Brittany

Kervignac. On the N. a fine dolmen near the road to Hennebont. Another to the south near Kermado.

Nostang. S. of the village near the river Etel an alignment of 19 menhirs. For Ile de Groix, see under Pont-aven.

Louvigné du Desert (I.V.) chl. arr. Fougères. Church (S. Padarn) of the 15th cent. with a tower of 1702. A circle of upright stones. The Château of Monthorion with tombs of Raoul II. de Fougères (1194) and Françoise de Foix in the chapel.

Malestroit (M.) chl. arr. Ploermel. The castle is on an islet of the Saudraye; it was constructed in the 11th cent. No traces of it now remain, or none of any importance. The town, built under the shadow of the castle, was fortified in 1463. It was attacked with fury by the League, but always resisted the enemy, till a third siege by Mercœur in 1592, but two months later it was retaken by the Royalists. Now all the walls are gone. The place retains a number of old houses, one of these near the parish church has on it grotesque figures, as a sow spinning, a hunter playing the horn, with beside him a hare performing on the biniou; a man beating his wife, etc. The church (S. Giles) consists of two churches side by side and in different styles. One retains remains of a Romanesque original. The rest is of 1511-31, and some good glass is in the windows, representing Jesus among the Doctors, the Baptism, the Passion, etc. The Chapel of S. M. Magdalen is partly Romanesque.

Matignon (C.M.) chl. arr. Dinan. The parish church is modern but the Chapel of S. Germain is the old parish church and has a Romanesque doorway.

S. Cast, a watering place with good sands. In 1758, the English fleet under Admiral Howe, after having bombarded S. Malo and burnt Dol, disembarked a body of men here. The Duc d'Aiguillon, then governor of Brittany, hastened to the spot, and in spite of the fire of the fleet defeated and almost exterminated the invaders. A monument marks the site of the windmill in which the duke watched the engagement.

Pléboulle. The Templar church is of the 16th cent. except the apse which is earlier. Remains of the octagonal tower of Montbrun on a rock, commanding a sweep of the river Frémeur.

Plévenon. In this commune is the noble headland of Cap Fréhel, of old red sandstone. Here is a lighthouse. The Fort de Latte is on a point of rock in the sea 5 kilometres from Cap Fréhel, and entered by two bridges cast over precipices 300 ft. deep. Facing the fort is a rude stone 9 ft. high surmounted by a cross, probably a menhir.

Mauron (M.) chl. arr. Ploermel. Stands on high ground, watered by the Yvel and Doeft, which unite above Ploermel in the pretty lake of Le Duc. In 1352 the Castle of Mauron was held by Bentley with a body of Anglo-Bretons. The Marshal d'Offemont, at the head of an army of the adherents of Charles de Blois, resolved on taking the place. Bentley marched out against him and obtained a complete victory. Thirteen lords fell, among them the Marshal and the Viscount de Rohan. A hundred and forty knights also succumbed. The Parish Register, 1591, is headed: – "Baptismal Register of Mauron made after the Prince of Darkness with the English and the lancequenects of his company had passed. They spent the Sunday here, September 8, 1591, pillaged and plundered all they could lay hands on in the church, and carried off the baptismal register – on which account this book is now begun." The church is modern but retains some old carving in panels of the 16th cent. near the porch on the S. side, and in the sacristy is a painting of the crucifixion of 1682.

S. Lery. A church of the 15th cent. except the chancel which is modern. In a chapel of the S. transept of flamboyant date is some fine old glass representing the marriage of the Duchess Anne with Charles VIII. of France. On the north of the nave is the tomb of S. Lery, and on it the Saint is represented with a pastoral staff in his hand, a book in the other, and his feet resting on a hare. S. Lery was a native of Wales who crossed over to Armorica and was well received by Judicael. As he desired a retreat, the Queen turned Ilogan, an Irish saint, out of his, and gave his lair warm to Lery, who had no compunction in receiving it. He died in the 7th cent.

