Final post

Rade de Brest

Today is the last post on this blog. I have enjoyed sharing the history of Brittany and details from my writer's life with many readers over the last fifteen years and thank everyone for their support. Promoting the beauties and complexities of my adopted land remains a high priority, but in the interests of focus and simplification, I shall concentrate now on expanding my website www.wendymewes.com  New writing and updates on what I'm doing will appear there regularly. I have various projects for 2021 which will both lead in uncharted directions and re-ignite my Breton explorations. Hope to see you all in new places. 

Vikings in Brittany (Part 2)

St Aubin manuscript

Neither Nominoë’s military prowess nor his money put an end to Viking aggression in the mid 9th century, but the results of this were not entirely negative. One of the reasons for the success of the next rulers, Erispoë and then Salomon, in consolidating Breton territorial expansion was certainly the distraction caused to the Franks by the Norsemens’ raids all over their lands. This onslaught was particularly intense on the northern coast of France, and Brittany did not escape unscathed. The monastery on the Ile de Batz was destroyed in 884. Anywhere accessible by water was vulnerable, and even inland river towns like Rennes and Redon were not spared. The river Gouédic opened St-Brieuc to pillage in 855.

The assassination of king Salomon left something of a power vacuum in Brittany and no strong single leader emerged to tackle the Viking menace until Alain, count of Vannes, defeated them at Questembert in 888. He was given the epithet the Great for his achievement, and things improved for the remaining twenty years of his rule. But this was only a temporary hiatus and the 10th century saw increased terror on Breton soil.

Camp at Péran, near St Brieuc

Some of the Vikings were now seeking land to settle on, as they did in what is now called Normandy. Fixed camps were established near St-Brieuc, Dol-de-Bretagne and Nantes, where they even got official permission to set up a trading station on an island they had colonised in the Loire. In response many Breton nobles chose or were forced to flee, taking refuge in France or across the channel in England. The famous river camp of the Vikings at Saint-Suliac is of disputed origin and many claim it is in fact an old oyster-farm.

Viking camp (or oyster farm) near Saint Suliac

The abbey of Landévennec on the waterside at the mouth of the Aulne was burnt and plundered in 913, although the monks probably had advance warning of the Viking approach across the Rade de Brest and were able to evacuate themselves and their most precious treasures. The abbot Jean saw the potential saviour of Brittany in the person of another Alain, grandson of Alain the Great.

Abbey of Landévennec

This young man was in fact in England, having been brought up at the court of the Anglo-Saxon King Athelstan, who was only too happy to supply support for a mission against the Vikings. Many rallied to Alain’s banner when he landed in Brittany: violent destruction was increasing and the Vikings were well set up in their fortified camps like the one at Péran, near St-Brieuc. Over the next few years a whole series of battles was fought, with finally a major victory for Alain near Dol-de-Bretagne in 939.

The nobles began to return, but Alain Barbetorte was able to consolidate his power and ruled – independently of France - as Duke of Brittany rather than claiming the title king, although the epithet Ribret or Robre meaning king of the Bretons is sometimes used of him. Nantes, which had been left in ruins after being sacked a second time by the Vikings, became Alain’s capital. He found the city almost deserted, hacking a path through the brambles with his sword to reach the once great church, now a roofless skeleton. Here he began the rebuilding of the cathedral and the construction of a new chateau near the Loire, calling on Bretons to come and re-populate the area.

After his victories, the wave of Viking terror was largely over in Brittany, but it left a legacy of destruction and dispersion that was to have serious consequences. The strong influence of French poured into Brittany with the return of nobles who had fled the Vikings. Their long stays in France meant that they brought back both the French language and French customs on their return, to the detriment of Breton. Already the eastern part of Brittany was increasingly Frenchified. After this time, the Breton court spoke French or Latin and not Breton, which began its retreat to the west of the region as early as this. Alain Fergent, the last Breton-speaking ruler came to power in 1084. Breton in future centuries was to be the language of the people.

Combourg revisited

I am just coming to the end of work on my Combourg guide, tracing the history of this arresting chateau, which has come to be more of a personage than an edifice to me. The intricate association with Chateaubriand, the Father of Romanticism, who forged his writer's personality here as an adolescent, has ensured the lasting reputation of the castle, but in a way this distracts from its long evolution. From many indulgent accounts, one would almost think that he had created the character and atmosphere of the site rather than the other way round. I had only a brief acquaintance with the great author before getting to know Combourg, and despite a lot of intensive study subsequently, he has made a decidedly lesser impression on me than the austere chateau and its verdant setting. This is yet another example of the spirit of place trumping the spasmodic splash of history. 

