Prehistoric Monuments; and their Superstitions.
“Of brownyis and of bogillus full is this buke.”
--_Gawin Douglas._
“D’un passé sans mémoire, incertaines reliques
Mystères d’un vieux monde en mystères écrits.”
--_Lamartine._
“Among those rocks and stones, methinks I see
More than the heedless impress that belongs
To lonely Nature’s casual work! They bear
A semblance strange of Power intelligent,
And of design not wholly worn away.”
--_Wordsworth_, _The Excursion_.
The island of Guernsey still contains many of those rude and ponderous
erections commonly known by the name of Cromlechs, or Druids altars.
The upright pillar of stone or rude obelisk, known to antiquaries by
the Celtic name of Menhir also exists among us. Many of these ancient
monuments have no doubt disappeared with the clearing of the land and
the enormous amount of quarrying, and many have doubtless been broken
up into building materials, or converted into fences and gateposts.
But the names of estates and fields still point out where they once
existed. Thus we find more than one spot with the appelation of
“Pouquelaye.”[50] “Longue Rocque,” or “Longue Pierre,” and the names
of “Les Camps Dolents,” “Les Rocquettes,” and “Les Tuzés” indicate the
sites of monuments which have long since disappeared.
The researches carried on with so much care and intelligence by Mr.
Lukis have clearly proved that the Cromlechs were sepulchral; perhaps
the burial places of whole tribes, or at least of the families of the
chieftains. This does not preclude the popular notion of their having
been altars, for it is well known that many pagan nations were in the
habit of offering sacrifices on the tombs of their dead.
The following is a list of the principal Druidical structures, etc.,
which we can identify, with an account of the traditional beliefs
attached to them of their origin, etc.:--
The large Cromlech at L’Ancresse called “L’Autel des Vardes.”
The smaller Cromlech in the centre of L’Ancresse, with a portion of
another similar structure to the east of it.
A small portion of a Cromlech at La Mare ès Mauves, on the eastern base
of the Vardes, almost in front of the target belonging to the Royal
Guernsey Militia.
[Illustration: “L’Autel des Vardes” at L’Ancresse.]
“La Roque Balan.”
“La Roque qui Sonne” (destroyed).
“Le Tombeau du Grand Sarrazin,” in the district called Fortcàmp
(destroyed).
“L’Autel de Déhus,” near above.
Small Cromlech at “La Vieille Hougue” (destroyed).
“Le Trépied” or the “Catioroc.”
“Menhir” or “Longue Pierre” at Richmond.
“Creux ès Fées”[51] in the parish of St. Pierre-du-Bois.
“La Longue Roque” or “Palette ès Fées” at the Paysans.
“La Roque des Fées” (destroyed).
“Le Gibet des Fées” (destroyed).
“La Chaire de St. Bonit” (destroyed).
In the Island of Herm there are six or eight mutilated remains of
Cromlechs. In Lihou, none are left. In Sark, none are left.
It will be seen that the druidical stones are believed to be the
favourite haunt of the fairy folk, who live in the ant hills which are
frequently to be found in their vicinity, and who would not fail to
punish the audacious mortal who might venture to remove them.
[50] The name of “Pouquelaie” given in various districts of Normandy,
and in the Anglo-Norman Isles to megalithic monuments appears to be
composed of two Celtic words, of which the latter, the Breton _lee-h_
or _lêh_ means a flat stone. The former of these words--_pouque_, some
etymologists say is derived from a Celtic word meaning, _To kiss_, or
_adore_--and thus “Pouquelaie”--_the stone we adore_; but many others
think with equal probability that _Pouque_ is derived from the same
root from whence we get _Puck_, the mad sprite Shakespeare has so well
described in his “Midsummer’s Night’s Dream.” The _pixies_, or Cornish
and Devonshire fairies, and the _Phooka_, or goblin of the Irish, are
evidently of the same family.
[51] EDITOR’S NOTES.--In _Traditions et Superstitions de la Haute
Bretagne_, M. Paul Sebillot, says:--“En général les dolmens sont
appelés _grottes aux fées_, ou _roches aux fées_; c’est en quelque
sorte une désigation générique (p. 5). Les noms font allusion à des
fées, aux lutins, parfois aux saints ou au diable. Comme on le verra
dans les dépositions qui suivent, c’est à ces mêmes personnages que les
paysans attribuent l’érection des Mégalithes (p. 8.), etc.”
In _Croyances et Légendes du Centre de la France_, par Laisnel de la
Salle, he says, Tome I., page 100:--“Les fées se plaisent surtout à
errer parmi les nombreux monuments druidiques … ou se dressent encore
les vieux autels, là sont toujours présentes les vieilles divinités.”
“L’AUTEL DES VARDES” AT L’ANCRESSE.
This consists of five enormous blocks of granite, laid horizontally on
perpendicular piles, as large as their enormous covering. Around it,
the remains of a circle of stones, of which the radius is thirty-three
feet, and the centre of which coincides with the tomb. Mr. Métivier
says in his “Souvenirs Historiques de Guernesey” that this “Cercle de
la Plaine,” in Norse _Land Kretz_, on this exposed elevation, could not
fail to attract the attention of the Franks, Saxons, and Normans, and
thus gave its name to the surrounding district.
In it were found bones, stone hatchets, hammers, skulls, limpet shells,
etc., etc.
It is perhaps to this latter fact that we must attribute the idea which
is entertained by the peasantry that hidden treasures, when discovered
by a mortal, are transformed in appearance by the demon who guards them
into worthless shells.
