RELIGIOUS FESTIVALS AND PARDONS
Brittany has been called “the Land of Calvaries and Pardons.” This does
not mean much to one who has never come under the spell of these strange
sights and survivals, but it means a great deal to those who realize to
the full the real significance of the devoutness and religious motives
which inspire the Breton folk to worship God in a manner which, in the
present age of disregard for the Christian religion of our forefathers,
seems to be playing less and less a foremost part.
“Venez donc un tour au Pays de St. Yves.
* * *
Au pays du Creizker finement dentelé.
Venez donc faire un tour au Pays de Calvaires,
Au Pays des Pardons mystiques et joyeux.”
So sang Theodore Botrèl in a charming series of verses written as an
invitation to his fellow Frenchmen to know more of the ancient province
of Brittany. Since Brittany is so very religious, the most devout of
all the provinces of the France of to-day, the following account of
the disposition of certain observances under the care of the state is
apropos.
France is said to be Catholic, because the majority of the people
profess Catholicism, which apparently answers their wants better than
any other. As a matter of fact, however, there is the coëstablishment
of four religions, all of which are recognized by the state and their
ministers paid by the state. So, virtually, there are four state
religions, if they can be so called. In truth, there is no religious
head in France; neither the chief of state, the Archbishop of Paris
(there are three other heads of religions, so manifestly one could not
be chosen), nor the minister of public worship can be called upon to
fill the office, hence there is no national religion, though the Roman
Catholic faith predominates to-day as in the past.
Since we are concerned herein with Brittany alone, and since the Breton
is accounted the most devoutly Catholic of all Frenchmen, it is enough
to define the organization of the Roman Catholic religion alone, leaving
the question of the Calvinists, the Lutherans, and the Israelites quite
apart, as they exist not at all in Brittany as a factor of the local
conditions of life.
The parish is the unit in the Catholic Church organization in France,
as the _commune_ is the unit in civil administration; the parishes are
divided into _curés_ and _succursales_.
The first class, which number forty-five hundred throughout France, have
for their pastor a priest who is immovable, nominated by the bishop with
the approval of the government. The second class have a pastor who is
nominated by the bishop, but who can be removed or replaced. The parish
priest may have one or more assistants. Above the parish priest in rank
is the bishop.
In general the bishoprics correspond with the departments, though there
are eighty-four dioceses and but sixty-seven bishops, the archbishops of
the “ecclesiastical provinces”--which often include several departments
and dioceses--making up the number.
In Brittany the Departments of Ille-et-Vilaine, Côtes du Nord,
Finistère, Morbihan, and Loire-Inférieure have a bishopric, with an
archbishopric at Rennes.
The bishops are nominated by the chief of the state, but are invested
canonically by the Pope. They are assisted by vicars-general, who
undertake the administrative functions of the diocese. The canonical
chapter of the cathedral, the diocesan seminary, and all other
seminaries are under the authority of the vicar-general.
Above the bishops are the archbishops, who administer to the wants of
their diocese in the same way as the bishops, and, in addition, preside
at all provincial councils, ordain the bishops, and in general have a
certain jurisdiction over the bishoprics of their sees.
The ecclesiastical provinces, as the great administrative districts of
the Church are known, correspond to-day, in a great part, to the ancient
provinces of the Roman epoch in Gaul, as the bishoprics themselves
correspond with the ancient cities and towns.
Higher up even than the archbishops are the cardinals, nominated by the
Pope with the concurrence of the head of the French nation. To-day there
are five cardinals in France, all being titularies of one of the Roman
churches and members of the Sacred College which elects the Pope.
Those who know Brittany will recognize as the foremost trait and
characteristic of the people their devotion to religious forms and
ceremonies.
It has been said that by nature the Bretons are conservative. This is
indeed true enough, but they are something more, they are superstitious,
not only with regard to certain phases of their religion, but also
with respect to many of their local customs, which have naught to do
with religion. It is said that belief in witchcraft still endures, and
certain it is that folk-lore and fairy-lore are, in some parts, quite as
much of the life of the people as is the case in the bogs of Ireland.
The Celtic imagination, which is the same in both instances, doubtless
accounts for this. What the Bretons really are, or have been, though
they have not often been accused of it, is pagan,--at least some of them
are. It was only in the seventeenth century that the pagan cult--as a
body of magnitude--was suppressed. This again was a survival, of course,
from the barbarous rites and practices of the druids, which indeed were
the same elsewhere, so it need not be laid up against the Bretons alone.
Probably those vast colonies of megalithic monuments at Carnac, and
their orphaned brothers and sisters scattered elsewhere throughout
Brittany, did much to keep the flames aglow on pagan altars, and
even to-day it is easy to perceive with what awe and veneration the
simple-minded Breton peasant regards these weird survivals of other
days. At any rate, Breton religion to-day is a devotion to many forms
and ceremonies.
