of Paul of Léon).
The window tracery is modern and does not faithfully represent the old
tracery. The nave was built in 1777. The furniture of the church is
interesting. The pulpit, though late, is fine. A niche with shutters
painted with scenes from the Saint's life contains a statue of the
patron. Opposite is another statue of the B.V.M. with painted shutters.
The tower is heavy, and the effect of chamfering the angles very
unpleasing. To support the gallery the angles of the tower are very
massive, buttresses are added and between them the wall is reduced,
and the gallery sustained on heavy corbels. The platform is surmounted
by a dome and lantern and little side pepper-boxes. The interior effect
of the church is rich and harmonious in gold and colour, if somewhat
barbaric.
_Locmelar_ is reached by ascending a pretty valley that contains an
affluent of the Elorn. The church is late flamboyant, with apse and
gables. The porch is of the common type of the period and contains
statues of the apostles. There is a Calvary. The tower dates from 1656.
Over a side altar is a painting representing in a series of groups the
legend of S. Hervé, a blind bard saint who contributed greatly to the
downfall of Conmore, acting in conjunction with Gildas and S. Samson.
_Bodilis._ The tower of this church was erected when Gothic
architecture was in its decline. It is surmounted by a spire with
spirelets at the angles rising from a gallery. The porch is of 1570,
and is of unusual beauty. Within are the apostles; below the niches
runs a band of marvellous richness of sculpture and great variety. The
font is surmounted by a baldachin in Kersanton stone of 1680. P. on
Ascension Day.
_S. Servais._ This church has an early renaissance tower with double
galleries and two bell cages, the whole surmounted by a spire and
pinnacles. The body of the church is of the latter half of the 17th
cent. The graveyard cross has sculptured scenes on it, and there is an
ossuary like that at Landivisiau.
_Guimiliau._ Annually numerous tourists visit this village to see its
very remarkable ecclesiastical monuments, its church, porch, sacristy,
calvary, and the little Chapel of Ste. Anne. The porch rivals that of
Bodilis and Landerneau. The doorway into the porch has a series of
biblical scenes in sculpture in the mouldings. The date is 1617. The
voluted keystone alone proclaims the abandonment of Gothic for Italian
architecture. To the west side of the porch is attached an ossuary,
the roof supported by columns. The sacristy was erected in 1683. The
Calvary consists of a mass of masonry, pierced by arches in the angle
buttresses, the whole sustaining a frieze covered with sculptured
figures, and the platform above crowded with statues. The whole
surmounted by the cross with SS. Mary and John at the sides. The groups
are very curious and represent soldiers and peasants of the close of
the 16th cent. The Calvary was erected in 1581. Near the Calvary is
the mortuary chapel of Ste. Anne, 1648. The interior of the church
contains a magnificent baldachino over the font in carved oak; it was
constructed in 1675. The organ case is of much the same date, the
pulpit of 1677. The church possesses two embroidered banners of 1678.
Guimiliau (Vicus Miliai) has as patron Miliau, King of Cornouaille,
who was basely assassinated by his brother Rivold in 537, who also
mutilated his nephew Melor, by amputating a hand and a foot, and
finally by having him murdered by his foster-father, whom he had bribed
to do the deed.
There is a Holy Well of S. Miliau outside the village.
_Lampaul-Guimiliau._ The great tower of this church (S. Paul of Léon)
was founded in 1573, and is very lofty and surmounted by a spire which
has remained incomplete. The porch is fifty years older. Within are the
apostles in very quaint niches. The sculpture of the Holy Water Stoup
and of the inner doorway is remarkably rich. The font is of 1651, and
is surrounded and surmounted by a baldachino of 1650. The pulpit, that
is late, is a fine piece of wood carving. The east end of the choir
terminates in an apse with gables. The Calvary, triumphal arch, and
ossuary belong to 1668. P. 1st S. in May. At the Chapel of S. Anne, S.
after 15th August.
_See also_ Lambader and Plouneour-Menez.
* LANMEUR (F.) chl. arr. Morlaix. The church surmounts a crypt that
is very curious and rude, and is attributed to the 10th cent. In this
crypt was once the tomb of S. Melor (_see under_ Guimiliau), whose
body was transferred in the 9th cent. by refugee Bretons to Amesbury.
There is a fountain in the crypt. Of the upper church only four piers
and a small door belong to the original building. Near the church is
the Romanesque Chapel of Kernitron (12th cent.). It is a cross church
with a bold central tower. Some of the windows are late. The P. of
Kernitron is on the 15th August.
_S. Jean du Doigt_ is a complete and interesting collection of
structures such as were wont to be grouped about a parish church. There
is first the monumental church itself, in the midst of a graveyard
entered by a triumphal arch, a Holy Well, a Calvary, an ossuary, and
an open oratory, where mass is celebrated before an enormous crowd on
the occasion of the Pardon, and, finally, the church possesses a rare
collection of precious ornaments, such as belong to no other parish
in the diocese. The triumphal arch is of the 15th cent. The Holy Well
is in the churchyard, and is a noble renaissance structure composed
of a large basin, with two superposed vessels, from which heads of
angels spout water. The whole is surmounted by a group representing
the Baptism of Christ. Almost in face of this is a pretty oratory of
1574, very elaborately and quaintly sculptured. The tower is surmounted
by spire and spirelets covered with lead. The east end of the church
has in it a noble rose window. At the foot of the tower is an ossuary,
and a second of 1618 is on the S.W. The S. porch has a parvise chamber
above the doorway. The interior is rich, and the inner doorway is
surmounted by a statue of the Baptist in a Gothic niche with wings. The
church was commenced in 1440, and was completed in 1513, so that it
belongs to an excellent period of flamboyant, of which unfortunately
examples are few. Internally the exaggerated height of the pillars
as compared with the arches deserves notice. The treasury is
extraordinarily rich in chalices, reliquaries, and a processional cross
of the 16th cent. A reliquary of the finger of S. John is of 1429. The
P. is on the 24th June, and draws vast crowds of pilgrims. The object
of the cult is a finger of the Baptist, which is supposed to have its
nail pared annually. It was stolen from some chapel in Normandy by
a native of Plougasnou, who successfully conveyed it to his native
village. There is, of course, not a particle of evidence worth a rush
that substantiates the relic as genuine.
_Plougasnou_ has an interesting church on a storm-beaten coast. The
interior is Romanesque, but the exterior dates from 1574. It has a
tower of 1582. A curious Chapel of N.D. de Lorette with caryatides is
shaped like an old Lycian tomb.
_Guimaec._ Here are two cromlechs or stone-circles.
LANNILIS (F.) chl. arr. Brest. The church modern and bad. The tower is
of 1774, in the true Léon style, and interesting as showing to how late
a date the style continued. It has two galleries for four bells, and
spire with ample spirelets. The line is carried on to the sea, where
there is a watering place at _Abervach_. The coast is not remarkable,
but there are good sands.
_Plouguerneau._ On the east is the site of Tolente, a town that was
completely destroyed by the Northmen in 875. P. of Tréminach on 1st
S. after the 10th Aug. P. of S. Cava on the last S. in August; at S.
Michel on the last S. in September.
_Locbrévelaire._ The valley of the Abervach is here pretty. The place
is mainly of interest to the geologist. The whole hill on which
Locbrévelaire stands is composed of Tertiary Oligocene, the ruins of
granite, and is of a spongy nature, full of kaolin and with lumps
and bands of quartz undissolved, and much mica. It is quarried for
road-making, but the quartz alone is of value for that purpose. Almost
certainly below this spongy mass a bed of kaolin would be found. The
church (S. Brevelaire = S. Brendan) lies on one side of the valley in
a lap of the hills, and opposite are the noble woods and park of the
Château de Liscoat. The church contains an arcade of the 11th cent.,
very rude. The S. wall is 17th cent. The tower of the same. There is,
in the churchyard wall, a Holy Well surmounted by a statue of the
Saint. S. Brendan, afterwards Abbot of Clonfert, was forced to leave
Ireland in 520, owing to his having unintentionally caused the death of
one of his pupils, and he spent seven years away from it, during which
time he founded a monastery on the island of Cézambre, opposite S.
Malo, and another in a different part of Brittany. This latter may be
Locbrévelaire.
* LANNION (C.N.) chl. d'arr. A picturesquely situated town on the
Guer that reaches the sea seven kilometres below. The tide reaches
as far as Lannion, and it has a little port. The Church of S. Jean de
Balay consists of a nave and four aisles under one roof, and without
clerestory and without transepts. It is lighted through side windows
under gables. These windows are of various periods. One is of the
14th cent., others of the 16th, and there are instructive examples
of the debased tracery of the 17th. In the market place are some
picturesque old houses. By the river is a fine pile of buildings now
used as a hospital. Particularly noticeable is a rich late window,
an attempt--and an expiring one--to design a rose with flowing and
beautiful tracery. In another twenty or thirty years, as may be seen in
the windows of S. Jean de Balay on the N. side, the skill was wholly
lost. Divided from Lannion by a deep valley is the Church of Brévelenz.
The east part and crypt are Romanesque. There is a good early pointed
porch. An ossuary and a mortuary chapel are in the graveyard. The
pinnacles, one a chimney to the fireplace for heating baptismal water,
at the porch are peculiar.
_Loquivy_ is in a charming situation. The church (S. David) is
interesting. In the churchyard is a noble renaissance fountain, and
outside the graveyard a Holy Well, flamboyant, surmounted by a statue
of the patron saint of Wales. The church is of the 16th cent. An old
carved oak retable representing the Adoration of the Magi and a crowd
of other figures is in the baptistery.
_Ploubezre._ The church was rebuilt in 1851, but the fine tower is of
1577. Within have been preserved two Romano-byzantine capitals from
the old church, and one window of the 14th cent. remains. The chapel
of _Kerfons_ is flamboyant, and is in the form of a T. One of the
gables bears the date 1559. The magnificent roodscreen is of 1533.
It is a beautiful example of good flamboyant work, with apostles and
other figures on the gallery on one side, and tracery on the other. The
castle of _Coetfrec_ occupies the summit of a hill above the Guer. Four
towers remain, and the castle is in a tolerable condition. The court is
looked into by the windows of the state apartments, in one of these, a
fireplace with bold chimney-piece, remains. The Château de _Kergrist_
is a ruin, complete. _Tonquedec_ is another old castle in a most
picturesque situation. On the N. is the donjon, which is reached by a
door high up in the wall. The Chapel of S. Gildas is of 15th cent.,
with the legend of the Saint within in sculptured oak.
LANVOLLON (C.N.) chl. arr. S. Brieuc. Reached by carrier from
Châtelaudren, is a dull town with one curious old house in it at the
junction of two streets; it is of wood and plaster, the wood covered
with carving. The church (S. Vollon = Foelan) belongs internally to the
14th cent., and has a good E. window, but externally the church has
been sadly maltreated by incompetent "restorers."
* LESNEVEN (F.) chl. arr. Brest. An uninteresting place in itself,
but headquarters to one attending the Pardon at Folgoët. Its fine
halles of the 15th or 16th cent. has been destroyed to make way for a
"place" with a statue in the midst of a General Floh, of bronze. When
this statue was sent down, and the Mayor opened the case, to his dismay
he found it was green. So he set his wife, cook, and house-maid to
sandpaper and scrape it, till it shone as gold, and then had it hoisted
to its pedestal, and it was solemnly unveiled. But the artist, who
beheld it thus burnished, was furious, and complained to the prefêt and
the authorities at Paris, and orders came to the Mayor to take down the
statue and restore to it the green rust. He was obliged accordingly to
re-erect the scaffold and crane, and have General Floh transferred to
his own house again, where he expended some barrels of cider over him
to reinvest him in verdigris. The church is very ugly, but it has a
late renaissance porch in the basement of the tower on the N. side.
The branch line is carried on to _Brignogan_, which is a
watering-place, and where there is a fine menhir 30 ft. high, the most
remarkable in the Department. At _Plounéour-trez_ the church is new,
but the old tower and spire are retained till they also can be pulled
down and replaced by something more in proportion with the new church.
The windows represent scenes in Breton history. The coast is not fine,
the sandy shore slopes very gently into the waves. But the good bathing
is an advantage.
_Folgoët._ This famous pilgrimage church was founded in the 14th cent.
when an imbecile youth died who could say no other words than Ave
Maria, Salaun a zepre bara, or Salaun wants bread. A lily grew out of
his grave and it was concluded accordingly that he was a saint. This
was in 1358. At the west end are two towers. That on the north is
admirably proportioned with spire and angle spirelets of the period,
1365, when Jean de Montfort laid the first stone. That on the S.
was never finished. It is surmounted by an upper stage with Ionic
pillasters added in the 17th cent. The S. side has a noble porch and
transept, the E. wall of which is a continuation of that of the choir.
The E. and S. transept windows are examples of the geometric style
in Brittany, a rose resting on a transom. Within the stone screen is
formed of three compartments, and though fine, is certainly inferior
to such as are in wood. A spring wells up under the high altar and is
conveyed to a Holy Well outside. La Doyenne is a picturesque building
with turrets erected by Anne of Brittany, converted into Mairie and
school. The P. is on the 7th and 8th September, and begins with vespers
and a procession bearing candles; many beautiful costumes may be seen
on this occasion.
The processions arrive with banners for High Mass, singing this hymn.
[Illustration: Musical score with lyrics
Pa-tronez dous ar Fol-goat, Hor mam ak non
I-troun, An dour en non da-ou-lagat Ni no-ped a ga-toun!
Har-pit an I-liz san-tel! A-vel-di-roll-a
ra Tenn ok hir eo ar brezel! Ar peoc'h, O ma-ri-a!]
_Goulven._ The church is late flamboyant with a fine renaissance tower
and porch within which are the apostles. Side by side may be seen
a doorway of the earlier and of the later periods. There is a fine
painted 16th cent. reredos in the church to a side altar. The gallery
of the roodscreen has been made into a west gallery. About a mile
distant is the Holy Well, with a stone trough at the side in which
patients were placed and given a bath in the miraculous water. No such
an attempt to recover health has however been made of late years. There
is a chapel at the Peniti of S. Goulven at a little distance. A double
dolmen at a junction of two lanes has been much injured, several of
the stones that composed one of the chambers, and perhaps an enclosing
circle, have been employed for the hedge. The P. is on June 30, the
costumes then seen are very rich, and the parish possesses very fine
old embroidered banners then produced.
_Treflez._ Tomb of 16th cent. of S. Elfleda or Ediltruda, daughter of
Oswy, King of Northumberland, and Abbess of Whitby. She died in 715,
but how her body comes to be at Treflez passes knowledge.
_Guiseny._ Church of S. Sezni (Setna or in Cornwall, Sithney)
renaissance. There is a N. late flamboyant porch. Curious early Calvary
with four figures on the branches. P. 3rd Sunday in September.
LÉZARDRIEUX (C.N.) chl. arr. Lannion, on a little tidal port, between
Pampol and Tréguier. An excursion may be made to the Ile Modez. _See_
Bréhat.
LOCMARIAQUER (M.) com. in arr. Auray. A most interesting place that
seems to have been crowded with monuments of the prehistoric dead,
and although destruction has been carried on for two thousand years,
many still remain. Locmariaquer is situated on a spit of land between
the estuary of Crach and the Rivière de la Trinité, but it is itself
split by the creek of S. Philibert. The shores that are low are covered
far inland at the high tides, and the sea has gained considerably on
the land. Roman constructions noted in 1727 are now permanently under
water. A camp in the hamlet of Lannbric is now eaten into by the waves.
The principal prehistoric monuments are the Mané-er-hroeg, south of the
village; a tumulus containing a dolmen that was explored in 1863 and
yielded 103 polished stone axes, a collar of callais, and a jade ring.
Near it was found a slab on which are mysterious markings representing
cartouches, celts with handles, and other symbols unexplained. On the
summit of the tumulus were found coins of Tiberius and Trajan. The
tumulus of Mané Lud to the N.E. of the village contained two skeletons,
one a case of carnal interment, the other had been burnt. At the W. end
of the tumulus is a sepulchral chamber led to by a passage, and here
also are carvings. Between this tumulus and the village is the huge
dolmen called Table des Marchands. On the stone at the back are also
carvings. Close to this is the longest menhir known. It is 64 ft. long,
but was struck by lightning, thrown down and broken into four pieces.
In a field near the village is the Mein Rutal, another dolmen of
considerable size. West of the village and near the sea are the remains
of an allée couverte, 74 ft. long, called Les Pierres plates. On this
also are inexplicable carvings, next to those on Gavr Inis, the most
remarkable in the country. There are smaller dolmens at Pont-el-leu,
Kercadoret-er-Gal, Coetcourzo, Kerhan, Porher, Kerlud, Locperhet,
Pont-er-vel, Kervéres, Kerdaniel, Kervoch, and Cocordeau; and menhirs
at Kerpenhir, Bronso, Porher, Mané-er-hroeg, Kerguelvan and Lannbric.
Locmariaquer was a Roman station. P. 1st Sunday in July; that of S.
Philibert on the 3rd Sunday in August.
LOCMINÉ (M.) chl. arr. Pontivy (Locus Monachorum). A considerable
district was here made over to Gildas who founded a monastery where
now stands the village of Moustoir. Owing to the ravages of the
Northmen the monks of S. Gildas de Rhuys and of Locminé fled into
Berry. They returned in 1001, and set about restoring their ruined
monasteries, but the old site at Moustoir was not rebuilt upon; the
abbey was transferred to Locminé. The parish church and the Chapel of
S. Columbanus are side by side, in communication through an arch. The
latter owes its origin to some relics of S. Columbanus having been
brought hither. The chapel is late flamboyant, but has a 17th cent.
tower, under it an earlier doorway with mutilated tracery above it. The
parish church has a slated spire, that of S. Columbanus is surmounted
by a small cupola. A quaint ossuary of good renaissance work is on
the N. side. The east window of the chapel contains 16th cent. glass
representing the life of S. Columbanus in four groups, but in a very
poor condition. East of the chapel is the beautiful Chapel of N.D. de
Plasquer, of the finest flamboyant work. The W. doorway has disengaged
pinnacles and some curious carving. The E. window tracery forms three
fleurs-de-lys. Within is a pretty flamboyant credence in the N. chapel
under the tower. In a corner thrown aside is a noble carved oak statue
of S. Gildas of the 15th cent. with his symbol, a snarling dog, at his
side. P. 31st June, but that of Locminé is the Sunday nearest 27th
June and lasts three days.
_Remungol_ has a Holy Well near the church, a work of the 16th cent.
LORIENT, chl. d'arr. A port. The town is composed of Lorient itself,
a fortified place, and the Faubourg of Kérentrech, where a suspension
bridge crosses the Scorff. Lorient owes its origin to the East India
Company. That company, created in 1664, was in quest of a port. The Duc
de la Meilleraye offered Port Louis, and in 1666 royal authority was
granted to the company to form there quays, factories and storehouses.
The village founded by La Compagnie de l'Orient took thence its name.
The company having got over a financial crisis in 1669 bought up land
in the neighbourhood. In 1712 the settlement comprised 700 families;
it was raised to be a parish in 1709. In 1717 the company began to
build and lay out quays and form basins on a grand scale, and in 1739
Lorient attained the dignity of being accounted a town. In 1745, the
company had reached its highest point of prosperity, and had become
a veritable maritime power, with 35 frigates in the harbour. Its
flag was blue charged with a fleur-de-lys _or_, and it had as device
Florebo quocunque ferar. English jealousies were aroused, and in
1746 an English fleet anchored in the Bay of Pont-du. Seven thousand
men were disembarked under General Sinclair and summoned the town to
surrender. As this was refused it was besieged, but after a few days
General Sinclair withdrew without having effected anything. Curiously
enough, the garrison had resolved on surrender, and sent to notify
their purpose to the general, but found that the English had departed.
The company failed, partly through internal dissension, mainly through
the loss of Bengal, which was secured by the English in 1753. From
this time the fortunes of the company declined, and at last it became
bankrupt in 1769. It was then that Lorient passed to the Crown. The
town is supremely uninteresting, and no visitor will stay in it except
under constraint.
_Port Louis._ The Church of N.D., 1665. The citadel of the 18th cent.,
at one time served as a prison to Louis Napoleon.
_Ploemeur._ A circle of standing stones 20 ft. in diameter surrounds
a tumulus, on the top of which is a dolmen fallen, thrown down by
clumsy excavators. Near Kerroch a dolmen, the table sustained by
three uprights, and near it the supporter of another. On the S. some
menhirs, the remains of an alignment. At Kerpape, near the powder mill,
another dolmen. At the Pointe du Tallut a menhir 12 ft. high, and near
it another fallen. Ploumaur, the Great Tribe, was one of the largest
parishes in the diocese; it was settled by S. Ninnoc, supposed to have
been a daughter of the King of Brecknock. Her double monastery for
both sexes was destroyed by the Northmen, and it was not rebuilt till
the 12th cent. The church contains Romanesque work, but the tower was
built in 1686, and the chancel was altered and disfigured in 1783. P.
1st Sunday in May. The Chapel of N.D. de Larmor was built in 1506, the
tower and spire added in 1615. It was a great place of pilgrim resort
till S. Anne d'Auray drew away the seamen who were wont to resort to
Larmor. The benediction of the sea takes place on the 24th June.
_Plouhinec._ On the N. near Kerfourches two ruined dolmens and a
menhir. The W., near the mill of Keronsine, alignments running parallel
with the coast. Near Kersur a small menhir and four dolmens. At the
mill of Gueldro the alignments recommence in seven or eight rows, and
run on to Keroué and Kervelhué. At Magouer a tumulus with a dolmen and
a group of menhirs, most of them fallen, and others have been split and
used for building purposes.
