Tro Breiz Project

Treguier

2011-01-15T11:06:00.003+01:00

The magnificent cathedral at Tréguier is now dedicated to St Yves, Brittany's male patron saint, but the site was originally associated with Tugdual, one of the seven Founding Saints. He is said to have come from Wales (or possibly Devon) in the early 6th century. Like so many of the holy men who immigrated from Britain at this time, Tugdual had powerful relations. His mother was the sister of Riwal, king of Domnonée.

St Samson

2011-01-02T10:56:00.003+01:00

The original church at Dol-de-Bretagne was the seat of St Samson (c480-565). He came from the monastery of Llanwit Major in Wales, and settled in north-east Brittany through connections with King Judual. His historical existence is testified by the Acta of the Council of Paris, recording his presence in 560.
The current austere cathedral building replaced an earlier one destroyed by English King John (who was seeking to add Brittany to his territory) in 1203. One tower was never completed due to lack of funds. The vast interior is well worth seeing: it includes a rare (in Brittany) early renaissance bishop's tomb.
Dol itself is interesting for two reasons: the founder of Brittany, Nominoe, used the episcopy politically, making it the Metropolitan see for Breton bishops, rather than Tours. It is also the original home of the Scottish Stuart dynasty. They are descended from a Breton seneschal, stewart in English, who was given lands in Scotland after the Battle of Hastings.

The start of our trail in eastern Brittany.....

2010-02-19T11:36:00.001+01:00

Our chosen stretch of the Tro Breiz project is from St. Malo to Dol de Bretagne. As this route takes in the Rance Valley, the area which I am fortunate enough to call home & where Denise & her family have their 2nd home, it seemed a natural choice. However, just an afternoon’s coastal walk to the east of St. Malo is a site which is on the Tro Breiz route that we couldn’t ignore. We therefore started our walk on the rocky coast at Rotheneuf.
After the 19th century parish priest, Abbe Adolphe Julien Foure (1839-1910) suffered a stroke at the age of 30, which left him deaf, mute & partially paralyzed, he retreated to this rocky coast to live as a hermit. Over the course of 25 years, Abbe Foure proceded to carve into the rocks over 300 faces & figures; many of which are fantastic, bizarre & even grotesque. There are rumours that these figures represent the pirates that terrorised the area in the 16th century. Others say that they are all local characters of the time. Whatever the truth is behind them, these sculptures are a tribute to the endurance of one man alone in the elements with only rocks, the sea & his faith for company.
When I look at this site now, however, I can’t help but wonder how much longer it will be before nature reclaims it entirely as the lichens are spreading, & the constant wear of stormy seas is taking its toll.
As the tide was low that afternoon, we were able to walk most of the way from Rotheneuf to St. Malo on the beach, & our morning’s visit to the sculptured rocks certainly gave us a lot to talk about on the way.

Lesley and Denise

St Malo

2010-02-12T14:53:00.004+01:00

The Welsh monk St Malo ( or Maclou) is said to arrived at the settlement of Alet around the end of the 6th century. He built his first religious foundation at this former centre of the Coriosolites tribe. Remains of a rather later Romanesque church can still be seen there at place St-Pierre. Later the town moved a little to the east to occupy the rock on which the famous ville close of St-Malo now stands, taking the name of this founding saint. The current cathedral of St-Malo, well worth a look, is dedicated to St-Vincent.

Blazing a Trail

2009-09-15T16:05:00.004+02:00

TRO BREIZ - Treguier to St Brieuc

2nd May 2009. Sue, Roger, Sybil and Phil.
We met at Treguier, where we visited the Cathedral of St Tugdual and explored the surrounding area. The cathedral is also the centre of worship of St Yves, Patron Saint of Brittany, and it seemed to us that he featured rather more prominently than St Tugdual himself. The Cathedral spire is interesting in that it is decorated with piercings in the form of the symbols on playing cards, evidently in acknowledgement of financial help given by the town’s casino towards building costs. To the north of the cathedral , in a small square, is a very moving war memorial in the form of a grieving Breton woman clothed in a cape of mourning.
We then crossed the River Jaudy and followed the riverside route northwards in search of the Allee Couverte marked on our map. This is some 2 km north of Kerbors and looks out over the Jaudy estuary. It is in the form of a chamber, with massive capstones supported on vertical stone slabs. We will hope to do some research on this structure, and report on it in a later bulletin.