Brittany has been called the land of pardons (_pays des pardons_). Every
one knows of these great Breton festivals and of their significance. If
one travel between May and October, scarcely a week will pass without
his falling unawares upon one or another of these great sacred fêtes.
All Bretons do not give to these rites the sacred regard with which
they were originally intended to be endowed. Decidedly they have been
profaned only too often, and at times there is a little too much
license. The Breton pardon is by no means to be thought of in the same
manner as the kermess of Flanders, which is a merrymaking pure and
simple, with not even a side-light of religion thrown upon it.
The five great pardons of Brittany are held each year as follows:
“The Pardon of the Poor,” at St. Yves; “The Pardon of the Singers,” at
Rumengol; “The Pardon of the Fire,” at St. Jean du Doigt; “The Pardon
of the Mountain,” at Troménie de St. Ronan; “The Pardon of the Sea,” at
Ste. Anne de la Palude.
It is a moot question as to just how much of romance is in the make-up
of the Breton character. Emotional the people are, but the emotion
that leads them into the enthusiasm which they exhibit at their great
religious festivals and pardons is more superstitious than romantic.
The druidism, or paganism, or whatever the religion (_sic_) of the
ancient peoples of the Armorican peninsula may have been, bears not the
least traditional resemblance to the fervour of the devotees of the
pardons of to-day, but one can readily believe that the same spirit, if
with a different motive, does exist even now.
The blessing of the boats, the birds, the cows, and what not, which
takes place periodically at different points along the Breton
coast,--for it is mostly along the coast that these observances take
place,--smacks not a little of something that is of more psychological
purport than mere religious devotion.
From whatever tradition these great religious observances have
descended, there is no question of the sincerity of the participants,
though there is a wide difference between the “sacred” and “profane”
elements which meet on these occasions.
Brittany, perhaps as much as any other of the ancient provinces of
France, has preserved its local customs and traditions, unblushingly
indifferent to the changing conditions round about them. Of course there
is no reason why religion and its observances should change with the
march of time, but they do, nevertheless, in France as much as in any
other land. Only in Brittany, apparently, do the congregations of men
and women--for elsewhere the congregations are mostly women--of great
churches approach to anything like the numbers that the churches were
built to contain.
Throughout this land of calvaries, too, there will be found at all times
of the day, and often at night, a tiny congregation of one, two, or
perhaps a half a dozen, peasant or fisher folk kneeling before one of
these wayside crosses, and invoking their God after the manner they have
been taught, in a truly devout and sincere fashion, which is more than
can be said of some parts, where the peasant, when on a visit to town on
the market-day, rushes in and out of a church with hardly time enough
devoted to the whole process even to have used the holy water.
Brittany may be a poor and impoverished province, and in many respects
it has not the abundance of the good things of life which one finds
in Touraine, Burgundy, or the Midi, but there is a general air of
prosperity in the gay accoutrements of the men and women who shine forth
on the occasions of the great pardons, showing a snug wardrobe stowed
away somewhere.
As one leaves Normandy, at Pontorson, he enters Brittany--the land of
calvaries. These fine monuments are not the calvaries which have made
the old province famous,--the great stone crosses of Finistère,--but are
for the most part unpretentious pieces of wood put together in the form
of a cross, or a like symbol, rudely hammered out of a piece of iron by
the local blacksmith.
One notes many of these simple crosses throughout Brittany; simple as
compared with the more elaborate calvaries, though they may have one,
two, or even more sculptured figures in the arms or branches of the
cross. One of the most ancient of these, dating from the fourteenth or
fifteenth century, is at Scaër in Finistère.
It is a question as to whether any of the great monumental calvaries of
Brittany can be considered really artistic. They are imposing,--some of
them even terrifying in their strange grandeur,--but all of them seem
theatrical, however sincere and devout the motive for their erection
may have been. The chief and most elaborate examples are those at
Plougastel, near Brest, and St. Thégonnec in Finistère (dating from
1610).
Besides these really great and celebrated functions are many others
of minor purport, such as the “Benediction of the Boats” and the
“Benediction of the Fields.” The latter occurs when the caterpillars and
earthworms fall upon and ravage the land. The local _curé_, with the
permission of the bishop, then blesses the fields. In the midst of the
fields the _curé_ takes up his position on some slight eminence, clad
in a white surplice, with a violet stole, and begs God to exterminate
the noxious insects, the prayers meanwhile being accompanied with the
sprinkling of holy water and burning of incense.
The Pardon of St. Jean du Doigt, on the twenty-second of June, is
perhaps the most solemn of all its species, and for that reason is
described here.
The Pardon of St. Yves, in the Tregarris, of Rumengol and Ste. Anne de
la Palude, in Finistère, are especially religious and severe, while that
of Notre Dame de la Clarté, in the Morbihan, has the double purpose of
homage to Our Lady and the facilitating of marriage.
Here the young peasants in search of a spouse promenade around the
church, and when they have made their choice they address the young lady
and ask her if she will accept the gift; the boy having meanwhile bought
a large round cake. “Will mademoiselle break the cake with me?” says he.