_Kervignac._ On the N. a fine dolmen near the road to Hennebont.
Another to the south near Kermado.
_Nostang._ S. of the village near the river Etel an alignment of 19
menhirs. For _Ile de Groix_, _see under_ Pont-aven.
LOUVIGNÉ DU DESERT (I.V.) chl. arr. Fougères. Church (S. Padarn) of
the 15th cent. with a tower of 1702. A circle of upright stones. The
Château of Monthorion with tombs of Raoul II. de Fougères (1194) and
Françoise de Foix in the chapel.
MALESTROIT (M.) chl. arr. Ploermel. The castle is on an islet of the
Saudraye; it was constructed in the 11th cent. No traces of it now
remain, or none of any importance. The town, built under the shadow of
the castle, was fortified in 1463. It was attacked with fury by the
League, but always resisted the enemy, till a third siege by Mercœur in
1592, but two months later it was retaken by the Royalists. Now all the
walls are gone. The place retains a number of old houses, one of these
near the parish church has on it grotesque figures, as a sow spinning,
a hunter playing the horn, with beside him a hare performing on the
biniou; a man beating his wife, etc. The church (S. Giles) consists of
two churches side by side and in different styles. One retains remains
of a Romanesque original. The rest is of 1511-31, and some good glass
is in the windows, representing Jesus among the Doctors, the Baptism,
the Passion, etc. The Chapel of S. M. Magdalen is partly Romanesque.
MATIGNON (C.M.) chl. arr. Dinan. The parish church is modern but the
Chapel of S. Germain is the old parish church and has a Romanesque
doorway.
_S. Cast_, a watering place with good sands. In 1758, the English fleet
under Admiral Howe, after having bombarded S. Malo and burnt Dol,
disembarked a body of men here. The Duc d'Aiguillon, then governor of
Brittany, hastened to the spot, and in spite of the fire of the fleet
defeated and almost exterminated the invaders. A monument marks the
site of the windmill in which the duke watched the engagement.
_Pléboulle._ The Templar church is of the 16th cent. except the apse
which is earlier. Remains of the octagonal tower of Montbrun on a rock,
commanding a sweep of the river Frémeur.
_Plévenon._ In this commune is the noble headland of Cap Fréhel, of old
red sandstone. Here is a lighthouse. The Fort de Latte is on a point
of rock in the sea 5 kilometres from Cap Fréhel, and entered by two
bridges cast over precipices 300 ft. deep. Facing the fort is a rude
stone 9 ft. high surmounted by a cross, probably a menhir.
MAURON (M.) chl. arr. Ploermel. Stands on high ground, watered by the
Yvel and Doeft, which unite above Ploermel in the pretty lake of Le
Duc. In 1352 the Castle of Mauron was held by Bentley with a body of
Anglo-Bretons. The Marshal d'Offemont, at the head of an army of the
adherents of Charles de Blois, resolved on taking the place. Bentley
marched out against him and obtained a complete victory. Thirteen
lords fell, among them the Marshal and the Viscount de Rohan. A
hundred and forty knights also succumbed. The Parish Register, 1591,
is headed:--"Baptismal Register of Mauron made after the Prince of
Darkness with the English and the lancequenects of his company had
passed. They spent the Sunday here, September 8, 1591, pillaged and
plundered all they could lay hands on in the church, and carried off
the baptismal register--on which account this book is now begun." The
church is modern but retains some old carving in panels of the 16th
cent. near the porch on the S. side, and in the sacristy is a painting
of the crucifixion of 1682.
_S. Lery._ A church of the 15th cent. except the chancel which is
modern. In a chapel of the S. transept of flamboyant date is some fine
old glass representing the marriage of the Duchess Anne with Charles
VIII. of France. On the north of the nave is the tomb of S. Lery, and
on it the Saint is represented with a pastoral staff in his hand,
a book in the other, and his feet resting on a hare. S. Lery was a
native of Wales who crossed over to Armorica and was well received
by Judicael. As he desired a retreat, the Queen turned Ilogan, an
Irish saint, out of his, and gave his lair warm to Lery, who had no
compunction in receiving it. He died in the 7th cent.
MERDIGNAC (C.N.) chl. arr. Loudéac, stands on the road from Loudéac
to S. Méen. West of the town is the fortified enclosure of the Vielle
Court. Excavations have shown that the wall was vitrified.
_S. Launeuc_ near a pretty lake. Here are the ruins of the Castle of
Hardouinaye almost destroyed, where Gilles de Bretagne was starved to
death in 1450. Gilles had been left by his father a sum of money, and
he complained to his brother, Duke Francois I., and asked to be given
some fief in the duchy. But Francis refused his request and threw in
his teeth that he favoured the English rather than the French. Gilles
married the heiress of Châteaubriant and Dinan. Arthur de Montauban,
Marshal of Brittany, who had desired the heiress for himself, was
thereby made his mortal enemy. He determined on his destruction, and to
effect this spread calumnies against Gilles, to the effect that he was
purposing to introduce the English into Brittany, and he obtained leave
from Francis to arrest him in his Castle of Guildo. This he effected
whilst Gilles was engaged on a game of tennis. He carried him off to
Dinan, where was Francis, who refused to see his brother. Francis I.
requested the parliament of Brittany to condemn Gilles unheard. At its
refusal to do so, he handed him over to Arthur de Montauban to make
away with, and the Marshal hurried him away to Hardouinaye and left him
to die of starvation in its dungeon.
MUZILLAC (M.) chl. arr. Vannes. Church of Bourg Peaul with side aisles,
Romanesque, and with a slated tower. Chancel 1505. The very rich and
curious Calvary was restored in 1894.
_Billiers._ Here are the remains of the Cistercian Abbey of N.D. de
Prières, founded in 1252. The church was pulled down in 1715 to make
way for a hideous structure in the taste of the period.
_Noyal Muzillac._ The church (S. Noyala) was rebuilt in 1850, but the
transepts and chancel of the 15th cent. remain. The tower was struck
by lightning in 1630 and rebuilt. The Château de Keralio, of the 15th
cent., is in ruins.
MONTAUBAN (I.V.) chl. arr. Montfort. A modern church. The castle on the
edge of the forest is of the 14th and 15th cents., and was once the
seat of a powerful family to which it gave its name.
MONTCONTOUR (C.N.) chl. arr. S. Brieuc, still possesses remnants of its
ancient walls. The church (S. Mathurin) is mainly of the 16th cent.;
the spire is covered with lead. Six windows retain magnificent old
glass representing the life of the Saviour, that of S. John Baptist,
the legend of S. Barbara, that of S. Yves, remains of a Jesse tree, and
the legend of S. Mathurin (1535). Montcontour lies on very high ground,
and commands a magnificent view. S. Mathurin is much sought by pilgrims
who have the highest belief in his powers. The P. is on the eve of
Whitsunday with procession carrying lights, and on Whitmonday, with
dancing.
_Trébry._ A dolmen at Ville-Valen, consisting of four supports and a
coverer.
_Trédaniel._ The Chapel of N.D. du Haut is mainly of the 14th cent.,
and has a fine porch of the 16th.
MONTFORT (I.V.) chl. d'arr. At the junction of the Mieu and the Garun.
A great round tower of the 15th cent. and a portion of wall adjoining
are all that remain of the ancient ramparts. The Church of S. Jean
Baptiste is modern, but contains retables of the 17th cent. The remains
of the Abbey of S. Jacques, founded in 1152, has a church of the 14th
cent. and buildings of the 18th. In the hospital of S. Lazare is an
altar of the 13th cent. To the S.E. of the tower on the edge of the
forest of Coulon is a prostrate menhir called Le Grés de S. Méen.
MORDELLES (I.V.) chl. arr. Rennes, on the Meu.
[Illustration: MORLAIX]
* MORLAIX (F.) chl. d'arr., is situated in a deep cleft valley at the
junction of the Jarlot and Qufflent, and has a tidal port. The town is
spanned and dwarfed by the magnificent viaduct of the railway to Brest.
The town has only one interesting church, S. Melaine (1489-1574). A
flight of steps leads to the west door. The S. porch is fine. The
baldachino of the font is of 1660, and the organ and gallery are of
about the same date and rich. Morlaix contains a number of picturesque
houses with galleries about interior courts. The newels of the stairs
are often effectively carved. Admission to some may be obtained by
application at the door. In the Rue des Nobles is the house of the
Duchesse Anne, erected in 1500. The church of the Dominican Convent,
founded in 1237, is desecrated. A floor has been introduced at the
height of the capitals of the pillars, the basement is made into a
lumber chamber, and the upper storey into a museum. It possesses a
beautiful window of the 13th cent., a transom sustaining a rose, lights
below the transom cusped and sustaining trefoils. This window deserves
a study. By descending the Rue des Vignes and turning to the right,
the Rue des Fontaines is reached where are two Holy Wells. At N.D.
des Fontaines a wall is enriched with tracery under an arch, above
which is a delicately beautiful rose window. At this spot, according
to legend, S. Drennael, disciple of Joseph of Arimathea, preached, and
set up an image of the B. Virgin. The chapel, which formed a portion of
a Carmelite church, has been ruined along with the church. The tower
of S. Mathieu was built in 1548. On the right bank of the river is the
Fontaine des Anglais that marks the spot where, in 1522, six hundred
English, who had disembarked to attack the town, were surprised when
asleep, and killed. The town was taken by the English in 1532. To guard
against surprise, the castle of Le Taureau was constructed on an island
at the entrance to the estuary.
For objects of interest in the neighbourhood, _see_ under _Taulé_.
MUR (C.N.) chl. arr. Loudéac. Two menhirs by the road from Mur to
Corlay, one at Botrain is a rude quartz block, square and tapering to
a point 12 ft. high. The church is modern. The Chapel of Ste. Suzanne,
1760, has the legend of the Saint painted on the ceiling.
_Caurel._ By the road from Pontivy to Guingamp, at the hamlet to
Belaire, is a menhir of slaty schist 15 ft. high. On the Lande de
Caurel another slate menhir 10 ft. high, and five others prostrate.
Another on the same Lande 15 ft. high and shaped like a rectangular
blade, a niche has been cut in it and a cross planted on the top. On
the Lande de Belaire an allée couverte of slate rock 25 ft. long,
composed of six slabs set on end supporting three coverers. There are
others in ruins hard by. The church dates from 1654.
_S. Guen._ Church of the 18th cent. A Calvary of the 15th cent. with
a stone seat at the foot. The Chapel of S. Tugdual of the 14th cent.
contains the remains of a rood screen.
PAIMPOL (C.N.) chl. arr. S. Brieuc. An important fishing place, the
headquarters of the Iceland fleet. The whole of this portion of
Côtes-du-Nord facing east formed anciently the county of Goelo. The
"Icelanders" fleet starts on February 20, and is absent till the
autumn. As many as 180 vessels leave Paimpol and the other little ports
on the Bay of S. Brieuc for this annual fishing in the polar seas. The
blessing of the fleet takes place with solemnity before it departs.
Paimpol is the scene of Pierre Lotti's novel, "Pécheur d'Islande." The
church of 1525 has a fine flamboyant east window. There are several old
houses in the streets. The isle of _Bréhat_ may be visited, _see under_
Bréhat.
_Kerfot._ The oldest parts of the church are of the 14th cent., but the
rest from 1514 to 1682. Remains of the roodscreen have been converted
into a pew.
_Kerity._ Fine ruins of the Abbey of _Beauport_, an unique example in
Brittany of a monastic establishment that has preserved its original
buildings of the 13th cent. All the rest were rebuilt in the 17th and
18th cents. The roof of the church has fallen in. The abbey consists
of a series of buildings about a cloister; on the N. are kitchen and
refectory over the cellars; S. is the church; E. the dormitory and
infirmary of the monks and the chapterhouse; W. the abbot's house.
LE PALAIS (M.) chl. arr. Lorient, in the island of Belle Ile. It has
a citadel constructed by Vauban. The old walls remain. A military
hospital and a reformatory for young criminals are at Le Palais.
The castle of Foulquet commands the little port of that name. The
church (S. Géran) bears as its dedication the name of the heroic
king of British Domnonia, who fell at Langport in Somersetshire in
522 fighting the Saxons. He had a fleet in the Severn, and his wife
was the beautiful Enid, whose story has been revived by Tennyson in
the Idylls of the King. The Bretons having forgotten who he was have
identified him now with S. Senan of Iniscathy and then with S. Curig,
and represent him as a bishop.
* PERROS GUIREC (C.N.) chl. arr. Lannion. The church has a Romanesque
nave with semi-circular arches resting on the N. side on capitals with
cable mouldings. The arcade on the S. side is somewhat later. The
chancel is early pointed, with an extraordinary east window of the 17th
cent., an instance of the complete extinction of the skill to design
and power to execute stone tracery. There is a Romanesque S. door. Of
the windows one is middle pointed, one flamboyant, and one debased 17th
cent., all in the S. aisle. The tower at the W. end and the porch under
it with open tracery are quaint.
N.D. de la Clarté is a delightful example of flamboyant work at its
best, 1414. The little harbour of Perros Guirec is illumined by five
lighthouses on account of its dangerous character, and there are five
more on the Sept Iles. The sandy cove of _Trestraou_ has a town built
round its lap that lives only in the bathing season, at all other times
it is uninhabited.
_S. Quay._ The church has no side aisles but double transepts, and is
good 2nd pointed. The W. tower is good renaissance of 1732.
_Ploumanach_, a fishing village among rocks, is only curious on account
of the oratory of S. Kirec (Curig) on a rock in the bay, surrounded at
every tide. The pillars and pillasters are of the 11th cent.
_Trégastel._ The village is situated about a mile from the coast,
which is composed of masses of weather-worn granite in strange forms,
among and against which modern residences have been run up for the
accommodation of lodgers during the bathing season. On the highest
point of ground inland a Calvary has been erected of masses of granite
piled up, surmounted by a cross, whence a fine view is obtained of the
coast and the Sept Iles. The Church of Trégastel is of the 13th cent.
with work of the 16th, and a very villainous, debased window at the
east end of the 17th cent. The pretty ossuary adjoining the porch is
renaissance.
[Illustration: CHURCH AND OSSUARY, TRÉGASTEL]
_Pleumeur-Bodou._ Beside the road from the village to Ile Grande is a
fine menhir 24 ft. high, the summit shaped into a cross, and the face
sculptured with the instruments of the Passion. In the _Ile Grande_ is
an allée couverte, composed of fourteen supporters and two coverers.
It is surrounded by a circle of stones. The Chapel of S. Samson is of
the 16th cent. with a spirelet on an octagonal turret. The E. window is
flamboyant.
_Trébeurden._ Nine menhirs within sight of one another. One is a
hundred paces (S.) from the windmill of Trévern, and is 7 ft. high;
another is on the Lande de Véades of the same height; a third is a
hundred paces from this, and is 12 ft. high; a fourth at the Château
de Kerrariou, 7 ft. 6 in. high; a fifth between Kerrariou and the
windmill, broken; a sixth near Bologne, 10 ft. high; a seventh W. of
the preceding and at the edge of the shore, 10 ft. high; the eighth
near Bonne Nouvelle, 7 ft.; the last is near the peninsula of Toënnou,
about the same height. There is a fine dolmen on the Ile Milliau,
measuring 28 ft. long, covered by three slabs on eleven supporters;
another is on the shore at Prajou-menhir, half fallen, 34 ft. long,
composed of twenty-one supporters and four coverers; a third is at
Kevellec, four stones support a single coverer; a fourth in ruins is
near the Chapelle du Christ. The chapel has a lancet window of the 12th
cent. The parish church is very villainous, 1835.
_Trévou-Tréguignec._ Three menhirs in the Ile Balanec, and a partly
ruined dolmen near the modern Château de Boisriou. Seven uprights
support two coverers.
PIPRIAC (I.V.) chl. arr. Redon. A dull, uninteresting place.
_Guipry._ At Fougères is an alignment of seven upright stones. In the
Lande de Godier is an ancient camp. N.D. de Bon-Port, 1644, is resorted
to by pilgrims.
_Saint Just._ On the Lande de Cojoux several megalithic monuments, and
on that of Tréal an allée couverte, called La Grotte aux Fées, 40 ft.
long.
PLANCOET (C.N.) chl. arr. Dinan. Pleasantly situated on the tidal
Argenton, which above the turn flows through a pleasant picturesque
valley. Plancoet (Plou-lann-coet = the Clan of the Church in the Wood),
has a modern vulgar church. In a little lake 3 kilometres from the
town are the scanty remains of the Château de la Tour de la Vache,
13th cent., consisting of one square tower. From Plancoet several
interesting excursions may be made.
_Crehen._ The allée couverte of La Ville-Génouan is 42 ft. long, and is
composed of eleven supporters on the N. and twelve on the S., and five
covering stones. It is the finest example in the Department, and is in
private grounds.
_Landebia._ The church has been restored. It possesses a curious
bénitier of granite supported by human figures, and has animals carved
on the bowl. A house has a fine portal of the 16th cent. A Calvary
of the same date with several groups of figures. Another cross dated
1545, called la Croix de S. David. In the village is a house called
Presbytère des Templiers.
The visitor will probably start from Landebia to visit the Château _de
la Hunaudaye_ in the parish of Plédeliac. The ruins of this magnificent
castle are extensive. The castle dates from 1578, except one tower that
is over a century earlier. It is a pentagon flanked by five towers
at the angles, and surrounded by deep ditches. Why so strong a pile
should have been planted where the ground does not in any way lend
itself to defence is hard to see. The state hall and staircase were
especially fine, but are far gone in ruin. The earliest tower has about
the entrance from the court some rude carvings, executed perhaps by a
prisoner on the jamb of the door on which light fell. The date of this
carving is early 17th cent. Near the hamlet of Hazardine is a coarse
menhir 16 ft. high and 30 ft. in circumference. The ruins of the Abbey
of Saint Aubin des bois are scanty. The chapel is of the end of the
15th cent.
PLEINE-FOUGÈRES (I.V.) chl. arr. S. Malo. Destitute of interest.
PLÉLAN LE PETIT (C.N.) chl. arr. Dinan. On high bleak country, mostly
moor and only partially reclaimed.
PLÉNEUF (C.N.) chl. arr. S. Brieuc, reached from Lamballe. In the
parish is the favourite seaside resort of Val-André. Except the sea and
the coast, there is nothing of interest at Pléneuf.
_Erguy._ An old Roman station, Rheginea, and numerous substructures
of Gallo-Roman times have been uncovered here, also a mosaic pavement
found and destroyed in 1835 by the boor to whom the land belonged.
Numerous finds of Roman coins are made here. At the northern headland
of the Lande de la Garenne is a prehistoric coast castle.
_Planguenoual._ The church is partly Romanesque, partly 13th cent.
The bénitier shows signs of having been systematically employed as a
knife-sharpener.
* PLESTIN LES GRÈVES (C.N.) chl. arr. Lannion. Fine sands. The tide
recedes here to a great distance. Plestin (Plou-Jestin) owes its origin
to an Irish emigrant Efflam, who settled here with a colony of his
countrymen in the 6th cent. He found that a British settler was there
before him, Jestin, probably the son of Geraint, prince of Devon. He
came to terms with him without a quarrel, the arrangement being that
one should rule the secular and the other the ecclesiastical tribe.
Plestin before this would seem to have been a Gallo-Roman town, as
numerous remains as well as coins indicate. The church, much altered,
contains the tomb of S. Efflam, of the 16th cent. The porch is of 1575,
and contains statues of the twelve apostles. The Chapel of S. Jacut of
the 16th cent. has some old glass. Near the Chapel of S. Efflam (1620)
is his Holy Well.
_Plou Miliau_ was the plebs or tribal land of Miliau, King of
Cornouaille, who was murdered by his brother Rivold. The church is in
debased Gothic of 1602.
_Plouzélambre._ The church is of the 15th and 16th cents., with
flamboyant windows. The tower of 1753. In the church a fine renaissance
carved oak retable, with seven groups of figures on it, representing
scenes of the Passion. In the churchyard a pretty ossuary of granite
of the 17th cent. An oratory, consisting of a vault sustained by four
columns, is called Le Réposoir. Ruins of the Château of Kerbané of the
15th cent.
_Trédez._ A menhir 13 ft. high, with another near it that has fallen,
that measured 24 ft. Near the Château de Coatredrez another, 19 ft.
high. At Lan Saliou another of about the same height. In the church is
a triptych representing a Jesse tree. The font has a fine baldachino of
carved oak, of the 17th cent. The Chapel of Loquémeau is of the 16th
cent., except one window in the N. transept, of the 14th. The frieze
within is fantastically carved.
_Trémel._ A menhir at Kerguiniou, 16 ft. high, and near by a dolmen.
The church is of the 16th cent., with apse; the porch has within
statues of the apostles.
_Plufur._ Church of 1764; but it retains remains of a retable of
the 16th cent. Sculptured scenes in relief of the Passion. In the
churchyard is the Chapel of S. Yves, 17th cent., with paintings on the
ceiling. The Chapel of S. Nicolas forms a latin cross, and has seven
flamboyant windows.
_S. Michel-en-Grèves._ The Chapel of S. Geneviève has an early rude
altar, and remains of a 16th cent. screen.
