Chapter XII: Religious Festivals and Pardons

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Brittany has been called “the Land of Calvaries and Pardons.” This does not mean much to one who has never come under the spell of these strange sights and survivals, but it means a great deal to those who realize to the full the real significance of the devoutness and religious motives which inspire the Breton folk to worship God in a manner which, in the present age of disregard for the Christian religion of our forefathers, seems to be playing less and less a foremost part.

“Venez donc un tour au Pays de St. Yves.

* * *

Au pays du Creizker finement dentelé.
Venez donc faire un tour au Pays de Calvaires,
Au Pays des Pardons mystiques et joyeux.”

So sang Theodore Botrèl in a charming series of verses written as an invitation to his fellow Frenchmen to know more of the ancient province of Brittany. Since Brittany is so very religious, the most devout of all the provinces of the France of to-day, the following account of the disposition of certain observances under the care of the state is apropos.

France is said to be Catholic, because the majority of the people profess Catholicism, which apparently answers their wants better than any other. As a matter of fact, however, there is the coëstablishment of four religions, all of which are recognized by the state and their ministers paid by the state. So, virtually, there are four state religions, if they can be so called. In truth, there is no religious head in France; neither the chief of state, the Archbishop of Paris (there are three other heads of religions, so manifestly one could not be chosen), nor the minister of public worship can be called upon to fill the office, hence there is no national religion, though the Roman Catholic faith predominates to-day as in the past.

Since we are concerned herein with Brittany alone, and since the Breton is accounted the most devoutly Catholic of all Frenchmen, it is enough to define the organization of the Roman Catholic religion alone, leaving the question of the Calvinists, the Lutherans, and the Israelites quite apart, as they exist not at all in Brittany as a factor of the local conditions of life.

The parish is the unit in the Catholic Church organization in France, as the _commune_ is the unit in civil administration; the parishes are divided into _curés_ and _succursales_.

The first class, which number forty-five hundred throughout France, have for their pastor a priest who is immovable, nominated by the bishop with the approval of the government. The second class have a pastor who is nominated by the bishop, but who can be removed or replaced. The parish priest may have one or more assistants. Above the parish priest in rank is the bishop.

In general the bishoprics correspond with the departments, though there are eighty-four dioceses and but sixty-seven bishops, the archbishops of the “ecclesiastical provinces”--which often include several departments and dioceses--making up the number.

In Brittany the Departments of Ille-et-Vilaine, Côtes du Nord, Finistère, Morbihan, and Loire-Inférieure have a bishopric, with an archbishopric at Rennes.

The bishops are nominated by the chief of the state, but are invested canonically by the Pope. They are assisted by vicars-general, who undertake the administrative functions of the diocese. The canonical chapter of the cathedral, the diocesan seminary, and all other seminaries are under the authority of the vicar-general.

Above the bishops are the archbishops, who administer to the wants of their diocese in the same way as the bishops, and, in addition, preside at all provincial councils, ordain the bishops, and in general have a certain jurisdiction over the bishoprics of their sees.

The ecclesiastical provinces, as the great administrative districts of the Church are known, correspond to-day, in a great part, to the ancient provinces of the Roman epoch in Gaul, as the bishoprics themselves correspond with the ancient cities and towns.

Higher up even than the archbishops are the cardinals, nominated by the Pope with the concurrence of the head of the French nation. To-day there are five cardinals in France, all being titularies of one of the Roman churches and members of the Sacred College which elects the Pope.

Those who know Brittany will recognize as the foremost trait and characteristic of the people their devotion to religious forms and ceremonies.

It has been said that by nature the Bretons are conservative. This is indeed true enough, but they are something more, they are superstitious, not only with regard to certain phases of their religion, but also with respect to many of their local customs, which have naught to do with religion. It is said that belief in witchcraft still endures, and certain it is that folk-lore and fairy-lore are, in some parts, quite as much of the life of the people as is the case in the bogs of Ireland. The Celtic imagination, which is the same in both instances, doubtless accounts for this. What the Bretons really are, or have been, though they have not often been accused of it, is pagan,--at least some of them are. It was only in the seventeenth century that the pagan cult--as a body of magnitude--was suppressed. This again was a survival, of course, from the barbarous rites and practices of the druids, which indeed were the same elsewhere, so it need not be laid up against the Bretons alone.

Probably those vast colonies of megalithic monuments at Carnac, and their orphaned brothers and sisters scattered elsewhere throughout Brittany, did much to keep the flames aglow on pagan altars, and even to-day it is easy to perceive with what awe and veneration the simple-minded Breton peasant regards these weird survivals of other days. At any rate, Breton religion to-day is a devotion to many forms and ceremonies.

