since weaving has been done by steam, its prosperity has gone, and
many houses are in ruins. Those that remain occupied are all of
granite, and some, if not all, old. The church has the Chapel of S.
Ronan on its south side opening out of it by a couple of arches. All
is flamboyant. The church had a spire that was struck by lightning
in 1806 and fell, carrying away pinnacles and the lace-like parapet
on the N. side. On this N. side is a little chapel with a graceful
flamboyant window in the gable, and saints in niches at the sides. The
E. window of the chancel is full of old glass in confusion, but is
about to be restored. On the pulpit is the legend of S. Ronan in ten
compartments. The mouldings of the arcades and of the great belfry
windows are poor. The P. is on Trinity Sunday, but every sixth year is
the Grand Tromenie, which is observed with great concourse of people
from all parts. A procession leaves the church at 2.30 P.M. and winds
with banners and hymn-singing round the mountain on the slope of which
Locronan is built. Descending a narrow street leads to the renaissance
Chapel of S. Eloi and a Holy Well of the same date. The tomb of S.
Ronan is in the chapel beside the parish church.
_Plonevez-Porzay_ has a very villainous modern church that has replaced
one that was old and full of interest. The porch has however been
preserved. P. 2nd Sunday in August. _Ste. Anne-de-la-Palue_ in this
parish is a great resort of pilgrims, and the Pardon there is largely
attended. It is on the last Sunday in August. The P. of N.D. de la
Clarté is on the 2nd Sunday in September.
_Quéménéven._ The Chapel of Kergoat is an object of pilgrimage, and the
Pardon there is very greatly thronged, and interesting costumes may be
seen there. The P. is on the Sunday after August 15.
_S. Venec_, a chapel half-way between Quimper and Châteaulin, is
interesting. It contains a statue of the Threebreasted Gwen, and of her
sons, Gwethenoc, represented as a Knight, and Winwaloe. There are also
here a good Calvary and a pretty Holy Well.
_Ergué Gaberic._ A fine menhir. A chapel of the Templars. The P. at
Kerdevot is greatly frequented. It is on the 2nd Sunday in September.
_Pluguffan._ Only deserving of a visit on the occasion of its Pardon,
which is on the 2nd Sunday in September, where fine costumes may be
seen.
* QUIMPERLÉ (F.) chl. d'arr. An interesting and picturesque town on
the Laïta formed of the junction of the Ellé and the Isole. The abbey
church of Ste. Croix and the town about it is in the basin, but the
Church of S. Michel and the upper town is on the hillside with steep
streets, some ascended by steps. The buildings of the abbey have been
converted into municipal offices and Mairie. The church is circular and
Romanesque. A tower had been constructed on the four central drums, but
they showed signs of giving way, and the tower had to be taken down
and the church rebuilt, but exactly on the ancient lines. There is a
crypt beneath the lady-chapel. The carved corbels outside the apse are
curious. A fine renaissance retable has been mutilated and plastered
against the west wall. In the crypt is the tomb of S. Gurlois. S.
Michel stands up boldly on the summit of the hill, on the right side of
the Laïta, sustained on massive substructures. The nave is 2nd pointed.
There are no aisles to the nave. The grand central tower and choir with
its aisles are flamboyant. There is an exquisite window of that style
on the N. side and a superb N. porch, but the E. window is in very bad
renaissance. The east end is supported on two huge buttresses that
are pierced with arches for the roadway. The west end of the church
is built against, with houses, and does not seem ever to have had a
western entrance.
Some quaint bits of street architecture may be found by penetrating
into the narrow lanes. The Church of S. Columbanus is in ruins. A
pretty walk out of the town leads to the little chapel of the Château
of Rosgrande, with apse at each end. It contains a renaissance
roodscreen, with subjects from sacred history and pagan mythology
indiscriminately carved on it. In the chapel are two 14th cent. statues
of S. Cadoc and S. Yhuel, the grandson of Gildas, afterwards Bishop
of Llandaff, who spent his youth in Brittany. Fishing and charming
walks are to be had in the valleys of the Ellé and Isolle. The visitor
will find this the best headquarters for excursions to Le Faouët, 21
kilometres, and down the river to Pouldu. Patronal Feast at Quimperlé
on the 2nd Sunday in May and on the 3rd September. P. at Lothea, Easter
Tuesday and Trinity Sunday. Pardon des Oiseaux at Toulfouen, Whitsun
Monday.