PLEYBEN (F.) chl. arr. Châteaulin. The noble church (S. Germain) of
1564 exhibits the transition from Gothic to Italian style. The church
is regarded as one of the most beautiful ecclesiastical monuments
in Finistère. From whatever point of view seen, the grouping of the
towers, though so different in character, is most pleasing. The
principal tower is tall and square, with a balustrade to the platform
on the summit, and on this platform rises a cupola crowned by a
lantern, and there are four lesser lanterns at the corners. The tower
exhibits the renaissance style fully developed, yet it was constructed
only twenty years after the rest of the church, which is instinct with
Gothic feeling. The second tower was raised in 1588-91, and is in the
late flamboyant style. It is graceful and quaint. The stair to the
bellcage is carried up in a turret detached save for a flying gallery
supported on a couple of arches. The fine porch dates from 1588-91,
and contains statues of the apostles. It is surrounded by a cordon of
niches, shallow but lofty, and forming an exterior enrichment. The
statuary is stiff, but not without character. The east end of the
church is an apse, with gables over the windows, which are flamboyant.
That over the high altar contains old glass representing the story of
the Passion, 1564. The wooden waggon roof of the church is supported on
a cornice quaintly carved. A curious little box for the holy oils is in
the sacristy. The ossuary of Pleyben is the earliest in the Department;
separate from the church. It belongs to the 16th cent. The Calvary of
1650 consists of four great spurs sustaining a central platform on
vault and arches. The platform is crowded with figures in 28 groups,
representing the scenes of the Nativity and the Passion, and, above
all, as the 29th, is the Crucifixion. The Chapel of Lannelec, two
kilometres distant, is in itself uninteresting, but contains curious
statues and sculptures. The P. at Pleyben is on the 1st Sunday in
August.
* PLOERMEL (M.) chl. d'arr. The town stands but a little distance
from the pretty lake of Le Duc, surrounded with trees. It occupies
rising ground and has in its midst a magnificent church (1511-1602)
chiefly remarkable for its collection of 16th century glass. This
represents--1. Jean l'Epervier, Bishop of S. Malo, kneeling before the
B.V.M. and S. Michael; 2. dated 1533 is Pentecost, a superb piece of
colouring; 3. the Life of S. Armel; 4. a Jesse tree, the finest of all;
5. the Passion; 6. the Death and Assumption of the B.V.M.; 7. a window
of 1602 contains diverse subjects; and 8. the Last Supper. Beside these
old windows some modern glass is "a thing to shudder at not to see."
Indeed the French do not seem in glass painting to have got beyond
the crude stage of English beginnings forty years ago. The church
is throughout flamboyant, except the west tower. Under an enormous
arch, that includes a flamboyant window, is a double entrance to the
N., with rich figure carving over it representing sacred subjects,
the Annunciation, the Nativity, and the Flight into Egypt, etc. But
the buttress on the W. was carved when the religious Gothic feeling
was dead, and it is covered with renaissance sculpture, where only
buffoonery and paganism find expression. Syrens, monsters, a cobbler
sewing up his wife's mouth, a woman pulling off her husband's hat, a
sow playing a bagpipe, two nude figures, one on the back of the other,
each blowing a horn, etc., form the decoration. At a little distance
from the town on the Vannes road, about a hundred yards on one side in
a pretty situation, is the Holy Well of S. Armel, of the 17th cent.
Ploermel is the headquarters of the Frères Lammenais, who carry on the
religious instruction of the boys in almost every parish in Brittany,
and in other parts of France as well, and the colonies, in opposition
to the godless governmental schools. From Ploermel the visitor will
probably go on to Josselin, _which see_.
PLOEUC (C.N.) chl. arr. S. Brieuc. Several menhirs, but some of them
are broken. The church is of 1752. Ploeuc lies high.
_Plaintel._ A remarkable menhir 15 feet high planted point downward.
Church of 1759.
PLOUAGAT (C.N.) chl. arr. Guingamp, near Châtelaudren. In the
churchyard a Christian lech bearing the inscription VORMVNI. Ruins of
the priory of N.D. des Fontaines, some portions of which go back to
Romanesque, but the major portion belongs to the 15th cent.
_Goudelin._ The Chapel of N.D. de l'Ile was founded in the 15th cent.
and contains a statue of S. Eligius dressed in Breton _bragou-bras_.
_Lanrodic._ Le Vieux Château de Perrun is a good example of a camp,
probably of the Northmen invaders and devastaters of Brittany or of the
Merovingians. The embankment was revetted with blocks of quartz not set
in mortar. The new château is a fine mediæval ruin. It is surrounded by
a deep moat and possesses a cylindrical tower with machicolation. All
the rest of the original castle has disappeared, but in the midst of
the court is a château built at the time of the renaissance, but that
was burnt and gutted at the Revolution. It has, however, preserved its
façade and some of its fine chimney-pieces. Among the fallen masses of
sculpture may be seen a fragment of a verse of Virgil. "Quid pius Æneas
tanto dabit indole dignum."
_S. Pever._ Ruins of the Château of Avauguer on a promontory above the
Trieux and the lake. The chapel is of the 13th and 14th cents. and
contains remains of an alabaster retable of the 16th cent.
* PLOUARET (C.N.) chl. arr. Lannion, at the junction of the branch
line to Lannion. A prettily situated little town in a well-wooded
country and with charming walks about it up the rocky broom-covered
valleys. The neighbourhood teems with objects of interest, and it
makes excellent headquarters for interesting excursions. The church is
curious. It consists of nave and side-aisles all under one enormous
roof and lighted through aisle windows under gables. It is flamboyant
and has a square E. end that contains a fine window of geometric
tracery, but not of 2nd pointed date, apparently, judging from the
stiffness and lack of skill in the treatment. It looks like an attempt
of a flamboyant architect to revive the earlier style. The tower is
dated 1554, when it was begun, but in style it is later, and is an
admirable example of a renaissance tower at its best period. The
mountain, visible to the south is the _Menezbré_, from the top of which
the Seven Saints cursed Conmore, with the result that the Usurper of
Domnonia was deserted on all sides as one "fey" and was killed in 555.
_Loquivy-Plougras._ The fine Chapel of S. Emilion, the largest example
of its kind in the Department, is of the 16th cent. It was begun in
1516 and the tower added in 1566.
For the beautiful chapel of _Keramanachx_, _see_ under _Plonevez
Moedec_, and for _Tonquedec_, _see_ Lannion.
_Trégrom._ At Keranscot is a menhir 19 feet high called Menbras. At
300 paces from it is another 10 feet high. The church (S. Brendan
of Clonfert) has been judiciously restored. It is 2nd pointed and
is very prettily situated. The S. aisle was intended to be vaulted,
but only the vaulting shafts remain. The S. porch has good 2nd
pointed mouldings, and over it is an interesting statue of the Irish
traveller-saint who discovered Madeira and the Canaries. The W. turret
is for two bells. A quaint four-light square-headed window lights the
baptistery. Brendan was forced to leave Ireland, owing to his having
accidentally caused the death of a pupil, and he spent seven years in
exile. Following the sun at midsummer, he reached Iceland, but did not
remain there. The story of his voyages was embroidered by fancy, and
converted into an Irish version of Sinbad the Sailor; but the greater
part of his time of exile was spent in Brittany, where he founded
two monasteries, one on the isle of Cézambre opposite S. Malo, and
the other in the land of Heth, the site of which is not determined,
but it was probably _Lanvellec_, which is also dedicated to him. The
church there is modern, but in the churchyard is an elegant 16th cent.
ossuary. Near the road from Plouaret to Keramanach is the curious
chapel of _S. Carré_, built in 1697. It is a typical example of the
period, all the detail is Italian, but the Gothic feeling is present
in the main lines. E. of it is the Holy Well of the same period, well
preserved. The P. at S. Carré is on Whitsunday.
_Vieux Marché._ The church is a huge modern flamboyant structure,
successful except for the mean, pinched tower. The flamboyant doorway
of the original church has been inserted at the west end of the new
church, and some quaint carvings are preserved at the N. doorway. A
pretty walk up the glen of about three miles leads to the chapel of the
Sept-Saints, a cruciform structure erected in 1702, with a S. transept
over a dolmen that serves as crypt, and with an altar in it to the
Seven Sleepers. At S. Marcel at some little distance from Plouaret is a
mutilated statue of a Roman horseman trampling on a half human monster,
that receives a religious cult. Although the heads have been knocked
off, and the clergy set their faces strongly against this devotion, the
peasantry still have recourse to the image. Those paralysed are hoisted
upon the back of the horse, and quite as well authenticated cases of
cure are produced there as at some of the approved shrines.
PLOUBALAY (C.N.) chl. arr. Dinan. Modern church. Ruins of the Château
de Crochais.
_S. Jacut-de-la-Mer._ The site of an ancient abbey founded by Gwethenoc
and Jacut, brothers of S. Winwaloe, at the beginning of the 6th cent.
The brothers in Breton mythology replaced the Heavenly Twins of classic
mythology, and were wont to be seen when invoked steering a vessel
that was in danger of being overwhelmed and wrecked at sea. The abbey
was given over in commendam to favourites at court, and the few monks
left in it without supervision led such idle and worthless lives that
the feeling of the country was roused against them, and when the
Revolution broke out, the peasants tore down the monastery to its very
foundations so as to leave of it no trace whatever. There is now a
conventual establishment at S. Jacut that receives boarders for the
bathing season. The tower of Ebihens on an island was built in 1697.
_Trégon._ An allée couverte called Les Vielles Hautières is near
the high road, and is 48 ft. long. Fourteen uprights sustain seven
capstones. About 400 paces from this is a fallen dolmen. A vulgar
modern church takes the place of an early Romanesque structure.
_Château de Guildo._ The old Castle is a ruin, in which Gilles de
Bretagne was playing a game of tennis when snatched away, by order of
his brother, Francis I., to be starved to death at La Hardouinais.
* PLOUDALMEZEAU (F.) chl. arr. Brest. The church was rebuilt in 1857,
but the tower remains of 1775. Ploudalmezeau is in the old Pays d'Ach,
and the British refugees swarmed hither, landing in the estuaries of
the Aber Vrach, Aber Benoit, and the Aber Iltut. P. of S. Bridget, 15th
August.
_Lampaul Ploudalmezeau._ Remains of an allée couverte, and by the
roadside from Ploudalmezeau a menhir trimmed into shape and surmounted
by a cross between two others of very early character. The church (S.
Pol de Léon) is very charmingly situated among trees, and the tower
is not of the type of renaissance so common. It more resembles that
of Pleyben, and is remarkably well proportioned and dignified. It
has a gallery above the porch, another at the summit of the tower,
and curious flying buttresses support the turrets at the angles, and
a cupola in the centre surmounted by a lantern on three stages. The
church itself is late flamboyant. The porch is wide and enriched with
Ionic pillars, within it is vaulted, and the groins meet in a pendant.
A curious statue in the S. transept represents the Virgin and child.
She is trampling on the Devil, who tauntingly upholds the fatal apple.
Good metal-work encloses the baptistery. The N. aisle has been rebuilt.
There is a Holy Well, but without character, in the churchyard.
_Landunevez._ La Four is a rock rising 200 ft. above the sea, and is
supposed to indicate the point where the Ocean begins and the Channel
ends. Fine ruins of the castle of Trémazan, where was born Tanguy du
Châtel, who died 1449. He was one of the Generals of Charles VI. and
Charles VII. After the Battle of Agincourt, things did not run as
smoothly as represented by Shakespeare. The French Court was torn by
factions. At the head of one was Jean sans Peur, Duke of Burgundy; at
the head of the other the Armagnacs, the partisans of the Dauphin. In
place of combining against the victorious English, they were engaged in
murderous affrays between themselves. One night the Burgundians fell on
and slaughtered the Armagnacs in the streets of Paris, and the Dauphin
was only saved by Tanguy du Châtel, who smuggled him off to Milan. The
Constable of France and the Chancellor were both murdered, and the
massacre lasted three days. Richard, fourth brother of Duke John V. of
Brittany, at great risk secreted and carried off Marie d'Anjou, wife
of the Dauphin. The Duke of Brittany entered Paris and put a term to
the horrors that were being perpetrated. Meanwhile the English were
advancing, and burning the towns on their march. At length the Duke of
Burgundy and the Dauphin agreed to meet and come to terms at Montereau.
But no sooner were they face to face than they burst into mutual
recrimination. This so exasperated Tanguy, that with an axe he split
the skull of the Duke. This fresh crime threw the Burgundians into the
arms of the English. The war was concluded by the Treaty of Amiens,
1423. At Landunevez are a dolmen, and at Argenton a menhir 18 ft. high.
Patronal feast 3rd Sunday in Sept., P. of Kersaint Ascension Day and
Aug. 15th; P. of S. Gonvel, 2nd Sunday in Sept., and P. of S. Samson,
3rd Sunday in July.
_Plourin._ The church (S. Budoc) is entirely modern, but excellent,
the tower and spire are specially well proportioned. The E. flamboyant
window is very good. Two old picturesque houses are near the church.
Within the church is the pulpit from the old church of carved oak
representing scenes from the legend of S. Azenore and her son Budoc. At
Kergraden are two menhirs, one 30 ft. high, the other 24 ft. P. Sunday
nearest to Aug. 7.
_Plouguin._ Modern church. The château of Lesven possesses a painting
over the altar in which is represented S. Gwen, her three breasts
disguised by the central breast being made into a gilded disc, dressed
in the costume of a lady of the beginning of the 17th cent. presenting
her son Winwaloe to S. Corentin, who gives him the habit. Fragan,
husband of Gwen Teirbron, is also represented in the painting as a
knight in armour. The parish takes its name from Gwen, and her husband
gives his name to the neighbouring parish of S. Fragan. In a marsh are
the ruins of an oratory, where, according to local tradition, Winwaloe
as a child practised the ascetic life. For _Lanrivoaré_ see S. Rénan.
PLOUESCAT (F.) chl. arr. Morlaix. A menhir, 21 ft. high.
_Plounevez Lochrist._ In this parish is the interesting chapel of
Lochrist with its 13th cent. tower, bold and massive, and surmounted
by a spire very different in character from the flimsy barley-sugar
constructions of the 16th cent. and the beginning of the 17th. The
chapel itself is modern.
PLOUGUENAST (C.N.) chl. arr. Loudéac. New and bad parish church,
but happily the old one has been left, and contains some old glass,
representing the Crucifixion, Entombment, and Pentecost. The altar
rails are made out of the old roodloft gallery front, and bear
representations of the apostles. Chapel of the Rosary 16th cent.
Château de Touche Brondineuf, a stronghold of the 15th cent.
_Plémy._ A menhir, 12 ft. high, near Drény, on the road to Uzel. Two
more of 9 ft. high at 300 paces thence. An old maison forte of the 16th
cent. at Vaucles. At Ville Pierre remains of an Huguenot preaching
station, a platform sustained on cylindrical pillars. Some of the great
nobles of Brittany, casting covetous eyes on the church property,
embraced the reform and encouraged the Calvinist preachers. But the
people would have none of them.
_Langast._ The Church (S. Gall) of the 16th cent. has some old glass in
the east window.
PLOUHA (C.N.) chl. arr. S. Brieuc. Modern uninteresting church. Four
kilometres off is the Chapel of _Kermaria_, erected at different times.
The first four arches belong to the 13th cent. The others as well
as the S. porch and transept are flamboyant. This chapel contains a
Dance of Death, in fresco, but now sadly faded. There are twenty-two
subjects, each figure is attended by a skeleton. Above the Dance are
eight prophets, seated. The chandeliers are of hammered iron.
_Lanleff_ has a circular Romanesque church in ruins. It belongs to the
11th or early 12th cent. A portion of the external wall has fallen,
exposing the arcade. Much fanciful stuff was published relative to this
church early last century. It was supposed to have been a pagan temple.
Near it is a well, the water issues from a three-lobed opening. Above
is a stone marked with seven circles. The story goes that a woman here
sold her child to the devil for seven pieces of silver, of which these
circles are the memorial.
PLOUIGNEAU (F.) chl. arr. Morlaix. A menhir and a prehistoric camp. P.
Ascension Day followed by dancing and a fair. P. at the chapel of S.
Eloi 3rd Sunday in June.
_Plougonven._ A calvary of the 17th cent. A fallen dolmen and three
menhirs.
PLOUZÉVEDE (F.) chl. arr. Morlaix. In this commune is the very
interesting chapel of Berven, with a beautiful tower. It stands by the
highway from S. Pol de Léon to Lesneven, which runs mainly over the old
Roman road, and was that taken by S. Paulus Aurelianus when he came
from the land of Ach to the town that now bears his name. The entrance
to the churchyard is by a triumphal arcade, the arches separated and
sustained by Corinthian pillars. The beautiful tower and spire were
built in 1567. The rood screen is late, 17th cent., and on it are four
panel paintings. The tower sustains two galleries and superposed bell
chambers. The whole surmounted by a lantern. It is of the same type as
that of Rorcoff, but is more elegant. It is later than the church.
_Plouvorn._ The church is modern, but the chapel of _Lambader_ is most
interesting, as containing the only 16th cent. flamboyant screen that
has been spared in the department. It is singularly rich and delicate.
The date is 1481. The tower and spire resemble those of Creisker,
but on a smaller scale and with the same fault. The chapel has been
carefully restored. P. on Whit-Monday.
_S. Vougai._ Church (S. Fiacc of Stetty) of the 16th cent. The château
of _Kerjean_ is a fine example of a late flamboyant and renaissance
castle. After having been in ruins, it has been repurchased by a
descendant of the ancient family to which it originally belonged, and
is being gradually restored. One wing was destroyed by fire in the
18th cent., the rest was wrecked at the Revolution. It is called the
Versailles of Finistère.
PLUVIGNER (M.) chl. arr. Lorient. This was the centre of a vast
district comprising nine parishes, that formed the "plou" of Fingar, an
Irish settler, who, after having established himself here with a number
of colonists, returned to Ireland to fetch more, but was carried by
contrary winds into S. Ives' Bay in Cornwall, where the native prince
Tewdrig fell on him and murdered most of the party. The place where
he was killed is Gwinear. The church of Pluvigner is a vast building
erected in 1545. The tower and spire, however, date from 1781. Numerous
lechs are in the churchyard, and one is at the door of the mairie. The
Holy Well of S. Guinger (Fingar) is of the 16th cent., a little way out
of the village. According to the legend Fingar was hunting when he came
to the well, and looking in saw his face reflected in the water. "On
my word," said he; "I'm an uncommonly handsome man, too good-looking
to be anything but a saint," and this effected his conversion. He
renounced the world and dedicated his beauty to religion. The chapel
of S. Fiacre is of 1453, with additions of 1640. In the transept is a
richly carved flamboyant altarpiece. The chapel of S. Beuzy marks the
spot where that favourite disciple of Gildas, flying with a mortal
wound in his head, passed the night on his way to Rhuys. The chapel is
of 1593.
* PONT-AVEN (F.) chl. arr. Quimperlé. The costume of the women in
this district is peculiarly charming. The broad quilled collars and
the white coiffe, with a pink ribbon behind the lace, serve to show
off a pretty face to advantage. Pont-aven is a favourite resort of
artists, and some of their work may be seen in a much frequented
hotel there. Moreover, the scenery about Pont-aven is pleasing, and
it serves as a better headquarters than Concarneau, where the smell
of the sardine pickling is offensive, and produces in some stomachic
trouble. Pont-aven is picturesquely situated on the Aven, the same name
as our Affon, Awne, and Avon, and at the foot of two hills crowned with
granite rocks that have been rounded by the action of the weather,
which dissolves the silicate of potass in it, when the other matters,
mica, felspar, hemblend, and quartz fall away in gravel and sand. A
huge rock in the river facing the quay is called la Roche Forme. Below
Pont-aven the river widens into an estuary and forms a port. Near
the mouth of the river is the sanatorium of Kerfarny. There are two
menhirs in the commune, one 15 feet and the other 16 feet high, one at
Kérangosquer, and the other on the lande de Kervéquilen. About four
kilometres down the river is the château du Hénan of the 15th and 16th
cents. At _Riec_ are some dolmens.
_Nizon._ Here are the fine 15th cent. ruins of the castle of
Rustéphan flanked by turrets. Several dolmens are scattered over the
neighbourhood, and menhirs as well, of which one is 21 feet high.
_Nevez._ About two miles to the east of the village are the important
remains of the château of Hénan, of the 15th cent., much altered in the
16th cent., with a keep some 75 feet high, machicolated. A dolmen is
here whose capstone measures 45 feet in length, and 27 feet in breadth,
and 6 feet thick. It has been converted into a smith's shop. At Nizon
there are two Pardons, that of N.D. de Kergomet on the 1st Sunday in
May; the other at N.D. de Trémalo on the 2nd Sunday in September. At
Pont-aven the patronal feast is on the 3rd Sunday in September, and
the P. of S. Mathurin on the 2nd Sunday in May. At Nevez the patronal
feast is on the 2nd Sunday after Easter; the Pardon de S. Barbe, the
2nd Sunday in August; that of S. Nicolas the 1st Sunday of September;
that of Trémorvézen the 2nd Sunday in September. The P. of S. Mathieu
on the last Sunday in September: that of the Rosary Sunday in October,
and there are fêtes and a fair on the Monday following. Perhaps the
best is that of _Bélon_ on the river of that name, which flows into the
sea close to the mouth of the Aven. Here is a grand procession on Sept.
8th, and very picturesque costumes may be seen. Near Belen is N.D. de
Lanriot, a fine chapel; and in a most lovely situation is de Moustoir.
Between Pont-aven and de Trinité in a wood is a dolmen. It is actually
in the parish of Moëlan or Maelon, in which the Pardon of S. Roch is
held on Aug. 15, and that of S. Philibert on the second Sunday after.