Brittany has been called the land of pardons (_pays des pardons_). Every one knows of these great Breton festivals and of their significance. If one travel between May and October, scarcely a week will pass without his falling unawares upon one or another of these great sacred fêtes.

All Bretons do not give to these rites the sacred regard with which they were originally intended to be endowed. Decidedly they have been profaned only too often, and at times there is a little too much license. The Breton pardon is by no means to be thought of in the same manner as the kermess of Flanders, which is a merrymaking pure and simple, with not even a side-light of religion thrown upon it.

The five great pardons of Brittany are held each year as follows:

“The Pardon of the Poor,” at St. Yves; “The Pardon of the Singers,” at Rumengol; “The Pardon of the Fire,” at St. Jean du Doigt; “The Pardon of the Mountain,” at Troménie de St. Ronan; “The Pardon of the Sea,” at Ste. Anne de la Palude.

It is a moot question as to just how much of romance is in the make-up of the Breton character. Emotional the people are, but the emotion that leads them into the enthusiasm which they exhibit at their great religious festivals and pardons is more superstitious than romantic.

The druidism, or paganism, or whatever the religion (_sic_) of the ancient peoples of the Armorican peninsula may have been, bears not the least traditional resemblance to the fervour of the devotees of the pardons of to-day, but one can readily believe that the same spirit, if with a different motive, does exist even now.

The blessing of the boats, the birds, the cows, and what not, which takes place periodically at different points along the Breton coast,--for it is mostly along the coast that these observances take place,--smacks not a little of something that is of more psychological purport than mere religious devotion.

From whatever tradition these great religious observances have descended, there is no question of the sincerity of the participants, though there is a wide difference between the “sacred” and “profane” elements which meet on these occasions.

Brittany, perhaps as much as any other of the ancient provinces of France, has preserved its local customs and traditions, unblushingly indifferent to the changing conditions round about them. Of course there is no reason why religion and its observances should change with the march of time, but they do, nevertheless, in France as much as in any other land. Only in Brittany, apparently, do the congregations of men and women--for elsewhere the congregations are mostly women--of great churches approach to anything like the numbers that the churches were built to contain.

Throughout this land of calvaries, too, there will be found at all times of the day, and often at night, a tiny congregation of one, two, or perhaps a half a dozen, peasant or fisher folk kneeling before one of these wayside crosses, and invoking their God after the manner they have been taught, in a truly devout and sincere fashion, which is more than can be said of some parts, where the peasant, when on a visit to town on the market-day, rushes in and out of a church with hardly time enough devoted to the whole process even to have used the holy water.

Brittany may be a poor and impoverished province, and in many respects it has not the abundance of the good things of life which one finds in Touraine, Burgundy, or the Midi, but there is a general air of prosperity in the gay accoutrements of the men and women who shine forth on the occasions of the great pardons, showing a snug wardrobe stowed away somewhere.

As one leaves Normandy, at Pontorson, he enters Brittany--the land of calvaries. These fine monuments are not the calvaries which have made the old province famous,--the great stone crosses of Finistère,--but are for the most part unpretentious pieces of wood put together in the form of a cross, or a like symbol, rudely hammered out of a piece of iron by the local blacksmith.

One notes many of these simple crosses throughout Brittany; simple as compared with the more elaborate calvaries, though they may have one, two, or even more sculptured figures in the arms or branches of the cross. One of the most ancient of these, dating from the fourteenth or fifteenth century, is at Scaër in Finistère.

It is a question as to whether any of the great monumental calvaries of Brittany can be considered really artistic. They are imposing,--some of them even terrifying in their strange grandeur,--but all of them seem theatrical, however sincere and devout the motive for their erection may have been. The chief and most elaborate examples are those at Plougastel, near Brest, and St. Thégonnec in Finistère (dating from 1610).

Besides these really great and celebrated functions are many others of minor purport, such as the “Benediction of the Boats” and the “Benediction of the Fields.” The latter occurs when the caterpillars and earthworms fall upon and ravage the land. The local _curé_, with the permission of the bishop, then blesses the fields. In the midst of the fields the _curé_ takes up his position on some slight eminence, clad in a white surplice, with a violet stole, and begs God to exterminate the noxious insects, the prayers meanwhile being accompanied with the sprinkling of holy water and burning of incense.

The Pardon of St. Jean du Doigt, on the twenty-second of June, is perhaps the most solemn of all its species, and for that reason is described here.

The Pardon of St. Yves, in the Tregarris, of Rumengol and Ste. Anne de la Palude, in Finistère, are especially religious and severe, while that of Notre Dame de la Clarté, in the Morbihan, has the double purpose of homage to Our Lady and the facilitating of marriage.