[Illustration: QUIMPERLÉ]
The forest of _Clohars-Carnoet_ envelops the ruins of one of Conmore's
castles, but it was rebuilt in the 15th cent. On the right bank of the
Laïta, in a sheltered position, are the fine ruins of the Abbey of S.
Maurice, founded in 1170. The chapter house is of the 14th cent.
and 15th cent. A chapel that has been restored contains a good bronze
Christ of the 17th cent. P. Whitsun Monday. P. at Clohars on the 15th
August.
* QUINTIN (C.N.) chl. arr. S. Brieuc. In pretty woodland country. A
menhir called La Roche-longue in a field near the town, 21 ft. high.
The church is modern, but it retains some old glass. In the street of
N.D. is a granite house of 1611. Another old house dates from 1560.
Remains of the castle built in the 15th cent., which was replaced by
another, never completed, in the 17th cent. The modern château contains
a fine gallery of family portraits and Gobelin tapestries. In the
cemetery is an ossuary of the 17th cent.
REDON (I.V.) chl. d'arrond. Above the junction of the Vilaine and Oust,
at the foot of a hill, commanded by the ruined Château de Beaumont.
Redon was a great abbey founded by King Nominoe and S. Convoyon. Here
was held the council that deposed the Frank bishops of Rennes, Nantes
and Vannes. The church was ruined at the Revolution, and all that
remains of it are the W. tower and spire and the choir with a portion
only of the nave. The tower now stands isolated. The nave is of the
14th cent. It was originally Romanesque. A transept is of the 12th
cent. and there is a stunted central tower at the crossing. The choir
ends in an apse and is of the 13th cent. and is fine. The high altar
and the pulpit were given to the church by Richelieu. On the N. side
of the choir is a fortified chapel of the 15th cent. In one of the side
chapels is a tomb supposed to be that of Duke Francis I. The abbey
buildings are occupied by the Institute of S. Sauveur. The cloisters
are of the 17th cent. The canal from Nantes to Brest cuts the town in
two and is crossed by a bridge.
The centre of the chestnut trade, the "marron." The trees are kept
small and pruned, and are not suffered to exhaust themselves in
producing a superabundance of fruit. The marron is much larger than the
common "châtain."
* RENNES (I.V.). Capital of the Department, and the ancient capital
of the duchy of Brittany. It is composed of two towns separated by the
Vilaine. On the right bank is the Upper Town. Rennes was burnt down
in 1720, and was rebuilt in the ugly style of the period, and in grey
granite. The river has been embanked and carried in a straight course
through the town. There are no fine buildings on the embankments.
The most pretentious structure on the left bank, between the station
and the river, is the lycée, with a chapel in a nondescript style.
Several bridges, all mean in character, cross the river. On the right
bank are the most important buildings. The cathedral is a hideous
structure commenced in 1787 and completed in 1844. The two side doors
and the niches at the west end belong to the earlier building and
are renaissance. Within, the arch has been studiously avoided. Eight
enormous red marble pillars on each side of the nave sustain the
heavy vault and the clerestory. Their bases are but 6 feet apart. The
interior has been richly decorated with gold and colour, but nothing
can relieve the cumbrousness and gloom of the internal appearance.
[Illustration: THE CATHEDRAL, RENNES]
One of the old gates of the town, the Porte Mordelaix, remains, but
it is not particularly picturesque, and a few old houses escaped the
fire and have not yet been pulled down. To the east of the cathedral is
the Church of S. Sauveur, even more ugly than the former. In a small
street opening from the river opposite the Hotel Moderne is the one
architectural gem possessed by the town, the Chapel of S. Yves, now
desecrated into a store-house. It is of the end of the 15th cent., and
all the details, where not broken, are of exquisite beauty. Observe
the N. door with its niches and the W. front. The Church of S. Germain
is late and poor flamboyant, much altered in late renaissance times.
The springing of the nave vaulting remains, and has been grotesquely
finished off with scrolls. There is fine old glass, but in utter
confusion, in the E. window. The large window of the S. transept
contains fine glass representing the life of the Virgin below and
saints and legendary incidents above in a series of 24 subjects.