Excursions may be made by boat from Pont-aven to the isles of _Glenan_,
a veritable archipelago, and to the more distant _Ile de Groix_. This
was the island to which Gunthiern, the first settler at Quimperlé, was
wont to retire, and where there is a chapel that contains a statue
of him. He was a native of Southern Wales, and his name is identical
with Vortigern. But who he really was is very uncertain. In summer
there is communication daily by a little steamboat with Lorient. An
arm of the sea called le Coureau separates the isle from the mainland.
The population is composed entirely of fishermen, and it has a little
harbour, the port Tudy. The island coast is honeycombed with caves; it
also possesses numerous prehistoric monuments. On the N. the tumulus
of Moustéro and the menhir of Quelhuit, and the dolmens more or less
ruined of S. Tudy and of Porte Mélite. On the E. the menhir of the Fort
de la Croix. On the S. the dolmens of Locmaria and S. Nicolas and
the tumulus of Kervédan, surmounted by a menhir, and near Kervédan on
the shore the remains of an enclosure called the fort des Romains. As
there are hotels on the island, a day or two can be very comfortably
spent there.
_Le Pouldu_ (the Black Pool) is a bathing place, where the climate is
singularly warm, and plants that flourish in the south of France here
stand the winter.
[Illustration: PONT-CROIX]
* PONT-CROIX (F.) chl. arr. Quimper. This little town is far more
attractive than Audierne, and is better suited to stay at for a visit
to the numerous objects of interest in the peninsula. It is built about
a remarkable abbey church, one of the finest in Finistère, and with the
noblest tower and spire in Brittany. Most of these towers and spires
look like hot-house growths, and are over-weighted by their spires.
But the tower of Pontcroix is solid and in perfect proportion to its
spire. The church also presents admirable examples of 2nd pointed
architecture, notably its unique S. porch. The spire is of the same
period. The S. transept had a window of the same, _circ._ 1380, but the
tracery has been hacked away and replaced by feeble weedy flamboyant.
Of the other flamboyant windows, one is well designed, two are under
acute gables. The church has an apse (flamboyant) with six windows. On
entering the sacred building, the surprised visitor finds himself in a
Romanesque church, but of a late period, 1160. The pillars are spindly
and tall, and sustain round arches. It is Romanesque at its last gasp,
and without its original vigour and massiveness. A very ugly feature
is the inner member of the arch, which is sustained on corbels resting
on the capitals. The arcade of the sanctuary is of the 13th cent. The
piers supporting the central tower were Romanesque, but were encased at
a late period, when the spire was added. Some stained glass is of the
15th cent.
A walk or drive may be taken to N.D. de Confort on the Quimper road;
it is 16th cent. with a graceful spirelet above a double gallery and a
turret at the side to give access to the bells. The Calvary is of the
same period, purer in design and better in detail than the overcrowded
Calvaries of Guimiliau and Plougastel. In the chapel is a Wheel of
Fortune set with bells, which the pilgrims set in motion so as to
summon the Saint to hearken to their prayers. At Meilars is another
Calvary, also a dolmen. Half-way between _N.D. de Confort_ and Poullan
is the admirable Chapel of _Kerinec_ with its Holy Well and a Calvary
consisting of a cross above a preaching platform. The great charm of
this chapel lies in its interior, which is very beautiful. Further on
is _Poullan_ buried in trees (S. Cadvan), a transition church between
flamboyant and renaissance, with a thin oblong tower and a good porch.
There is no chancel arch. Nave and aisles have boarded ceilings. The
granite capitals are rudely carved. The side aisles very narrow, the
pillars tall, sustaining small pointed arches. An octagonal 17th cent.
baptistery. There is a menhir near the seamark at Kermenhir, and there
are dolmens in the parish. The country is barren, planted with Austrian
pine, but is being brought under cultivation by the use of sardine
heads as manure. The coast to Cap Sizun is bold and fine. _Beuzec Cap
Sizun._ Church (S. Budoc) with tower of the 16th cent. A fine coast.
P. at N.D. de Confort, 1st Sunday in July. P. of Kerinec, 3rd Sunday
in July. P. at Poullan, 1st Sunday in Sept. P. at N.D. de Clarté in
Beuzec, on the Eve of Rogation Sunday.
[Illustration: N.D. DE CONFORT]
* PONTIVY (M.) chl. d'arr. A busy town, very modern and vastly ugly
in its modern portion, but with a few picturesque bits in the old town.
In the new Pontivy is the hideous Church of S. Joseph, about as bad in
architecture as the perversity of ignorance could design. The church in
the old town in decadent flamboyant, is bad of its kind. The tracery
had been removed from the windows, and has been replaced by new stuff
of no character except feebleness. The W. tower is octagonal with a
spire surmounting it. The castle has been in part destroyed, but two
faces remain with singularly low drums of towers. In it is now the
museum. The costume of the neighbourhood of Pontivy in the women is not
remarkable, but that of the men is picturesque, white jackets bordered
and ornamented with black velvet.
In the cemetery outside Pontivy is a menhir surmounted by a cross. The
spire of _N.D. de la Houssaye_ beyond the cemetery is an interesting
specimen of the flamboyant architecture of the beginning of the 15th
cent. It was built in 1438, but the tower, which is quite in the
Breton renaissance character, was actually built as late as 1750. It
is curious as showing to how late a date the Gothic feeling hung on in
Brittany.
_Noyal-Pontivy._ The church has a 14th cent. tower and spire. The porch
is flamboyant. On one side within are apostles, on the other, curious
subjects, The Baptism, an Angel holding a pair of blue breeches whilst
Christ is in the water, a naked man carrying his head upside-down, and
some other subjects not easily made out. The church has been carefully
restored. The early flamboyant E. window has the date cut on the
splay. The vaulting of nave and chancel is modern. In the N. transept
is fine old glass representing the Annunciation, Nativity, Shepherds
and Angels, Adoration of Shepherds, Circumcision, Flight into Egypt,
Massacre of the Innocents; also the Bearing of the Cross, the Veronica,
Crucifixion and Entombment from another window. In the nave is a
curious painted retable of S. Maurice de Clohars, who d. 1191, and who
was born in this parish. Noyala was one of the largest parishes in the
diocese of Vannes, and Pontivy was a chapelry in it. _S. Géran_, now a
daughter church, was probably originally the head of a plou of Geraint,
King of Domnonia. But now he is forgotten and replaced by S. Guirec.
In this parish the canal between Nantes and Brest forms a series of
backwaters and lochs. The Chapel of SS. Dredeneau is near the line and
the canal. It is a cruciform building of flamboyant period, but of no
architectural interest. It however contains a good 16th cent. statue
of S. Bridget, and statues of the Brothers Dredeneau. According to the
legend they were two princes who were murdered, and their bodies thrown
into a marsh on the further side of the canal, where they were found
by a pig. The figures are rude; one holds a book on which is written:
"Ce Saint à combatu jusqu'à la mort pour la loi de Dieu, et n'a pas
craint les menaces des infidèles parceque sa foi etait fondée sur la
pierre." The Holy Well of the saints is in very good order and bears
their statues. P. 4th Sunday after Easter; at S. Géran, 3rd Sunday in
October; at Noyala, July 6th.
_Stival._ At the entrance to the village is the Holy Well of S.
Meriadoc, late flamboyant to renaissance. The church is cross-shaped
with a slated spire, and has no aisles. It has a boarded and painted
roof, and the chancel is covered with paintings representing the legend
of S. Meriadoc. The fine stained glass is in a deplorable condition.
The E. window contains a Jesse tree. There are saints in the other
windows. In the churchyard are a large late cruciform chapel and an
ossuary.
_Locmalo._ The superb Chapel of _N.D. de Quelven_ is an object of one
of the most popular Pardons in Morbihan, on August 15. W. tower,
transepts and gabled apse are all of late flamboyant. In the tower is
a very fine rose window to the bell-chamber. The proportions of tower
and spire are not however satisfactory, and the chapel imposes on one
by its rich detail rather than by its broad features. It resembles S.
Nicodème in Plumilliau, but the tower is very inferior. There are three
porches, one under the tower and two to the south. The tower is half
a century older than the body of the church. Choir and transepts are
vaulted. There is a plain stone gallery for the minstrels in the S.
aisle. In two windows in the choir is fine contemporary glass, a Jesse
tree and the apostles. The rest of the glass is modern garish rubbish.
The granite carving of the church is poor owing to the coarse quality
of the stone.
PONT SCORFF (M.) chl. arr. Lorient. The Scorff divides the town into
two parts, the upper and the lower towns, united by two bridges. The
Church of S. Albin is of 1610 with additions in 1710. One town was
the religious, the other the secular. The religious one was Les-Albin
(the Court of Albin), and here was born S. Albinus, who became Bishop
of Angers in 529 and died in 550. P. 1st S. in March. P. of S. Yves,
Sunday after 10th May. P. of S. Nicodème 3rd Sunday in September.
_Quevin_ (Coet-quen, the white wood). A menhir 16 ft. high, to the
west a Calvary with fifteen figures. A Holy Well, and Chapel of S.
Eloi, 16th cent., in the village, but altered in 18th cent. The
parish church is modern. S. Nicodème, late flamboyant chapel of 1578.
La Trinité, 16th cent., but with a tower of 1771. P. 7th Sunday after
Trinity.
PORT LOUIS (M.) chl. arr. Lorient. The Church of N.D. was built in
1665. The Chapel of S. Pierre contains a statue of S. Elisha found in
the sea at the beginning of the 17th cent., to which the Pope accorded
sundry indulgences. Port Louis was but a small fishing village called
Locperan till the beginning of the 17th cent. It possesses a citadel
and a marine hospital. P. at Locmalo 26th July.
QUESTEMBERT (M.) chl. arr. Vannes. Here, in 888, Alan I., Count of
Vannes, encountered the Northmen and slaughtered 12,000 of them. Hardly
400 escaped to their ships. In consequence of this victory, Alan was
proclaimed Duke of Brittany. Some crosses mark the spot where the
battle raged. La Croix Rochue has a weapon like a halbert cut on it. La
Croix Tuaint is marked with five nail heads and a small cross. La Croix
à la Poèle also has nail heads. The parish church is modern, 1863. In
the churchyard a fine Calvary. The Chapel of S. Michel is flamboyant.
In the Chapel of N.D., an old Templar church, is a Romanesque font
employed as a bénitier. The town possesses some old houses and halles
of 1675; also a cylindrical tower with two heads on it called Quest and
his wife.
QUIBERON (M.) chl. arr. Lorient. A favourite watering place on a sandy
strip of land, some twelve miles long, and only one and a half wide.
The sea has gained considerably here. An alignment of menhirs now
leads into the water. The granite rock is everywhere under blown sand
that shifts with every gale. A menhir is at the point of Beg-conguel,
and there are remains of a cromlech (stone circle) at Beg-lann, and
ruins of two dolmens at Manémeur. Two dolmens at Kerniscot, an allée
couverte at Croh-collé, and the remains of an alignment at the Mill
of Kerbournec, and two more dolmens at Port-blanc. But what is most
interesting here is the prehistoric necropolis at Belle-vue, Be-ker-Nôz
and another in the Isle of Thénec. The graves are stone chests, in
which the skeletons are crouched, but occasionally extended. The sand
has preserved the bones, which have lost nothing but their gelatine. An
early Christian cemetery has also been discovered at Kerné. In 1795 an
English squadron disembarked 3000 émigrés here, and they were joined
by numerous peasants. Hoche defeated them, and swept the peninsula,
driving together all who remained. The prisoners were then all shot
down in cold blood, some at Quiberon, some at Auray, and the rest at
Vannes.
[Illustration: IN QUIMPER]
* QUIMPER (F.) chl. d'arr. This beautiful town is situated at the
junction of the Stier and the Odet, and is the seat of a bishop. The
diocese of S. Pol de Léon has been united to that of Quimper. It is at
a distance of fifteen miles from the sea, but has a small port. It is a
bright and thriving city, and is the seat of the manufacture of the
Breton faience, a pretty ware copied from old Rouen, but with original
developments. The old walls are almost gone. Quimper is dominated on
the south by a lofty well-timbered hill. It has charming esplanades by
the sides of the Odet. In the town are several old houses. The great
glory of the place is however the Cathedral of S. Corentin. The choir
dates from the end of the 13th cent. The transepts and nave belong to
the 15th. The twin spires are modern and excellent. The architect,
M. Bigod, took that of Pontcroix as his pattern, and could not have
done better. The erection of these spires was due to the town folk
consenting to a duty of a sou a pound being charged on all the butter
brought into market. The choir leans considerably to the left, and the
junction with the transepts is awkwardly effected. It is said that
this deflection was due to the spongy nature of the soil which did not
allow of the choir being built in the same axis as the nave. This,
however, does not explain it, as the nave was erected subsequent to the
choir. At the summit of the W. gable is a statue of King Grallo. This
W. front is fine, but the modern filling in of the doorway is weak. A
S. side entrance is altogether exquisite. There is, however, nothing
really characteristic of a local school in the cathedral; it follows
the traditions of the Isle of France, but has not the loftiness, often
exaggerated, of some of those magnificent cathedrals. The beautiful
lady-chapel is in the purest geometrical style. The choir has an
apsidal termination. The clerestory windows are filled with old glass
representing saints, but the modern glass is detestable. The third
chapel on the N. side contains memorials of a supposed miracle, a
crucifix that emitted drops of blood when a man perjured himself before
it. The high altar is a mass of silver gilt, decorated in a style
suitable to a restaurant rather than to a church. There is a good,
restored, bishop's chapel. The Church of S. Mathieu has been rebuilt
and has a modern spire. The fine stained glass representing the scenes
of the Passion in the east window has been retained; it is of the 16th
cent. The musée should be visited. Besides containing an admirable
collection of paintings, many by Breton artists, it has a large group
of lay-figures dressed in the various costumes of Léon and Cornouaille,
representing a marriage. Nor should the visitor omit a call on M.
Villard, who has an extensive collection of really artistic photographs
of Breton costumes and architecture. Quimper market should be visited
on Saturday, when various costumes may be seen, the white quilted
collars of the Pont-aven district, and the curious head dresses of the
Bigauden women.
_Locmaria_ is only a stroll down the left bank of the Odet, and there
may be seen a very beautiful example of a Romanesque church with
central tower, transepts and apse.
[Illustration: THE CATHEDRAL, QUIMPER]
Quimper forms an admirable centre for a number of excursions, as branch
lines run thence to Pont l'Abbé and to Pont Croix and Audierne.
The great horse fair is on April 15. The patronal feast at the
cathedral is on August 15; the P. at Locmaria is on the Sunday after
December 12.
_Plogonnec_, a very interesting late flamboyant church with a
renaissance tower. It has magnificent old glass in the windows,
representing the Last Judgment, the Story of the Cross, the
Transfiguration, and some Celtic Saints, S. Cadoc with a bell, S.
Edern, son of Vortigern, riding on a stag, and S. Theilo, Bishop of
Llandaff, also mounted on a stag. There is a pretty flamboyant Chapel
of S. Theilo in the parish, and this last window was removed from it.
P. at S. Thegonnec's Chapel, Ascension Day; at that of Loretto, 2nd
Sunday in August; at that of S. Albin on the last Sunday in September;
the P. at the parish church on the last Sunday in July.
[Illustration: LOCRONAN]
_Locronan._ Once a thriving little town living on its looms, but
since weaving has been done by steam, its prosperity has gone, and
many houses are in ruins. Those that remain occupied are all of
granite, and some, if not all, old. The church has the Chapel of S.
Ronan on its south side opening out of it by a couple of arches. All
is flamboyant. The church had a spire that was struck by lightning
in 1806 and fell, carrying away pinnacles and the lace-like parapet
on the N. side. On this N. side is a little chapel with a graceful
flamboyant window in the gable, and saints in niches at the sides. The
E. window of the chancel is full of old glass in confusion, but is
about to be restored. On the pulpit is the legend of S. Ronan in ten
compartments. The mouldings of the arcades and of the great belfry
windows are poor. The P. is on Trinity Sunday, but every sixth year is
the Grand Tromenie, which is observed with great concourse of people
from all parts. A procession leaves the church at 2.30 P.M. and winds
with banners and hymn-singing round the mountain on the slope of which
Locronan is built. Descending a narrow street leads to the renaissance
Chapel of S. Eloi and a Holy Well of the same date. The tomb of S.
Ronan is in the chapel beside the parish church.
_Plonevez-Porzay_ has a very villainous modern church that has replaced
one that was old and full of interest. The porch has however been
preserved. P. 2nd Sunday in August. _Ste. Anne-de-la-Palue_ in this
parish is a great resort of pilgrims, and the Pardon there is largely
attended. It is on the last Sunday in August. The P. of N.D. de la
Clarté is on the 2nd Sunday in September.
_Quéménéven._ The Chapel of Kergoat is an object of pilgrimage, and the
Pardon there is very greatly thronged, and interesting costumes may be
seen there. The P. is on the Sunday after August 15.
_S. Venec_, a chapel half-way between Quimper and Châteaulin, is
interesting. It contains a statue of the Threebreasted Gwen, and of her
sons, Gwethenoc, represented as a Knight, and Winwaloe. There are also
here a good Calvary and a pretty Holy Well.
_Ergué Gaberic._ A fine menhir. A chapel of the Templars. The P. at
Kerdevot is greatly frequented. It is on the 2nd Sunday in September.
_Pluguffan._ Only deserving of a visit on the occasion of its Pardon,
which is on the 2nd Sunday in September, where fine costumes may be
seen.
* QUIMPERLÉ (F.) chl. d'arr. An interesting and picturesque town on
the Laïta formed of the junction of the Ellé and the Isole. The abbey
church of Ste. Croix and the town about it is in the basin, but the
Church of S. Michel and the upper town is on the hillside with steep
streets, some ascended by steps. The buildings of the abbey have been
converted into municipal offices and Mairie. The church is circular and
Romanesque. A tower had been constructed on the four central drums, but
they showed signs of giving way, and the tower had to be taken down
and the church rebuilt, but exactly on the ancient lines. There is a
crypt beneath the lady-chapel. The carved corbels outside the apse are
curious. A fine renaissance retable has been mutilated and plastered
against the west wall. In the crypt is the tomb of S. Gurlois. S.
Michel stands up boldly on the summit of the hill, on the right side of
the Laïta, sustained on massive substructures. The nave is 2nd pointed.
There are no aisles to the nave. The grand central tower and choir with
its aisles are flamboyant. There is an exquisite window of that style
on the N. side and a superb N. porch, but the E. window is in very bad
renaissance. The east end is supported on two huge buttresses that
are pierced with arches for the roadway. The west end of the church
is built against, with houses, and does not seem ever to have had a
western entrance.
Some quaint bits of street architecture may be found by penetrating
into the narrow lanes. The Church of S. Columbanus is in ruins. A
pretty walk out of the town leads to the little chapel of the Château
of Rosgrande, with apse at each end. It contains a renaissance
roodscreen, with subjects from sacred history and pagan mythology
indiscriminately carved on it. In the chapel are two 14th cent. statues
of S. Cadoc and S. Yhuel, the grandson of Gildas, afterwards Bishop
of Llandaff, who spent his youth in Brittany. Fishing and charming
walks are to be had in the valleys of the Ellé and Isolle. The visitor
will find this the best headquarters for excursions to Le Faouët, 21
kilometres, and down the river to Pouldu. Patronal Feast at Quimperlé
on the 2nd Sunday in May and on the 3rd September. P. at Lothea, Easter
Tuesday and Trinity Sunday. Pardon des Oiseaux at Toulfouen, Whitsun
Monday.
[Illustration: QUIMPERLÉ]
The forest of _Clohars-Carnoet_ envelops the ruins of one of Conmore's
castles, but it was rebuilt in the 15th cent. On the right bank of the
Laïta, in a sheltered position, are the fine ruins of the Abbey of S.
Maurice, founded in 1170. The chapter house is of the 14th cent.
and 15th cent. A chapel that has been restored contains a good bronze
Christ of the 17th cent. P. Whitsun Monday. P. at Clohars on the 15th
August.
* QUINTIN (C.N.) chl. arr. S. Brieuc. In pretty woodland country. A
menhir called La Roche-longue in a field near the town, 21 ft. high.
The church is modern, but it retains some old glass. In the street of
N.D. is a granite house of 1611. Another old house dates from 1560.
Remains of the castle built in the 15th cent., which was replaced by
another, never completed, in the 17th cent. The modern château contains
a fine gallery of family portraits and Gobelin tapestries. In the
cemetery is an ossuary of the 17th cent.
REDON (I.V.) chl. d'arrond. Above the junction of the Vilaine and Oust,
at the foot of a hill, commanded by the ruined Château de Beaumont.
Redon was a great abbey founded by King Nominoe and S. Convoyon. Here
was held the council that deposed the Frank bishops of Rennes, Nantes
and Vannes. The church was ruined at the Revolution, and all that
remains of it are the W. tower and spire and the choir with a portion
only of the nave. The tower now stands isolated. The nave is of the
14th cent. It was originally Romanesque. A transept is of the 12th
cent. and there is a stunted central tower at the crossing. The choir
ends in an apse and is of the 13th cent. and is fine. The high altar
and the pulpit were given to the church by Richelieu. On the N. side
of the choir is a fortified chapel of the 15th cent. In one of the side
chapels is a tomb supposed to be that of Duke Francis I. The abbey
buildings are occupied by the Institute of S. Sauveur. The cloisters
are of the 17th cent. The canal from Nantes to Brest cuts the town in
two and is crossed by a bridge.
The centre of the chestnut trade, the "marron." The trees are kept
small and pruned, and are not suffered to exhaust themselves in
producing a superabundance of fruit. The marron is much larger than the
common "châtain."