Here the young peasants in search of a spouse promenade around the church, and when they have made their choice they address the young lady and ask her if she will accept the gift; the boy having meanwhile bought a large round cake. “Will mademoiselle break the cake with me?” says he. If she accept, they consider themselves as engaged, after which their families meet together and discuss the conditions of the marriage.

At Creac’higuel, near Rosporden, the pardon endures for three days, and here one sees the wonderful ’broidered waistcoats and collarettes and beribboned hats of the young men of Pont Aven, Quimperlé, and Scaër, unique in all Brittany.

In July, at Guingamp, is the procession to Our Lady of Good Help, with the inevitable salute of firearms, and a torchlight procession of ten or twelve thousand pilgrims--and some others who are merely profane lookers-on.

The “Benediction of the Sea” at Concarneau, Douarnenez, Trébone, and many other seacoast villages and hamlets, is another religious manifestation which is always attractive to the curious.

At the pardon of St. Jean du Doigt the precious relic of the saint is guarded before the high altar of the church by an abbé clad in his surplice and holding in his hand the precious finger enveloped in fine linen. One by one the faithful pass before the abbé and touch, for an instant, the sainted relic.

Near the choir, another cleric holds aloft the skull of St. Mériadec, before which the pilgrims bow their heads as they pass. Before leaving the church, in response to the call, “_Dour ar bis! Dour ar bis!_” sung in a strident Celtic voice, the pilgrims repair to a fountain attached to the side wall, in which the finger has previously been bathed at the end of a gold chain. Immediately this operation is over, the devout plunge their palms deep into the sanctified water and vehemently rub their eyes. Then the pardon is finished, and the profane festivity begins.

“Whence come you?” was asked of a happy family of three at St. Jean du Doigt. “From St. Jean-Brevelay,” they replied, mentioning a village a hundred kilometres away, in Morbihan. “We have walked three suns and three moons,”--which sounds like the American Indian’s method of reckoning by moons, but which in this case meant merely that they had been on the road three days and three nights.

The little Church of St. Jean du Doigt offers complete and perfect example of what a village church should be. The building itself is surrounded by the churchyard, with its monumental portal, or triumphal arch, as it is always called hereabouts, its sacred fountain, its calvary, its ossuary, and its open-air oratory for the celebration of the mass for the pilgrims.

The triumphal arch is a great fifteenth-century gateway surmounted by two niches containing two ancient Gothic statues, one of St. John the Baptist, and the other of St. Roch.

With the coming of twilight, when the mists roll in from the sea, the silhouetted couples (lovers), following the ancient custom, promenade arm in arm, or rather hand in hand, each holding the other by the little finger, in deference to the finger of St. John.

When the darkness has actually fallen, the bonfires flame out on the far-away sands, the light reflected in the waves in truly eerie fashion, and so the great day of pardon and festival departs into the past.

Chant and song play a great part in all these religious festivals, not only the officiating priests, but the public singing. These religious chants seem to give rise to others less devout, of which the two following are typical.

If one is in South Finistère on the occasion of the celebration of the “Pardon of the Singers,” he will hear the following lines sung tumultuously by the local swains:

“Entre Brest et Lorient
Leste, leste,
Entre Brest et Lorient
Lestement.

“Les gabiers de la misaine
Sont des filles de quinze ans.
Entre Brest et Lorient
Leste, leste.”

At the “Pardon of the Sea,” in the Paimpol country, one hears these sombre words:

“Tais-toi! tais-toi! maîtresse exquise!
Je vois ma mort dans l’eau.”

The great extent to which the Breton people carry their respect and devotion to religious ceremony of all sorts is no better exemplified than in the observance of the Miz-dus (the black months, or the mourning months) by those who have banded themselves together and formed a sort of “cult of the dead.” In reality, however, it is merely a mourning for the departed, by the widows or mothers of the fishermen and sailors.

In November, when the Miz-dus begin, widows in most picturesque, though sombre, costumes are continually met with in the Morbihan, and such seacoast towns as Ploubazlanec, Portz--even (where there is a “widows’ cross,” quite the most frequented shrine of all) Saint Cast, on the coast of the Channel, or at Pontivy.

Anatole le Braz, in the “Legend of the Dead,” has written a complete history of the funeral superstitions which obtain in Brittany at this season.

The “Cult of the Dead,” as it is known, is unique among similar observances in all France. Virtually it is a display of devotion and respect for one’s ancestors. In the rural and seacoast parishes of Morbihan, Finistère, and the Côtes du Nord the custom is found most highly developed.

The little cemeteries of Brittany are better than mere formal gardens with rectangular walks and well-clipt trees and hedges. Mostly, they have winding little alleys, and are set out with apple-trees and wild-flowers.

In downright bad taste, these cemeteries, in common with most others in France, have an abundance of wire and bead memorial wreaths and crowns. Why it is that the French, with their usually highly developed artistic sense, affect these artificialities, is a question to which no one has had the temerity to devise an answer.