If she accept, they consider themselves as engaged, after which their
families meet together and discuss the conditions of the marriage.
At Creac’higuel, near Rosporden, the pardon endures for three days, and
here one sees the wonderful ’broidered waistcoats and collarettes and
beribboned hats of the young men of Pont Aven, Quimperlé, and Scaër,
unique in all Brittany.
In July, at Guingamp, is the procession to Our Lady of Good Help, with
the inevitable salute of firearms, and a torchlight procession of ten
or twelve thousand pilgrims--and some others who are merely profane
lookers-on.
The “Benediction of the Sea” at Concarneau, Douarnenez, Trébone,
and many other seacoast villages and hamlets, is another religious
manifestation which is always attractive to the curious.
At the pardon of St. Jean du Doigt the precious relic of the saint is
guarded before the high altar of the church by an abbé clad in his
surplice and holding in his hand the precious finger enveloped in fine
linen. One by one the faithful pass before the abbé and touch, for an
instant, the sainted relic.
Near the choir, another cleric holds aloft the skull of St. Mériadec,
before which the pilgrims bow their heads as they pass. Before leaving
the church, in response to the call, “_Dour ar bis! Dour ar bis!_” sung
in a strident Celtic voice, the pilgrims repair to a fountain attached
to the side wall, in which the finger has previously been bathed at the
end of a gold chain. Immediately this operation is over, the devout
plunge their palms deep into the sanctified water and vehemently rub
their eyes. Then the pardon is finished, and the profane festivity
begins.
“Whence come you?” was asked of a happy family of three at St. Jean du
Doigt. “From St. Jean-Brevelay,” they replied, mentioning a village
a hundred kilometres away, in Morbihan. “We have walked three suns
and three moons,”--which sounds like the American Indian’s method of
reckoning by moons, but which in this case meant merely that they had
been on the road three days and three nights.
[Illustration: _<u>Pardon of St. Jean du Doigt</u>_]
The little Church of St. Jean du Doigt offers complete and perfect
example of what a village church should be. The building itself is
surrounded by the churchyard, with its monumental portal, or triumphal
arch, as it is always called hereabouts, its sacred fountain, its
calvary, its ossuary, and its open-air oratory for the celebration of
the mass for the pilgrims.
The triumphal arch is a great fifteenth-century gateway surmounted by
two niches containing two ancient Gothic statues, one of St. John the
Baptist, and the other of St. Roch.
With the coming of twilight, when the mists roll in from the sea, the
silhouetted couples (lovers), following the ancient custom, promenade
arm in arm, or rather hand in hand, each holding the other by the little
finger, in deference to the finger of St. John.
When the darkness has actually fallen, the bonfires flame out on the
far-away sands, the light reflected in the waves in truly eerie fashion,
and so the great day of pardon and festival departs into the past.
Chant and song play a great part in all these religious festivals, not
only the officiating priests, but the public singing. These religious
chants seem to give rise to others less devout, of which the two
following are typical.
If one is in South Finistère on the occasion of the celebration of
the “Pardon of the Singers,” he will hear the following lines sung
tumultuously by the local swains:
“Entre Brest et Lorient
Leste, leste,
Entre Brest et Lorient
Lestement.
“Les gabiers de la misaine
Sont des filles de quinze ans.
Entre Brest et Lorient
Leste, leste.”
At the “Pardon of the Sea,” in the Paimpol country, one hears these
sombre words:
“Tais-toi! tais-toi! maîtresse exquise!
Je vois ma mort dans l’eau.”
The great extent to which the Breton people carry their respect and
devotion to religious ceremony of all sorts is no better exemplified
than in the observance of the Miz-dus (the black months, or the mourning
months) by those who have banded themselves together and formed a sort
of “cult of the dead.” In reality, however, it is merely a mourning for
the departed, by the widows or mothers of the fishermen and sailors.
In November, when the Miz-dus begin, widows in most picturesque, though
sombre, costumes are continually met with in the Morbihan, and such
seacoast towns as Ploubazlanec, Portz--even (where there is a “widows’
cross,” quite the most frequented shrine of all) Saint Cast, on the
coast of the Channel, or at Pontivy.
Anatole le Braz, in the “Legend of the Dead,” has written a complete
history of the funeral superstitions which obtain in Brittany at this
season.
The “Cult of the Dead,” as it is known, is unique among similar
observances in all France. Virtually it is a display of devotion and
respect for one’s ancestors. In the rural and seacoast parishes of
Morbihan, Finistère, and the Côtes du Nord the custom is found most
highly developed.
The little cemeteries of Brittany are better than mere formal gardens
with rectangular walks and well-clipt trees and hedges. Mostly, they
have winding little alleys, and are set out with apple-trees and
wild-flowers.
In downright bad taste, these cemeteries, in common with most others in
France, have an abundance of wire and bead memorial wreaths and crowns.