Happy New Year

Most beautiful start to the year as I crossed this exuberant river over slippery stones in early sunshine. So 2021 begins in a happy place...

Winter wishes

Yule is here again. The wheel turns still. Despite the fears, limitations and frustrations of 2020, it has been a productive one for me. Not only at last a French edition of the Nantes-Brest Canal guide, but Wayfaring in Brittany finally published after three years in the making and, most recently, The Stolen Saint, my first novel in many years, coming out in paperback and in a digital version. This was started in March during confinement and finished at the end of September. I say all this to remind myself of achievement and to show that even against monetary hardship, depression and surrounded by a pandemic, we can reach deep into our creativity as a resource to fight back against the darkness. Those who know me know how I love winter, but it has been tough to tap into even that source energy this year and the struggle is not yet won. But Yule brings change inevitably and it is up to us to respond as best we can. The solstice marking light's slow return journey is both a trigger and a challenge. We can count on that, if nothing else. 

I wish all my lovely readers the brightest of times in the most demanding of circumstances. I am very thankful for your support and encouragement to continue into a surprisingly uncertain future. Bon courage to you all.

Vikings in Brittany (Part 1)

Replica Viking boat at Pont l'Abbé

Here in Brittany the image of the Vikings has undergone what has become a familiar sea-change, from bloodthirsty sadists to high-spirited entrepreneurs. What is certain, however, is that they insinuated themselves into the Breton/Frankish power struggles like a ragged cross stitch for a hundred years, often acting in temporary alliance with one side or the other. The initial hit-and-run marauding in search of booty and adventure became over time a more complex mixture of power and land seeking. Most important of all for the development of Brittany, there is no doubt that their activities between 840 and 940 had highly significant consequences for Breton identity, language and culture, striking at the very time that Brittany the political entity was in formation.

In the 830s, Nominoë, a Breton count initially acting as representative of the emperor of the Franks to keep the peace, had begun what seem to be deliberate attempts to unify Bretons against the Franks and establish distinct spheres of political and religious control. After Charles the Bald inherited the western part of the Frankish empire from Louis Le Pieux, he was soon on a collision course with Nominoë and fighting in the disputed lands of the Marches of Brittany was fairly constant, with the Bretons pressing as far east as Le Mans.

Nantes cathedral today (before recent fire)

In June 843, the Viking attack on Nantes was an explosive shock, coming nearly fifty years after the first raids further south on Noirmoutier. The fleet of 67 ships were from Norway, possibly having followed the northern route around Britain via the Shetlands and Irish sea to access the Loire estuary. Whether by luck or insider information, it took place on the feast of St Jean, as the bishop Gunhardt was celebrating mass in the cathedral. According to a later (religious) source, he was pronouncing the eucharistic prayer ‘sursum corda’ (lift up your hearts), giving a ritualistic tinge in Catholic tradition to his brutal murder at the altar. The 11^th century Chronicle of Nantes gorily describes the slaughter of the congregation that ensued.

Gunhardt slaughtered at the altar

After this crippling assault, the Vikings departed with their booty. It was to be ten years before Nantes suffered a repetition, but the struggle with these ruthlessly mobile new intruders, consisting of different groups acting both jointly and independently, was only just beginning in Brittany. The Annales de Saint-Bertin record three battles fought by Nominoë against the Vikings in the year 847. The upshot was not the clear-cut victory he had hoped for and the negotiations that followed ended in the first Breton payment of danegeld to speed the Vikings’ departure. But this secured only the briefest lull in hostilities and the true scale of the threat could not yet be measured. TO BE CONTINUED....

 

Publication Day

It's here at last! THE STOLEN SAINT comes out today with a low-key launch on December 5&6 at The Bookshop in Huelgoat, 2.30-4.30pm both days. Covid precautions and masks essential. Thanks to all those lovely readers who have already ordered the book online (reddogbooks.com/stst.htm) - hope it will be an enjoyable experience for everyone. I might even start the second in the series now...

Early Tourism

In the early 20th century, organised tourism really got underway in Brittany. In Huelgoat, this was when the main hotels (Hotel d'Angleterre and Hotel de France) were built to cater for increasing visitor numbers. The central Hotel de France also made the investment of constructing an annexe of small appartments (above) overlooking the famous rocks in 1904 to provide self-catering accommodation for cyclists and fishermen. This rather unprepossessing building - social housing today - symbolised the shifting balance for the economy between industry and tourism. The granite Chaos which provided the main attraction in its forest setting was gradually being destroyed for building stone, and the Touring Club of France added its voice to a storm of protests that led to the preservation of this natural wonder as a resource for visitors rather than a practical exploitation. Quarrying stopped and holidays in the beautiful outdoors burgeoned. Cook's Travellers Handbook for railway holidays in the 1930 edition refers to its reputation as the 'Fontainebleau of Brittany' and describes the Roche tremblante as 'the finest rocking-stone in Brittany'.