1st July 2009. Sue, Roger, Sybil and Judith.
We again met at Treguier, and found that it was Market Day – a Wednesday. The market is very extensive, occupying Cathedral square ad extending down the hill to the area by the river. The weather was fine and the market was crowded. The usual mix of food, clothing and miscellaneous items were displayed, and included a man from Reunion who was selling Batic tablecloths and mats made in Zimbabwe.
We then left the town in search of the three chapels mentioned in the Tro Breiz booklet and took minor roads to St Nicholas. We found the small chapel which, however, was enclosed within a private garden and thus appeared inaccessible. The adjoining house was in a style known as Maison Anglaise. They feature an extension of the roof to cover a balcony on the upper floor. We then went on to Traou Meur and the second chapel. This was a small restored chapel in a street lined with houses and gardens, and was firmly locked! No notice about opening times. We found a broken pane in a window at the back, and splinters on the inside sill indicated that it had been broken recently. Our third chapel, St Voltom, was in a lovely position overlooking the Jaudy, A school party were picnicking there, playing games on the grass around the chapel and the small calvaire close by. The chapel was restored, but very sympathetically. Very simple inside, with plain wooden pews, a beautiful modern stained glass window depicting fishes. Two carved and painted wooden statues, one of St Voltom with a Bishop’s mitre, and a simple one of Mary and Jesus. We picnicked on the foreshore near Bilvero and watched the tide slowly coming in. As it advanced up the tiny creek in front of us several mullet appeared and began to feed, darting to and fro just below the surface. Having returned to our car, we noticed a newly restored building close by. Sue got out and began peering through the windows, then realised that there were people inside. Awkward! She hastily got back into the car, but too late; a lady opened the door and asked if we wanted anything? So we had to confess that we were being curious! Which she seemed to quite understand, and was extremely pleasant, especially when we explained what we were doing. We declined her very genuine invitation to come in, explaining that we had to move on to the garden at Kerdalo. These are at Tredarzec, signposted from the D20. They are privately owned but open to the public in most months of the year. Visits for groups can be arranged throughout the year. Created by Prince Peter Wolkonsky who had the dream and his daughter carried this on to create this lovely great garden. She is married to landscape architect Timothy Vaughan. We spent about 2 hours wandering around it and could have spent longer. There is good parking and also a Portaloo (clean)! Entrance is 8 euros. There is an illustrated guide book in very good English! 4 euros. We were told that in the first and second weeks of May there is a good display of Rhododendrons and Azealeas.

Finding the way

2009-05-17T10:29:00.007+02:00

The original route or routes used by medieval pilgrims following the Tro Breiz are not known in any great detail, but some parts can be pieced together through research. There is evidence that the old Roman roads, still major highways in later periods, formed important links: for example, a pilgrim from Morlaix took the 'Roman road nearest the shore' on his way to Dol. Another Roman road connecting Vannes and Quimper must also have been part of the chain.
There are many place-names containing references to pilgrims (although these may just as likely refer to those on the Compostella trail), such as Le Champ du Pèlerins and La Fontaine-aux-Pèlerins. Some see an allusion to the 'Green route of Hope'(of salvation, by completing this journey) in names like Le Chemin-Vert and Les-Croix-Vertes. The investigation of toponyms continues!
Another approach involves looking at where pilgrims would have stayed along their route. Abbeys and establishments of the Knights of St-John, such as that at La Feuillée, made natural stopping-places for pilgrims anxious about security. And certain chapels and fontaines along routes between the great cathedrals are known to have been focal points for spiritual travellers on the Tro Breiz: for example, La Trinité (photo above) near Melgven.
In our project we are not necessarily trying to follow the old routes as closely as possible, but to combine good walking with attention to significant religious sites between each cathedral town.

Update

2009-05-10T10:37:00.003+02:00

Update

Our project to walk the route of the Tro Breiz has been met with lots of enthusiasm from keen walkers. Currently, we have volunteers to walk sections of the route from the start point at St Pol-de-Leon, towards Morlaix, then onwards to Treguier, St Brieuc, St Malo and Dol-de-Bretagne. Most parts of the route from Vannes to Quimper and then north back to St Pol-de-Leon have also been requested to be walked by those living in nearby villages.
At present, if anyone would like more details about walking part of the route (short or long distances can be chosen), further information can be found by going to the Brittany Walks website. There are some beautiful parts of Brittany stretching from Dol-de-Bretagne in the east, to the southern parts of the route which we are looking for further keen walkers to volunteer to walk, or perhaps you may be interested to join others who are already walking the western and northern parts of the route, come and join us!

hermits and bishops

2009-04-19T11:50:00.004+02:00

These two portrayals of St Corentin reflect the fundamental tension in early Breton Christianity between the solitary instinct of the hermit and the institutionalised episcopal figure. The simple life and devotion of these celtic monks is forcibly transformed on contact with the world of political power. Corentin, a native of the Armorican peninsula, dwelt on the wooded slopes of Menez Hom until 'discovered' by King Gradlon, out on a hunting binge with his followers. Corentin had provided himself with water and food by the double miracle of striking a spring from the earth with his staff and then finding the gift of god within - a perpetually regenerating fish which he ate from and threw back each day. He was thus able to feed the crowd, ironically sealing the end of his tranquil life. Gradlon insisted on taking the hermit to Quimper, building him a 'cathedral' and making him bishop. A sorry exchange, but it was ever thus: kings not surprisingly lack the discernment to distinguish the powers of god and man.