At Ploubazlanec, a tiny village settled upon a cliff overlooking the Bay of Paimpol, are the funeral monuments of many who have lost their lives by drowning in a frozen sea, as you will be told.

In 1901, three ships from these parts disappeared, crew and cargo, following the sinister local expression, in the cold waters off Iceland, whither the little fleet had gone for the fishing. In the cemetery, in the side of the mortuary chapel, is a section known as “the wall of those who disappeared,” and here you may read, many times repeated, such inscriptions as the following:

“En Mémoire de Gilles Brézellec, 17 ans, décédé à Islande.
En Mémoire de Jean-Marie Brézellec, 16 ans, décédé à
Islande.
En Mémoire de Yves Brézellec, 37 ans, décédé à Islande.
Priez Dieu pour eux!”

A whole family shattered and broken up, leaving perhaps a wife and an old mother dependent upon charity, or such a scanty living as can be picked up intermittently.

At Kérity, also, is an Icelanders’ cemetery, and here one may read the names, beginning with that of the captain, of the crew of twenty, all hailing from the home port of Kérity, who were lost in the white fiords of Iceland in another catastrophe.

Nowhere in the known world is there anything like the wholesale risk of life which goes on yearly from the ports of Finistère and the Côtes du Nord, unless it be that among the American fishermen on the Grand Banks, hailing from Gloucester, on Massachusetts Bay.

If the visitor to Brittany has not yet made the acquaintance of the heroes of Loti’s “Iceland Fishermen,” he should do so forthwith, for it was at Ploubazlanec that the great Yann Gaos was interred, and near him reposed his father and little Sylvestre.

The Celtic spirit of the modern Breton has preserved the legend or superstition of “An-Ankou,” the spirit of death. In many villages one may interrogate a peasant or a fisherman, who will affirm that it is “Ankou” who leads the way for the funeral-car and who waits at the grave to carry the soul of the departed away with him after the others have left.

Among the superstitious signs which presage the coming of the “Ankou” are, a ball of fire, which rests upon the tiles of the roof over the stricken one,--a most unlikely thing, one would think,--the theft of grain by crows, the tapping of a window-pane by the beak of a sea-bird, the prolonged bellowing of cattle by the light of the moon, a candle which will not light, or for a peasant to split or cleave two pairs of wooden shoes in one week.

THE END.

APPENDICES

THE PROVINCES OF FRANCE

Up to 1789, there were thirty-three great governments making up modern France, the twelve governments created by Francis I. being the chief, and seven _petits gouvernements_ as well.

In the following table the _grands gouvernements_ of the first foundation are indicated in heavy-faced type, those which were taken from the first in italics, and those which were acquired by conquest in ordinary characters.

NAMES OF GOVERNMENTS CAPITALS
1. Ile-de-France Paris.
2. Picardie Amiens.
3. Normandie Rouen.
4. Bretagne Rennes.
5. Champagne et Brie Troyes.
6. Orléanais Orléans.
7. _Maine et Perche_ Le Mans.
8. _Anjou_ Augers.
9. _Touraine_ Tours.
10. _Nivernais_ Nevers.
11. _Berri_ Bourges.
12. _Poitou_ Poitiers.
13. _Aunis_ La Rochelle.
14. Bourgogne (duché de) Dijon.
15. Lyonnais, Forez et Beaujolais Lyon.
16. _Auvergne_ Clermont.
17. _Bourbonnais_ Moulins.
18. _Marche_ Guéret.
19. Guyenne et Gascogne Bordeaux.
20. _Saintonge et Angoumois_[A] Saintes.
21. _Limousin_ Limoges.
22. _Béarn et Basse Navarre_ Pau.
23. Languedoc Toulouse.
24. _Comté de Foix_ Foix.
25. Provence Aix.
26. Dauphiné Grenoble.
27. _Flandre et Hainaut_ Lille.
28. Artois Arras.
29. Lorraine et Barrois Nancy.
30. Alsace Strasbourg.
31. Franche-Comté ou Comté de Bourgogne Besançon.
32. Roussilon Perpignan.
33. Corse Bastia.

[A] Under Francis I. the Angoumois was comprised in the Orléanais.

The seven _petits gouvernements_ were:

1. The ville, prévôté and vicomté of Paris.
2. Havre de Grâce.
3. Boulonnais.
4. Principality of Sedan.
5. Metz and Verdun, the pays Messin and Verdunois.
6. Toul and Toulois.
7. Saumur and Saumurois.

II.

THE ANCIENT PROVINCES OF FRANCE

III.