Merdignac (C.N.) chl. arr. Loudéac, stands on the road from Loudéac to S. Méen. West of the town is the fortified enclosure of the Vielle Court. Excavations have shown that the wall was vitrified.

S. Launeuc near a pretty lake. Here are the ruins of the Castle of Hardouinaye almost destroyed, where Gilles de Bretagne was starved to death in 1450. Gilles had been left by his father a sum of money, and he complained to his brother, Duke Francois I., and asked to be given some fief in the duchy. But Francis refused his request and threw in his teeth that he favoured the English rather than the French. Gilles married the heiress of Châteaubriant and Dinan. Arthur de Montauban, Marshal of Brittany, who had desired the heiress for himself, was thereby made his mortal enemy. He determined on his destruction, and to effect this spread calumnies against Gilles, to the effect that he was purposing to introduce the English into Brittany, and he obtained leave from Francis to arrest him in his Castle of Guildo. This he effected whilst Gilles was engaged on a game of tennis. He carried him off to Dinan, where was Francis, who refused to see his brother. Francis I. requested the parliament of Brittany to condemn Gilles unheard. At its refusal to do so, he handed him over to Arthur de Montauban to make away with, and the Marshal hurried him away to Hardouinaye and left him to die of starvation in its dungeon.

Muzillac (M.) chl. arr. Vannes. Church of Bourg Peaul with side aisles, Romanesque, and with a slated tower. Chancel 1505. The very rich and curious Calvary was restored in 1894.

Billiers. Here are the remains of the Cistercian Abbey of N.D. de Prières, founded in 1252. The church was pulled down in 1715 to make way for a hideous structure in the taste of the period.

Noyal Muzillac. The church (S. Noyala) was rebuilt in 1850, but the transepts and chancel of the 15th cent. remain. The tower was struck by lightning in 1630 and rebuilt. The Château de Keralio, of the 15th cent., is in ruins.

Montauban (I.V.) chl. arr. Montfort. A modern church. The castle on the edge of the forest is of the 14th and 15th cents., and was once the seat of a powerful family to which it gave its name.

Montcontour (C.N.) chl. arr. S. Brieuc, still possesses remnants of its ancient walls. The church (S. Mathurin) is mainly of the 16th cent.; the spire is covered with lead. Six windows retain magnificent old glass representing the life of the Saviour, that of S. John Baptist, the legend of S. Barbara, that of S. Yves, remains of a Jesse tree, and the legend of S. Mathurin (1535). Montcontour lies on very high ground, and commands a magnificent view. S. Mathurin is much sought by pilgrims who have the highest belief in his powers. The P. is on the eve of Whitsunday with procession carrying lights, and on Whitmonday, with dancing.

Trébry. A dolmen at Ville-Valen, consisting of four supports and a coverer.

Trédaniel. The Chapel of N.D. du Haut is mainly of the 14th cent., and has a fine porch of the 16th.

Montfort (I.V.) chl. d'arr. At the junction of the Mieu and the Garun. A great round tower of the 15th cent. and a portion of wall adjoining are all that remain of the ancient ramparts. The Church of S. Jean Baptiste is modern, but contains retables of the 17th cent. The remains of the Abbey of S. Jacques, founded in 1152, has a church of the 14th cent. and buildings of the 18th. In the hospital of S. Lazare is an altar of the 13th cent. To the S.E. of the tower on the edge of the forest of Coulon is a prostrate menhir called Le Grés de S. Méen.

Mordelles (I.V.) chl. arr. Rennes, on the Meu.