* RENNES (I.V.). Capital of the Department, and the ancient capital
of the duchy of Brittany. It is composed of two towns separated by the
Vilaine. On the right bank is the Upper Town. Rennes was burnt down
in 1720, and was rebuilt in the ugly style of the period, and in grey
granite. The river has been embanked and carried in a straight course
through the town. There are no fine buildings on the embankments.
The most pretentious structure on the left bank, between the station
and the river, is the lycée, with a chapel in a nondescript style.
Several bridges, all mean in character, cross the river. On the right
bank are the most important buildings. The cathedral is a hideous
structure commenced in 1787 and completed in 1844. The two side doors
and the niches at the west end belong to the earlier building and
are renaissance. Within, the arch has been studiously avoided. Eight
enormous red marble pillars on each side of the nave sustain the
heavy vault and the clerestory. Their bases are but 6 feet apart. The
interior has been richly decorated with gold and colour, but nothing
can relieve the cumbrousness and gloom of the internal appearance.
[Illustration: THE CATHEDRAL, RENNES]
One of the old gates of the town, the Porte Mordelaix, remains, but
it is not particularly picturesque, and a few old houses escaped the
fire and have not yet been pulled down. To the east of the cathedral is
the Church of S. Sauveur, even more ugly than the former. In a small
street opening from the river opposite the Hotel Moderne is the one
architectural gem possessed by the town, the Chapel of S. Yves, now
desecrated into a store-house. It is of the end of the 15th cent., and
all the details, where not broken, are of exquisite beauty. Observe
the N. door with its niches and the W. front. The Church of S. Germain
is late and poor flamboyant, much altered in late renaissance times.
The springing of the nave vaulting remains, and has been grotesquely
finished off with scrolls. There is fine old glass, but in utter
confusion, in the E. window. The large window of the S. transept
contains fine glass representing the life of the Virgin below and
saints and legendary incidents above in a series of 24 subjects.
S. Melaine is the church of a once famous abbey. Transepts and
choir-arch are early Romanesque. The nave is 2nd pointed. The base of
the tower is early 1st pointed, but has been refaced in the worst taste
in baroque times; to this has been added in modern days an octagonal
lantern and dome, and to complete the unsightliness and absurdity of
the whole composition, the cupola is surmounted by an enormous gilt
statue of the B. Virgin. Within may be noted the clumsy junction of the
older and newer work in the second arch on the south side. The tracery
in the side aisles of the nave has been cut away, but the clerestory
windows of one light are delicate and refined. The clerestory of the
choir is earlier, the E. wall and window have been reconstructed, and
the tracery in the side aisles restored or modern. In the S. transept
is a wax figure of S. Severina, whose bones from the Roman catacombs
are preserved in this church. This wax figure receives a considerable
cult. Adjoining the church is the Thabor with pleasant walks and
grounds, on the highest point of the town. The botanical gardens
adjoin. The Palais de Justice was begun as the seat of the Parliament
of Brittany in 1618 and was completed in 1654. The façade is of the
Tuscan order. The decoration of the interior was confided to four
eminent artists in the reign of Louis XIV., and it has undergone rich
decoration of late years. Rennes possesses good open places, as well
as the broad esplanades by the river banks. Its museums and library
are also well stored. The picture gallery contains a large collection
of paintings, some really good, a Jordæns, a Paul Veronese, and a De
Crayer.
RETIERS (I.V.) chl. arr. Vitré. Four miles to the S.E. is a menhir
called La Pierre de Richebourg.
LA ROCHE-DERRIEN (C.N.) chl. arr. S. Brieuc, is prettily situated
on the Jaudy, at the highest point to which the tide reaches. Of
the castle hardly anything remains. The church has a spire of late
13th cent. The S. porch, formerly adorned with statues, is bold. The
church has vast double transepts of 1435, and flamboyant windows and
extraordinary gargoyles. Inside is a barbarous elaborately carved oak
altarpiece of late renaissance and of no merit. La Roche was the scene
of the battle fought in 1347, when Charles de Blois was taken prisoner
by the English.
Near La Roche is _Langoat_, the church like a converted railway
station, but it contains the tomb of Alma Pompeia, the mother of S.
Tugdual, who died in the 6th cent., but the tomb was erected in 1470.
She is represented on it recumbent; and at the sides are subjects in
bas-relief relative to her story. These have been reproduced in bad
modern glass in the E. window. In the church may be seen a statue of S.
Tugdual habited as a pope. This is due to a curious blunder. His monks
were wont to call him Pabu, or father. A late writer of his legend
supposed that this meant that he was papa--the pope, and so fabricated
a story to explain it, how that Tugdual went to Rome and arrived when
the see was vacant, and was elected pope; how that after a very few
years he wearied of the burden, and a flying horse was sent from
heaven which conveyed him through the air back to Brittany.
_Prat._ The Château of Coatelan is a rectangular building of the
beginning of the 16th cent., and is an interesting, well-preserved
example of a maison forte of the period. Within are some good
chimney-pieces. At the top of one of the turrets is an oven for baking
bread.
_Pommerit Jaudy._ On the Coat-nevez, a conical hill, is a camp,
probably of the Northmen invaders. The château is mainly of the 16th
cent, and has granite chimney-pieces.
_Cavan._ The church (S. Cheron) is of the 15th cent, and has a spire
flanked by two stair-turrets surmounted by domes. This is of 1684.
_Berhet._ The church (S. Bridget) is modern. The Chapel of N.D.
de Confort has flamboyant windows, the tracery in those at the
side forms hearts. Within is a carved oak retable representing the
Passion, Resurrection and Assumption. In the chapel is a Sant-e-roa,
or Holy Wheel, hung with bells, and this is rung during mass, and
by pilgrims desirous of calling the B.V. Mary's attention to their
petitions. Similar wheels are at Quemperven, Locarn, Laniscat in the
Côtes-du-Nord, at S. Nicolas de Prissiac in Morbihan, and at N.D. de
Confort, near Pontcroix in Morbihan. P. last Sunday in September.
* ROCHEFORT EN TERRE (M.) chl. arr. Vannes. A picturesquely situated
little town on schist rocks above the Arz. The scenery of the valley
is pleasing and it has become, like Pont-aven, headquarters of artists.
Considerable ruins of the castle exist, and there are several old
houses in the town. Rochefort was never walled in. Nevertheless it
was furnished with gates in the 18th cent. The Church of N.D. de la
Tronchaye having been erected on a slope to the south causes the N.
side to appear buried. This side was altered in 1533. In the choir are
oak stalls of 1590 and 1592. S. Roque, on a height near the town, was
erected in 1527 in consequence of a vow made by the people who were
decimated by a plague. It was ruined at the Revolution, but has been
rebuilt, 1854. A fair is held at Rochefort on the 2nd Tuesday in every
month. Rochefort affords good quarters whence excursions may be made
to visit the prehistoric monuments scattered over the Lande de Lanvaux
and Haut Branbien. The menhirs are for the most part higher than
those of Carnac, but unhappily a great many of them are fallen. These
collections of megalithic remains have never been properly investigated
and planned, and have not been visited like those of Carnac and
Locmariaquer and Erdeven.
_Pluherlin_ on the Lande de Haut Branbien, N. of Rochefort, has many of
these strewn over the commune. A menhir 15 feet high is in the Lande
de Lanvaux beside the road to Pleucadeuc. Great havoc has been wrought
throughout this neighbourhood among the churches; the interesting
old structures have been wantonly torn down to make place for the
exhibition of the incompetence of Vannes architects.
ROSPORDEN (F.) chl. arr. Quimper. In a pretty situation by a lake
that is, however, traversed by the line from Quimper to Vannes, and
that from Rosporden to Carhaix. The church has a fine tower and
well-proportioned spire of the 13th cent. On the S. side is a porch,
one of the oldest in Finistère. The church contains a rude statue
of Our Lady, much venerated. It was turned out of the church into
the graveyard in 1870, to make way for one more artistic; but the
parishioners rose in indignation and forced the curé to replace it. A
statue of S. Barbara is erected on a fragment of the ancient Calvary
that has been destroyed. P. of S. Eloi, 2nd Sunday in July. Patronal
Feast, Aug. 15.
ROSTRENEN (C.N.) chl. arr. Guingamp, on the slope of a hill, with a
great square in the midst, about which are old houses of the 16th and
17th cents. The parish church is modern, but retains a transept of the
14th cent. and a choir and tower of the 18th. The S. porch has in it
statues of the apostles.
_Glomel._ The finest menhir in the Department is near the hamlet of
Menhir, and is 25 feet high. Another is in the Bois de Coatcourcaral,
10 feet high. The church is of the 14th cent. with a flamboyant east
window. Side windows under gables. N.D. de Trégernan has lost its
tower, pulled down in 1842. The chapel has some good glass in it and
possesses a Calvary.
_Kergrist-Moelo._ The parish church is of the 16th cent., with a square
pinnacled tower and a rich porch of 1554.
SAINT AUBIN D'AUBIGNÉ (I.V.) chl. arr. Rennes. On the line from Dol to
Rennes, a place devoid of interest.
SAINT AUBIN DE CORMIER (I.V.) chl. arr. Fougères. The church has a nave
of the 14th cent. The rest is of the 16th. This was the scene of the
battle fought in 1488, which dealt the last blow to the independence
of Brittany. The Sire d'Albret at the head of 14,000 men entered the
duchy as one of the suitors for the hand of Anne of Brittany, and he
was supported by Henry VII. of England. Maximilian, King of the Romans,
another pretender, hastened to enforce his claims as well. The King
of France sent an army into the duchy which took Châteaubriant and
Fougères and encountered that of Francis II. of Brittany at S. Aubin on
the 28th July 1488. The French cavalry broke the ranks of the Breton
infantry. Six thousand of these latter fell. The Duke of Orleans,
afterwards Louis XII. and the Prince of Orange were taken prisoners.
They were shut up in a cellar still shown under the Hôtel du Commerce.
SAINT BRICE-EN-COGLES (I.V.) chl. arr. Fougères. Here are two châteaux,
one La Roche Portal of the time of Henry IV.
* SAINT BRIEUC. Capital of the DEpartment of Côtes-du-Nord. Is a
dull town situated on the Gouet to which a long descent leads and
where is the tidal port. The estuary is between steep hills. The
city is the seat of a bishop. It contains a number of picturesque
old houses of carved wood with plaster between. The cathedral is low
and disappointing externally, but not without dignity within. The
only remains of the earlier church is the wall from the apse to the
transepts that has been pierced to form chapels. In it are half pillars
with capitals of a Romanesque character. The tower of S. Brieuc was
formerly fortified and still preserves its loopholes for bowmen, but
they have been blocked. This is of the 13th cent. The apse is of the
14th cent. with a triforium. The date is 1335-55. The lady-chapel is of
the same period. The fine rose window of the S. transept is of the 15th
cent., so is the Chapel of S. Guillaume, composed of two bays separated
by tall cylindrical pillars without capitals but with the vaulting
ribs springing out of them. The southern tower, with indications of
fortification, belongs to the same century. The rose window between the
towers is of the 16th cent. The stained glass and mural decorations
in the spandrils of the arches of the apse are bad as bad can be. The
organ case is composed of panels dated 1540. The plain leaded windows
are far more pleasing than the garish stuff with which they are being
replaced. In the church is the tomb of S. William, bishop of S. Brieuc.
He was the son of Oliver Pinchon and was born at Saint Alban near
Lamballe. He was elected bishop in 1220, and soon quarrelled with
Pierre Mauclerc, Duke of Brittany, who drove him from his see, and he
was obliged to take refuge at Poitiers. He returned to his diocese in
1230, and at once began the rebuilding of his cathedral, but died in
1234. He was an amiable, harmless man, and very considerate to the poor
and suffering.
[Illustration: S. BRIEUC]
The chapel and fountain of S. Brieuc, on the height to the N.W., are
flamboyant and picturesque. On the S. side of the altar is a descent
to the cave to which the Saint was wont to retire for prayer. Brioc
was the son of an Irish occupant of Cardigan and a Saxon wife. He was
educated by the Armorican S. Germain, a nephew of S. Patrick, who
afterwards became Apostle of the Isle of Man. On the expulsion of the
Irish from S.W. Wales Brioc left with a large number of followers and
arrived at the mouth of the Gouet, where a kinsman, by marriage, Rigual
had already settled, and he gave him the land where is now the city
of S. Brieuc, and where had been a Gallo-Roman town. He died about
the middle of the 6th cent. In the Rue Fardel is a house dated 1572.
The modern churches in the town are architectural monstrosities. The
Chapel of N.D. de l'Esperance is vastly pretentious, but wretched
architecturally. The clerestory is filled with stained glass
representing Breton Saints. Patronal Feast, S. Brieuc, 1st May. The
valley of the Gouet may be followed down to the mouth, and an ascent
made to the Tour de Cesson, which has Roman substructions, but was
built up and altered at various times.
At _Ploufragan_ is an allée couverte, buried in brambles. The church is
modern with a spindly tower and spire.
At _La Méaugon_ is a fine railway viaduct in two stages. The church has
in one window a small but admirably drawn representation of the patron
saint S. Meugaint, and a carved granite Calvary in the churchyard. Some
remains of the screen removed to the west end.
_Pledran._ A vitrified fort. The vitrification was done by fires
lighted in the depth of the wall. As the result was not satisfactory,
the face outwards was subsequently banked up.
SAINT JEAN BRÉVELAY (M.) chl. d'arr Ploermel. On the side of the road
to Vannes, near Kerdramel, are two menhirs. A kilometre west of le
Moustoir, on the Lande de Coh-Coet, a large dolmen formed of three
blocks only; the coverer is 18 feet long. It has the ruins of an allée
couverte leading to it. A kilometre south of it is a menhir 18 feet
high. The natives of this district fled to England from the Northmen in
the 9th cent., and brought back with them, when returning some relics
of S. John of Beverley, Archbishop of York, who died in 721.
_Plumelec._ Between Trégoët and Kersimon is an allée couverte. In the
coppice of Château Béauce a large dolmen called Migourdy, which on
being explored yielded fragments of a figure of Venus Anadyomene,
and a coin of Diocletian, showing that it had been utilised for some
unknown purpose in historic times. It is supposed that the place owes
its name to S. Meletius, B. of London, who died in 624, and that the
refugees to England brought back his relics. But this is not probable;
it must have been called plou after a founder of the clan, and the
title of plou would hardly have attached to relics. The church is
modern; the Chapel of S. Aubin is of 1513, and has some curious carving
on the capitals, a fox preaching to geese, etc. Above the N. transept
rises a slated spire.
_Guéhenno._ A modern church, but the porch of 1547 has been preserved.
In the graveyard is a fine Calvary of the 16th cent., the finest in
Morbihan. On it are numerous single figures as well as groups. It was
taken down and buried at the time of the Revolution, so as to preserve
it, and was restored in 1855. The Republican ruffians burnt the church.
P. on 1st Sunday in September.
SAINT MALO (I.V.) chl. d'arr. Occupies the old island of S. Aaron. It
is now united to Rocabey by an embankment, the Sillon, along which
runs a tramline. The town is walled in and a pleasant walk is on them;
the circuit of the walls may thus be made. The castle is of the 15th
cent.; it is square with flanking towers. Six gates give admission to
the town, in which the streets are very narrow and odorous, and the
houses lofty. At the highest point of the island, but smothered among
houses, is the Chapel of S. Aaron (Aelhaiarn). This Welsh hermit
occupied the island when S. Malo arrived. The cathedral is of the
14th cent. The choir is very English in character, with a square east
end. The nave is of the 12th cent. but W. front and sides have been
entirely Italianised. The fine central spire was added in 1859, and
was the gift to the town of Napoleon III. The tide at S. Malo rises to
an extraordinary height. At ebb by a causeway the islets of le Grand
and le Petit Bey can be reached. On the nearest are ruins of a castle,
and the tomb of Châteaubriant. On the further is a fort that is not
occupied. In the offing is the island of Cézambre. Here S. Brendan,
when obliged to quit Ireland, founded a monastery, in or about 524;
and when S. Malo arrived about a quarter of a century later, he was
well received by the abbot and monks on it. There are a cave and a
chapel of S. Brendan on the island. But the Government has extended the
fortifications on Cézambre and no one without a special authorisation
is now allowed to set foot on the island. In S. Malo there are a little
museum and a passable library in the Hôtel de Ville. The Breton museum
in the Cassino should be visited. It contains good specimens of local
carved oak, and chambers fitted with lit-clos, and figures in costume.
A flying bridge invented by a native, who invested all his capital in
it, connects S. Malo with S. Servan. S. Servan, Dinard, Paramé, are
watering places.
_S. Servan._ The cité marks the site of the ancient city of Aleth and
the substructions of the early cathedral have been discovered there.
The seat of the bishopric was removed from Aleth to S. Malo by S. John
of the Grate, the Bishop in 1142. The reason for the change was the
insecurity of Aleth, whereas it was possible to thoroughly fortify the
island of Aaron.
_Paramé_ is a watering place, with a low shelving shore, facing north
and miserably cold in winter, dusty in summer, and detestable at all
times, except to such as frequent the gaming tables.
SAINT MÉEN (I.V.) chl. arr. Montfort. A dull town in uninteresting
country. It was the seat of an abbot, head of an important abbey in the
Middle Ages. In 1554, S. Samson of Dol, who was engaged in working up
a revolt against Conmore the Regent of Domnonia, sent his nephew Mevan
across the great central forest to Vannes, probably to consult with
Gildas, and to ascertain whether any assistance could be obtained from
Count Weroch. On his way, Mevan lighted on a clearing in the forest,
where now stands the little town bearing his name. In this clearing
lived a British colonist, named Cadvan, who welcomed him and invited
him to establish a lann hard by and take over the religious charge of
his colony. Mevan agreed, and when Cadvan died, as he had no children,
he bequeathed the whole of his plou to Mevan as well as the lann
already granted. This was the origin of the abbey, and around the abbey
grew the town. The abbey is now turned into a petit séminaire. The
nave of the church was pulled down in 1771. The tower belongs to the
end of the 12th cent. The transept is of the 13th cent. The choir is of
the 14th cent. In the church is the tomb of S. Méen or Mevan, a granite
sarcophagus. A pretty chapel of the 12th cent. turned into a sacristy.
A Holy Well of S. Méen.
* SAINT NAZAIRE (L.I.) chl. d'arr. Is the seventh most important
port in France and is situated at the extremity of a promontory of a
gneiss rock that runs along the bank of the Loire. There is nothing of
antiquity in the place, which is wholly modern and built on a stiff and
formal plan, the houses rivalling each other in ugliness. But there is
one curious object in it, an enormous dolmen in the midst of a square,
that has been spared, and has given its name to the street leading to
it. Five lighthouses guard the entrance of the Loire. From S. Nazaire
a visit may be paid to La Grande Brière, a vast turf deposit, once an
inland lake. The peculiar costume has almost disappeared, only the
women retaining their coiffe. The population of all this district is
British, and the descendants of the very earliest immigrants. The
hair is for the most part fair, the eyes grey or blue. Formerly the
Breton tongue was spoken throughout this district, but it is now spoken
by only about 400 persons in the neighbourhood of Batz by Croisic.
Curiously enough, the villagers of Batz regard themselves as of
different blood from the rest, and to be descendants of Scandinavian
pirates who were suffered to settle there. Till quite recently it was
an unheard of event for a young man of Batz to marry a girl of what he
regarded as the Breton villages. That in colour of hair and eyes there
should be no distinction does not militate against the tradition, for
the pure blooded Celt is as fair as the Scandinavian.
SAINT NICOLAS DU PÉLEM (C.N.) chl. arr. Guingamp. A menhir in the
forest of Kerhuel, and another near Kerhuel, 9 ft. high. In the valley
of Prat-roury another, fusiform, about 11 ft. high. The old Roman
road from Aleth to Carhaix ran through this parish, and it remains in
fairly perfect condition in several places. On a height is the camp
of Dzillon near Kerimard, circular with a tump hollowed out within,
certainly a Norseman burh. The Château de Pélem is in ruins, but two
of the towers are standing. The Church of S. Nicolas has got very fine
restored stained glass of the 14th cent., representing in twenty-four
medallions scenes from the gospel story; at the bottom of the window
the donors are represented kneeling. Another window contains fragments
of medallions representing the life of the Baptist. The roodscreen was
wantonly destroyed in 1861. The Chapel of S. Eloi has a fine flamboyant
east window with remains of stained glass in it. The Chapel of Riolon
is mainly of the 15th cent., and has an east window of the renaissance
with stained glass in it representing the Eternal Father seated in the
midst of a rose, surrounded by the evangelists, the prophets, and
angels playing instruments of music. Another window has fragments of
stained glass in it representing saints.
_Canihuel._ A huge menhir called Coz-resto, 23 ft. high, has been
split by lightning. It is in a line with other menhirs at Kergornec,
Saint Gilles-Pligeaux, and Crech Ogel in the old bourg of Quintin. At
Botquelen is another menhir 13 ft. high.
The parish church was built in 1474, burnt in 1595 and repaired in
1598; it is almost wholly of the 16th cent. with a flamboyant E. window.
_Kerpert._ Church of the flamboyant period; in the E. window glass of
the 16th cent. representing the life of S. Peter; ossuary.
_Lanrivain._ Ossuary and Calvary of 1548. On the platform are several
figures; there are three crosses, the principal one sustains a group of
eleven figures carved in one block.
_Peumerit-Quintin._ Near the hamlet of Pempoul a ruined allée couverte.
The Chapel of S. Jean du Loch is mainly of the 15th cent. but retains
some portions of the earlier 12th cent. building.