St Malo

2009-04-12T17:37:00.005+02:00

Another one who lost his special place to a later saint - here's St Malo's walled city with the spire of the cathedral of St-Vincent visible behind the reconstructed 18th century houses. In fact in the 6th century when the Welsh monk Mac Low arrived at the mouth of the Rance, the existing settlment was nearby at Alet: it was only in the 13th century that the seat of the bishopric moved to the swiftly developing almost-island township, named St-Malo for the founding saint, just to the east.

Unofficial Saints

2009-04-09T13:40:00.007+02:00

(Photo - Vannes cathedral)

The traditionally revered holy men of early Brittany such as the Seven Founding Saints are not technically saints at all: that is to say, they were never canonised by the Pope and the Catholic church. This is not surprising, given the legendary nature of much of their 'lives' and particularly local appeal of their simple faith.
It is said that Bretons pray far more often to saints of one form or another than to God, preferring the familiar and more intimate relationship with another human being. On occasion when the saints failed to respond in the desired manner, their statues were shut up or covered with seaweed as 'punishment'. The giving of thanks for prayers answered took the form of gifts and offerings, later elaborated into the processions of 'pardons' which still honour saints' days throughout the year in modern Brittany.
But this unofficial status of the founding saints has led to the displacement of two in favour of formally canonised replacements. The cathedral at Tréguier is today the sacred house of St Yves, male patron saint of Brittany, (a medieval lawyer who defended the poor against the rich at a time when such philanthropy was decidedly unfashionable), rather than that of St-Tugdual. At Vannes, the Spanish preacher Vincent Ferrier (canonised in 1455) ousted St Patern long ago, with pilgrims of the Tro Breiz turned harshly away from the cathedral to Patern's own humbler church nearby.

Seven Saints

2009-03-29T10:49:00.004+02:00

(St Pol and his dragon)

The Tro Breiz pilgrimage connects the seven cathedrals connected with the seven founding saints of Brittany. 'Founding' because they represented the initial wave of proselytising Christianity which took hold of Brittany in the 5th and 6th centuries. Indeed this was the time when Brittany itself came into being in an embryonic state, as migrants from the British Isles arrived to start new lives, mingling their language with that of the indigenous population. The name Brittany means 'little Britain'. Five of the seven saints were probably of Welsh origin, only St Patern and St Corentin being natives of the Armorican peninsula (Amorica was the Roman name for this reigon). There is little contemporary evidence for these saints - the Dark Ages being so-called because of a lack of written sources - and many of their life stories later recorded are based on legend. Lives of Breton saints were a major product of monastery scriptoria, the most influential work being that of Albert le Grand, produced in Morlaix in 1636.
Historical references do exist: St Patern may have been involved in a treaty with Clovis, emperor of the Franks, and St Samson was connected with the historical figure of Judual, but what's important is that their legacy of piety, devotion, miracle-working and healing have remained powerful in the oral traditions of Brittany to the present day.

Tro Breiz Project

2009-03-25T11:26:00.000+01:00

Brittany Walks Association is embarking on a project to cover the route of the medieval Tro Breiz pilgrimage. Members will choose, research and walk their chosen sections of the 600+km journey and report to this blog over the coming months. We are not in any hurry!
The Tro Breiz began as a connecting route between the seven cathedrals of Brittany's seven founding saints, St Pol (St-Pol-de-Léon), St Tugdual (Tréguier), St Brieuc (St-Brieuc), St Malo (St-Malo), St Patern (Vannes) and St Corentin (Quimper - above). It was said that every Breton should undertake the pilgrimage once in a lifetime to ensure a place in heaven. The origins of the Tro Breiz may be 12th century, and certainly it was a well-known medieval aspiration, sharing some paths and stopping-places with the Compostella trail: Anne, duchess of Brittany, undertook her version in 1505. After centuries of neglect the concept was revived the 20th century and now there is great interest in trying to establish the old paths - many based on Roman roads - and revisiting the ancient sacred spots along the way. This project for our association (which is based in the Monts d'Arrée), aptly fulfils our aims of exploring the history and landscape of Brittany, and raising awareness of Breton heritage for anglophones.