* MORLAIX (F.) chl. d'arr., is situated in a deep cleft valley at the junction of the Jarlot and Qufflent, and has a tidal port. The town is spanned and dwarfed by the magnificent viaduct of the railway to Brest. The town has only one interesting church, S. Melaine (1489-1574). A flight of steps leads to the west door. The S. porch is fine. The baldachino of the font is of 1660, and the organ and gallery are of about the same date and rich. Morlaix contains a number of picturesque houses with galleries about interior courts. The newels of the stairs are often effectively carved. Admission to some may be obtained by application at the door. In the Rue des Nobles is the house of the Duchesse Anne, erected in 1500. The church of the Dominican Convent, founded in 1237, is desecrated. A floor has been introduced at the height of the capitals of the pillars, the basement is made into a lumber chamber, and the upper storey into a museum. It possesses a beautiful window of the 13th cent., a transom sustaining a rose, lights below the transom cusped and sustaining trefoils. This window deserves a study. By descending the Rue des Vignes and turning to the right, the Rue des Fontaines is reached where are two Holy Wells. At N.D. des Fontaines a wall is enriched with tracery under an arch, above which is a delicately beautiful rose window. At this spot, according to legend, S. Drennael, disciple of Joseph of Arimathea, preached, and set up an image of the B. Virgin. The chapel, which formed a portion of a Carmelite church, has been ruined along with the church. The tower of S. Mathieu was built in 1548. On the right bank of the river is the Fontaine des Anglais that marks the spot where, in 1522, six hundred English, who had disembarked to attack the town, were surprised when asleep, and killed. The town was taken by the English in 1532. To guard against surprise, the castle of Le Taureau was constructed on an island at the entrance to the estuary.

For objects of interest in the neighbourhood, see under Taulé.

Mur (C.N.) chl. arr. Loudéac. Two menhirs by the road from Mur to Corlay, one at Botrain is a rude quartz block, square and tapering to a point 12 ft. high. The church is modern. The Chapel of Ste. Suzanne, 1760, has the legend of the Saint painted on the ceiling.

Caurel. By the road from Pontivy to Guingamp, at the hamlet to Belaire, is a menhir of slaty schist 15 ft. high. On the Lande de Caurel another slate menhir 10 ft. high, and five others prostrate. Another on the same Lande 15 ft. high and shaped like a rectangular blade, a niche has been cut in it and a cross planted on the top. On the Lande de Belaire an allée couverte of slate rock 25 ft. long, composed of six slabs set on end supporting three coverers. There are others in ruins hard by. The church dates from 1654.

S. Guen. Church of the 18th cent. A Calvary of the 15th cent. with a stone seat at the foot. The Chapel of S. Tugdual of the 14th cent. contains the remains of a rood screen.

Paimpol (C.N.) chl. arr. S. Brieuc. An important fishing place, the headquarters of the Iceland fleet. The whole of this portion of Côtes-du-Nord facing east formed anciently the county of Goelo. The "Icelanders" fleet starts on February 20, and is absent till the autumn. As many as 180 vessels leave Paimpol and the other little ports on the Bay of S. Brieuc for this annual fishing in the polar seas. The blessing of the fleet takes place with solemnity before it departs. Paimpol is the scene of Pierre Lotti's novel, "Pécheur d'Islande." The church of 1525 has a fine flamboyant east window. There are several old houses in the streets. The isle of Bréhat may be visited, see under Bréhat.

Kerfot. The oldest parts of the church are of the 14th cent., but the rest from 1514 to 1682. Remains of the roodscreen have been converted into a pew.

Kerity. Fine ruins of the Abbey of Beauport, an unique example in Brittany of a monastic establishment that has preserved its original buildings of the 13th cent. All the rest were rebuilt in the 17th and 18th cents. The roof of the church has fallen in. The abbey consists of a series of buildings about a cloister; on the N. are kitchen and refectory over the cellars; S. is the church; E. the dormitory and infirmary of the monks and the chapterhouse; W. the abbot's house.

Le Palais (M.) chl. arr. Lorient, in the island of Belle Ile. It has a citadel constructed by Vauban. The old walls remain. A military hospital and a reformatory for young criminals are at Le Palais. The castle of Foulquet commands the little port of that name. The church (S. Géran) bears as its dedication the name of the heroic king of British Domnonia, who fell at Langport in Somersetshire in 522 fighting the Saxons. He had a fleet in the Severn, and his wife was the beautiful Enid, whose story has been revived by Tennyson in the Idylls of the King. The Bretons having forgotten who he was have identified him now with S. Senan of Iniscathy and then with S. Curig, and represent him as a bishop.