“LA ROQUE BALAN.”
“La Roque Balan” was situated at the Mielles, in the Vale parish.
It is supposed by some to have taken its name from Baal, Belenus,
(the Sun God), the Apollo of the Gauls, whom the Thuriens, a Grecian
colony, called _Ballen_, “Lord and King,” and to whom they dedicated
a temple at Baïeux. The custom of lighting fires in honour of Bel or
Baal continued in Scotland and Ireland almost to the beginning of this
century. In Guernsey, at Midsummer, on the Eve of St. John’s Day, June
24th, the people used to go to this rock and there dance on its summit,
which Mr. Métivier describes in 1825 as being quite flat. The refrain
of an old ballad proved this:
_“J’iron tous à la St. Jean_
_Dansaïr à la Roque Balan.”_
Some people conjecture this rock to be the base of a balancing, or
Logan stone, and others again that it was the site where Dom Mathurin,
Prior of St. Michel, weighed in the _balances_ the commodities of his
tenants. But the most probable supposition is that it was named after
the _Ballen_ family, former residents of this neighbourhood.
Near this rock stood
“LA ROQUE QUI SONNE.”
This was the name given by the peasantry to a large stone which
formerly stood on the borders of L’Ancresse, in the Vale parish. There
is no doubt that it formed part of a Cromlech, and it is said that when
struck it emitted a clear ringing sound. It was looked upon in the
neighbourhood as something supernatural, and great was the astonishment
and consternation of the good people of the Clos du Valle, when Mr.
Hocart, of Belval, the proprietor of the field in which it stood,
announced his intention of breaking it up in order to make doorposts
and lintels for the new house he was on the point of building. In
vain did the neighbours represent that stone was not scarce in the
Vale, and that there was no necessity for destroying an object of so
much curiosity. No arguments could prevail with him, not even the
predictions of certain grey-headed men, the oracles of the parish, who
assured him that misfortune was sure to follow his sacrilegious act. He
was one of those obstinate men, who, the more they are spoken to, the
less will they listen to reason, and finally the stone-cutters were set
to work on the stone.
But now a circumstance occurred which would have moved any man less
determined than Hocart from his purpose. Every stroke of the hammer
on the stone was heard as distinctly at the Church of St. Michel du
Valle, distant nearly a mile, as if the quarrymen were at work in the
very churchyard itself![52] Orders were nevertheless given to the men
to continue their work. The stone was cut into building materials, and
the new house was rapidly approaching completion without accident or
stoppage. Hocart laughed at the predictions of the old men, who had
foretold all sorts of disasters.
At last the day arrived when the carpenters were to quit the house. Two
servant maids,--or, as others have it, a servant man and a maid,--were
sent at an early hour to assist in cleaning and putting things to
rights for the reception of the family, but at eight o’clock in the
morning a fire broke out in the house, and its progress was so rapid
that the poor servants had not time to save themselves, but perished in
the flames. Before noon the house was one heap of smoking ruins, but it
could never be discovered how the fire had originated.
Hocart’s misfortunes, however, were not at an end. Some part of the
rock had been cut into paving stones for the English market, and the
refuse broken up into small fragments for making and repairing roads.
In the course of the year the one and the other were embarked for
England on board of two vessels in which Hocart had an interest as
shareholder, but, strange to say, both vessels perished at sea.
Hocart himself went to reside in Alderney, but was scarcely settled
there when a fire broke out and destroyed his new dwelling.
[Illustration: Smith Street, A.D. 1870.]
He then determined on returning to Guernsey, but when close to land a
portion of the rigging of the vessel on board which he sailed, fell on
his head, fractured his skull, and he died immediately.[53]
There is another instance given of the ill luck which waits on those
who interfere with the Cromlech and disturb the repose of the mighty
dead[54] in the “Legend of La Haye du Puits,” which is drawn from an
ancient chronicle and published in versified form by “M. A. C.,” with
extracts from Mrs. White’s notes. The legend runs thus:--
In the reign of Henry II. of England Geoffrey of Anjou raised a
rebellion against him in Normandy. Not wishing to be a rebel, Sir
Richard of La Haye du Puits, a noble Norman knight, fled from thence
to Guernsey, and landed in Saints’ Bay. He settled in Guernsey and
proceeded to build himself a house, which he named after his Norman
mansion “La Haye du Puits.” Unfortunately for himself, in so doing
he destroyed an old Cromlech. All the inhabitants told him that he
would in consequence become cursed, and a settled gloom descended upon
him. Nothing could cheer him; he felt he was a doomed man. At last he
thought that perhaps by resigning the house and dedicating it to God he
might avert his fate. So he gave it to the Church, and turned it into
a nunnery, making it a condition that the abbess and nuns should daily
pray that the curse might be removed from him.
He then set sail from Rocquaine Bay, for France, the rebellion being
over, and his wife, Matilda, awaiting him in their old home. But on
his way his ship was captured by Moorish pirates, and he was taken
as prisoner to Barbary. When there, his handsome presence made so
much impression on the governor’s wife that she entreated he might be
allowed to guard the tower where she resided with her maidens.
What was his astonishment when one of them looked out, and, recognising
a fellow countryman, called out and told him that she was Adèle,
daughter of his old friend and neighbour, Ranulph. She also had been
taken prisoner by these pirates, by whom her father had been killed;
she implored him to effect her escape. She handed him her jewels, and
with these he bribed their jailers, and he, she, and her nurse Alice,
all managed to escape to France. He took her to the Norman “Haye du
Puits,” and there, according to the old chronicle, he found his wife,
Matilda, and all “in a right prosperous and flourishing condition.”