Why it is that the French, with their usually highly developed artistic
sense, affect these artificialities, is a question to which no one has
had the temerity to devise an answer.
At Ploubazlanec, a tiny village settled upon a cliff overlooking the Bay
of Paimpol, are the funeral monuments of many who have lost their lives
by drowning in a frozen sea, as you will be told.
In 1901, three ships from these parts disappeared, crew and cargo,
following the sinister local expression, in the cold waters off Iceland,
whither the little fleet had gone for the fishing. In the cemetery, in
the side of the mortuary chapel, is a section known as “the wall of
those who disappeared,” and here you may read, many times repeated, such
inscriptions as the following:
“En Mémoire de Gilles Brézellec, 17 ans, décédé à Islande.
En Mémoire de Jean-Marie Brézellec, 16 ans, décédé à
Islande.
En Mémoire de Yves Brézellec, 37 ans, décédé à Islande.
Priez Dieu pour eux!”
A whole family shattered and broken up, leaving perhaps a wife and an
old mother dependent upon charity, or such a scanty living as can be
picked up intermittently.
At Kérity, also, is an Icelanders’ cemetery, and here one may read the
names, beginning with that of the captain, of the crew of twenty, all
hailing from the home port of Kérity, who were lost in the white fiords
of Iceland in another catastrophe.
Nowhere in the known world is there anything like the wholesale risk of
life which goes on yearly from the ports of Finistère and the Côtes du
Nord, unless it be that among the American fishermen on the Grand Banks,
hailing from Gloucester, on Massachusetts Bay.
If the visitor to Brittany has not yet made the acquaintance of the
heroes of Loti’s “Iceland Fishermen,” he should do so forthwith, for it
was at Ploubazlanec that the great Yann Gaos was interred, and near him
reposed his father and little Sylvestre.
The Celtic spirit of the modern Breton has preserved the legend or
superstition of “An-Ankou,” the spirit of death. In many villages one
may interrogate a peasant or a fisherman, who will affirm that it is
“Ankou” who leads the way for the funeral-car and who waits at the grave
to carry the soul of the departed away with him after the others have
left.
Among the superstitious signs which presage the coming of the “Ankou”
are, a ball of fire, which rests upon the tiles of the roof over the
stricken one,--a most unlikely thing, one would think,--the theft of
grain by crows, the tapping of a window-pane by the beak of a sea-bird,
the prolonged bellowing of cattle by the light of the moon, a candle
which will not light, or for a peasant to split or cleave two pairs of
wooden shoes in one week.
THE END.
APPENDICES
I.
THE PROVINCES OF FRANCE
Up to 1789, there were thirty-three great governments making up modern
France, the twelve governments created by Francis I. being the chief,
and seven _petits gouvernements_ as well.
[Illustration: <u>_The Provinces of France_</u>]
In the following table the _grands gouvernements_ of the first
foundation are indicated in heavy-faced type, those which were taken
from the first in italics, and those which were acquired by conquest in
ordinary characters.
NAMES OF GOVERNMENTS CAPITALS
1. Ile-de-France Paris.
2. Picardie Amiens.
3. Normandie Rouen.
4. Bretagne Rennes.
5. Champagne et Brie Troyes.
6. Orléanais Orléans.
7. _Maine et Perche_ Le Mans.
8. _Anjou_ Augers.
9. _Touraine_ Tours.
10. _Nivernais_ Nevers.
11. _Berri_ Bourges.
12. _Poitou_ Poitiers.
13. _Aunis_ La Rochelle.
14. Bourgogne (duché de) Dijon.
15. Lyonnais, Forez et Beaujolais Lyon.
16. _Auvergne_ Clermont.
17. _Bourbonnais_ Moulins.
18. _Marche_ Guéret.
19. Guyenne et Gascogne Bordeaux.
20. _Saintonge et Angoumois_[A] Saintes.
21. _Limousin_ Limoges.
22. _Béarn et Basse Navarre_ Pau.
23. Languedoc Toulouse.
24. _Comté de Foix_ Foix.
25. Provence Aix.
26. Dauphiné Grenoble.
27. _Flandre et Hainaut_ Lille.
28. Artois Arras.
29. Lorraine et Barrois Nancy.
30. Alsace Strasbourg.
31. Franche-Comté ou Comté de Bourgogne Besançon.
32. Roussilon Perpignan.
33. Corse Bastia.
[A] Under Francis I. the Angoumois was comprised in the Orléanais.
The seven _petits gouvernements_ were:
1. The ville, prévôté and vicomté of Paris.
2. Havre de Grâce.
3. Boulonnais.
4. Principality of Sedan.
5. Metz and Verdun, the pays Messin and Verdunois.
6. Toul and Toulois.
7. Saumur and Saumurois.
II.
THE ANCIENT PROVINCES OF FRANCE
[Illustration: map of France divided into provinces]
III.
THE PRINCIPAL PAYS AND PAGI OF BRITTANY
Pays d’Alet Ille et Vilaine
Pays de Briere Loire Infr.