_S. Connan._. Near the Mill of Kerdic a ruined allée couverte. Dolmen
in the Parc-an-Neurn.
_S. Gilles Pligeaux._ Two menhirs at Kergornec, one in the
Parc-er-Pélem, is 22 ft. high and leans. The other at four hundred
paces from it, near the bottom of the valley in Parc-ar-golven, is 13
ft. high. They seem to belong to a system of which only some remain,
as Crech Ogel in Vieux Bourg, Coz-resto in Canihuel, and one in the
Lande de Bohan in S. Mayeux. Dolmen called Roc-ar-Velcien, the table
supported by three uprights. The coverer is almost circular, about
23 ft. in diameter. The church is of the 16th cent., tower and porch
of 1644. In the cemetery a chapel dedicated to S. Laurence, with an
entombment in the crypt of terracotta of the 17th cent. Date of chapel
1538.
[Illustration: LE KREISKER, S. POL DE LÉON]
* S. POL DE LÉON (F.) chl. arr. Morlaix. An ancient cathedral town,
but the diocese has been united to that of Quimper. The cathedral has
two western towers and spires and façade of 1st pointed. The nave is
entirely 2nd pointed and has a very beautiful arcade. The cleristory
is quite simple, mostly with 1st pointed windows. The side aisles have
an arcade under the windows. The transepts are double, _i.e._ with
aisles to the east, fine 2nd pointed. The E. aisle of the S. transept
contains very bad flamboyant windows. The choir, ending in an apse,
is flamboyant 1431-50, and contains fine carved oak stalls of 1512.
The choir has double aisles, N. and S. On the N. side is the Chapel of
S. Paul, with his skull, hand, and bell in shrines. The pillars and
vaulting of the S. aisle may be noticed.
The Chapel of Kreisker possesses a tower and spire that are supposed
by Bretons to be the glory of Finistère. It is badly proportioned;
the spire and spirelets overload the summit of the tower. It may be
regarded as curious and a clever bit of architecture, but it is not
pleasing. This tower is central. The windows are all flamboyant
but affect an earlier type. The chapel has triforium and circular
cleristory windows on the S. side but none on the N. There is a noble
N. porch very richly carved. A very rich W. window. The E. window
contains bad modern glass reproducing old figures of Breton saints. The
S. side has an arcade under the windows with small lights pierced at
intervals. There is a good piscina in the S. aisle. The Church of S.
Pierre is now turned into a cemetery chapel. It is 15th cent. but has a
baroque west front. Ossuaries (small) are in the wall surrounding the
cemetery. On the way to Roscoff, just beyond the railway, is an allée
couverte or dolmen.
_Roscoff_ is a quaint place, with an old house or two, situated
near the sea, and commanding the Island of Batz. The church has a
very remarkable renaissance tower and spire (1550), more fantastic
than pleasing, with ships carved on it and cannons or culverins as
gargoyles. It is in three stages with galleries. The church is late
flamboyant. There are two ossuaries; one is very rich. In the church
are preserved the panels of an alabaster retable of the 15th cent. of
Flemish work. The Chapel of S. Ninian in the street is in ruins; it was
erected by Mary Stuart to commemorate her landing at Roscoff, 1548. The
hospital dates from 1573. A Chapel of Ste. Barbe is on a height. P. of
Santec, 2nd Sunday after Trinity. P. of Ste. Barbe, 3rd Monday in July.
P. in the parish church, August 15.
_Sibiril._ The Château of Keronzéré erected in 1458 was restored in
1602.
_Ile de Batz._ It takes a quarter of an hour to cross from Roscoff to
the island, and is only to be attempted when the sea is calm. The tide
here rises 30 ft. But a visit hardly repays the trouble. When Paulus
Aurelianus, a native of Glamorganshire, landed on the west coast of
Finistère, he heard that a kinsman, Withur, was living in these parts,
and had made himself count or chieftain. He went to visit him, and
found him on the Isle of Batz, very old, busy making a copy of the
Gospels with his own hand. Withur received him cordially, and advised
him to settle among the ruins of an old Roman town on the mainland.
Paulus did so, and hence the city of S. Pol de Léon. Legend says that
there was a dragon on the island, which S. Paul tamed by binding his
stole about its neck and then bidding it precipitate itself into
the sea. This is an allegorical way of saying that he put an end to
paganism in Batz. The Toul-ar-Sarpant, where the dragon is supposed
to have haunted, is pointed out, and the stole of S. Paul, a piece
of Byzantine work, is preserved in the church. It is a silk tissue,
with a blue ground worked over with white and yellow, to figure a
set of warriors facing each other, with a sort of turban head-dress
and holding falcons on their wrists, and with a dog between the legs
of each horse. A Romanesque chapel stood on the site of S. Paul's
monastery on the island. This is called the Peniti; the chapel is
ruinous and half-buried in sand. There is a lighthouse on the island.
SAINT RÉNAN (F.) chl. arr. Brest. Pleasantly situated in a woody basin,
through which flows the little stream of the Aberildut. The church has
a Romanesque choir, and a tower and spire, ill proportioned, of 1772.
There are some old and picturesque houses.
_Lanrivoaré._ The church has a tower in two stages and spire of the
usual type but erected in 1727. The church itself is flamboyant.
The chancel is Italian. In the N. transept is a singularly uncouth
flamboyant window. Above the arches into the choir, transept and nave,
the twelve apostles are painted. On the south side of the church is a
walled-in quadrangular space where, according to tradition, a whole
Christian population was massacred by pagans. No certain details exist,
and it is probable that the pagans were the Northmen, who committed
frightful atrocities in Brittany in the 10th cent. In the midst of
the enclosure is the graveyard of the unnamed saints, laid down with
polygonal and various shaped pieces of granite. It is enclosed by a
dwarf wall overlaid with pieces of slate. At the east end is a sort
of altar sustaining a cross and some fragments of carving. Before the
altar lie eight rolled boulders. These are popularly supposed to have
been loaves turned into bread. S. Huarvé asked a woman to give him
bread, and she refused. As a judgment for her hardheartedness all her
loaves were petrified. Actually these pebbles are "cursing stones,"
and such boulders exist in several chapels in Ireland, and are used for
calling down disease or destruction on an enemy. The person invoking
the curse, after a certain number of prayers turns the stone round
seven times. That these pebbles have been so employed is probable, as
the under surfaces of the stones are well rubbed. But happily this
pagan usage is no longer in resort, and the stones remain with only the
childish legend attached to them to explain their presence. S. Rivoaré,
the patron of the church, was a priest, brother of Rivanon the mother
of S. Huarvé or Hérvé, the blind bard saint. It is not unusual to see
pilgrims, also the parishioners of Lanrivoaré enter the enclosure,
take off their shoes and stockings, kneel, and recite prayers and then
pace on the slates thrice about the burial place, taking care to step
on each slab of slate, and omit none. In the village is a curious
stone cross with a clothed figure of Christ upon it. A short walk from
Lanrivoaré leads to the ruined Château of Kergroades, situated in
beautiful woods, with avenues of oak and chestnut. It is difficult to
find, and a guide must be taken. The château is in a charming position;
it is of renaissance architecture throughout, and the court of honour
front is in fair condition. But the gates are locked and admission is
not easily obtained. The patronal feast at Lanrivoaré is on the 3rd
Sunday in October, and P. at the Chapel of Lanvennec the 4th Sunday in
September.
SAINT SERVAN (I.V.) chl. arr. S. Malo; _see_ S. Malo.
SARZEAU (M.) chl. arr. Vannes. Sarzeau is the principal village or town
on the peninsula that bears its name, which divides the sea of Morbihan
from the ocean. That peninsula is some 20 miles long and 6 across, but
it has been much diminished in width by the sea which has eaten away
much of the coast. It is granitic on the west, and schist on the east,
and the granite is of a soft quality, allowing the sea to decompose
and break it up. Thus a parish church of S. Demetri has been engulfed.
A second was built further inland, and that is now almost entirely
surrounded by the sea and threatens shortly to disappear in the waves.
Formerly a forest covered the promontory, now it is sparsely wooded and
trees only flourish on the side toward the inland sea. But the climate
is equable, and vines are cultivated; this is the most northern point
reached by vineyards. Yet wine can only be made once in about three
years, and is not of a good quality. At Cohports is a menhir 12 ft.
high, and a circle of standing stones at Croen-Linden, and dolmens,
more or less ruined, at Noédic, Prat-Fetén, Trest, Kergilét, Brillac,
and Kerbley. An allée couverte 30 ft. long at Clos-Rodus. Gildas coming
from Glastonbury about 520 founded a monastery at Rhuys, and a cell
or peniti at Coetlann, afterwards called the Priory of S. Pabu, but
this has disappeared. In the town is the house in which Le Sage was
born, the author of "Gil Blas" (b. 1668, d. 1747). The church is a
horrible structure, begun in 1670 and ended in 1683. It was formerly
one vast hall, but a couple of ranges of columns were introduced in
1883 sustaining arcades, and qualifying somewhat the internal ugliness.
Externally, the pinnacles are composed of little pyramids resting on
balls.
The Castle of _Sucinio_ was occupied in 1218 by Duke Pierre de Dreux,
and in 1238 their son, Jean I., confined within it the baron Olivier
de Lanvaux, who had rebelled against him. This prince was fond of the
place and several of his children were born there. He took in the
forest about the priory of Coetlann or Saint-Pabu, and the greater part
of the castle that now stands was erected by him. His son John II.
continued the works, and put his treasure in its vaults. During the
War of Succession it was occupied by Charles de Blois, then taken by
Jean de Montfort, and retaken by Du Guesclin. John IV. greatly repaired
the castle, and within its walls was born Arthur of Richemond, future
Constable of France. In 1474 the Earls of Pembroke and Richemond were
imprisoned within its walls. The castle forms an irregular pentagon.
It had eight towers, but of these only six remain. The entrance to the
east is preceded by a drawbridge, and is defended by two large towers,
one of which contains the chapel. The castle, occupied in 1795 by the
Royalists, was sold as national property, and the peasant who purchased
it despoiled it of its roof and staircases, and let it fall into
complete ruin. A fee of one franc per head is charged for admission,
the money being devoted to the relief of the poor of Sarzeau.
_S. Gildas de Rhuys._ Near the ocean; here precipitous cliffs receive
the lashing of the Atlantic rollers. Near the drained marsh of Kerver
is a menhir 12 ft. high. Near the hamlet of Net four others, and the
remains of an allée couverte 70 ft. long and 12 ft. wide; at Clos-er-Bé
a dolmen called Meen-platt, and near Largneven a fallen menhir 15 ft.
long. The Abbey of S. Gildas was founded about 520. Gildas was the son
of Cau, prince of Alcluyd or Dumbarton; Cau and all his family were
driven south by the Picts and Saxons, and took refuge in N. Wales,
where Maelgwn Gwynedd gave them lands, and the sons for the most part
entered into religion. Not so Hywel, the eldest, a quarrelsome man, who
fell out with King Arthur, and lost his life in the quarrel. Arthur
was forced to surrender some lands in Radnorshire to the family as
blood-money, and then Gildas gave him the kiss of peace. Gildas was
a married man and had several sons, amongst whom the most noted was
Kenneth, hermit of Gower, but who came to Brittany with his father and
became a founder there. When aged thirty Gildas settled at Rhuys, and
here he wrote his scurrilous letter against the princes and clergy
and people of Britain, reviling in it in outrageous terms Maelgwn,
who had treated his family with kindness and generosity. Gildas was
on good terms with Weroch, Count of Vannes, and with Conmore, Regent
of Domnonia, and this latter richly endowed his houses. This did not
prevent Gildas from turning against him and heading a revolt which
caused the death of his benefactor. It was whilst Gildas was at Rhuys
that he was visited by S. Brendan. Although the Irish travellers
arrived in cold and snowy weather Gildas refused them hospitality;
but the Irishmen broke down the gates and forced themselves upon the
sour British abbot. Gildas died in 570, and, according to his desire,
his body was placed in a boat and thrust forth to sea. Two months
after the body was washed ashore at Arzon, at the extremity of the
headland, on March 11th, on which day a procession leaves S. Gildas,
annually, and visits the site where it was found. In 818 the monks of
Rhuys were forced by Louis the Pious to adopt the Rule of S. Benedict
and abandon their Celtic practices. In 919 they were forced to fly
from the Northmen. They hid some of the bones of Gildas in sand in his
tomb, but carried away most of his relics, and took refuge in Berry. In
1008, at the request of Geoffroi, Duke of Brittany, Felix, monk of S.
Benoït-sur-Loire, with six others came to Rhuys to restore the ruined
abbey. He rebuilt the church which was consecrated in 1032, and much
of this edifice remains. The church, in the form of a Latin cross, is
composed of two distinct parts, the nave, rebuilt in 1699, and the
choir and N. transept built by S. Felix 1010-32. The choir is apsidal,
with the tomb of Gildas behind the high altar. It is surrounded by
Romanesque columns with stilted arches, surmounted by small 11th
cent. windows. The N. transept also possesses an apse to the east,
and under a low arcade in the N. wall the tombs of S. Felix and S.
Gulstan. On the N. side of the choir on the outside let into the wall
is a curious carving representing two knights on horseback tilting at
each other. The Romanesque capitals rejected when the nave was rebuilt
have been in three cases utilised, by being inverted and turned into
bénitiers; another is thrown outside. A beautiful statue of Gildas by
Vallet stands over the tomb. It is that of a sweet and placable saint,
not of a rancorous and revengeful man. In the S. transept, which was
destroyed by a storm and has been rebuilt, is a huge barbaric retable.
The treasury contains a silver bust containing part of the skull,
and reliquaries for arm and thigh bones of the Saint; some of these
reliquaries are of the 15th cent. There is also a mitre of the 15th
cent. which is erroneously supposed to have been that of Abelard.
The conventual buildings are of the 18th cent. and are occupied by a
religious order which receives female paying guests during the season.
Abelard, born in 1079, became a Benedictine monk in 1117, and was
elected abbot of S. Gildas de Rhuys in 1125. But the strictness of his
rule roused the monks against him. "The life of the monks," he wrote,
"was indisciplined and frightful. The abbey gates were decorated with
the feet of stags, bears and boars. The monks were roused from their
slumbers by no other signal than the hunter's horn and the baying of
hounds. The natives were barbarous and disorderly." The community
revolted against any attempt to bring it to discipline, and Abelard
believed that his life was in danger; he accordingly fled in 1138 and
died at Cluny in 1142.
By following the road behind the church, along the convent walls, the
Chapel of S. Bieuzy is reached, and a path to the right leads to the
little Baie de Portas, where in the rock is an impression like that of
a horse's hoof. Legend says that Gildas left the Isle of Houat on a
flying horse that landed at this spot. A stair cut in the rock leads to
the Baie de Saint Gildas, where is a spring and over it a statue of the
Saint.
_Arzon_ has a modern church surmounted by a spire, and two stained
glass windows recording a vow made in 1673 by some sailors of the
place to S. Anne, during the war with Holland. The Chapel of Er Hroez
marks the spot where the body of Gildas was found. There are circles
of stones at Er-Lannig, and a good many fallen menhirs. At Graniol is
a tumulus containing an allée couverte. Another at Bilgroéz. The Butte
de Tumiac was explored and a covered avenue found in it, but was so
slovenly dealt with that the stones have collapsed.
SCAER (F.) chl. arr. Quimperlé. A dull town, with a vulgar modern
church. At S. Jean, about two miles distant, on a lande, is a fine
menhir. An abundant spring of Ste. Candide supplies the town, but it
has no architectural character. The Chapel of Coatdry is an object of
resort from all the neighbourhood on the occasion of the Pardon, 1st
Sunday after Trinity, and again the last Sunday in September, when very
interesting collections of costumes may be seen.
LE SEL (I.V.) chl. arr. Redon, is without much interest. The church is
modern. The tumulus of Chalonge is covered with trees and surrounded by
a moat.
SIZUN (F.) chl. arr. Morlaix. The church (S. Sulien) has a fine spire
of more simple character than those usually met with in Finistère. The
porch is renaissance. There are in the parish chapels of S. Cadoc and
S. Illtyd. The great Pardon is on the last Sunday in July. The P. of S.
Cado the last Sunday in September, and at Loc Ildut on Corpus Christi
Day. The Chapel of S. Cado is on the Monts d'Arrée.
_Commana._ A fine allée couverte measuring 50 ft. A dolmen and a
menhir. In the church are some gorgeously barbaric altarpieces, a mass
of carving, gilding and colour, of very late renaissance or baroque. P.
last Sunday in July. Those interested in prehistoric remains would do
well to investigate the Monts d'Arrée, over which many are scattered.
A map of the district with the monuments thereon is published in the
_Bulletin de la Soc. d'emulation des Côtes-du-Nord_, T. xxxv. (1897).
[Illustration: TRÉGUIER CATHEDRAL]
_Plouneour-Menez._ The very interesting abbey church of le Relecq lies
near a tarn, one of the sources of the river of Morlaix. The abbey
was founded on the site of the last battle fought between Judnal and
Conmore, usurper of Domnonia, 555. It takes its name from the "religou"
or bones which were found in great numbers on the battlefield. The
original settler here was S. Tanguy, disciple of Paul of Léon, but the
present church dates from 1132. The interior is a most interesting
example of 12th century work. The west front was rebuilt in the 18th
cent. On the N. side are the remains of the cloister of other monastic
buildings. P. 15th August.
TINTÉNIAC (I.V.) chl. arr. S. Malo. Reached by a tramline from Rennes.
Prettily situated. The church is modern. There are some old houses. A
menhir called La Roche du Diable.
At _Tréversien_ is the Château de la Fosse aux Loups, where the scene
is laid of Paul Féval's novel "Rollan Pied de Fer."
_Les Iffs_ and the Château of Montmuran may be visited from Tinténiac
(_see_ Becherel).
* TRÉGUIER (C.N.) chl. arr. Lannion. An old cathedral city at the
junction of the Jaudy and the Guindy. The town is on rising ground but
runs down to the water side to a little point. On the highest ground is
the cathedral, of nave and side aisles and two transepts. The church
was almost altogether constructed in the 14th cent. It was begun in
1339. It has, however, preserved an 11th cent. tower on the N. side
called de Tour de Hasting. It has the characteristic round-headed
windows and pillasters of the period. The N. transept is in this tower
and the pillars there with the Byzantine capitals and round arches
proclaim that they belong to the beginning of the 11th cent. The bases
are rudely carved, and bear the appearance of having been earlier
capitals reversed and employed as bases. But this is probably in
appearance only. What is of special interest to the visitor is the fact
that Tréguier cathedral belongs almost wholly to the Middle Pointed or
Geometrical period, which is not abundantly represented in Brittany.
The W. porch sustains a gallery, and the entrance is through a double
opening, a slender pillar supporting trefoils and sustains a quatrefoil
between them, all pierced. Above is a 2nd pointed W. window of no
particular merit: a pair of turrets with spirelets flank the western
façade. The cathedral has three towers, the northern Romanesque Tour
de Hastings, a central tower of the 14th cent. not finished, and with
a stunted cap on it, and the S. tower, above the transept of the same
date, but furnished with a naked, ridiculous spire added in the 18th
cent. The flamboyant window inserted in the transept is of the finest
quality, as are also those at the side of the transept. Happily, the
S. front of the cathedral furnishes a good object lesson in the study
of the development of tracery. Beginning at the W. end of the nave we
have two windows of the earliest description of tracery, two lights
sustaining a circle, all uncusped. The third window has two trefoil
headed lights sustaining a trefoil, but all rather clumsy in design.
Then we have the fourth window vastly in advance of the other; each
cusped light sustains a trefoil and both trefoils support a quatrefoil.
It must be mentioned, by the way, that a S. porch has been converted
into a baptistery, and the tracery in its window is modern. If we
pass on to the choir we have three windows; the first is very good,
geometric in design, but the second and third are of supreme richness
and beauty, revealing the style at its very best. Then look at the side
clerestory lights of the S. transept and its large S. window and we
see flamboyant or 3rd pointed also at its best. Then step within and
look at the second window from the west in the N. aisle of the nave,
and you see flamboyant in its decadence, when cusping was abandoned.
The S. porch is set below the flamboyant window of the S. transept
and is original, and, it must be admitted, far from pleasing. It has
a vaulted roof, the exterior being thus treated, and within sustained
by three ribs, between which is open tracery through which the eye
pierces to the vault above. The doorway into the church has statuary
about it much mutilated. The church within is fine. It is not over
lofty as are the great churches of the Isle of France and Normandy.