From there Adèle married a Hugh d’Estaile, a young Norman knight, high
in the favour of King Henry.
But the spirits of the Cromlech were not yet appeased. Sir Richard
could not shake off the brooding care and haunting night-mares which
always oppressed him, though he tried to propitiate heaven by building
two churches in Normandy, “St. Marie du Parc,” and “St. Michel du
Bosq,” “for the deliverance of his soul,” but it was of no avail, and
he died, a wretched and broken-down man. Even the nuns in the Convent
of the Haye du Puits were so harassed and distressed, that finally
they decided to leave it; it is said that one unquiet nun haunts the
house to this day. Since then it has passed through many hands, but
tradition says that for many years it never brought good fortune to its
possessors.
[52] I have heard that the strokes of the hammer were heard in the town
when La Roque qui Sonne was broken up. A spot was shewn me some years
since as the site where this stone stood. I cannot exactly define the
spot, but know it was to the east of the Vale Parochial School.--_From
John de Garis, Esq., of Les Rouvets._
[53] From the late Mr. Thomas Hocart, of Marshfield, nephew of the
Hocart to whom these events occurred.
[54] EDITOR’S NOTE.--In _Traditions et Superstitions de la Haute
Bretagne_, Vol. I., p. 32, M. Sebillot says: “En beaucoup d’endroits,
on pense qu’il est dangereux de détruire les pierres druidiques,
parceque les esprits qui les ont construits ne manqueraient pas de se
venger.” See also “Amélie Rosquet, p. 186 of _La Normandie Romanesque_.”
“LE TOMBEAU DU GRAND SARRAZIN.”
In the district called Le Tort Càmp, near Paradis, was one of the
principal Cromlechs at the Vale, now quarried away, called “L’Autel,”
or “Le Tombeau du Grand Sarrazin.” Who “Le Grand Sarrazin” was, it
is now impossible to say. He is also called Le Grand Geffroi, and
his castle--from whence the name “Le Castel”--stood where the Church
of Ste. Marie-du-Castel now stands. He must have been one of those
piratical sea kings, who, under the various appellations of Angles,
Saxons, Danes, and Northmen or Normans, issued from the countries
bordering on the North Sea and the Baltic, and invaded the more
favoured regions of Britain and Gaul. The name “Geffroy,” (_Gudfrid_,
or “la paix de Dieu”) seems to confirm this tradition. As to the term
“Sarrazin”--Saracen, although originally given to the Mahometans
who invaded the southern countries of Europe, it came to be applied
indifferently to all marauding bands; and Wace, the poet and historian,
a native of Jersey, who lived and wrote in the reign of Henry II., in
speaking of the descent of the Northmen on these islands, calls them
expressly “La Gent Sarrazine.” Among the many Geoffreys of the North
whom history celebrates, there is one, a son of King Regnar, who may be
the one celebrated in our local traditions. Charles the Bald yielded to
him “a county on the Sequanic shore.”
At that time the coast of Gaul was divided into three sea-borders,
namely, the Flemish, the Aquitanian, and the Sequanic, called
“Sequanicum littus” by Paul Warnefrid, who places one of these islands
near it.
That his castle stood at one time on the site of the present church, is
confirmed by the discoveries which have frequently been made in digging
graves, of considerable masses of solid masonry, which appear to be the
foundations of former outworks of the fortress. It is even possible
that some portions of the walls of the church may be the remains of the
earlier building. There are also in the neighbourhood “Le Fief Geffroi”
and “Le Camp Geffroi.”[55]
[55] EDITOR’S NOTE.--Referring to “Le Grand Sarrazin,” Dupont says
in his _Histoire du Cotentin et ses Iles_, Vol I., p. 140-41:--“Le
personnage ainsi désigné ne peut être que l’un de ces avanturiers
Norses qui furent souvent confondus avec les Sarrazins. Wace lui-même
appelle les envahisseurs des îles les “_gent Sarrazine_.” Le “Grand
Geffroi” était, selon toute vrai semblance le célèbre Jarl _Godefrid_
ou _Godefroy_ fils d’Hériald. Son père, après avoir détruit l’eglise
du Mont Saint Michel fut assassiné par les comtes francs, et pour le
venger, il se jeta sur la Frise et sur la Neustrie. Après trois ans de
ravage il se fit, en 850, concéder par Charles-le-Chauve une certaine
étendue de terre, que le savant danois Suhne conjecture avoir été
située dans nôtre province. L’histoire générale, on le voit, confirme
donc singulièrement la tradition conservée à Guernesey, en lui donnant
une date précise; et cette tradition elle-même rend à peu près certain
le fait fort intéressant, et si souvent obscur, d’un établissement
permament des Normands en Neustrie, plus d’un demi-siècle avant sa
prise en possession par Rolle; elle prouve, enfin, le rôle important
que les îles du Contentin remplirent durant ces époques calamiteuses.”
“L’AUTEL DE DÉHUS.”
Quite close to where “Le Tombeau du Grand Sarrazin” was situated,
close to the Pointe au Norman, in the environs of Paradis,[56] in the
Vale parish, and bordering on the Hougues d’Enfer, is the Pouquelêh de
Déhus. This spot, as well as some fields in the Castel parish called
“Les Déhusets” or “Les Tuzets,” are supposed to be favourite resorts of
the fairies.