S. Melaine is the church of a once famous abbey. Transepts and
choir-arch are early Romanesque. The nave is 2nd pointed. The base of
the tower is early 1st pointed, but has been refaced in the worst taste
in baroque times; to this has been added in modern days an octagonal
lantern and dome, and to complete the unsightliness and absurdity of
the whole composition, the cupola is surmounted by an enormous gilt
statue of the B. Virgin. Within may be noted the clumsy junction of the
older and newer work in the second arch on the south side. The tracery
in the side aisles of the nave has been cut away, but the clerestory
windows of one light are delicate and refined. The clerestory of the
choir is earlier, the E. wall and window have been reconstructed, and
the tracery in the side aisles restored or modern. In the S. transept
is a wax figure of S. Severina, whose bones from the Roman catacombs
are preserved in this church. This wax figure receives a considerable
cult. Adjoining the church is the Thabor with pleasant walks and
grounds, on the highest point of the town. The botanical gardens
adjoin. The Palais de Justice was begun as the seat of the Parliament
of Brittany in 1618 and was completed in 1654. The façade is of the
Tuscan order. The decoration of the interior was confided to four
eminent artists in the reign of Louis XIV., and it has undergone rich
decoration of late years. Rennes possesses good open places, as well
as the broad esplanades by the river banks. Its museums and library
are also well stored. The picture gallery contains a large collection
of paintings, some really good, a Jordæns, a Paul Veronese, and a De
Crayer.
RETIERS (I.V.) chl. arr. Vitré. Four miles to the S.E. is a menhir
called La Pierre de Richebourg.
LA ROCHE-DERRIEN (C.N.) chl. arr. S. Brieuc, is prettily situated
on the Jaudy, at the highest point to which the tide reaches. Of
the castle hardly anything remains. The church has a spire of late
13th cent. The S. porch, formerly adorned with statues, is bold. The
church has vast double transepts of 1435, and flamboyant windows and
extraordinary gargoyles. Inside is a barbarous elaborately carved oak
altarpiece of late renaissance and of no merit. La Roche was the scene
of the battle fought in 1347, when Charles de Blois was taken prisoner
by the English.
Near La Roche is _Langoat_, the church like a converted railway
station, but it contains the tomb of Alma Pompeia, the mother of S.
Tugdual, who died in the 6th cent., but the tomb was erected in 1470.
She is represented on it recumbent; and at the sides are subjects in
bas-relief relative to her story. These have been reproduced in bad
modern glass in the E. window. In the church may be seen a statue of S.
Tugdual habited as a pope. This is due to a curious blunder. His monks
were wont to call him Pabu, or father. A late writer of his legend
supposed that this meant that he was papa--the pope, and so fabricated
a story to explain it, how that Tugdual went to Rome and arrived when
the see was vacant, and was elected pope; how that after a very few
years he wearied of the burden, and a flying horse was sent from
heaven which conveyed him through the air back to Brittany.
_Prat._ The Château of Coatelan is a rectangular building of the
beginning of the 16th cent., and is an interesting, well-preserved
example of a maison forte of the period. Within are some good
chimney-pieces. At the top of one of the turrets is an oven for baking
bread.
_Pommerit Jaudy._ On the Coat-nevez, a conical hill, is a camp,
probably of the Northmen invaders. The château is mainly of the 16th
cent, and has granite chimney-pieces.
_Cavan._ The church (S. Cheron) is of the 15th cent, and has a spire
flanked by two stair-turrets surmounted by domes. This is of 1684.
_Berhet._ The church (S. Bridget) is modern. The Chapel of N.D.
de Confort has flamboyant windows, the tracery in those at the
side forms hearts. Within is a carved oak retable representing the
Passion, Resurrection and Assumption. In the chapel is a Sant-e-roa,
or Holy Wheel, hung with bells, and this is rung during mass, and
by pilgrims desirous of calling the B.V. Mary's attention to their
petitions. Similar wheels are at Quemperven, Locarn, Laniscat in the
Côtes-du-Nord, at S. Nicolas de Prissiac in Morbihan, and at N.D. de
Confort, near Pontcroix in Morbihan. P. last Sunday in September.
* ROCHEFORT EN TERRE (M.) chl. arr. Vannes. A picturesquely situated
little town on schist rocks above the Arz. The scenery of the valley
is pleasing and it has become, like Pont-aven, headquarters of artists.