The pillars of the nave vary, and the moulding of the first two arches
is richer than the others. The triforium is plain till it reaches
choir and S. transept, where it is greatly enriched. The clerestory
windows are tall and good. The Romanesque pillars and stilted arches
in the N. transept should not be passed over. The choir ends in an
apse, and is seated with carved oak stalls. According to the cathedral
accounts, these were presented in 1648, but in style they appear much
older. On the gospel side of the high altar is a statue of S. Tugdual,
the founder of the see, with the appropriate inscription, "Etsi aliis
non sum apostolus, sed tamen vobis sum. Scitis quod precepta dederim
vobis per Dominum Jesum." S. Tugdual was son of Hoel and Pompeia; Hoel
was the son of Emyr the Armorican, who fled from Brittany to South
Wales in the 5th cent. Here he founded a Church, Llanhowell, near
Solva in Pembrokeshire, a very early curious structure resting on
cyclopean foundations, probably as old as the 5th cent. Tugdual and
his mother came over to Armorica, and first settled with S. Brioc, the
uncle of Tugdual, at Trebabu, not far from Brest. But Brioc returned
to Wales, where a plague was raging, to comfort the panic-stricken
inhabitants, and when he came back to Trebabu, the monks refused to
receive him, preferring the rule of a young man to one advanced in
age, whereupon Brioc departed and founded S. Brieuc. Tréguier when
Tugdual settled there was undoubtedly an ancient fortress, standing in
the fork between two rivers. He must have been a man of extraordinary
energy, for he scattered "lanns" or ecclesiastical centres throughout
Northern Brittany. But though Tugdual was the apostle to this district
and the founder of the church, he has been completely eclipsed by
S. Yves, whose monument has been reconstructed in the nave. It had
been smashed to pieces at the Revolution. The reconstruction is
eminently successful. S. Yves is, perhaps, the most popular saint in
Brittany. He was born at Kermartin, near Tréguier, in 1253, and became
ecclesiastical judge in the diocese. His, at that time, unheard of
probity in refusing bribes, and his consideration for sick and poor
gained general respect. He died on May 19th, 1303, on which day his
Pardon at Tréguier is celebrated. Every peasant who considers that he
has been wronged, who nurses a grievance, who is engaged in a lawsuit,
has recourse to S. Yves, as promptly as he who has a sick horse flees
to S. Eloi. On the N. side of the church is the Chapel du Dûc, opening
out of the aisle by three arches. An altarpiece is made up of fragments
of old carved oak. N. of the choir, entered either through a door in
the Tour de Hastings or through a gateway east of the church, is the
cloister. This was erected in 1468, and is therefore flamboyant, but
without weakness. The tower of S. Michel, 15th cent., stands outside
the town on a height. The church has been pulled down. There are some
old houses in the city, notably at the port, where is an eminently
picturesque group of two towers and two houses; one in the street is a
study in slated fronts.
The chapel of the old manor house of Kermartin now serves as parish
church to _Minihi Tréguier_. It is of the 15th cent. In the sacristy is
preserved a fragment of the breviary of S. Yves.
_Portblanc_, in the parish of Penvenan, is hoping to develop into a
watering-place. The situation is very pleasing, the sea is studded
with islands and bristles with rocks. The largest island is that of S.
Gildas, to which that Saint occasionally retired. It is rocky and has
been planted with Austrian pines. On it is a chapel of the Saint. There
is an abundant freshwater spring in the sands between the coast and the
island, only accessible at low tides. On the island is a dolmen, called
Le Lit de S. Gildas; it consists of four uprights sustaining a coverer
that measures 7 ft. by 4 ft. Near this is a rocking-stone. On another
islet the musical composer Ambrose Thomas built himself a château,
that is completely surrounded by the waves at high tide. Portblanc
was at one time far more important than it is now. It is alluded to
in _Richard II._ act ii. sc. i. On the road from _Penvenan_, opposite
to the entrance of a château, is a small menhir, 8 ft high, built
into the hedge. Another 13 ft high is near the village of Penvenan.
There is also a demi-dolmen in the parish. Penvenan church is modern
and execrable, but the little chapel at Portblanc is interesting.
Internally it possesses an arcade that appears to be Romanesque, but as
pillars and arches are thickly plastered with whitewash it is not easy
to determine their period. There is a N. transept, the wall of which
spreads outward at the base, battering considerably. The W. front and
S. front and the E. end of the chapel are flamboyant. The soil reaches
to the very eaves at the east end.
_Plougrescent_, a fallen menhir 19 ft. long, is near Maznoë. The parish
church is modern and very creditable. But the main object of interest
in the parish is the chapel of S. Gonery. The tower is early 1st
pointed, and was never completed. Above it is now a leaning wood and
lead spirelet. The chapel consists of a single nave, with chancel and
two chapels, one on each side of the chancel. The glory of the chapel
is its magnificent painted ceiling in ten lower ranges, representing
on one side the incidents of the Nativity, on the other those of the
Passion. Above these ten more compartments give the life of Our Lord
in glory. These subjects are curious; the most remarkable perhaps is
the reception of Adam and Eve into Heaven by Christ. In the body of the
church is a noble carved oak buffet, to serve as cupboard to the relics
of S. Gonery. It has on it the Twelve Apostles and the Annunciation.
The church, with the exception of the tower, is 15th cent., and
the paintings are of the same period. Unhappily through neglect of
attention to the roof, those near the tower are seriously injured
by the wet. On the N. side of the chancel is the fine renaissance
monument of Bishop Guillaume de Halgoët, 1599; on it is a recumbent
figure of the prelate. Some fragments of stained glass are in the
windows representing the Annunciation and Christ on the Cross. The S.
porch is bold and curious, a pent-house roof sustained on huge granite
corbels. Under the tower are the tomb and the "boat" of S. Gonery.
The tomb is reached by descending under a structure of the 17th cent.
Those afflicted with fever obtain earth from it which they tie up in
little packets, and return when well. Consequently several of those
little parcels of earth may be seen on the tomb. On the opposite side
is the boat, in which S. Gonery and his mother Libouban came over from
Britain. It is a curiously shaped stone trough, and probably actually
was the sarcophagus of the Saint. It nearly resembles the stone coffins
of the Merovingian period and of the 11th cent. Statues of S. Gonery
and of S. Libouban are one on each side of the altar, the latter
erroneously marked as N.D. de Bon Secours; the statue of the Virgin
is of alabaster, and of the 15th cent., and stands on an altar in the
S. chapel. The seacoast at Plougrescent is bold and fine with noble
cliffs. The day of S. Gonery is July 18, but the P. is on the 4th S. in
July.
TRINITÉ-PORHOET (M.) chl. arr. Ploermel. This place takes its name from
the county of Porhoet, which was formed after the expulsion of the
Northmen in the 10th cent. Josselin afterwards became the seat of the
Count. There was a priory here founded by the monks of S. Jacut, in or
about 1050. The old parish church was pulled down in 1806 and 1807 to
serve for the construction of the halles. La Trinité, which was the
priory church, is now that of the parish. It retains some Romanesque
pillars and arches. The choir was partly rebuilt in 1742 and 1787, when
also the tower and transepts were erected. This church is an object of
pilgrimage. The P. is on Trinity Sunday.
TAULÉ (F.) chl. arr. Morlaix. On the line to S. Pol-de-Léon. Near this
is Loquenolé (S. Winwaloe), with a most interesting church containing
some of the earliest work in Brittany, very early 11th cent., and
possibly of 10th. Observe the curious rude sculpture.
_Henvic_ has in its church paintings representing the story of S.
Maudetus (Mawes) and his sister S. Juvetta.
UZEL (C.N.) chl. arr. Loudéac, is not a place of much interest. The
church is of the 17th cent., altered in the 18th. The Chapel of Bonne
Nouvelle is of the 16th cent. Some ruins of the old château of Uzel
remain, and there is a house of 1620.
_Merléac_ has a Chapel of S. Jacques of the 14th cent. at the village
of Saint Léon. The central east window is perhaps the finest in the
Department; the tracery is all in granite, and it contains stained
glass representing eight scenes in the Life of the Virgin, and eight
scenes from that of S. Jacques. There are other windows representing
the Conception and the Assumption. The ceiling is painted (15th cent.)
with subjects from the Life of our Lord and the legend of S. James,
and a procession of angels forming a concert on seventeen instruments
of music. For a study of the shapes of musical instruments of the 15th
cent. this chapel should be visited.
_Quillio._ The church contains the woodwork transported thither from
the abbey of Bon-repos. Above the altar is a suspended Pyx.
_Grâce._ An allée couverte at the hamlet of Bois, running N. and S.
and 18 ft. long. It is composed of blocks of quartz. There are eight
supporters on each side and five coverers, but only one of these latter
is in place.
[Illustration: VANNES]
* VANNES (M.) chl. d'arr. Capital of the Department, and seat of a
bishop. The town is not remarkably picturesque. The walls remain in
places but built into, and only two gates with flanking towers have
been spared. The cathedral is very disappointing, and there are few
picturesque old houses. Vannes was the capital of the warlike Veneti,
whom Cæsar crushed in B.C. 57, when he butchered all the chiefs and
leading nobles, and sold their families into slavery. It became a
Roman town, called Duriorigum, and six Roman roads struck over the
country from it to Locmariaquer, Hennebont, Corseul, Rennes, Rieux, and
Arzal. A Roman necropolis has been found on the site of the artillery
barracks. At the beginning of the 5th cent. many towns dropped their
particular names and assumed those of the peoples to which they formed
centres, and then the place took the name which it has since borne
in Breton, Gweneth. Christianity having made some progress among
the Veneti, in 465 Perpetuus, metropolitan of Tours, assembled a
council at Vannes, and consecrated to it a bishop, Paternus. The city
remained Gallo-Roman; but throughout the 5th and 6th cents. British
emigrants arrived in such numbers, that in 590, Regalis, the bishop,
complained that he was, as it were, imprisoned within the walls of
the town by them. These colonists had their own laws, princes, and
ecclesiastical system, and would not recognise the bishop. In 496 we
hear of an Eusebius, king or governor of the town. An alliance was
entered into between the Armoricans and the Franks, and Clovis and his
successors were recognised as overlords. Whether the British chieftain
Weroch got into the city and established himself there is doubtful,
but his son Macliau did so, on his death. Macliau was in orders,
and married. On the death of the bishop he induced the clergy and
people to elect him as their bishop, and to satisfy their prejudices
dismissed his wife. No sooner, however, was he firmly seated on the
episcopal throne, than he sent for his wife and children. About eight
years later his brother Canao, secular chief of the Bretons, revolted
against the Franks, whereupon Macliau proclaimed himself Count as well
as Bishop. He was killed along with two of his sons in 577. Pepin
occupied the city in 753, and Louis the Pious visited it at the head
of an army in 818. In 843 Nominoe, governor of Brittany, shook off
the yoke of Frank allegiance. Then came the invasion of the Northmen,
and the disappearance of the Counts of Vannes, till 937, when Alan
II., Barbetorte, friend of Athelstan, was recognised as Count, and
transmitted the title to his descendants. The town walls were rebuilt
in 1270. In less than a century the War of Succession broke out and
Vannes had to stand four sieges in one year, 1342. John IV., conqueror
at Auray in 1364, repaired the walls, and extended them. The cathedral
church of S. Peter was burnt by the Northmen in the 10th cent. and
was rebuilt in the 11th at the same time as the abbey church of S.
Gildas de Rhuys. But the tower was added in the 13th cent. and the
whole of the nave and transepts, the former in 1452-76 and the latter
in 1504-27, consequently in the flamboyant style. The nave has no side
aisles, but chapels between the buttresses. In 1537 Archdeacon Jean
Danialo who had been in Rome, returned enthusiastic in favour of pagan
architecture, and to show the canons what he admired, constructed the
circular Chapel of the B. Sacrament on the north side, a beautiful
structure for its style. But at the same time the chapter was building
its cloisters, and they are full flamboyant tending to renaissance.
The apsidal Chapel of N.D. and S. Vincent was erected at the same time
also, and is thoroughly Italian. In the meantime the old Romanesque
choir showed signs of falling, and was pulled down in 1770 and the
present choir was built and finished in 1776. Then the chapter set
to work to transform the nave. All the tracery was hacked out of the
windows, and a plain barrel vault was added. The W. tower has had a
spire added to it recently, and the W. front was "restored" in feeble
style in 1868-73. Then the architect was entrusted with filling the
windows with tracery; and he, not comprehending the character of the
nave, inserted tracery of a century earlier in style. The N. transept
had a fine doorway, but it has been blocked up for a hideous baroque
retable and altar to stand against it. Thus the church, never very
fine, has lost much of its character and interest. In the N. transept
is the tomb of S. Vincent Ferrier, and above it his bust in silver.
Vincent was born at Valence in 1357, and in 1374 entered his novitiate
among the Dominicans. He was sent to Barcelona and Lerida to give
lessons in philosophy, but threw up the study and devoted himself
to preaching, and rambled through France, Spain, Italy, England,
Scotland and Ireland, as a revivalist preacher, but, of course, in
such countries as did not understand his tongue, the effect of his
sermons was lost. He spent two years in Brittany, where he cannot have
been of any use, as the peasants could not comprehend French. He died
at Vannes on the 5th April 1419, but the Pardon is on the 1st Sunday
in September. The other churches of Vannes are not worth looking at.
That of S. Paternus was built in 1727. The Museum of Archæology of the
Societé Polymathique du Morbihan contains many interesting objects from
the dolmens and tumuli of the Morbihan.
Vannes is situated at the distance of 5 kilometres from the Morbihan,
the inland sea that gives its name to the Department. Almost every day
two little steamers leave the port for the islets, but the time of
starting depends on the tide. The Gulf of the Morbihan is some 8 miles
long and about 15 miles wide. It communicates with the sea by a narrow
mouth only three-quarters of a mile across. It is nowhere deep; from
45 to 60 ft. is its depth. It is studded with low islands, of which
at the outside forty are inhabited and some fifty are cultivated. The
inhabitants live by fishing, and all the men are sailors.
This inland sheet of water is cut off from the ocean by two great
crab's claws, the peninsula of Sarzeau and that of Locmariaquer. The
scenery is by no means bold; sandy shores and low islets, and mud banks
at the fall of the tide. The archipelago is, however, very interesting
because of the numerous prehistoric remains on the islands.
The _Isle of Arz_ is about two miles long. Here was formerly a priory
dependent on S. Gildas, and it possesses a Romanesque church, unhappily
repaired and remodelled at various epochs. Near the little Cap de
Brohel and in the islet of Boëdic are megalithic monuments. At Penraz,
south-east of the village, is half of a cromlech or circle of stones 60
ft. in diameter. At Cap Brohel, ruined dolmens and fallen menhirs; at
Pen-lious three fallen dolmens and some menhirs. P. 8th September.
_Ile aux Moines_ is separated from the Ile d'Arz by a channel 60 ft.
deep at low tide. The ancient name of the island was Crialeis, in
Breton it is Ines Menah or Izenah. The prehistoric monuments in it are:
the great circle of stones at Kergonan, of which only half remains; the
fine dolmen of Penhap, some menhirs, and the ruined dolmens of Broel,
Vigie, Kerno, Roh-vras, Roh-vihan, Niol and Pon-niol. The island was
granted by Erespoe to the monks of Redon, but after the devastation
by the Northmen it was lost to the monks of Redon. The church is
modern and is dedicated to S. Michael. P. 29th September. The island
was colonised after the Northmen had swept it of its inhabitants, by
settlers from Rhuys. The costume of the women is almost the same, but
of a more antique cut and character. All the islands in this inland
sea, like the mainland have sunk at least 16 ft. since prehistoric
times. In the little islet of Er Lannig are two cromlechs, or circles
of standing stones; one is half submerged, and the other completely
under water, even at low tides.
_Gavrinis_ lies to the east of the Ile aux Moines. Although less
important than those already described, it is the most interesting
of all in the Morbihan, on account of its tumulus, 25 ft. high, that
covers a fine covered gallery, the stones of which are elaborately
carved with mysterious signs like the tattoo-marks of New Zealanders. A
gallery 40 ft. long leads to the central chamber, which is 5 ft. high
and 6 ft. 6 in. wide. The blocks are of a fine grained granite, not
of the island, but brought from a distance, with the exception of two,
that are of quartz, and these are unsculptured. Such as are carved,
were clearly so dealt with before they were erected in place, as the
working passes round the edges.
_Er-lanic_ is situated half a kilometre to the south-east of Gavrinis,
and here are the two cromlechs already mentioned, one dipping into the
sea, the other already in deep water. They are juxtaposed, forming an
8, and lie on the S. E. of the island. The first circle consists of 180
stones, but several are fallen, and it can only be seen complete when
the tide is out. One stone is 16 ft. high. The second circle can only
be seen at low tides.
_Ile longue_ contains a cairn that also covers a gallery. It has not
been fully examined.
_Saint Avée._ The church is poor and uninteresting, but in the
churchyard is a curious cross, with platform from which, according to
local tradition, capital sentences were pronounced. On one side is the
crucifix, on the other the B.V.M. On the sides S. John the Baptist and
S. Peter. In the church are two windows middle pointed. There is a lech
in the churchyard at the east end of the church. But what is of far
higher value than the parish church is the remarkable chapel in the
Bourg-bas, which is flamboyant (1475-94), except the N. transept that
is 2nd pointed. Between the nave and the choir and transepts is a tall
crucifix enriched with niches, with railing and gates at the side, a
totally unusual description of roodscreen. The crucifix is certainly
of 1500. The transepts contain four altars with their original
retables. The first on the N. side has very rude carving representing
the Crucifixion, Christ in Glory, and the B. Virgin crowned (?) with
a dove by her. The second and third are plain with graceful border
of foliage. The fourth is a splendid bit of alabaster work, probably
Flemish, and represents a virgin saint, the Crucifixion, a saint,
Christ giving benediction, S. Avée (?), a Queen-saint, S. Mary Magdalen
and a Mermaid. There are some early statues in the chapel, an admirable
S. Lucy of the 15th cent., the drapery splendidly executed. Such early
statues are very rare. Another is of S. Columbanus. Some fragments
of old glass are in the windows. In the churchyard is a very curious
carved Calvary of unique character, also a Holy Well. The E. window of
the chancel is flamboyant of a later character than the rest. In the
N. transept is one flamboyant, the tracery forming a fleur-de-lys. The
others are middle pointed. The chapel has a slate spirelet. S. of the
chapel by the roadside is a lech with a crucifix planted on top of it.
The camp of La Villeneuve is of undetermined date. To reach it the road
to Josselin must be taken and diverged from to the left to Mangolorian.
Near this hamlet is the camp on a steep hill, almost impracticable
on all sides but the west, where it is defended by two ranges of
ditches and by two walls. The camp is called either Villeneuve or
Kastel-Kerneué.
The _Vallon de Poignan_ is within an easy stroll from Vannes. The road
to Pontivy is followed as far as the Chapel of S. Guen, and then a lane
to the right leads to some curious rocks, one of which is fancifully
called a Druid altar. The road to Josselin is then entered, and a lane
to the right conducts to the picturesque, rocky valley of Poignan, at
the end of an avenue of oaks.
_Plescop._ Of little interest; it has a couple of lechs in the
churchyard, and a flamboyant chapel, without much character, to S.
Amon, possibly the father of S. Samson, who came from the neighbourhood
of Vannes, but usually supposed to have been a returned crusader who
asked at Plescop for milk, and as he was refused, cursed the place that
its cows should never yield good milk and butter. As he was found dead
in a furze-brake next morning he has received cult as a saint. Part of
his skull is in a carved oak bust in the chapel, but is not exposed to
veneration, as authenticating documents are non-extant. P. 4th Sunday
in October.
_Surzur._ Three menhirs 15 ft. high are near the hamlet of Begard, and
two ruined allées couvertes are in the coppice of Talhoet. A dolmen
and two fallen menhirs near it at the hamlet of Vinihy. The parish
church of S. Symphorian is a Romanesque building but altered later. The
arcades, the doors and windows are semi-circular. There is a central
tower at the crossing of the transepts surmounted by a slate spire. The
Chapel of N.D. de Recouvrance is of the 16th cent.
_S. Nolff._ The church is partly of the 16th cent. It has been restored
not wisely but too well. The Chapel of S. Anne, 1493, has a fine east
window with stained glass representing Our Lord and seven saints. The
other windows are filled with glaring modern glass.
_Sulniac._ The parish church dates from several periods. Four pillars
and arches are Romanesque, as well as a window near the porch; the
other windows and arcades are later. The nave was rebuilt in fancy
Romanesque in 1893.
* VITRÉ (I.V.) chl. d'arr. A very picturesque town, rivalling
Fougères in objects of interest. It stands on a hill above the Vilaine,
and notwithstanding the destruction of a portion of its ramparts, is
one of the French towns that has best retained the features of the
Middle Ages. But on the side of the railway station all is modern and
uninteresting. To see the old Vitré it is necessary to enter and pursue
the ancient and narrow streets, which form an inextricable tangle. The
houses are mostly slated in front. On the N. side the town assumes a
feudal character. Here the walls stand on the black schist rock, and
are only pierced by a single postern that gives access to a steep
descent by steps into the valley. The castle, on a triangular plan,
was founded at the close of the 11th cent. and was reconstructed in
the 14th and 15th. The entrance is flanked by two towers. The castle
is used partly as a prison and partly as a museum. The Church of
Notre Dame is of the 15th and 16th cents., and has a tower crowned
with a spire of the 18th cent. Outside the church is a stone pulpit.
There is some old glass of the renaissance period: the entry into
Jerusalem, the Adoration of the Shepherds, a representation of the
burning of the tower of the church in 1704. The church also contains a
remarkable triptych of the 16th cent., representing in 32 little groups
on enamelled copper scenes from the New Testament. On the back is an
inscription in rhyme. The church of S. Martin is modern; the old church
is in the cemetery and dates in part from the 16th century.
_Château des Roches_ was formerly the residence of Mme. de Sévigné,
who lived in it repeatedly between 1654 and 1690. It consists of two
blocks of buildings of the 16th cent., and is situated in a pretty
park. Visitors are only admitted to the grounds, to the chapel, and to
the room of Mme. de Sévigné, which contains copies of family portraits
in the private apartments and some objects believed to have belonged
to the marquise; among others a book of accounts for the garden signed
by her. The bed and chairs are of wood painted white and covered with
yellow silk damask.
_Champeaux._ The church is of the 14th and 19th cents., and has fine
glass of the renaissance (1530-5) and tombs of the same period. About a
mile and a half S.W. a menhir 12 ft. high called La Haute Pierre.