M. de Villemarque, in his _Barzas-Breiz_, the work so well known to
folk-lorists, tells us that the Bretons gave the imps or goblins,
whom they call pigmies, amongst others the name of “Duz,” diminutive
“Duzik,” a name they bore in the time of St. Augustine; and he also
says that they, like fairies, inhabit Dolmens. Mr. Métivier explains
the name “Déhus” or “Dhuss” as the “God of the Dead, and of Riches,”
the _Dis_ of the Gauls in the time of Cæsar, _Théos_ in Greek, _Deus_
in Latin--le Dus, or le Duc. He says “Our _Dehussets_ are nothing but
_Dhus i gou_, spirits of the dead and goblins of the deep.”
The exterior circle measures sixty feet in diameter, by forty in
length, and the direction is from east to west. The enormous block
of granite which serves as a roof to the western chamber is the most
striking part of it. At the extremity of this chamber is a cell, the
outer compartment eleven feet in length by nine in width. The adjoining
one is of the same length. On the northern side a singular appendix in
the form of a side chamber joins the two smaller rooms just described.
There has also been discovered a fifth cell, the roof of which was
formed of granite resting on three or four pillars, at the corner of
the northern chamber. But the most interesting discovery of all was
that of two kneeling skeletons, side by side, but placed in opposite
positions, that is to say, one looking towards the north, the other
towards the south. Besides these, bones of persons of both sexes and
all ages, a stone hatchet, some pottery and limpet shells, were also
found inside this place of sepulchre. It was long supposed to be
haunted by fairies, imps, and ghosts, perhaps the same spirits who,
in the haunted field of “Les Tuzés,” are reported to have removed the
foundations of the intended Parish Church of the Castel to its present
site. There is also a “Le Déhuzel” in the neighbourhood of the Celtic
remains near L’Erée.
[56] EDITOR’S NOTE.--Près de Louvigné-du-Désert, est un groupe de dix
à douze blocs gigantiques de granite. On a aussi donné le nom de “Rue
de _Paradis_, du _Purgatoire_, et de _l’Enfer_” aux intervalles étroits
qui séparent ces énormes blocs.--_Traditions de la Haute Bretagne_, par
Paul Sebillot, T. I., p. 34.
“LE TRÉPIED, OR THE CATIOROC.”
This Cromlech is on a rocky promontory, south-west of Perelle Bay,
in the beautiful parish of St. Saviour’s. The derivation of its name,
“Castiau-Roc”--as it is properly--is from the “_Castelh Carreg_”
“Castle Rock” of the Gauls. As one approaches it one is struck by the
vestiges of Cromlechs with their circles, and bits of “Longues Roques.”
In olden days, before so much of the surroundings were quarried away,
this must have been only one among many other conspicuous objects down
there. The names “La Roque Fendue,” “La Roque au Tonnerre,” “Plateau
ès Roques,” “La Pièche des Grandes Roques du Castiau-Roc,” which are
mentioned in various “Livres de Perquages,” are all that remain of
these ancient remains. Much to be regretted is the disappearance of the
“Portes du Castiau-Roc,” which might perhaps have helped us to define
with some exactitude where this problematic castle once stood, and
perhaps identify it with the fortified mounts of the Celts and Irish.
It is noted in our island annals for being the midnight haunt of our
witches and wizards. In the trials for witchcraft held under Amias de
Carteret in the beginning of the seventeenth century, it was there that
his trembling victims confessed to having come and danced on Friday
nights, in honour of the gigantic cat or goat with black fur, called
“Baal-Bérith” or “Barberi,” nowadays “Lucifer.” Near this rock was the
“Chapel of the Holy Virgin” on Lihou Island, now in ruins, and it is
said that the witches even defied the influence of “the Star of the
Sea,” shouting in chorus while they danced,
_“Qué, hou, hou,_
_Marie Lihou.”_
This monument is like the “Tables en Trépied,” and analogous to the
“Lhêch y Drybedh” of the county of Pembroke, in Wales. There were
altars in this form and of this description in almost every canton of
the island. One, near the Chapel of St. George, is quite destroyed, and
there are now no traces left of another between the Haye-du-Puits, and
the Villocq. In the environs of the Castiau-Roc bones and arms have
been found.[57]
“LE CREUX ES FAÏES.”
This Cromlech is situated on the Houmet Nicolle at the point of L’Erée,
(so called from the branch of the sea, _Eiré_, which separates it from
the islet of Notre Dame de Lihou). This island, which once had upon it
a chapel and a priory dedicated to “Notre Dame de la Roche,” was always
considered so sacred a spot that even to-day the fishermen salute it in
passing.
This Creux is a Dolmen of the nature of those which are called in
France “allées couvertes,” perfectly well preserved, and partly covered
with earth. The researches which have been made in these ancient
monuments of antiquity prove them to have been places of sepulchre.
This one consists of a chamber seven feet high, and covered with a roof
of two blocks of granite, each fifteen feet long and ten broad. The
entrance faces east, and is only two feet eight inches wide, but soon
enlarges, and the interior is almost uniformly eleven feet wide.
This is, as its name would lead one to suppose, a favourite haunt of
the fairies, or perhaps, to speak more correctly, their usual dwelling
place.
It is related that a man who happened to be lying on the grass near
it, heard a voice within calling out: “_La païlle, la païlle, le fouar
est caûd_.” (The shovel,[58] the oven is hot). To which the answer was
immediately returned: “_Bon! J’airon de la gâche bientôt_.” (Good! We
shall have some cake presently.)