Considerable ruins of the castle exist, and there are several old
houses in the town. Rochefort was never walled in. Nevertheless it
was furnished with gates in the 18th cent. The Church of N.D. de la
Tronchaye having been erected on a slope to the south causes the N.
side to appear buried. This side was altered in 1533. In the choir are
oak stalls of 1590 and 1592. S. Roque, on a height near the town, was
erected in 1527 in consequence of a vow made by the people who were
decimated by a plague. It was ruined at the Revolution, but has been
rebuilt, 1854. A fair is held at Rochefort on the 2nd Tuesday in every
month. Rochefort affords good quarters whence excursions may be made
to visit the prehistoric monuments scattered over the Lande de Lanvaux
and Haut Branbien. The menhirs are for the most part higher than
those of Carnac, but unhappily a great many of them are fallen. These
collections of megalithic remains have never been properly investigated
and planned, and have not been visited like those of Carnac and
Locmariaquer and Erdeven.
_Pluherlin_ on the Lande de Haut Branbien, N. of Rochefort, has many of
these strewn over the commune. A menhir 15 feet high is in the Lande
de Lanvaux beside the road to Pleucadeuc. Great havoc has been wrought
throughout this neighbourhood among the churches; the interesting
old structures have been wantonly torn down to make place for the
exhibition of the incompetence of Vannes architects.
ROSPORDEN (F.) chl. arr. Quimper. In a pretty situation by a lake
that is, however, traversed by the line from Quimper to Vannes, and
that from Rosporden to Carhaix. The church has a fine tower and
well-proportioned spire of the 13th cent. On the S. side is a porch,
one of the oldest in Finistère. The church contains a rude statue
of Our Lady, much venerated. It was turned out of the church into
the graveyard in 1870, to make way for one more artistic; but the
parishioners rose in indignation and forced the curé to replace it. A
statue of S. Barbara is erected on a fragment of the ancient Calvary
that has been destroyed. P. of S. Eloi, 2nd Sunday in July. Patronal
Feast, Aug. 15.
ROSTRENEN (C.N.) chl. arr. Guingamp, on the slope of a hill, with a
great square in the midst, about which are old houses of the 16th and
17th cents. The parish church is modern, but retains a transept of the
14th cent. and a choir and tower of the 18th. The S. porch has in it
statues of the apostles.
_Glomel._ The finest menhir in the Department is near the hamlet of
Menhir, and is 25 feet high. Another is in the Bois de Coatcourcaral,
10 feet high. The church is of the 14th cent. with a flamboyant east
window. Side windows under gables. N.D. de Trégernan has lost its
tower, pulled down in 1842. The chapel has some good glass in it and
possesses a Calvary.
_Kergrist-Moelo._ The parish church is of the 16th cent., with a square
pinnacled tower and a rich porch of 1554.
SAINT AUBIN D'AUBIGNÉ (I.V.) chl. arr. Rennes. On the line from Dol to
Rennes, a place devoid of interest.
SAINT AUBIN DE CORMIER (I.V.) chl. arr. Fougères. The church has a nave
of the 14th cent. The rest is of the 16th. This was the scene of the
battle fought in 1488, which dealt the last blow to the independence
of Brittany. The Sire d'Albret at the head of 14,000 men entered the
duchy as one of the suitors for the hand of Anne of Brittany, and he
was supported by Henry VII. of England. Maximilian, King of the Romans,
another pretender, hastened to enforce his claims as well. The King
of France sent an army into the duchy which took Châteaubriant and
Fougères and encountered that of Francis II. of Brittany at S. Aubin on
the 28th July 1488. The French cavalry broke the ranks of the Breton
infantry. Six thousand of these latter fell. The Duke of Orleans,
afterwards Louis XII. and the Prince of Orange were taken prisoners.
They were shut up in a cellar still shown under the Hôtel du Commerce.
SAINT BRICE-EN-COGLES (I.V.) chl. arr. Fougères. Here are two châteaux,
one La Roche Portal of the time of Henry IV.
