(_To the Editor._)
In no. 477 of the _Mirror_ you have given a spirited engraving
of Mount St. Michael, with a succinct account annexed, to which the
following particulars may serve as addenda:--
Its most ancient name was Belinus, when it was inhabited by Druidesses.
After the abolition of the Druids, it took the name of Mons Jovis; to
which was substituted that of Tumba, when a monastery was erected upon
it. In 708, Bishop Auber raised upon it a church, which he dedicated
to St. Michael.--Ethelred, the second, of England, had a particular
veneration for Mount St. Michael. Abbot Roger had been almoner to
William the Conqueror. Henry II. of England made a pilgrimage to Mount
St. Michael, when he met Louis VII. King of France, with a splendid
suite.
In 1203 the fortifications consisted only of wooden palisades. Being
attacked by the Bretons, they set fire to them: the fire reached the
church and abbey, which was completely destroyed. The monastery was
restored in 1226, by Abbot Adulph de Villedieu. His successor, Richard
Justin, obtained from the Pope the most distinguished privileges.
In 1418 the English made a fruitless attack upon it.
In 1423 it was attempted again, with a very considerable force and
powerful artillery, two pieces of which now stand at the main gate:
one has a stone ball in it of about fifteen inches diameter. Among
the distinguished English officers who perished at the siege, was a
Chevalier M. Burdet.
In 1577 a Protestant chief (Dutouchet) succeeded by stratagem in getting
possession of it. After two day's possession, he was obliged to evacuate
it.
In 1591 a similar attempt proved most destructive to the assailants.
In 1594, the spire, the bells, and the church, were considerably injured
by lightning.
Mount St. Michael was visited in 1518 by Francis I. of France; in 1561,
by Charles IX.; in 1576, by the Duchess de Bourbon; in 1624, by the Duke
de Nevers, who made a rich present to the abbey; in 1689, by Madame de
Levigné, who designated it Le Mont fier et orgueilleux. In 1689, Philip
Duke of Orleans, brother to Louis XIV., was one of its visiters.
The most remarkable circumstance is the visit paid to it on the 10th of
May, 1777, by the Ex-King of France, the Count d'Artois (twenty years
old). On inspecting the state-prison, a wooden cage was shown to him.
The prince, struck with horror at the sight of it, ordered it to be
destroyed. Shortly after, the young princes of Orleans, among whom the
present King Philip, accompanied by Madame de Lillery, stopped at Mount
St. Michael. After having inspected the subterraneous passages and
magazines, the wooden cage was shown to them. They asked for workmen and
axes, and giving the first blow themselves, this infernal machine was
completely destroyed.
The prior of the abbey was formerly governor of the town and castle, and
the keys were brought to him every evening. It gives name to the late
military order of St. Michael, founded by Louis XI, in 1479. The view
from the summit is fine, embracing the coasts of Normandy and Britanny,
with the town and ruins of the cathedral of Avranches, elevated on a
mountain, and the intervening valley, with the open sea of the British
Channel.