* PERROS GUIREC (C.N.) chl. arr. Lannion. The church has a Romanesque nave with semi-circular arches resting on the N. side on capitals with cable mouldings. The arcade on the S. side is somewhat later. The chancel is early pointed, with an extraordinary east window of the 17th cent., an instance of the complete extinction of the skill to design and power to execute stone tracery. There is a Romanesque S. door. Of the windows one is middle pointed, one flamboyant, and one debased 17th cent., all in the S. aisle. The tower at the W. end and the porch under it with open tracery are quaint.

N.D. de la Clarté is a delightful example of flamboyant work at its best, 1414. The little harbour of Perros Guirec is illumined by five lighthouses on account of its dangerous character, and there are five more on the Sept Iles. The sandy cove of Trestraou has a town built round its lap that lives only in the bathing season, at all other times it is uninhabited.

S. Quay. The church has no side aisles but double transepts, and is good 2nd pointed. The W. tower is good renaissance of 1732.

Ploumanach, a fishing village among rocks, is only curious on account of the oratory of S. Kirec (Curig) on a rock in the bay, surrounded at every tide. The pillars and pillasters are of the 11th cent.

Trégastel. The village is situated about a mile from the coast, which is composed of masses of weather-worn granite in strange forms, among and against which modern residences have been run up for the accommodation of lodgers during the bathing season. On the highest point of ground inland a Calvary has been erected of masses of granite piled up, surmounted by a cross, whence a fine view is obtained of the coast and the Sept Iles. The Church of Trégastel is of the 13th cent. with work of the 16th, and a very villainous, debased window at the east end of the 17th cent. The pretty ossuary adjoining the porch is renaissance.

Pleumeur-Bodou. Beside the road from the village to Ile Grande is a fine menhir 24 ft. high, the summit shaped into a cross, and the face sculptured with the instruments of the Passion. In the Ile Grande is an allée couverte, composed of fourteen supporters and two coverers. It is surrounded by a circle of stones. The Chapel of S. Samson is of the 16th cent. with a spirelet on an octagonal turret. The E. window is flamboyant.

Trébeurden. Nine menhirs within sight of one another. One is a hundred paces (S.) from the windmill of Trévern, and is 7 ft. high; another is on the Lande de Véades of the same height; a third is a hundred paces from this, and is 12 ft. high; a fourth at the Château de Kerrariou, 7 ft. 6 in. high; a fifth between Kerrariou and the windmill, broken; a sixth near Bologne, 10 ft. high; a seventh W. of the preceding and at the edge of the shore, 10 ft. high; the eighth near Bonne Nouvelle, 7 ft.; the last is near the peninsula of Toënnou, about the same height. There is a fine dolmen on the Ile Milliau, measuring 28 ft. long, covered by three slabs on eleven supporters; another is on the shore at Prajou-menhir, half fallen, 34 ft. long, composed of twenty-one supporters and four coverers; a third is at Kevellec, four stones support a single coverer; a fourth in ruins is near the Chapelle du Christ. The chapel has a lancet window of the 12th cent. The parish church is very villainous, 1835.

Trévou-Tréguignec. Three menhirs in the Ile Balanec, and a partly ruined dolmen near the modern Château de Boisriou. Seven uprights support two coverers.

Pipriac (I.V.) chl. arr. Redon. A dull, uninteresting place.

Guipry. At Fougères is an alignment of seven upright stones. In the Lande de Godier is an ancient camp. N.D. de Bon-Port, 1644, is resorted to by pilgrims.

Saint Just. On the Lande de Cojoux several megalithic monuments, and on that of Tréal an allée couverte, called La Grotte aux Fées, 40 ft. long.

Plancoet (C.N.) chl. arr. Dinan. Pleasantly situated on the tidal Argenton, which above the turn flows through a pleasant picturesque valley. Plancoet (Plou-lann-coet = the Clan of the Church in the Wood), has a modern vulgar church. In a little lake 3 kilometres from the town are the scanty remains of the Château de la Tour de la Vache, 13th cent., consisting of one square tower. From Plancoet several interesting excursions may be made.