Cornouailles Finistère.
Le Desert Ille et Vilaine.
Dinannois Côtes du Nord.
Pays de Dol Côtes du Nord.
Pays de Grève Côtes du Nord.
Léonais Finistère.
Nantais Loire Infr.
Rennois Ille et Vilaine.
Pays de Vannes Morbihan.
IV.
COUNTS AND DUKES OF BRITTANY
Nominoë 824
Erispoë 851
Salomon 857
Pasqueten and Gurvaud 874
Alain I. 877
Gurmailhon 907
Juhael Béranger 930
Alain II. (Barbe Torte) 937
Drogon 952
Hoël I. 953
Guerech 980
Conan I. 987
Geoffroy I. 992
Alain III. 1008
Conan II. 1040
Hoël II. 1066
Alain Fergent 1084
Conan III. 1112
Eudes and Hoël III. 1148
Geoffroy II. 1156
Constance and Arthur 1171
Pierre Mauclerc and
Alix 1186
Jean I. 1213
Jean II. 1237
Arthur II. 1286
Jean III. 1305
Charles de Blois 1312
Jean IV. de Montfort 1341
Jean V. 1365
François I. 1399
Pierre II. 1450
Arthur III. 1457
François II. 1458
Duchess Anne, who
married Charles
VIII. and afterward
Louis XI. of France, 1488-1513
V.
THE METRIC SYSTEM
METRICAL AND ENGLISH WEIGHTS AND MEASURES
Mètre = 39.3708 in. = 3.231. 3 ft. 3 1-2 in. = 1.0936 yard.
Square Mètre (mètre carré) = 1 1-5th square yards (1.196).
Are (or 100 sq. mètres) = 119.6 square yards.
Cubic Mètre (or Stere) = 35 1-2 cubic feet.
Centimètre = 2-5ths inch.
Kilomètre = 1,093 yards = 5-8 mile.
10 Kilomètres = 6 1-4 miles.
100 Kilomètres = 62 1-10th miles.
Square Kilomètre = 2-5ths square mile.
Hectare = 2 1-2 acres (2.471).
100 Hectares = 247.1 acres.
Gramme = 15 1-2 grains (15.432).
10 Grammes = 1-3d oz. Avoirdupois.
15 Grammes = 1-2 oz. Avoirdupois.
Kilogramme =2 1-5th lbs. (2.204) Avoirdupois.
10 Kilogrammes = 22 lbs. Avoirdupois.
Metrical Quintal = 220 1-2 lbs. Avoirdupois.
Tonneau = 2,200 lbs. Avoirdupois.
Litre = 0.22 gal. = 1 3-4 pint.
Hectolitre = 22 gallons.
[Illustration: <u>_Comparative Metric Scale_</u>]
ENGLISH AND METRICAL WEIGHTS AND MEASURES
Inch = 2.539 centimètres = 25.39 millimètres.
2 inches = 5 centimètres nearly.
Foot = 30.47 centimètres.
Yard = 0.9141 mètre.
12 yards = 11 mètres nearly.
Mile =1.609 kilomètre.
Square foot = 0.093 mètre carré.
Square yard = 0.836 mètre carré.
Acre = 0.4046 hectare = 4,003 sq. mètres nearly.
2 1-2 acres = 1 hectare nearly.
Pint = 0.5679 litre.
1 3-4 pint = 1 litre nearly.
Gallon = 4.5434 litres = 4 nearly.
Bushel = 36.347 litres.
Oz. Troy = 31.103 grammes.
Pound Troy (5,760 grains) = 373.121 grammes.
Oz. Avoirdupois = 8.349 grammes.
Pound Avoirdupois (7,000 grains) = 453.592 grammes.
2 lbs. 3 oz. = kilogramme nearly.
100 lbs. = 45.359 kilogrammes.
Cwt. = 50.802 kilogrammes.
Ton = 1,018.048 kilogrammes.
VI.
Sketch Map of Circular Tour in Brittany. Fares from Rennes, 65 francs,
1st class; 50 francs, 2d class.
[Illustration: Map of Brittany showing routes]
Itinerary: Rennes, Saint-Malo-Saint-Servan, Dinard, Saint-Brieuc,
Guingamp, Lannion, Morlaix, Roscoff, Brest, Quimper, Douarnenez,
Pont-l’Abbé, Concarneau, Lorient, Auray, Quiberon, Vannes, Savenay, Le
Croisic, Guérande, Saint-Nazaire, Pont-Château, Redon, Rennes.
VII.
[Illustration: <u>_Architectural Names of the Various Parts of a Feudal
Château_</u>]
VIII.
[Illustration: <u>_Tide and Weather Signals in the Ports of
Brittany_</u>]
By day the signals showing the depth of water--in mètres--at the harbour
entrance are shown by balls or small balloons; at night these are
replaced by lanterns. (See top diagram.) The flag signals of the other
diagrams explain themselves.