Fishing and painting had long brought foreigners to the area, but there were also new pursuits. The dramatic scenery attracted many practitioners of early photography, which was rapidly gaining in popularity. One hotel included a dark-room in its advertising as a positive plus. The phrase 'English spoken' was another common boast in competitive publicity for rival accommodation providers, reflecting a lucrative market that had started back in the 19th century. English visitors passing through in 1880 said the hilly sylvan town on its lake reminded them of Switzerland, and that a 'taciturn landlord' urged them to stay for the fine fishing opportunities, showing them a well-filled visitors' book. 

After the First World War there was a further boom in travel and tourism in Brittany and a resurgence of cultural festivals. From 1921 Huelgoat celebrated Fêtes bretonnes with traditional music and dancing in local costumes, which raised the profile of the town for outsiders in search of that quinessential Breton heritage. The poster above shows the celebration of a Pardon in Huelgoat used as advertising by the French national railway, encouraging travellers in search of the folkloric and picturesque. Ultimate sign of being 'on the map' - the town's first tourist office opened in 1923 to respond to the growing demands of French and foreign visitors.

THE STOLEN SAINT

THE STOLEN SAINT, my novel set in Brittany, is now available for pre-order (publication date December 1st). Here's the direct link to order:    www.reddogbooks.com/stst.htm    

Thanks for all the interest already shown in this new venture. It's really appreciated in these very hard times.

13 today

 

Langast

I made a pre-confinement trip on a dreary day this week to Langast to see the church of Saint Gal or Gall, who was the companion of St Colomban, and later went on to found a famous abbey in Switzerland. If he is not some otherwise unknown local hermit of a similar (or different) name. A lack of certainty likewise hangs over the chronology of the construction of the church, which is mainly 16th century but with surviving Romanesque elements, such as a fine example of herring-bone style wall revealed beneath the plaster of the nave. The main window dates from 1508 and is exceptionally beautiful.

But the church is most famous for the wall-paintings on the underside of arches in the nave, again of disputed date, but probably from style and content 12th century, with some much later additions. Vegetal designs to portray the world and angels like archangel Michael are perhaps the most striking. St Germain of Auxerre, the scourge of Pelagianism, is also portrayed. One of the panels bears tiny details of a fleur-de-lys and hermine, symbols of France and Brittany.

Afterwards, it was really a day fit only for eating pizza with a friend in Loudeac. So I did just that.

Here it is!

 

The Stolen Saint, my new novel set in a Breton village, will be published on December 1st. Details of pre-order to come shortly.

Autumn

Today was the first really autumnal day of the year, with a mist stretching over the lake and town early this morning. I went out in search of seasonal colour in the forest this afternoon and found it before the rain set in. My novel is all finished now so I have time to reignite the landscape connection that inspires all my work. 

I can't believe someone asked me this morning 'What's next?' Rest, rest, rest. I will have had three books out this year in December. Surely that's enough by any author's standards. But there is a great void now after the intense work of the last six months. I began The Stolen Saint in March during the confinement and actually managed to work consistently through the summer which is usually a non-productive time for me. Still, it was lovely to walk today without the sense of pressure and need to hurry back to the keyboard. And the forest was magical.

The Stolen Saint

September seems to have disappeared in a frenzy of writing, finishing the first draft of The Stolen Saint and then knuckling down to the much harder graft of the second, resolving any issues of chronology and continuity. The simple day to day calendar coherence has been amazingly hard - I don't remember any of this sort of problem in my first two novels, although that was rather a long time ago and perhaps I just ignored such things in those days. There are two visits to a market by main characters and in the first it is established that the day is Thursday. All the narrative fits around that, except that the second visit was written as if it was a Monday, with lots of knock-on effects that are difficult to resolve. That is one tiny example of the myriad of complexities I've been struggling with. My calculator has been much in play for dates of births, marriages and deaths, from 1917 onwards, rationalising the ages of characters in relation to others. It has not been easy with four generations to contend with and some of the most important characters long dead.

So what is the book about? There is a main character and her progress in coming to live in a village in Brittany is the basic storyline. She is Breton by birth, but has been living in London, and most of the characters are Breton or French or both, with a few British exceptions. There is a strong historical side with Breton culture and popular traditions underpinning the 'plot', such as it is, which concerns two rival saints from the Dark Ages. However, this is a novel about people and place primarily, even if magic and mystery going back to the neolithic sneak in. To sum up, it's a hymn to Brittany, like all my books.