Crehen. The allée couverte of La Ville-Génouan is 42 ft. long, and is composed of eleven supporters on the N. and twelve on the S., and five covering stones. It is the finest example in the Department, and is in private grounds.

Landebia. The church has been restored. It possesses a curious bénitier of granite supported by human figures, and has animals carved on the bowl. A house has a fine portal of the 16th cent. A Calvary of the same date with several groups of figures. Another cross dated 1545, called la Croix de S. David. In the village is a house called Presbytère des Templiers.

The visitor will probably start from Landebia to visit the Château de la Hunaudaye in the parish of Plédeliac. The ruins of this magnificent castle are extensive. The castle dates from 1578, except one tower that is over a century earlier. It is a pentagon flanked by five towers at the angles, and surrounded by deep ditches. Why so strong a pile should have been planted where the ground does not in any way lend itself to defence is hard to see. The state hall and staircase were especially fine, but are far gone in ruin. The earliest tower has about the entrance from the court some rude carvings, executed perhaps by a prisoner on the jamb of the door on which light fell. The date of this carving is early 17th cent. Near the hamlet of Hazardine is a coarse menhir 16 ft. high and 30 ft. in circumference. The ruins of the Abbey of Saint Aubin des bois are scanty. The chapel is of the end of the 15th cent.

Pleine-Fougères (I.V.) chl. arr. S. Malo. Destitute of interest.

Plélan le Petit (C.N.) chl. arr. Dinan. On high bleak country, mostly moor and only partially reclaimed.

Pléneuf (C.N.) chl. arr. S. Brieuc, reached from Lamballe. In the parish is the favourite seaside resort of Val-André. Except the sea and the coast, there is nothing of interest at Pléneuf.

Erguy. An old Roman station, Rheginea, and numerous substructures of Gallo-Roman times have been uncovered here, also a mosaic pavement found and destroyed in 1835 by the boor to whom the land belonged. Numerous finds of Roman coins are made here. At the northern headland of the Lande de la Garenne is a prehistoric coast castle.

Planguenoual. The church is partly Romanesque, partly 13th cent. The bénitier shows signs of having been systematically employed as a knife-sharpener.

* PLESTIN LES GRÈVES (C.N.) chl. arr. Lannion. Fine sands. The tide recedes here to a great distance. Plestin (Plou-Jestin) owes its origin to an Irish emigrant Efflam, who settled here with a colony of his countrymen in the 6th cent. He found that a British settler was there before him, Jestin, probably the son of Geraint, prince of Devon. He came to terms with him without a quarrel, the arrangement being that one should rule the secular and the other the ecclesiastical tribe. Plestin before this would seem to have been a Gallo-Roman town, as numerous remains as well as coins indicate. The church, much altered, contains the tomb of S. Efflam, of the 16th cent. The porch is of 1575, and contains statues of the twelve apostles. The Chapel of S. Jacut of the 16th cent. has some old glass. Near the Chapel of S. Efflam (1620) is his Holy Well.

Plou Miliau was the plebs or tribal land of Miliau, King of Cornouaille, who was murdered by his brother Rivold. The church is in debased Gothic of 1602.

Plouzélambre. The church is of the 15th and 16th cents., with flamboyant windows. The tower of 1753. In the church a fine renaissance carved oak retable, with seven groups of figures on it, representing scenes of the Passion. In the churchyard a pretty ossuary of granite of the 17th cent. An oratory, consisting of a vault sustained by four columns, is called Le Réposoir. Ruins of the Château of Kerbané of the 15th cent.

Trédez. A menhir 13 ft. high, with another near it that has fallen, that measured 24 ft. Near the Château de Coatredrez another, 19 ft. high. At Lan Saliou another of about the same height. In the church is a triptych representing a Jesse tree. The font has a fine baldachino of carved oak, of the 17th cent. The Chapel of Loquémeau is of the 16th cent., except one window in the N. transept, of the 14th. The frieze within is fantastically carved.