PONT L'ABBÉ (F.) chl. arr. Quimper. Here one is in the midst of the
Bigauden country. Observe the curious and ugly way of wearing the
hair and the coiffes. There are many folds of skirts fastened round
the waists. The women are remarkably plain, and have staring eyes and
expose their teeth. The church has fine 2nd pointed east and west
windows. The tower was pulled partly down by Louis XIV. to punish the
people for the Revolt of the Papier timbré. Some old houses. Fine
cloister. The château of the 13th cent. has been transformed into a
mairie. It retains a large tower, and buildings of the 17th cent.
Outside the town to the S.W. is the château of _Kernuz_, transformed by
the proprietor into a museum of flints, bronze and jade weapons, and
gold ornaments found in the cairns and dolmens of the neighbourhood.
The whole peninsula, ending in the Pointe de Penmarch (the Horse's
Head), abounds in prehistoric monuments. Two dolmens are near the road,
in the parish of Plomeur, which has an ugly modern church.
_Penmarch_ was once a thriving seaport, rivalling Nantes, but for
various causes declined, and is now reduced to a couple of hamlets.
The church (S. Non = Ninidh, an Irish Bishop) is an interesting late
flamboyant structure, the tracery in the windows affecting the forms
of fleurs-de-lys. Beneath the E. window is a treasury surmounted by a
gallery. At the junction of the chancel with the nave is a spirelet
supported by turrets, connected with it by flying buttresses. At the
S.W. a pretty little triumphal arch and gable. The church was begun in
1308. Inside the church a fireplace for heating the baptismal water.
A mile and a half off is S. Guénolé, the tower of the church alone
remaining, 1488. A little apse has been built out at the east end. It
contains some curious statues. Here is a bathing establishment, with
comfortable quarters. _Kerity_ has some old maisons fortes, and a
ruined church.
_Tronoen._ A chapel of the same date as that at Penmarch, with a fine
Calvary. Two stages of sculptured groups.
_Lambour._ A flamboyant church, with colonade of the 13th cent.
_Loctudy._ A Romanesque church, with an Italian 18th cent. façade. It
much resembles S. Gildas de Rhuys. It has been restored. _Ile Tudy_ may
be visited, but does not contain much of interest.
INDEX OF PLACES
A.
Ste. Anne d'Auray, 41
Argentré, 36
Arzano, 37
Arzon, 215
Audierne, 37
Auray, 40
B.
Baie des Trépassés, 39
Bain, 44
Batz, 81
Baud,44
Beauport, 148
Becherel, 52
Begard, 53
Belen, 172
Belle Ile. _See_ Le Palais, 149
Belle Ile en Terre, 54.
Belz, 55
Benodet, 98
Berhet, 192
Beuzec-Cap-Sizun, 40
Bieuzy, 46
Billiers, 144
Bocqueho, 77
Bodilis, 124
Bourbriac, 58
Bréhat, 58
Brennilis, 111
Brest, 59
Brignogan, 132
Broons, 63
Bubry, 51
C.
Cadout, 58
Camaret, 82
Camors, 45
Cancale, 64
Canihuel, 204
Carfeuntin, 91
Carhaix, 64
Carnac, 67
Carnoet, 65
Cast, 74
Castannec, 47
Caulnes, 72
Caurel, 147
Cavan, 192
Cézambre, 89, 129, 200
Champeaux, 236
Chartreux d'Auray, 42
Châteaubourg, 72
Château des Roches, 236
Château Giron, 73
Châteaulin, 73
Châteauneuf, 75
Châteauneuf-du-Faou 74
Châtelaudren, 76
Chèse, 77
Cleden-Cap-Sizun, 40
Cleden Poher, 65
Cleguerec, 77
Clohars-Carnoet, 186
Coadout, 104
Coetfrec, 131
Combourg, 78
Commana, 216
Concarneau, 78
Conquet (le), 62
Corlay, 80
Corseul, 85
Cournon, 101
Crach, 44
Crehen, 152
Croisic (le), 80
Crozon, 81
Cugnon, 78
D.
Daoulas, 82
Dinan, 83
Dinard, 87
Dirinon, 121
Dol, 90
Douarnenez, 91
E.
Elven, 94
Erdeven, 57
Ergué-Gaberic, 185
Erguy, 154
Er-lanic, 232
Essé, 112
Etang de Laoual, 39
Etaples, 95
Etel, 57
Etrelles, 36
F.
Faou (le), 96
Faouët (le), 96
Ferrière (la), 77
Folgoët, 133
Fôret (la), 100
Fougères, 100
Fougerêts (les), 101
Fouesnant, 98
G.
Gacilly (la), 101
Gavrinis, 231
Géhenno, 199
Glenan, 172
Glomel, 194
Goudelin, 159
Goueznach, 98
Goueznou, 61
Goulven, 134
Gourin, 104
Grand Champ, 105
Grâce, 226
Grâces, 103
Guegon, 115
Guéméné, 106
Guengat, 92
Guénin, 46
Guérande, 106
Guerche, 107
Guichen, 108
Guildo, 163
Guimaec, 128
Guimiliau, 125
Guingamp, 102
Guipavas, 62
Guipry, 152
Guiseny, 135
Guité, 72
H.
Haut Corlay, 80
Hédé, 108
Hennebont, 108
Henvic, 225
Hinglé (le), 87
l'Hôpital-Comfront, 83
Huelgoat, 109
Hunaudaye (la), 153
I.
Iffs (les), 217
Ile d'Arz, 230
" de Batz, 207
" de S. Cadou, 55
" de S. Gildas, 222
" Grande, 151
" de Groix, 172
" longue, 232
" aux Moines, 230
" Molène, 63
" d'Ouessant, 63
" de Seine, 39
Irvillac, 83
J.
Janzé, 112
Josselin, 112
Juch (le), 93
Jugon, 115
K.
Keramanach, 54
Kerfons, 131
Kerfot, 148
Kergrist, 131
" Moelo, 195
Kerinec, 174
Kerity, 148
Kerjean, 169
Kerlaz, 94
Kermaria, 167
Kermartin, 221
Kermoroch, 53
Kernitron, 126
Kernuz, 237
Kerpert, 204
Kervignac, 140
L.
Laoual, étang de, 39
Lambader, 168
Lamballe, 116
Lambezellec, 62
Lambour, 238
Lampaul-Guimiliau, 126
" -Ploudalmezeau, 163
Landebia, 152
Landeleau, 75
Landerneau, 117
Landevennec, 61
Landivisiau, 122
Landunevez, 164
Langast, 167
Langoat, 191
Langoelan, 106
Langonnet, 105
Lanleff, 167
Lanmeur, 126
Lannilis, 128
Lannion, 129
Lanriec, 79
Lanrivain, 204
Lanrivoaré, 208
Lanrodec, 159
Lantec, 95
Lanvellec, 161
Lanveoc, 82
Lanvollon, 131
Léhon, 85
Lesneven, 131
Lézardrieux, 135
Locarn, 66
Locbrévelaire, 129
Locmalo, 177
Locmaria, 182
Locmariaquer, 135
Locmelar, 124
Locminé, 137
Locoal, 56
Loctudy, 238
Locqueltas, 106
Locquenvel, 55
Locronan, 183
Loquivy, 130
" Plougras, 160
Loqunolé, 225
Loperec, 74
Lorient, 138
Louvigné-du-Désert, 140
M.
Mael-Carhaix, 66
Malestroit, 140
Martyr (la), 119
Matignon, 141
Mauron, 142
Mêaugon (la), 198
Melrand, 52
Merdignac, 143
Merléac, 225
Meslin, 117
Mi-voie, 114
Minihi Tréguier, 222
Montauban, 145
Montcontour, 145
Mont Dol, 91
Montfort, 145
Mordelles, 146
Morlaix, 146
Moustoir, 66
Mur, 147
Muzillac, 144
N.
Nevez, 171
Nizon, 171
N.D. de Comfort, 174
" de la Houssaye, 176
" de Quelven, 177
Nostang, 140
Noyal Muzillac, 144
" Pontivy, 176
P.
Paimpol, 148
Palais (le), 149
Paramé, 201
Pedernec, 53
Pencran, 118
Penmarch, 237
Penvenan, 222
Perguet, 99
Perros Guirec, 149
Peumerit Quintin, 204
Pipriac, 152
Plancoet, 152
Planguenoual, 154
Plaintel, 158
Plêboulle, 141
Pledran, 198
Pleine-Fougères, 153
Plélan-le Petit, 153
Plémet, 77
Plémy, 167
Pléneuf, 153
Plescop, 234
Plestin les Grèves, 154
Pleumeur-Bodou, 151
Plévenon, 142
Pleyben,156
Ploaré, 92
Ploemel, 71
Ploemeur, 139
Ploermel, 157
Ploeuc, 158
Plogoff, 38
Plogonnec, 183
Plomeur, 237
Plonevez-Porzay, 184
Plouagat, 159
Plouaret, 159
Ploubalay, 162
Ploubezre, 131
Ploudalmezeau, 163
Ploufragan, 198
Plougasnou, 128
Plougastel Daoulas, 121
Plougrescent, 223
Plougonvelen, 62
Plougonvin 168
Plougoumelin, 43
Plouguenast, 166
Plouguerneau, 128
Plouguin, 166
Plouha, 167
Plouharnel, 71
Plouhinec, 140
Plouhinic, 58
Plouigneau, 168
Ploumanach, 150
Plou-Miliau, 155
Plouneour-Menez, 216
Plounéour-Trez, 132
Plounevez-Moedec, 54
Plounevez-Lochrist, 166
Plourin, 165
Plouvorn, 163
Plouzélambre, 155
Plufour, 155
Pluguffan, 185
Pluherlin, 193
Plumelec, 198
Plussulien, 80
Pluvigner, 169
Pommerit Jaudy, 192
Pont-aven, 171
Pontivy, 175
Pont l'Abbé, 236
Pont Scorff, 178
Port Blanc, 222
Port Louis, 135, 179
Pouldu, 173
Pouliguen, 81
Poullan, 93, 174
Prat, 192
Primel, 36
Primelin, 37
Prissiac, 97
Q.
Quelvin, 177
Quéméneven, 74, 184
Questembert, 179
Questinic, 46
Quéven, 178
Quiberon, 179
Quillio, 226
Quimper, 180
Quimperlé, 185
Quintin, 187
R.
Redon, 107
Relecq (le), 216
Remungol, 138
Rennes, 188
Retiers, 190
Riec, 171
Roche-Derrien (la), 191
" -Maurice (la), 191
Rochefort-en-terre, 192
Roscoff, 206
Rosporden, 194
Rostrennen, 104
Rumengol, 96
S.
Saint (le), 105
Saint Aaron, 117
" Adrien, 58
Ste. Anne d'Auray, 41
" " de la Palue, 184
Saint Aubin d'Aubigné, 195
" " de Cormier, 195
Sainte Avêe, 232
" Avoie, 40
Saint Briac, 88
" Brice-en-Congles, 195
" Brieuc, 195
" Caradec, 98
" Carré, 161
" Cast, 141
" Congard, 101
" Connan, 204
" Divy, 121
" Fiacre, 97
" Géran, 176
" Gildas de Rhuys, 212
" Gilles Pligeaux, 204
" Guen, 148
" Helan, 85
" Herbot, 110
" Jacut-sur-Mer, 162
" Jean Brévelay, 198
" " du Doigt, 127
" Just, 152
" Launeuc, 143
" Leger, 79
" Lery, 143
" Lunaire, 87
" Lyphard, 107
" Malo, 199
" Méen, 201
" Michel en Grèves, 156
" Nazaire, 202
" Nic, 73
" Nicodème, 50
" Nicolas des Eaux, 46
" " de Plélin, 203
" Nolff, 235
" Pever, 159
" Pol-de-Léon, 205
" Quay, 95, 150
" Rénan, 208
" Samson, 86
" Ségal, 73
" Servais, 124
" Servan, 202
" Suliac, 75
" Thégonnec, 123
" Tugean, 37
" Venec, 184
" Vougai, 169
Sarzeau, 210
Scaer, 215
Sel (le), 216
Sevignac, 64
Sibiril, 207
Silfiac, 106
Sizun, 216
Spezet, 75
Stival, 177
Sucinio, 211
Sulmac, 235
Surzur, 234
T.
Taulé, 225
Tinténiac, 217
Tonquedec, 137
Trébeurden, 151
Trébry, 145
Trédaniel, 145
Trédez, 155
Treffrin, 66
Treflez, 135
Trégastel, 150
Trégon, 163
Trégrom, 160
Tréguier, 217
Trégunc, 79
Trémel, 155
Trépassés, Baie des, 39
Tréversien, 217
Trevon Tréguidel, 152
Trigavou, 87
Trinité-Porhoet, 224
Troguer, 39
Tronoen,238
U.
Uzel, 225
V.
Vannes, 226
Vallon de Pagnan, 234
Vieux Masché, 161
Vitré, 235
INDEX OF SUBJECTS
A.
Abbey, 61, 62, 77, 81, 103, 105, 145, 148, 153, 162, 173, 185, 216, 228
Abelard, 214-5
Alan Barbetorte, 16, 17, 238
Alan I., 15
Alignment, 24, 57-8, 67-72, 81, 87, 101, 105, 139, 140, 152
Allée couverte, 27, 44, 45, 69, 77, 80, 86, 94, 98, 104, 111, 114,
148, 152, 163, 198, 204, 210, 215, 216, 226, 231, 234
Amon (S.), 234
Angel lights bonfire, 51
Anne, Duchess, 15, 146
Aqueduct, 64
Arch, triumphal, 120, 126, 127, 168, 186
Architecture, 25
Armorica, 11
Arthur, 18
B.
Baldachin, 124, 125
Barking women, 102, 113-4
Baroque, 25
Battle of Thirty, 112, 114-5
Bed of stone, 56
Beehive huts, 59
Bell of S. Pol, 205
Bellstone, 49
Bertrand du Guesclin, 19, 63, 84
Bieuzy (S.), 47
Bigauden, 28, 237.
Boat of S. Avoie, 40-1
" S. Gonery, 224
Botany, 6-11
Brendan (S.), 129, 160-1, 200
Breton tongue, 12
Brevelaire (S.), 129
Brioc (S.), 197
British settlers, 12-13, 227
Budoc (S.), 165
C.
Cadoc (S.), 52, 112
Cæsar, 11, 80, 226
Calvary, 73, 74, 94, 99, 104, 111, 114, 118, 121, 123, 124, 125, 126,
127, 135, 144, 150, 153, 174, 178, 184, 195, 198, 199, 204,
233, 238
Camp, 24, 40, 45-6, 85, 101, 110, 135, 143, 154, 159, 168, 198, 203,
233
Carmelites, 42
Cascade, 110
Ceilings, painted, 77, 223, 225-6
Charles de Blois, 19, 103, 108, 111, 112, 191
Châteaubriant, 78
Chateaux, 36, 53, 60, 64, 73, 76, 78, 79, 83, 87, 100, 106, 110, 112,
119, 131, 140, 142, 143, 144, 145, 149, 152, 153, 159, 163,
164, 169, 171, 175, 187, 192, 209, 211, 225, 235, 236, 237
Chestnuts, 188
Chouans, 23
Clisson, Oliver de, 20, 112, 228
Cloisters, 82, 188, 237
Clothed Christ on Cross, 209
Coast scenery, 3, 128
Coffee, 31
Coiffes, 44, 51, 79, 237
Conmore, 45, 160, 213
Constance, Duchess, 18
Conversion, 14
Copper vessels, 44
Corns cured, 106
Costumes, 200, 202, 231
Cows' tails, 111
Cromlech, 24, 70, 79, 81, 128, 139, 140, 180, 215, 230, 231, 232
Crypt, 126, 130, 162, 184
Cursing stones, 208
D.
Dance of Death, 167
David (S.), 230
Day (S.), 39
Deæ Matres, 41
Dockyards, 59
Dolmen builders, 11
Dolmens, 24, 44, 57, 58, 67-8, 71, 72, 78, 79, 81, 94, 98, 101, 105,
106, 107, 109, 134, 136, 140, 145, 151, 152, 165, 171, 172,
173, 175, 180, 198, 202, 204, 205, 210, 213, 222, 230-2, 234,
237
Dolmen converted into Chapel, 162
_Drummond Castle_, wreck of, 28, 63
E.
East India Company, 138
Efflam (S.), 154
Elfleda (S.), 135
Enamel, 236
English prisoners, 106
Envel (S.), 55
Eoghain (S.), 37
F.
Feudalism, 16
Fingar (S.), 169
Fireplace for baptismal water, 66, 93, 99, 130, 238
Flamboyant style, 25
Floh, General, 132
Fontenelle, 21, 91
Fox preaching to geese, 199
G.
Gallows, 80
Garraye, Comte de la, 85-6
Geology, 4-6
Geraint (S.), 106, 149, 176
Gildas, 47-8, 55, 65, 131, 137
Gilles de Bretagne, 20, 143-4, 163
Glass, stained, 46, 49, 52, 53, 55, 66, 74, 75, 77, 85, 93, 94, 95,
97, 99, 104, 119, 120, 108, 110, 111, 114, 119, 120,
137, 141, 143, 145, 154, 157, 166, 167, 174, 176, 177,
178, 182, 183-4, 187, 189, 195, 198, 203, 204, 215,
225, 235, 236
Gobrian (S.), 119
Grallo, King, 39, 61, 96, 181
Guillaume Pinchon (S.), 196
Gunthiern (S.), 108, 172
Gurval (S.), 57
Gwenteirbron, 166, 184
H.
Halles, 40, 169
Haras, 116
Henry II., 18, 111
Hervé (S.), 209
History, 11, 24
Horse, flying, 191, 215
Horse fair, 121, 183
Hydrophobia, 38
I.
Icelanders, 148
Iconography, 29-31
Illtyd (S.), 104
Irish colonists, 13
J.
Jean de Montfort, 108
K.
Kenan (S.), 38
Key of S. Tugean, 38
L.
Lakes, 36, 110, 115, 142, 152, 157, 159
League, 21
Lechs, 24, 43, 57, 159, 169, 232, 233
Le Sage, 211
Leonore (S.), 85-6
Lighthouses, 63, 150, 202, 207
Louis Napoleon, Emp., 139
M.
Macliau, 227
Maison forte, 53, 87, 133, 25 [Transcriber's note: references are only
found on pages 167, 192, 238]
Maps, 32
Mary Stuart, 206
Melor (S.), 125
Menhir, 24, 39, 40, 71, 74, 77, 78, 79, 86, 91, 93-4, 98, 101, 104,
105, 106, 107, 111, 114, 136, 139, 140, 142, 146, 147, 151,
152, 155, 158, 160, 163, 166, 167, 168, 171, 172, 175, 187,
191, 193, 194, 198, 203, 204, 215, 217, 222, 223, 230, 231,
234, 236
Mevan (S.), 201
Milestone, Roman, 67
Miliau (S.), 125
Morbihan, Gulf of, 230-2
Music, 42, 134
Musical instruments, 226
N.
Ninnoc (S.), 159
Nobletz, 62
Nominoe, 15, 227
Northmen, 208
O.
Oligocene, 129
Oratory, 150, 155
Ossuary, 66, 105, 114, 119, 123, 125, 127, 130, 151, 155, 157, 204, 206
P.
Papier Timbré, Revolt of the, 22, 237
Pardon, 26-29
Paul (S.), 63, 207
Pine logs, 40, 53
Porch, 37, 62, 74, 93
Pulpit, 165, 167, 184, 188, 235
Pyx, suspended, 226
R.
Reformation, 20
Reliquary, 127
Retable, 54, 58, 65, 81, 155, 170, 185, 191, 192, 216, 229, 233, 236
Revolution, 22, 199
Rohan, 106, 113
Roman roads, 226
" ruins, 198
S.
Salt, 107
Sardines, 37, 79, 81
Scandinavian colony, 203
Screens, rood, 41, 54, 97, 104, 111, 117, 119, 120, 131, 133, 134,
148, 156, 166, 168, 186, 198
Sea encroaching, 135, 210, 231
Seven Saints, Chapel of, 162
Sevigné, Mme. de, 236
Sinclair, General, 138-9
Skull, 114, 234
Solomon, King, 106, 119-20
Stalls, 114, 193, 205
Statues, 223, 233, 238
Stole, 207
T.
Tanguy du Châtel, 164-5
Terra cotta, 205
Tolente, 128
Trifina (S.), 46
Triptych, 236
Tromenie, 184
Tugdual (S.), 191, 220
Tysilio (S.), 75-6
V.
Veneti, 11, 226
Venus Anadyomene, 199
" of Quinipili, 25, 45, 47-8
Vincent Ferrier (S.), 229
Vines, 210
Vitrified fort, 143, 198
W.
Water, 31
Wax figure, 190
Wells, 50
Wells, Holy, 51, 52, 62, 66, 71, 74, 80, 91, 96, 99, 105, 106, 109,
122, 125, 127, 130, 133, 134, 138, 147, 155, 161, 164,
177, 184, 202, 215
Weroch, Count, 199, 227
Wheel of Fortune, 98, 192
Winwaloe (S.), 61, 96
Y.
Yves (S.), 221-2
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Transcriber's Notes
Obvious typographical errors have been silently corrected.
Variations in the spelling of Cézambre have been standardised.
Hyphenation has been standardised. The use of diacritics with place
names has been standardised but not otherwise corrected.
Other variations in spelling, accents and punctuation remain.
On p170 hemblend is probably hornblende, but has not been altered.
The list of illustrations ends with "Map of Brittany page 238."
This map does not exist in the available edition.
Italics are represented thus _italics_ and bold thus =bold=.
*** End of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "Brittany" ***
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