Out in December, it will make the perfect Christmas present......

Sunday walk

St Jean fontaine

Taking advantage of what may be the last of the good weather for a while, I walked in the Monts d'Arrée today above Commana. The fontaine of St Jean and its little lavoir has been very lovingly restored by a local association. It stands alone beside a track, the accompanying chapel long since destroyed, with a young oak tree to shade the rough schist slab that has been thoughtfully placed to serve as a picnic table. A menhir-like stone stands beside this. We had a wonderful lunch-stop here, although for some reason the dog flatly refused to drink the spring water, which looked very fresh and clear. He is not usually so scrupulous and was to regret it as the day got hotter and hotter, and our walk turned out to be quite different from what I'd planned.

Mougau Bihan

Moving on to Mougau Bihan, I wanted some new photos of the large neolithic alley-grave, but the whole place was overrun by camping-cars, picnickers and sun-bathers, so after one quick shot, decided to give it a miss. Just opposite is the entrance to the Korrigan Trail, a 2 kilometre circuit across the marshlands in the valley and lower slopes of the high hills. This route is all I had intended to do, given the temperature and the fact it was a big day in the Tour de France and I didn't want to miss anything exciting. But the trail was closed, not only by rough barriers, but a tractor parked in the narrow entrance (that has been recently created) to prevent any access.

Croaz Melar

Thwarted on two counts, we continued along the road for nearly a kilometre to join one of the main paths up onto the hills, and climbed steadily (endlessly, it seemed) in full sun, until I took advantage of a narrow off-shoot path I'd never used before, but calculated must come out somewhere near the main summit path which follows the crests of the Monts d'Arrée. Eventually we reached the junction of several different routes which I know well. Nearby Croaz Mélar was a very cool spot for a long rest. The cross marks the spot where young Mélar's severed head chose to jump back onto the body after a dispute between two teritories over his relics. Here on the border, he opted for the north, and the reconstituted body was carried back to Lanmeur where an extraordinary crypt still contains his statue.After reflecting on this gruesome tale - and I leave out the earlier hacking off of his hand and foot by his uncle - and working out some details of new developments in my novel to be written later today, we retraced our steps slowly and wearily downhill.

Homeward bound

Abbaye de Boquen

In a busy writing month I have at last found time to get out and make a visit to the Abbaye de Boquen in Cotes d'Armor. This Cistercian foundation was built in 1137, five years after the Abbaye du Relec in Finistère, both daughter-houses of the monastery at Bégard. They have evolved rather differently, however, despite many basic similarities. Boquen went through the same phases of early development and commendatory rule (from the 1490s to the Revolution) before dissolution in 1790. But it is in the 20th century that its unique fate emerged.

After lying in ruins for many years, the site was bought in 1934 by Alexis Presse, former abbot of the abbey of Tamié (and a most remarakble man), with the help of members of his family. He performed the immense task of restoring the ancient building and creating a community dedicated to the purer original principles of the Order. He also celebrated mass in Breton as well as Latin. This enjoyed considerable success until it was time for Dom Alexis to hand over the reins. He chose badly, as Bernard Besret, taking charge at the age of 29, soon determined to broaden the brief of the abbey to invite in all kinds of religious influences, to the chagrin of traditionalists and eventually the Catholic powers that be who removed him from office.

Mill house

West door

Today the site is run by the ecumenical Communauté du Chemin neuf. The majority of the abbey structures are off limit to casual visitors, being reserved for the community and guests at their events. An old mill houses a permanent exhibition about the history of the abbey and from there a sylvan track leads on round through the trees to approach the west face of church itself directly. Inside the simplicity of the original is maintained, particularly evident in the transept. Before the high altar is the tombstone which is said to mark the grave of Gilles de Bretagne, brother of Duke François I, who was murdered in 1450 at the nearby Chateau de Hunaudaye after political intrigues with the English.

The large cloister area is bounded by heavily restored buildings housing the modern community, with the two remaining sections of covered passage glassed in. Only the fragmentary remains of the chapter house with its evocative carvings give any sense of the distant past in this strangely uninspiring contemporary manifestation of an ancient site of worship. A cavernous chapel of Saint Bruno can also be seen.The rather remote setting on the edge of the forest of Boquen, with streams around the abbey walls, is a more potent reminder of original Cistercian ideals. The Abbaye du Relec, by contrast, has preserved less and offers much more to those in search of spiritual atmosphere, where a real sense of the labour of the monks and their partnership with nature is still in evidence.