THE PRINCIPAL PAYS AND PAGI OF BRITTANY

Pays d’Alet Ille et Vilaine
Pays de Briere Loire Infr.
Cornouailles Finistère.
Le Desert Ille et Vilaine.
Dinannois Côtes du Nord.
Pays de Dol Côtes du Nord.
Pays de Grève Côtes du Nord.
Léonais Finistère.
Nantais Loire Infr.
Rennois Ille et Vilaine.
Pays de Vannes Morbihan.

IV.

COUNTS AND DUKES OF BRITTANY

Nominoë 824
Erispoë 851
Salomon 857
Pasqueten and Gurvaud 874
Alain I. 877
Gurmailhon 907
Juhael Béranger 930
Alain II. (Barbe Torte) 937
Drogon 952
Hoël I. 953
Guerech 980
Conan I. 987
Geoffroy I. 992
Alain III. 1008
Conan II. 1040
Hoël II. 1066
Alain Fergent 1084
Conan III. 1112
Eudes and Hoël III. 1148
Geoffroy II. 1156
Constance and Arthur 1171
Pierre Mauclerc and
Alix 1186
Jean I. 1213
Jean II. 1237
Arthur II. 1286
Jean III. 1305
Charles de Blois 1312
Jean IV. de Montfort 1341
Jean V. 1365
François I. 1399
Pierre II. 1450
Arthur III. 1457
François II. 1458
Duchess Anne, who
married Charles
VIII. and afterward
Louis XI. of France, 1488-1513

THE METRIC SYSTEM

METRICAL AND ENGLISH WEIGHTS AND MEASURES

Mètre = 39.3708 in. = 3.231. 3 ft. 3 1-2 in. = 1.0936 yard.
Square Mètre (mètre carré) = 1 1-5th square yards (1.196).
Are (or 100 sq. mètres) = 119.6 square yards.
Cubic Mètre (or Stere) = 35 1-2 cubic feet.
Centimètre = 2-5ths inch.
Kilomètre = 1,093 yards = 5-8 mile.
10 Kilomètres = 6 1-4 miles.
100 Kilomètres = 62 1-10th miles.
Square Kilomètre = 2-5ths square mile.
Hectare = 2 1-2 acres (2.471).
100 Hectares = 247.1 acres.
Gramme = 15 1-2 grains (15.432).
10 Grammes = 1-3d oz. Avoirdupois.
15 Grammes = 1-2 oz. Avoirdupois.
Kilogramme =2 1-5th lbs. (2.204) Avoirdupois.
10 Kilogrammes = 22 lbs. Avoirdupois.
Metrical Quintal = 220 1-2 lbs. Avoirdupois.
Tonneau = 2,200 lbs. Avoirdupois.
Litre = 0.22 gal. = 1 3-4 pint.
Hectolitre = 22 gallons.

ENGLISH AND METRICAL WEIGHTS AND MEASURES

Inch = 2.539 centimètres = 25.39 millimètres.
2 inches = 5 centimètres nearly.
Foot = 30.47 centimètres.
Yard = 0.9141 mètre.
12 yards = 11 mètres nearly.
Mile =1.609 kilomètre.
Square foot = 0.093 mètre carré.
Square yard = 0.836 mètre carré.
Acre = 0.4046 hectare = 4,003 sq. mètres nearly.
2 1-2 acres = 1 hectare nearly.
Pint = 0.5679 litre.
1 3-4 pint = 1 litre nearly.
Gallon = 4.5434 litres = 4 nearly.
Bushel = 36.347 litres.
Oz. Troy = 31.103 grammes.
Pound Troy (5,760 grains) = 373.121 grammes.
Oz. Avoirdupois = 8.349 grammes.
Pound Avoirdupois (7,000 grains) = 453.592 grammes.
2 lbs. 3 oz. = kilogramme nearly.
100 lbs. = 45.359 kilogrammes.
Cwt. = 50.802 kilogrammes.
Ton = 1,018.048 kilogrammes.

VI.

Sketch Map of Circular Tour in Brittany. Fares from Rennes, 65 francs, 1st class; 50 francs, 2d class.

Itinerary: Rennes, Saint-Malo-Saint-Servan, Dinard, Saint-Brieuc, Guingamp, Lannion, Morlaix, Roscoff, Brest, Quimper, Douarnenez, Pont-l’Abbé, Concarneau, Lorient, Auray, Quiberon, Vannes, Savenay, Le Croisic, Guérande, Saint-Nazaire, Pont-Château, Redon, Rennes.

VII.

VIII.

By day the signals showing the depth of water--in mètres--at the harbour entrance are shown by balls or small balloons; at night these are replaced by lanterns. (See top diagram.) The flag signals of the other diagrams explain themselves.

IX.

THE PRINCIPAL PARDONS OF BRITTANY

DEPARTMENT OF FINISTÈRE

PLOUGASTEL-DAOULAS.--Easter Monday, the Monday of Pentecôte, 29th June, and 15th August.