Another version from Mrs. Savidan is that some men were ploughing in
a field belonging to Mr. Le Cheminant, just below the Cromlech, when
the voice was heard saying “_La paille_,” _etc._ One of them answered,
“_Bon! J’airon de la gâche_,” and almost immediately afterwards a cake,
quite hot, fell into one of the furrows. One of the men immediately
ran forward and seized it, exclaiming that he would have a piece to
take home to his wife, but on stooping to take it up he received such a
buffet on the head as stretched him at full length on the ground. It is
from here that the fairies issue on the night of the full moon to dance
on Mont Saint till daybreak.[59]
[57] See _Archæological Journal_, Vol. I., p. 202, for an engraving of
this Castiau-Roc.
[58] EDITOR’S NOTE.--“La païlle à four, is, in the country, usually a
wooden shovel with a long handle. It is used for putting things in the
oven when hot, and taking them out when baked.”
[59] EDITOR’S NOTE.--This is still believed, for in 1896, when my aunt,
Mrs. Curtis, bought some land on Mont Saint, and built a house there,
the country people told her that it was very unlucky to go there and
disturb the fairy people in the spot where they dance.
My cousin, Miss Le Pelley, writes in 1896 from St. Pierre-du-Bois,
saying “The people still believe the Creux des Fées and ‘Le Trepied’ to
have been the fairies’ houses, and as proof one woman told me that when
they dug down they found all kinds of pots and pans and china things.”
“LA LONGUE ROQUE” OR “PALETTE ES FAÏES.”
In a field in the parish of St. Pierre-du-Bois, on the way to L’Erée
and in the neighbourhood of the secluded valley of St. Brioc and the
woody nook in which the ancient chapel dedicated to that Saint once
stood, stands one of those Celtic monuments, many of which are still
to be seen in Brittany and Cornwall, and which are known in those
countries by the name of “Menhir.” This word in the Breton tongue, and
in its cognate dialect the ancient language of Cornwall, signifies
“long stone.” The name which similar monuments bear in Normandy and
Brittany in this island is “longue pierre” or “longue roque,” a literal
translation of the Celtic name. There must have been at one time many
“longues roques” in Guernsey. Another still stands in a field near the
road at Richmond. There was in 1581 “la pièche de la longue pierre, la
pierre séante dedans,”--a part of the Fief ès Cherfs, at the Castel.
There was also “la Roque Séante dans le courtil de la Hougue au Comte,”
and the “Roque-à-Bœuf dans le Courtil au Sucq du chemin de l’église,”
near St. George, but these latter have long since disappeared, though a
house near the field still bears the name.
Antiquaries are very much divided in opinion as to the original
destination of these singular masses of rock; it is not wonderful that
they should prove a puzzle and a source of wonder to the unlettered
peasantry. How were such immense blocks placed upright, and for what
purpose? The agency of supernatural beings is an easy answer to the
question, and some such cause is usually assigned for their origin by
the tradition of the country. Sometimes they are the work of fairies,
sometimes of giants and magicians, and sometimes they are said to be
mortals changed into stone by an offended deity for some sacrilegious
act, or heroes petrified as a lasting testimony of their exploits.
The Menhir at St. Peter’s-in-the-Wood stands in a field at Les
Paysans, so called from the name of the extinct family who once
possessed it. It is over ten feet in height, and about three feet
wide, and the people’s name for it, “Palette ès faïes”--the fairies’
battledore,--describes it exactly. Tradition says that in former days
a man who was returning homewards at a very late hour of the night,
or who had risen before the lark to visit his nets in Rocquaine Bay,
was astonished at meeting a woman of very diminutive stature coming up
the hill from the sea-shore. She was knitting, while carrying in her
apron something with as much care and tenderness as if it had been a
clutch of eggs, or a newly-born babe. The man’s curiosity was excited,
and he determined to watch the little woman. He therefore concealed
himself behind a hedge and followed her movements. At last the woman
stopped, and great was the astonishment of the countryman when he saw
her produce a mass of stone of at least fifteen feet in length, and
stick it upright in the midst of the field, with as much ease as if she
were merely sticking a pin into a pincushion. He then comprehended that
the unknown female could be no other than a denizen of fairy-land, but
what could be her object in erecting such a monument? The people are at
a loss in finding an answer to this question. Some say the stone was
placed there by the fairies to serve them as a mark when they played at
ball.[60]
There is another story told to account for “La Palette ès Faïes.” It
is well known that Rocquaine and its environs was the abode _par
excellence_ of the fairy folk, and in the valley of St. Brioc two of
these fairies once lived. Whether they were father and son, or what
other relationship existed between them, is not known, but among the
human inhabitants of the valley they went by the names of Le Grand
Colin and Le Petit Colin. They were fond of sports, and occasionally
amused themselves with a game of ball on the open and tolerably level
fields of Les Paysans. On one occasion they had placed their boundary
marks, and had played some rounds, when Le Grand Colin struck the ball
with such force that it bounded off quite out of sight. Le Petit Colin,
whose turn it was to play, called out to his companion, with some
degree of ill-humour, that the ball had disappeared beyond the bounds,
on which Le Grand Colin struck his bat with force into the ground, and
said he would play no more. The bat still remains in the centre of the
field, and the ball--an enormous spherical boulder--is pointed out on
the sea-shore near Les Pezeries, fully a mile and a half off.[61]
[60] From Miss Lane, afterwards Mrs. Lane-Clarke.