Chateau de Hac

The unusual Chateau de Hac dates mainly from the mid 15th century, when it was created primarily as a 'pleasure palace' for the Hingant family, in choice hunting territory, probably on the site of an earlier lodge. Use of the local limestone contrasts with more common granite defensive strongholds and lends a refined elegance to the façade. Little was known of this family beforehand, and the building was also designed to show off the fruits of their remarkable rise to power and prominence, thanks to a lucrative marriage by Jean Hingant with Guyonne de Bintin. This brought him into the sphere of mighty Breton noble houses like the Montauban and Coëtquen families. (The latter, by the way, have interesting connections with the legendary figure of Lancelot.)

But this 'Seigneur de Hac' was a tricky customer, involved in many a court case and all kinds of unsavoury behaviour like seizing rights from a senile old man and other crooked deals. He needed to keep a careful eye on security of his person and one striking piece of furniture in the chateau shows this preoccupation. An ancient oak cupboard inscribed with PAX and a cross was designed as a depository for weapons when guests entered the house. This practice also re-enforced the sense of his own importance that the stylish façade of the chateau conveyed immediately to any visitors.

Undoubted abilities as a wheeler-dealer, and perhaps the very fact that he was not himself of the highest lineage, brought him into ducal spheres after staunch military service. Jean V chose to appoint this comparative outsider as chamberlain in 1438. He eventually fell from favour for his part in the affair of Gilles de Bretagne. This prince of Brittany was brother to duke François I, but eventually taken into custody after constant and blatant intrigues with the English. He was smothered when in captivity at the chateau of La Hardouinaye, whilst under the overall care of Jean Hingant. Royal agents arrived at the Chateau de Hac in 1450 to arrest its master, but Hingant was already on the run with his son, Eustache and many dramatic brushes with the law were to follow in the next few years. He died some time between 1459 and 1465.

The chateau visit (guided only) gives a good idea of social and economic niceties of the period, with contrasting use of rooms on different levels for the general public or wealthy and important connections and a large private apartment complete with side chapel. As well as the usual grand fireplaces, there are some interesting features, including stolen stained glass windows with a good story and a beautiful old corner cupboard which totally conceals the entrance to a modern lift. But the emphasis on the very well-presented tour is on the contemporary context of the chateau and the rise and fall of the Hingant family. Small gardens laid out on a parterre formula are a pretty addition, in the absence of a park.

The area around the villages of Le Quiou and Tréfumel where the chateau is situated was once at the bottom of a sea linking what would be the Channel and the Atlantic in the Miocene period about 15 million years ago. This separated the ‘Ile d’Armorique’ (later western Brittany) from the eastern part and later mainland France. These warm, shallow (40m at most) waters harboured all kinds of marine creatures – sting-rays, the huge megalodon, a prehistoric shark, and snub-nosed seacows – and created an accumulation of shell sand, called le falun. This sedimentary layer has yielded a myriad of fossils, and in the modern era the more solid masses of falun were quarried and the light, malleable limestone called pierre de jauge used in local architecture for ornamentation. It is easy to spot in the villages of the area, and remains of lime working can still be seen in Le Quiou.

The Maison Nature des Faluns in Tréfumel is well worth a visit, and there are extensive remains of a Roman villa near the Green Way in Le Quiou, with open access.

         

Book-signing

Book-signing last Friday for Wayfaring in Brittany and the new French edition of the Nantes-Brest Canal guide. Met some lovely people!

Newsletter

I've started a newsletter, largely with the aim of engaging more directly and personally with readers and answering questions I am asked about my life or writing. It will also be about Brittany, of course, as all my work whether fiction or non-fiction is centred on the history, legends and landscape of this remarkable place. Regular short features like Speaking of places, In the hut and a question box will combine with quirky facts around my writing and daily life. The new novel I am currently engaged on will also figure largely, as the (fictional) Breton village where it is set evolves.
Anyone who would like to be on the mailing list to receive about 10 issues a year of this emailed PDF document, can contact me at mewes@orange.fr or on Twitter @brittanyexpert  Your details will only be used for this purpose.

Le Canal de Nantes à Brest - French guide now out

It's out! French version of my very popular Nantes-Brest canal guide, which is now in a fourth edition in English. Every inch of the 361 km mapped, accommodation, shops, refreshments, all updated this year. The introduction has a history of the canal and there is also much practical information about locks, nearby sights along the way and details of connected walking/cycling circuits along the entire length.
Le guide indispensable à vélo ou à pied! www.reddogbooks.com