IX.
THE PRINCIPAL PARDONS OF BRITTANY
DEPARTMENT OF FINISTÈRE
PLOUGASTEL-DAOULAS.--Easter Monday, the Monday of Pentecôte,
29th June, and 15th August.
PONT L’ABBÉ.--25th March, Monday of Pentecôte, 3d Sunday of
July, 4th Sunday of September.
CONCARNEAU.--(Ste. Guénolé) First Sunday in May, (Sainte Croix)
14th September, (Pardon du Rosaire) First Sunday in October.
BANNALEC.--Ascension Day.
QUIMPERLÉ.--Trinity Sunday, second Sunday of May, last Sunday
of July, third Sunday in September.
QUIMPERLÉ.--Easter Monday.
RUMENGAL.--Trinity Sunday.
LOCTUDY.--Sunday following 11th May, and 2d Sunday of August.
PONT AVEN.--Second Sunday of May and third Sunday of September.
SAINT JEAN DU DOIGT.--23d and 24th June.
ROSCOFF.--Mid-June and 15th August.
CAMARET (Fête de la Pêche et Bénédiction de la Mer).--Third
Sunday in June.
LOCRONAN (Petite Troménie every year; Grande Troménie every six
years).--Second Sunday of July.
ROSPORDEN.--Second Sunday in July.
LE FOLGOËT.--15th August, and 7th and 8th September.
QUIMPER.--15th, 16th, and 17th August.
HUELGOAT.--Three days--first Sunday of August.
STE. ANNE DE LA PALUDE.--Saturday evening and last Sunday of
August.
SCAËR.--Last Sunday of August.
AUDIERNE.--Last Sunday of August.
PENMARC’H (Pardon du Rosaire).--First Sunday of October.
DEPARTMENT OF THE MORBIHAN
ST. GILDAS DE RHUIS.--29th of January.
AURAY.--(Ouverture du Pardon de St. Anne) 7th March, (Principal
Pardon) 25th and 26th of July.
LOCMINÉ.--Three days from the Sunday nearest 27th June.
STE. BARBE EN FAOUËT.--Last Sunday of June.
ST. FIACRE PRÈS LE FAOUËT.--Fourth Sunday in July.
LOCMARIAQUER.--Second Sunday in September.
PONTIVY.--Second Sunday in September.
CARNAC.--Third Sunday in September, (Pardon of St. Cornely) the
Sunday nearest the 14th September.
PONT SCORFF.--Third Sunday in September.
LE FAOUËT.--First Sunday in October.
X.
A BRIEF LIST OF SOME OF THE MORE IMPORTANT PREFIXES OF PLACE-NAMES IN
BRITTANY, WITH THEIR DEFINITIONS
_Bod, Bot._--A place surrounded by a wood. Bodilis, Botsorhel.
_Bras, Bré._--High, elevated. Braspart, Brelevené.
_Conc._--A harbour or bay. Concarneau, le Conquet.
_Car._--A manor or château. Carhaix.
_Coat._--A wood or forest. Coatascorn, Coatreven.
_Crug._--Amid the rocks. Cruguel.
_Faou._--A place planted with oaks. Le Faouët.
_Guic._--Bourg. Guichen (old bourg).
_Hen._--Old. Henvie, Henpont.
_Ker or Kaer._--Manor, château. Kerlouan, Kervignac.
_Lan._--Church or consecrated spot. Lannion, Lanildut.
_Les, Lis._--Court or jurisdiction. Lesneven, Lezardrieux.
_Loc._--Oratoire or hermitage. Locmaria.
_Méné._--Mountain. Méné Bré.
_Mor._--The sea. Morbihan (_la petite mer_).
_Pen._--Promontory summit or extremity. Penmarc’h, Paimbœuf (_par
corruption_).
_Plé, Pleu, Plo, Plou, Plu._--Parish. Pléhédel, Pleudihen, Plouha.
_Poul._--Hole or basin. Pouldergat.
_Ros._--Hill or slope. Roscoff, Rosporden.
_Tref, Tré._--Part of a parish. Trégastel, Trémelior.
XI.
THE BRETON TONGUE IN BRITTANY TO-DAY[B]
---------------+---------------+---------------
| INDIVIDUALS | INDIVIDUALS
DÉPARTEMENT | UNDERSTANDING | UNDERSTANDING
| ONLY BRETON | BRETON AND
| | FRENCH
---------------+---------------+---------------
Côtes du Nord | 145,000 | 150,000
Finistère | 352,000 | 302,000
Morbihan | 182,700 | 190,000
---------------+---------------+---------------
[B] This table takes no cognizance of those speaking French only
and not Breton, whilst the three departments given are those
only in which the knowledge of the Breton tongue is in excess
of that in other parts.
It is a regrettable fact that the Morbihan has the greatest number
of illiterates of any of the departments of France. Among a hundred
conscripts for the army, often thirty or forty are classed as
illiterate, while in Finistère and the Côtes du Nord, the number falls
to thirty or less, and in Ille et Vilaine to less than twenty.