EDITOR’S NOTE.--See in _Traditions et Superstitions de la Haute
Bretagne_ par Paul Sebillot, Tome I., p. 10 and 11, etc.:--“Les Roches
aux Fées qui sont vers Saint-Didier et Marpiré (Ille-et-Vilaine) ont
été elevées par les Fées; elles prenaient les plus grosses pierres du
pays et les apportaient dans leurs tabliers.… Près du bois du Rocher
en Pleudihan, sur la route de Dinan à Dol, est un dolmen que les
fées, disent les gens du pays, ont apporté dant leurs ‘devantières’
(tabliers).”
[61] From William Le Poidevin.
EDITOR’S NOTES.--These two traditions are still told by the country
people in 1896.
“LA ROQUE DES FAÏES.”
A little beyond the village called “Le Bourg de la Forêt” there stood
formerly an upright stone, which was known by the name of “La Roque des
Faïes,”--the fairies’ stone. It was unfortunately destroyed when the
road was improved. The people in the neighbourhood were rather shy of
passing it at night, as it was believed that the place was haunted, and
that fairies held their nightly revels there. Like other stones of a
similar nature it was said to have been placed there by the elves to
serve as a goal or mark in their games of ball or bowls; and, according
to some accounts, the “Longue Roque” at “Les Paysans” in the adjoining
parish of St. Pierre-du-Bois was the other boundary. It is not at all
unlikely that these stones may really have served for such a purpose
in days of yore, if not for the fairy-folk, at least for mortals. What
is more probable than that the peasantry of the islands should have
had the same games as existed until lately in Cornwall under the name
of “hurling,” and in Brittany under the name of “La Soule,” as well as
elsewhere, in which the young men of the neighbouring districts met
at certain seasons on the confines of their respective parishes, and
contended which should first bear a ball to a spot previously fixed on
as the goal in each?
It is said that the spot where the stone in question stood was
originally fixed on as the site of the Parish Church of the Forest; but
that, after all the materials had been got together for the purpose of
laying the foundations of the sacred edifice they were removed in the
short space of one night by the fairies to the place where the church
now stands, the little people thus resenting the intrusion on their
domain.[62]
[62] From Mrs. Richard Murton, born Caroline Le Tullier.
“LE GIBET DES FAÏES.”
A Celtic monument of the kind commonly known to antiquaries by the
name of “trilethon” is said to have existed formerly on the Common
at L’Ancresse, near La Hougue Patris. It is described by old people
who remember to have seen it in their youth as consisting of three
upright stones or props, supporting a fourth, overhanging the others.
It was known by the name of “Le Gibet des Fâïes.” Near it was a
fountain called “La Fontaine des Fâïes,” the water of which, although
not plentiful, was never known to fail entirely, even in the very
driest seasons; it is said to have been below the surface in a kind
of artificial cave formed by huge blocks of stone, and entered by two
openings on different sides. The proprietor of the land many years ago
broke up the stones for building purposes and converted the fountain
into a well.[63]
[63] EDITOR’S NOTE. STONE ON LA MOYE ESTATE.
They are still firmly convinced in the Vale parish of the sanctity of
Druidical stones, and various stones, which are not generally regarded
as being Druidical remains, were pointed out to me by Miss Falla,
(whose ancestors for hundreds of years have been landed proprietors
at the Vale), as being sacred, and, she added, that her father and
grandfathers would have considered it sacrilege to touch them.
Such are the large upright stones in the field Le Courtil-ès-Arbres,
immediately opposite the house called Sohier, which is owned by Miss
Falla, who said that her uncle, at one time, wished to quarry in that
field, but was deterred by his neighbours, who pointed out to him
the folly and impiety of meddling with “les pierres saintes.” Beyond
the Ville-ès-Pies is a field containing large stones; it has been
extensively quarried, but the stones have been religiously preserved,
and are seen on an isolated hillock in the field, their height being
intensified by the deep quarries round them.
The cottage which is built on the remains of St. Magloire’s Chapel, is
supposed to be built on its own old foundation stone, as the workmen
when building the cottage, thought it would be sacrilege to interfere
with it.
There is a field called La Houmière, opposite an estate called La Moye,
which also belonged to the Fallas for many generations, and is now in
the possession of Miss Falla’s brother. In this field is one solitary
upright stone, and to this stone a most extraordinary superstition is
attached. It is a grass field and is grown in hay, but for generations
the mowers have always been forbidden to cut the hay _round_ and _past_
the stone till all the other hay has been cut and carted, for if they
do, however fine the weather may previously have been, it invariably
brings on a storm of wind and rain! So, taught by experience, it has
always been the rule, and still continues, that, though the outer edge
of the field may be cut, the stone itself and its “entourage” are not
to be touched till the very last, for fear of bringing on the rain in
the middle of the hay making.--(_From Miss Falla_).
OLD FIGURES IN THE CHURCHYARDS OF ST. MARTIN’S AND THE CASTEL.
In the course of some works recently (1878) undertaken for reseating
the Parish Church of Ste. Marie-du-Castel, two discoveries were made,
which are of great interest. One is a sort of oven or furnace, which
was found below the surface of the floor of the church, and immediately
under the apex of the westernmost arch, between the nave and the south
aisle. It lies north and south, extending into the nave; but what
appears to have been the mouth does not reach southward beyond the
arch, no part of it being in the south aisle. If this aisle is really
a more recent addition to the original building, the mouth of the
furnace may have been at one time in an outer wall. The whole length
is eight feet, the width two feet three inches, and the depth three
feet six inches. The sides are roughly masoned and the northern end
slightly rounded. A length of about three feet at the south end is
arched over with stones, which have evidently been subjected to great
heat. This part is immediately under the arch between the nave and
the south aisle. The remaining five feet of the excavation retain no
traces whatever of an arch, and are situated entirely in the nave.