* SAINT BRIEUC. Capital of the DEpartment of Côtes-du-Nord. Is a
dull town situated on the Gouet to which a long descent leads and
where is the tidal port. The estuary is between steep hills. The
city is the seat of a bishop. It contains a number of picturesque
old houses of carved wood with plaster between. The cathedral is low
and disappointing externally, but not without dignity within. The
only remains of the earlier church is the wall from the apse to the
transepts that has been pierced to form chapels. In it are half pillars
with capitals of a Romanesque character. The tower of S. Brieuc was
formerly fortified and still preserves its loopholes for bowmen, but
they have been blocked. This is of the 13th cent. The apse is of the
14th cent. with a triforium. The date is 1335-55. The lady-chapel is of
the same period. The fine rose window of the S. transept is of the 15th
cent., so is the Chapel of S. Guillaume, composed of two bays separated
by tall cylindrical pillars without capitals but with the vaulting
ribs springing out of them. The southern tower, with indications of
fortification, belongs to the same century. The rose window between the
towers is of the 16th cent. The stained glass and mural decorations
in the spandrils of the arches of the apse are bad as bad can be. The
organ case is composed of panels dated 1540. The plain leaded windows
are far more pleasing than the garish stuff with which they are being
replaced. In the church is the tomb of S. William, bishop of S. Brieuc.
He was the son of Oliver Pinchon and was born at Saint Alban near
Lamballe. He was elected bishop in 1220, and soon quarrelled with
Pierre Mauclerc, Duke of Brittany, who drove him from his see, and he
was obliged to take refuge at Poitiers. He returned to his diocese in
1230, and at once began the rebuilding of his cathedral, but died in
1234. He was an amiable, harmless man, and very considerate to the poor
and suffering.
[Illustration: S. BRIEUC]
The chapel and fountain of S. Brieuc, on the height to the N.W., are
flamboyant and picturesque. On the S. side of the altar is a descent
to the cave to which the Saint was wont to retire for prayer. Brioc
was the son of an Irish occupant of Cardigan and a Saxon wife. He was
educated by the Armorican S. Germain, a nephew of S. Patrick, who
afterwards became Apostle of the Isle of Man. On the expulsion of the
Irish from S.W. Wales Brioc left with a large number of followers and
arrived at the mouth of the Gouet, where a kinsman, by marriage, Rigual
had already settled, and he gave him the land where is now the city
of S. Brieuc, and where had been a Gallo-Roman town. He died about
the middle of the 6th cent. In the Rue Fardel is a house dated 1572.
The modern churches in the town are architectural monstrosities. The
Chapel of N.D. de l'Esperance is vastly pretentious, but wretched
architecturally. The clerestory is filled with stained glass
representing Breton Saints. Patronal Feast, S. Brieuc, 1st May. The
valley of the Gouet may be followed down to the mouth, and an ascent
made to the Tour de Cesson, which has Roman substructions, but was
built up and altered at various times.
At _Ploufragan_ is an allée couverte, buried in brambles. The church is
modern with a spindly tower and spire.
At _La Méaugon_ is a fine railway viaduct in two stages. The church has
in one window a small but admirably drawn representation of the patron
saint S. Meugaint, and a carved granite Calvary in the churchyard. Some
remains of the screen removed to the west end.
_Pledran._ A vitrified fort. The vitrification was done by fires
lighted in the depth of the wall. As the result was not satisfactory,
the face outwards was subsequently banked up.
SAINT JEAN BRÉVELAY (M.) chl. d'arr Ploermel. On the side of the road
to Vannes, near Kerdramel, are two menhirs. A kilometre west of le
Moustoir, on the Lande de Coh-Coet, a large dolmen formed of three
blocks only; the coverer is 18 feet long. It has the ruins of an allée
couverte leading to it. A kilometre south of it is a menhir 18 feet
high. The natives of this district fled to England from the Northmen in
the 9th cent., and brought back with them, when returning some relics
of S. John of Beverley, Archbishop of York, who died in 721.
_Plumelec._ Between Trégoët and Kersimon is an allée couverte. In the
coppice of Château Béauce a large dolmen called Migourdy, which on
being explored yielded fragments of a figure of Venus Anadyomene,
and a coin of Diocletian, showing that it had been utilised for some
unknown purpose in historic times. It is supposed that the place owes
its name to S. Meletius, B. of London, who died in 624, and that the
refugees to England brought back his relics. But this is not probable;
it must have been called plou after a founder of the clan, and the
title of plou would hardly have attached to relics. The church is
modern; the Chapel of S. Aubin is of 1513, and has some curious carving
on the capitals, a fox preaching to geese, etc. Above the N. transept
rises a slated spire.
_Guéhenno._ A modern church, but the porch of 1547 has been preserved.
In the graveyard is a fine Calvary of the 16th cent., the finest in
Morbihan. On it are numerous single figures as well as groups. It was
taken down and buried at the time of the Revolution, so as to preserve
it, and was restored in 1855. The Republican ruffians burnt the church.
P. on 1st Sunday in September.