PONT L’ABBÉ.--25th March, Monday of Pentecôte, 3d Sunday of July, 4th Sunday of September.

CONCARNEAU.--(Ste. Guénolé) First Sunday in May, (Sainte Croix) 14th September, (Pardon du Rosaire) First Sunday in October.

BANNALEC.--Ascension Day.

QUIMPERLÉ.--Trinity Sunday, second Sunday of May, last Sunday of July, third Sunday in September.

QUIMPERLÉ.--Easter Monday.

RUMENGAL.--Trinity Sunday.

LOCTUDY.--Sunday following 11th May, and 2d Sunday of August.

PONT AVEN.--Second Sunday of May and third Sunday of September.

SAINT JEAN DU DOIGT.--23d and 24th June.

ROSCOFF.--Mid-June and 15th August.

CAMARET (Fête de la Pêche et Bénédiction de la Mer).--Third Sunday in June.

LOCRONAN (Petite Troménie every year; Grande Troménie every six years).--Second Sunday of July.

ROSPORDEN.--Second Sunday in July.

LE FOLGOËT.--15th August, and 7th and 8th September.

QUIMPER.--15th, 16th, and 17th August.

HUELGOAT.--Three days--first Sunday of August.

STE. ANNE DE LA PALUDE.--Saturday evening and last Sunday of August.

SCAËR.--Last Sunday of August.

AUDIERNE.--Last Sunday of August.

PENMARC’H (Pardon du Rosaire).--First Sunday of October.

DEPARTMENT OF THE MORBIHAN

ST. GILDAS DE RHUIS.--29th of January.

AURAY.--(Ouverture du Pardon de St. Anne) 7th March, (Principal Pardon) 25th and 26th of July.

LOCMINÉ.--Three days from the Sunday nearest 27th June.

STE. BARBE EN FAOUËT.--Last Sunday of June.

ST. FIACRE PRÈS LE FAOUËT.--Fourth Sunday in July.

LOCMARIAQUER.--Second Sunday in September.

PONTIVY.--Second Sunday in September.

CARNAC.--Third Sunday in September, (Pardon of St. Cornely) the Sunday nearest the 14th September.

PONT SCORFF.--Third Sunday in September.

LE FAOUËT.--First Sunday in October.

A BRIEF LIST OF SOME OF THE MORE IMPORTANT PREFIXES OF PLACE-NAMES IN BRITTANY, WITH THEIR DEFINITIONS

_Bod, Bot._--A place surrounded by a wood. Bodilis, Botsorhel.

_Bras, Bré._--High, elevated. Braspart, Brelevené.

_Conc._--A harbour or bay. Concarneau, le Conquet.

_Car._--A manor or château. Carhaix.

_Coat._--A wood or forest. Coatascorn, Coatreven.

_Crug._--Amid the rocks. Cruguel.

_Faou._--A place planted with oaks. Le Faouët.

_Guic._--Bourg. Guichen (old bourg).

_Hen._--Old. Henvie, Henpont.

_Ker or Kaer._--Manor, château. Kerlouan, Kervignac.

_Lan._--Church or consecrated spot. Lannion, Lanildut.

_Les, Lis._--Court or jurisdiction. Lesneven, Lezardrieux.

_Loc._--Oratoire or hermitage. Locmaria.

_Méné._--Mountain. Méné Bré.

_Mor._--The sea. Morbihan (_la petite mer_).

_Pen._--Promontory summit or extremity. Penmarc’h, Paimbœuf (_par corruption_).

_Plé, Pleu, Plo, Plou, Plu._--Parish. Pléhédel, Pleudihen, Plouha.

_Poul._--Hole or basin. Pouldergat.

_Ros._--Hill or slope. Roscoff, Rosporden.

_Tref, Tré._--Part of a parish. Trégastel, Trémelior.

XI.

THE BRETON TONGUE IN BRITTANY TO-DAY[B]

[B] This table takes no cognizance of those speaking French only
and not Breton, whilst the three departments given are those
only in which the knowledge of the Breton tongue is in excess
of that in other parts.

It is a regrettable fact that the Morbihan has the greatest number of illiterates of any of the departments of France. Among a hundred conscripts for the army, often thirty or forty are classed as illiterate, while in Finistère and the Côtes du Nord, the number falls to thirty or less, and in Ille et Vilaine to less than twenty.

INDEX OF PLACES

Alre, 158.

Ancenis (and château), 99-101.

Angers (and castle), 24, 30, 108, 119, 146, 243, 311, 316.

Audierne, 89, 212, 213-214, 370.

Auray, 32, 157, 158, 159-167, 172, 175, 178, 192, 309, 370.

Bannelec, 194-195, 369.