Trémel. A menhir at Kerguiniou, 16 ft. high, and near by a dolmen. The church is of the 16th cent., with apse; the porch has within statues of the apostles.

Plufur. Church of 1764; but it retains remains of a retable of the 16th cent. Sculptured scenes in relief of the Passion. In the churchyard is the Chapel of S. Yves, 17th cent., with paintings on the ceiling. The Chapel of S. Nicolas forms a latin cross, and has seven flamboyant windows.

S. Michel-en-Grèves. The Chapel of S. Geneviève has an early rude altar, and remains of a 16th cent. screen.

Pleyben (F.) chl. arr. Châteaulin. The noble church (S. Germain) of 1564 exhibits the transition from Gothic to Italian style. The church is regarded as one of the most beautiful ecclesiastical monuments in Finistère. From whatever point of view seen, the grouping of the towers, though so different in character, is most pleasing. The principal tower is tall and square, with a balustrade to the platform on the summit, and on this platform rises a cupola crowned by a lantern, and there are four lesser lanterns at the corners. The tower exhibits the renaissance style fully developed, yet it was constructed only twenty years after the rest of the church, which is instinct with Gothic feeling. The second tower was raised in 1588-91, and is in the late flamboyant style. It is graceful and quaint. The stair to the bellcage is carried up in a turret detached save for a flying gallery supported on a couple of arches. The fine porch dates from 1588-91, and contains statues of the apostles. It is surrounded by a cordon of niches, shallow but lofty, and forming an exterior enrichment. The statuary is stiff, but not without character. The east end of the church is an apse, with gables over the windows, which are flamboyant. That over the high altar contains old glass representing the story of the Passion, 1564. The wooden waggon roof of the church is supported on a cornice quaintly carved. A curious little box for the holy oils is in the sacristy. The ossuary of Pleyben is the earliest in the Department; separate from the church. It belongs to the 16th cent. The Calvary of 1650 consists of four great spurs sustaining a central platform on vault and arches. The platform is crowded with figures in 28 groups, representing the scenes of the Nativity and the Passion, and, above all, as the 29th, is the Crucifixion. The Chapel of Lannelec, two kilometres distant, is in itself uninteresting, but contains curious statues and sculptures. The P. at Pleyben is on the 1st Sunday in August.

* PLOERMEL (M.) chl. d'arr. The town stands but a little distance from the pretty lake of Le Duc, surrounded with trees. It occupies rising ground and has in its midst a magnificent church (1511-1602) chiefly remarkable for its collection of 16th century glass. This represents – 1. Jean l'Epervier, Bishop of S. Malo, kneeling before the B.V.M. and S. Michael; 2. dated 1533 is Pentecost, a superb piece of colouring; 3. the Life of S. Armel; 4. a Jesse tree, the finest of all; 5. the Passion; 6. the Death and Assumption of the B.V.M.; 7. a window of 1602 contains diverse subjects; and 8. the Last Supper. Beside these old windows some modern glass is "a thing to shudder at not to see." Indeed the French do not seem in glass painting to have got beyond the crude stage of English beginnings forty years ago. The church is throughout flamboyant, except the west tower. Under an enormous arch, that includes a flamboyant window, is a double entrance to the N., with rich figure carving over it representing sacred subjects, the Annunciation, the Nativity, and the Flight into Egypt, etc. But the buttress on the W. was carved when the religious Gothic feeling was dead, and it is covered with renaissance sculpture, where only buffoonery and paganism find expression. Syrens, monsters, a cobbler sewing up his wife's mouth, a woman pulling off her husband's hat, a sow playing a bagpipe, two nude figures, one on the back of the other, each blowing a horn, etc., form the decoration. At a little distance from the town on the Vannes road, about a hundred yards on one side in a pretty situation, is the Holy Well of S. Armel, of the 17th cent. Ploermel is the headquarters of the Frères Lammenais, who carry on the religious instruction of the boys in almost every parish in Brittany, and in other parts of France as well, and the colonies, in opposition to the godless governmental schools. From Ploermel the visitor will probably go on to Josselin, which see.