INDEX OF PLACES
Alre, 158.
Ancenis (and château), 99-101.
Angers (and castle), 24, 30, 108, 119, 146, 243, 311, 316.
Audierne, 89, 212, 213-214, 370.
Auray, 32, 157, 158, 159-167, 172, 175, 178, 192, 309, 370.
Bannelec, 194-195, 369.
Batz, Isle of, 121, 240-242.
Baud, 157, 158.
Baule, 127.
Becherel, 306.
Beg-Meil, 201.
Belle Ile en Mer, 27, 34, 36, 171, 173-175.
Benzec Capcaval, 211.
Béré, Fair of, 129-130.
Binic, 267-268, 270.
Black Mountains, 218.
Bourg de Batz, 111, 121, 127.
Bréhat, 43, 259-260.
Brest, 26, 32, 39, 41, 43, 44, 47, 51, 54, 56, 72, 87, 150, 212, 220,
221-224, 225, 227, 228, 229, 230, 236, 309, 310, 340, 350.
Camaret, 89, 219-220, 369.
Cancale, 298-300.
Cape de la Chèvre, 214, 217.
Cap Fréhel, 290.
Carhaix, 54, 310, 337-339.
Carnac, 159, 163, 167, 168-171, 345, 370.
Cesson, Tower of, 266.
Cezon, 44.
Champ Dolent, 303.
Champtoceaux (and château), 104-105.
Châteaubriant (and château), 128-132.
Chateaulin, 27, 217-218, 219.
Chatelaudren, 263.
Clisson (and château), 42, 111, 114-115.
Combourg (and château), 305-308.
Concarneau, 43, 89, 197-201, 202, 205, 212, 215, 216, 219, 224, 351, 369.
Corseul, 146.
Creac’higuel, 351.
Croisic, 42, 111, 121, 127.
Crozon, 217, 219.
Daoulas, 229, 369.
Dinan (and château), 24, 54, 249, 271, 291-297.
Dinard, 39, 249, 271, 273, 288-289, 290.
Dol, 19, 39, 43, 54, 249, 303-305.
Douarnenez (and bay), 32, 38, 43, 51, 89, 187, 212, 214-216, 217, 219,
351.
Elven, 138.
Ernée (and château), 312.
Etables, 267.
Falaise, 130.
Faou, 220, 221.
Faouët (Finistère), 192-194.
Folgoët, 224, 237-238, 369.
Fontaine-Daniel, Abbey of, 312.
Fougères (and forest), 54, 262, 309, 310, 312, 313-315, 316, 321, 340.
Fouquet, Château, 27, 174.
Grand Brière, 125.
Guérande, 121, 125-127.
Guibray, Fair of, 130.
Guingamp (and castle), 54, 86, 87, 250, 260-262, 351.
Hédé, 306.
Hennebont, 146, 179, 182-185.
Huelgoat, 310, 339-340, 370.
Javron, 313.
Joie, Abbaye de la, 185.
Josselin (and château), 150, 152-157, 309, 337.
Kerérault, 229.
Kérity, 357.
Kerlean, Manoir of, 138.
Kerlescan, 169.
Kerlouan, 224.
Kermario, 169.
Kermartin, Manor of, 255.
Lacroix, 44.
La Houle, 299.
“La Joyeuse Garde,” Château of, 227.
Lamballe, 268-269.
Landeau, 315-316.
Landerneau, 221, 224-227, 310, 340.
Landivisiau, 221, 227-228.
Lannion, 24, 74, 89, 250-252.
Largoet, Fortress of, 138.
La Roche-Bernard, 128.
La Trinité, 177-178.
Laval (and château), 54, 56, 310, 316-318, 322.
Le Conquet, 230-231, 236.
Lehon, 297-298.
Le Légué, 266.
Le Mans, 54, 310.
Locmariaquer, 146, 159, 167, 175-176, 370.
Locminé, 157-158, 370.
Lorient, 43, 44, 54, 89, 144, 175, 179-181, 182.
Loudéac, 310, 334-335.
Mayenne (and château), 54, 309, 310, 311-312, 316, 322.
Ménac, 169.
Minden, Fort, 44.
Miniac, 306.
Molène, Ile, 232-233.
Montauban, 334.
Mont Dol, 303.
Montfort-sur-Meu, 310, 333-334.
Mont St. Michel (and bay), 34, 39, 43, 46, 54, 60, 249, 298, 300-302,
303.
Morlaix, 43, 54, 63, 94, 238, 244-247, 249, 340.
Motte-Broons, 293.
Nantes (and castle), 4, 7, 19, 22, 24, 26, 30, 36, 38, 39, 54, 56, 57,
67, 102, 104, 105-110, 111, 112, 115, 116-121, 124, 127, 146, 174, 211,
221, 243.
Notre Dame de la Clarté, 350-351.
Oudon, 104.