Batz, Isle of, 121, 240-242.

Baud, 157, 158.

Baule, 127.

Becherel, 306.

Beg-Meil, 201.

Belle Ile en Mer, 27, 34, 36, 171, 173-175.

Benzec Capcaval, 211.

Béré, Fair of, 129-130.

Binic, 267-268, 270.

Black Mountains, 218.

Bourg de Batz, 111, 121, 127.

Bréhat, 43, 259-260.

Brest, 26, 32, 39, 41, 43, 44, 47, 51, 54, 56, 72, 87, 150, 212, 220, 221-224, 225, 227, 228, 229, 230, 236, 309, 310, 340, 350.

Camaret, 89, 219-220, 369.

Cancale, 298-300.

Cape de la Chèvre, 214, 217.

Cap Fréhel, 290.

Carhaix, 54, 310, 337-339.

Carnac, 159, 163, 167, 168-171, 345, 370.

Cesson, Tower of, 266.

Cezon, 44.

Champ Dolent, 303.

Champtoceaux (and château), 104-105.

Châteaubriant (and château), 128-132.

Chateaulin, 27, 217-218, 219.

Chatelaudren, 263.

Clisson (and château), 42, 111, 114-115.

Combourg (and château), 305-308.

Concarneau, 43, 89, 197-201, 202, 205, 212, 215, 216, 219, 224, 351, 369.

Corseul, 146.

Creac’higuel, 351.

Croisic, 42, 111, 121, 127.

Crozon, 217, 219.

Daoulas, 229, 369.

Dinan (and château), 24, 54, 249, 271, 291-297.

Dinard, 39, 249, 271, 273, 288-289, 290.

Dol, 19, 39, 43, 54, 249, 303-305.

Douarnenez (and bay), 32, 38, 43, 51, 89, 187, 212, 214-216, 217, 219, 351.

Elven, 138.

Ernée (and château), 312.

Etables, 267.

Falaise, 130.

Faou, 220, 221.

Faouët (Finistère), 192-194.

Folgoët, 224, 237-238, 369.

Fontaine-Daniel, Abbey of, 312.

Fougères (and forest), 54, 262, 309, 310, 312, 313-315, 316, 321, 340.

Fouquet, Château, 27, 174.

Grand Brière, 125.

Guérande, 121, 125-127.

Guibray, Fair of, 130.

Guingamp (and castle), 54, 86, 87, 250, 260-262, 351.

Hédé, 306.

Hennebont, 146, 179, 182-185.

Huelgoat, 310, 339-340, 370.

Javron, 313.

Joie, Abbaye de la, 185.

Josselin (and château), 150, 152-157, 309, 337.

Kerérault, 229.

Kérity, 357.

Kerlean, Manoir of, 138.

Kerlescan, 169.

Kerlouan, 224.

Kermario, 169.

Kermartin, Manor of, 255.

Lacroix, 44.

La Houle, 299.

“La Joyeuse Garde,” Château of, 227.

Lamballe, 268-269.

Landeau, 315-316.

Landerneau, 221, 224-227, 310, 340.

Landivisiau, 221, 227-228.

Lannion, 24, 74, 89, 250-252.

Largoet, Fortress of, 138.

La Roche-Bernard, 128.

La Trinité, 177-178.

Laval (and château), 54, 56, 310, 316-318, 322.

Le Conquet, 230-231, 236.

Lehon, 297-298.

Le Légué, 266.

Le Mans, 54, 310.

Locmariaquer, 146, 159, 167, 175-176, 370.

Locminé, 157-158, 370.

Lorient, 43, 44, 54, 89, 144, 175, 179-181, 182.

Loudéac, 310, 334-335.

Mayenne (and château), 54, 309, 310, 311-312, 316, 322.

Ménac, 169.

Minden, Fort, 44.

Miniac, 306.

Molène, Ile, 232-233.

Montauban, 334.

Mont Dol, 303.

Montfort-sur-Meu, 310, 333-334.

Mont St. Michel (and bay), 34, 39, 43, 46, 54, 60, 249, 298, 300-302, 303.

Morlaix, 43, 54, 63, 94, 238, 244-247, 249, 340.

Motte-Broons, 293.

Nantes (and castle), 4, 7, 19, 22, 24, 26, 30, 36, 38, 39, 54, 56, 57, 67, 102, 104, 105-110, 111, 112, 115, 116-121, 124, 127, 146, 174, 211, 221, 243.

Notre Dame de la Clarté, 350-351.

Oudon, 104.

Ouessant, Ile, 43, 44, 232, 233-236.

Our Lady of Langonnet, Abbey of, 194.

Paimbœuf, 42, 111, 112.

Paimpol, 257-259.

Palais, 44, 173, 175.

Paramé, 39, 271, 272, 274-276.