The floor of the excavation is of hard compact gravel, covered with
ashes, among which were several pieces of charcoal and a few small
fragments of brass, perhaps bell-metal. The northern end seems to have
been used as a sort of ossuary, into which the bones dug up in making
fresh interments in the church were thrown pell-mell, the remains of no
less than nine skulls, mingled with other osseous remains, having been
found here. These bore no marks of fire, from which we may conclude
that the place had ceased to be used as an oven or furnace when they
were deposited there. I had forgotten to mention that at the south
end of the excavation was found a tile of about one and a-half inches
in thickness, twelve inches in length, and nine inches in width, with
a notch in it for the fingers, such as we see in the sliding lid of
a box. A few fragments of moulded tiles were found mingled with the
earth, which the architect believed to be Roman. With the exception of
a few coins, no other Roman remains have ever been found in Guernsey.
The nave of the church and the westernmost bay of the aisle had, in
olden days, been walled off from the rest of the building, and served
as a sort of vestibule and place where the cannons and other military
stores belonging to the Militia or trained bands of the parish were
kept. Perhaps the furnace may have been used for casting balls, of
which one at least has been found in the building. Some think it may
have been used for the casting of a bell, but the bells at present in
the tower throw no light on the subject, having been re-cast in England
about the beginning of the nineteenth century. There is no appearance
of any chimney or flue leading from the furnace ever having existed,
and the reason of its position within the church, and the use to which
it was put, must, we fear, ever remain an enigma.
After this long digression we will go on to the other discovery made at
the same time; which presents another puzzle equally unsolved.
Just within the chancel, at about an equal distance from the north
and south walls, about a foot below the surface, was found a mass of
granite, lying east and west, and turned over on its left side. It has
all the appearance of a natural boulder somewhat fashioned by art, and
cannot be described better than by saying that it is in shape like a
mummy case, the back being rounded and slightly curved and the front
nearly flat, with the exception of the upper portion of the figure,
which indicates that it was intended to represent a female. The total
length is six feet six inches, the width across the shoulders two feet
three inches, and the portion corresponding with the head one foot
three inches from the top of the forehead to the shoulders. It tapers
slightly towards the foot. On each side of the head, extending from
the forehead to the breast, are two ridges raised above the surface of
the stone, which may have been intended to represent either a veil or
tresses of hair. There are no traces of any features remaining, but
what should be the face bears evident marks of having been subjected to
the action of a hammer or chisel, as also does the right breast.
The stone is altogether too rude and mis-shapen to warrant the
supposition that it can have been intended to cover a grave, although
its place in the chancel, and its lying with its head to the west,
may appear to favour this idea; but what renders the discovery of
this stone more interesting and gives rise to conjecture, is the fact
that in the churchyard of St. Martin-de-la-Beilleuse another stone of
about the same size, precisely similar in outline, but in a far better
state of preservation, exists in the form of a gatepost. In this last
the features, very coarsely sculptured, and only slightly raised on a
flat surface, are distinctly visible; a row of small knobs, intended
either for curls or a chaplet encircles the forehead, and a sort of
drapery in regular folds radiates from the chin to the shoulders and
breasts, which are uncovered, leaving no doubt that in this case, as
in the stone found in the Church of Ste. Marie-du-Castel, a female
figure was intended to be represented. A confused idea exists among
the parishioners of St. Martin’s that the stone in their churchyard
was once an idol; and it is not many years ago that a puritanical
churchwarden was with difficulty dissuaded from having it broken up,
lest it should once more become an object of adoration. In fact the
stone was broken in half by his orders, and had to be cemented together
again.
The Church of St. Martin’s is called St. Martin-de-la-Bellouse or
Beilleuse, a name which an adjoining property bears to this day. The
meaning of this word “Bellouse” or “Beilleuse” is unknown; but if,
as some have asserted, the early inhabitants of the British Isles
worshipped a deity of the name of Bel, it is not impossible that there
may have been some female divinity, with a name derived from the same
source.
It is certainly somewhat remarkable that two stones, so very similar
in character, should exist in connection with two churches in the same
island, and that one of them should have been found in so singular a
position. One is tempted to believe that both churches may have been
built on spots which had previously been set apart as places of heathen
worship, and that in the case of Ste. Marie-du-Castel the idol had been
defaced and buried in the earth to put a stop to the adoration paid to
it.
It is well known that up to the end of the seventeenth century the
inhabitants of a district in the Department du Morbihan, in Brittany,
adored with superstitious and obscene rites a rude stone image commonly
known as “La Vénus de Quinipilly,” and which was certainly not a
Christian image. May not the stones here described have served also as
objects of worship? The substitution of the Blessed Virgin for a female
divinity is what one may reasonably suppose to have taken place, and
the continuance of superstitious practices in connection with the idol
may have led to its defacement and concealment below the floor of the
sacred edifice.[64]
[64] The Antiquarian Society. Proceedings 1879.
EDITOR’S NOTES.
This old figure is still regarded with peculiar affection by the people
of St. Martin’s. “_La Gran’mère du Chimquière_,”--“the Grandmother of
the Churchyard,”--they call it, though I have heard one or two very old
people call it “St. Martin,” evidently regardless of sex, regarding it
as the patron saint of the parish.
