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]