Penmarc’h, 31, 208, 210-211, 370.

Penthièvre, 7, 44, 171.

Pilier, 44.

Ploërmel, 54, 150-152.

Ploubazlanec, 355, 356, 357.

Ploudalmézeau, 236-237.

Plougasnou, 25, 64.

Plougastel, 221, 228-230, 350, 369.

Plouharnel, 167, 171.

Pointe de Kerpenhir, 145.

Point of Primel, 247.

Point of Raz, 212, 213, 214.

Point Sizun, 212.

Point St. Mathieu, 212.

Pont Aven, 82, 187, 201, 202-205, 351, 369.

Pont Croix, 214.

Pontivy (and castle), 54, 334-337, 355, 370.

Pont l’Abbé, 27, 82, 187, 208-210, 369.

Pont Scorff, 179, 185-186, 370.

Pornic (and château), 42, 111, 112-114.

Port Haliguen, 172.

Port Louis, 44, 181-182.

Port Maria, 172.

Port Navalo, 43, 145.

Portz, 355.

Pouldu, 190.

Poulgoazec, 214.

Pré-en-Pail, 309.

Primelin, 214.

Questembert, 136.

Quiberon, 44, 163, 167, 170, 171-173, 175.

Quimper, 19, 27, 32, 38, 41, 53, 54, 60, 72, 75, 82, 93, 128, 205-208, 212, 224, 370.

Quimperlé, 187-190, 191, 309, 351, 369.

Redon, 24, 128, 132-136.

Rennes, 19, 22, 24, 25, 41, 54, 57, 75, 118, 128, 146, 150, 310, 316, 329-333, 343.

Rimains, Fort des, 44.

Rochefort-en-Terre (and château), 27, 136-138.

Rochers, Château of, 324-328.

Roc’hquérezen, 229.

Roc’hquillion, 229.

Roc’huivlen, 229.

Roscanvel, 217.

Roscoff, 43, 75, 238-240, 369.

Rosporden, 31, 194, 195-196, 201, 351, 369.

Rostrenen, 337.

Rothéneuf, 286-287.

Rumengal, 346, 350, 369.

Sauzon, 175.

Savenay, 41, 124-125, 128, 130.

Scaër, 349, 351, 370.

Seven Isles, 256-257.

St. Briac, 27, 290-291.

St. Brieuc, 19, 29, 60, 262, 263-266, 268, 270.

St. Cast, 26, 67, 290, 355.

Ste. Anne de la Palude, 346, 350, 370.

Ste. Marguerite, 127.

St. Énogat, 273, 288, 289-290.

St. Fiacre, 26, 191-192, 370.

St. Gildas de Rhuis, 27, 148, 370.

St. Guénolé, 211.

St. Jacut, 27, 272-273, 290.

St. Jean-Brevelay, 352.

St. Jean du Doigt, 247-248, 346, 350, 352-353, 369.

St. Lunaire, 27, 290.

St. Malo (and bay), 9, 19, 27, 39, 43, 44, 54, 56, 57, 61, 63, 67, 94, 249, 271-274, 276-283, 285, 288, 291, 300.

St. Maurice, Abbey of, 190-191.

St. Méen, 334.

St. Nazaire, 39, 109-111, 112, 121, 122-124, 128, 144.

St. Nicolas, 205.

St. Pol de Léon, 19, 27, 60, 206, 238, 242-244.

St. Rénan, 236.

St. Servan, 27, 271, 272, 276, 283-285.

St. Thégonnec, 350.

St. Yves, 346, 350.

Suscino, Château of, 148-150.

Taureau, Château du, 44.

Tentêniac, 306.

Tombelaine, Isle of, 34, 302-303.

Trébone, 351.

Tréguier, 19, 24, 60, 94, 206, 250, 252-256.

Trélaze, 29.

Tristan, Ile, 215-216.

Troménie de St. Ronan, 346.

Val André, 263, 269-270.

Vannes, 19, 24, 43, 54, 60, 75, 128, 134, 136, 138, 139, 140-148, 150, 175, 187, 221.

Ville Martin, 44.

Vitré (and château), 24, 54, 262, 310, 318-324.

* * * * *

Typographical errors corrected by the etext transcriber:

Le trente-un du mois d’aôut=> Le trente-un du mois d’août {pg 68}

is by no mean inexplicable=> is by no means inexplicable {pg 3}

must known these principal provinces by name=> must know these principal provinces by name {pg 7}

general eerie espect=> general eerie aspect {pg 138}

busy litle Breton port=> busy little Breton port {pg 214}

religious architecure.=> religious architecture. {pg 226}

in the sixth entury=> in the sixth century {pg 304}

Comments

Rambles in BrittanyChapter XII: Religious Festivals and Pardons

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