Undoubtedly superstitious reverence used to be paid to it to
within comparatively recent times, which probably accounts for the
churchwarden wishing to have it removed. An old Miss Fallaize, aged
eighty, told me that when she was a child the “old people” had told
her that it was “lucky” to place a little offering of fruit, flowers,
or even to spill a little drop of spirits in front of it, for it was
holy--“c’était une pierre sainte” as she expressed it; and an old man
named Tourtel, well over eighty, said that when he was a boy it was
feared--“on la craignait” much more than they do now.
There is a stone face, very much the same type as that of this figure,
over the door of a house at the Villette. It is a house in the district
called “La Marette,” and belongs to some old Miss Olliviers. They can
offer no explanation to account for its presence, but said that the
house was covered with creepers, and it was only when some myrtle which
covered it was blown down in a gale that it was discovered by their
father to be there. Of course it may have belonged to some other old
idol which was broken up, and afterwards used for building purposes,
but no tradition lingers to account for it in any way.
The earliest account of the Guernsey Cromlechs was contributed to
_Archæologia_, Vol. XVIII, p. 254, by Joshua Gosselin, Esq., as
follows:--
“AN ACCOUNT OF SOME DRUIDICAL REMAINS IN THE ISLAND OF
GUERNSEY, BY JOSHUA GOSSELIN, ESQ., IN A LETTER ADDRESSED TO
THE RIGHT HON. SIR JOSEPH BANKS, BART., K.B., P.R.S., F.S.A.
“Guernsey, November 9th, 1811.
“MY DEAR SIR,--A small temporary redoubt was constructed some
few years back, on a height near the shore, on the left of
L’Ancresse Bay, three miles from the town in this island. The
ground on which this redoubt stood, being composed of a sandy
turf, was by degrees levelled by the wind, and the edges of
some stones were thereby discovered, which, upon inspection, I
immediately knew to belong to a Cromlech or Druidical Temple.
I send you a drawing of this Temple (plate 18) as it appeared
after the sand, which had covered it to the depth of three or
four feet, was removed.… The largest of the stones weighs about
twenty tons. They are supported by stones of the same kind, the
highest being about six and a-half feet above the ground. The
temple slopes from west to east; the length of it is thirty-two
feet, and the greatest width between the supporting stones
is twelve feet. The soldiers, who were employed in clearing
away the sand, have assured me that there was a stone which
closed the entrance into the temple, that some steps led down
into it, and that there was a pavement of small pebbles, but
I cannot vouch for the truth of these particulars. When I saw
the Cromlech there was certainly no vestige of any steps or
pavement. There was, however, a quantity of human and different
animal bones found in it, likewise some broken pieces of coarse
earthen vessels, together with some limpets, such as are on
the rocks in the bay, a few cockle shells and land snails.
These last might have been blown into it by the wind, when it
filled with sand, as there are plenty of them on the adjoining
common. Some of the fragments of vessels seem to have been
blackened with fire, and bear the appearance of antiquity; a
vessel of reddish clay was found whole, which held somewhat
more than a quart, and was of the shape of a common tea cup. A
flat circular bone of some fish, of the shape of a disk, and
about nine inches in diameter, was discovered, together with
an old fishhook, the former of which was given by the soldiers
to Sir John Doyle. I was only able to procure for myself some
of the fragments of broken ware. About eighteen feet distance
from the foot of the temple there are remains of a circle of
stones which probably surrounded it; they are placed about a
foot above the ground, and in general about two feet distant
from each other. At about forty-two feet from the temple there
appears to have been another circle of stones of a larger size
than those of the inner circle, but there are very few of
them remaining. As this temple stands upon the top of a hill,
it is the intention of some gentlemen in the island to have so
much of the sand on each side of it removed, as may render it
visible to all the surrounding country.
“We have three more such temples in this island, but not so
complete, nor so large, as the one I have just described. One
of these is situated near Paradis, at the Clos of the Vale, and
is called ‘La Pierre du Déhus.’ It stands on a rising ground,
and slopes towards the east-north-east. The stones are of a
grey granite. The supporting, or upright stones, are two and
a-half feet above the ground in the inside, and could not be
more, as the bottom is rocky; they form a parallelogram in the
inside of twelve feet broad.
“Another of these temples is seen at the Catioroc, at St.
Saviour’s, and the third is situated between L’Ancresse Bay and
the Valle Church, and is partly concealed by furze.
“Some years ago I discovered a very large Logan or rocking
stone, or a rock at the opposite side of L’Ancresse Bay, which
could easily be rocked by a child; but within these three
years it has been entirely destroyed, and no vestige of it
now remains. An ancient manuscript says that this island was
originally inhabited by fishermen, who were Pagans, and used
to place large stones one upon another, near the sea shore,
on which they performed their sacrifices. The stones of this
kind, which are now extant, are certainly all situated near
the sea shore, and this circumstance so far corroborates the
information given in the manuscript.
“I have the honour to be, Dear Sir,
“Your obliged and very humble servant,
“JOSHUA GOSSELIN.”
This article is illustrated by plates drawn by the author, viz.,
“Temple of L’Ancresse in the Valle Parish, Guernsey,” “Plan of the
surface of the Temple at L’Ancresse,” “Views of the Temple” called “La
Pierre du Déhus,” from the W.S.W. and the E.N.E. “Plan of the surface
of Déhus,” North and South Views of the “Temple at the Catioroc,”
and “The Temple among the Furze between L’Ancresse Bay and the Valle
Church.”
[Illustration: Creux des Fâïes.]