Ouessant, Ile, 43, 44, 232, 233-236.
Our Lady of Langonnet, Abbey of, 194.
Paimbœuf, 42, 111, 112.
Paimpol, 257-259.
Palais, 44, 173, 175.
Paramé, 39, 271, 272, 274-276.
Penmarc’h, 31, 208, 210-211, 370.
Penthièvre, 7, 44, 171.
Pilier, 44.
Ploërmel, 54, 150-152.
Ploubazlanec, 355, 356, 357.
Ploudalmézeau, 236-237.
Plougasnou, 25, 64.
Plougastel, 221, 228-230, 350, 369.
Plouharnel, 167, 171.
Pointe de Kerpenhir, 145.
Point of Primel, 247.
Point of Raz, 212, 213, 214.
Point Sizun, 212.
Point St. Mathieu, 212.
Pont Aven, 82, 187, 201, 202-205, 351, 369.
Pont Croix, 214.
Pontivy (and castle), 54, 334-337, 355, 370.
Pont l’Abbé, 27, 82, 187, 208-210, 369.
Pont Scorff, 179, 185-186, 370.
Pornic (and château), 42, 111, 112-114.
Port Haliguen, 172.
Port Louis, 44, 181-182.
Port Maria, 172.
Port Navalo, 43, 145.
Portz, 355.
Pouldu, 190.
Poulgoazec, 214.
Pré-en-Pail, 309.
Primelin, 214.
Questembert, 136.
Quiberon, 44, 163, 167, 170, 171-173, 175.
Quimper, 19, 27, 32, 38, 41, 53, 54, 60, 72, 75, 82, 93, 128, 205-208,
212, 224, 370.
Quimperlé, 187-190, 191, 309, 351, 369.
Redon, 24, 128, 132-136.
Rennes, 19, 22, 24, 25, 41, 54, 57, 75, 118, 128, 146, 150, 310, 316,
329-333, 343.
Rimains, Fort des, 44.
Rochefort-en-Terre (and château), 27, 136-138.
Rochers, Château of, 324-328.
Roc’hquérezen, 229.
Roc’hquillion, 229.
Roc’huivlen, 229.
Roscanvel, 217.
Roscoff, 43, 75, 238-240, 369.
Rosporden, 31, 194, 195-196, 201, 351, 369.
Rostrenen, 337.
Rothéneuf, 286-287.
Rumengal, 346, 350, 369.
Sauzon, 175.
Savenay, 41, 124-125, 128, 130.
Scaër, 349, 351, 370.
Seven Isles, 256-257.
St. Briac, 27, 290-291.
St. Brieuc, 19, 29, 60, 262, 263-266, 268, 270.
St. Cast, 26, 67, 290, 355.
Ste. Anne de la Palude, 346, 350, 370.
Ste. Marguerite, 127.
St. Énogat, 273, 288, 289-290.
St. Fiacre, 26, 191-192, 370.
St. Gildas de Rhuis, 27, 148, 370.
St. Guénolé, 211.
St. Jacut, 27, 272-273, 290.
St. Jean-Brevelay, 352.
St. Jean du Doigt, 247-248, 346, 350, 352-353, 369.
St. Lunaire, 27, 290.
St. Malo (and bay), 9, 19, 27, 39, 43, 44, 54, 56, 57, 61, 63, 67, 94,
249, 271-274, 276-283, 285, 288, 291, 300.
St. Maurice, Abbey of, 190-191.
St. Méen, 334.
St. Nazaire, 39, 109-111, 112, 121, 122-124, 128, 144.
St. Nicolas, 205.
St. Pol de Léon, 19, 27, 60, 206, 238, 242-244.
St. Rénan, 236.
St. Servan, 27, 271, 272, 276, 283-285.
St. Thégonnec, 350.
St. Yves, 346, 350.
Suscino, Château of, 148-150.
Taureau, Château du, 44.
Tentêniac, 306.
Tombelaine, Isle of, 34, 302-303.
Trébone, 351.
Tréguier, 19, 24, 60, 94, 206, 250, 252-256.
Trélaze, 29.
Tristan, Ile, 215-216.
Troménie de St. Ronan, 346.
Val André, 263, 269-270.
Vannes, 19, 24, 43, 54, 60, 75, 128, 134, 136, 138, 139, 140-148, 150,
175, 187, 221.
Ville Martin, 44.
Vitré (and château), 24, 54, 262, 310, 318-324.
* * * * *
Typographical errors corrected by the etext transcriber:
Le trente-un du mois d’aôut=> Le trente-un du mois d’août {pg 68}
is by no mean inexplicable=> is by no means inexplicable {pg 3}
must known these principal provinces by name=> must know these principal
provinces by name {pg 7}
general eerie espect=> general eerie aspect {pg 138}
busy litle Breton port=> busy little Breton port {pg 214}
religious architecure.=> religious architecture. {pg 226}
in the sixth entury=> in the sixth century {pg 304}