Brocéliande
Here in the interior of Brittany, the peninsula that is the westernmost part
of mainland France, France's Cornwall if you will, is la Brocéliande,
the magic land of Merlin and, if you believe the local residents, King Arthur's
Round Table. This mythic brotherhood, the original Camelot, is located somewhere
in the West of England or somewhere here in Brittany, depending on who is doing
the telling. Merlin's grave can be found here, and
we left a bottle of wine there once, as can collections of stones pre-dating Christianity and land that really does feel ancient and disturbing.
La Grée, Grand-père's
cottage where we like to live summer's tranquility, is just on the edge of la
Brocéliande. So we visit most summer vacations, and
periodically play tourist. Which of course we are not! We have family there.
On the left is the medieval Chateau de Trécesson,
still privately owned and in magnificent condition, at least if seen from the
outside (we've never had the privilege of going in).
It is off the beaten track, and although it is signposted, we may not have
found it (during the summer of 2004) if Grand-père
had not shown us the way.
La legende de la dame blanche de Trécesson (the tragic
and disturbing legend of the white lady of Trécesson) can
be found here:
http://farfadet.home.free.fr/
On the right is a wooden statue of St Augustine, currently (summer 2004)
being refurbished in the Abbaye de Paimpont, not far from the Chateau and just
as medieval. The Abbaye was founded in the 6th or 7th century, destroyed
by the Vikings in the 11th century, and rebuilt and modified periodically
thereafter. Its site is on a lake across from a pagan place of worship, perhaps
co-opted by the early monks. Here is a shot of the exterior of the Abbaye taken
from the internet:
http://farfadet.home.free.fr/paimp4.htm Merci!
Amidst these splendid and powerful edifices is one which attracts us even
more. A tiny little chapel, la Chapelle de Saint- Jean de Jérusalem, is buried
in the woods off the beaten track in the forest of Paimpont. As its name
suggests, it was founded by the knights templar or their "hospitalier" (or
charitable) cousins. It has stood for close to a thousand years, and it would
fit on the ground floor of our home.
Below on the right is the cat who welcomed us to the Chapelle in August 2004.
And below on the left is the Chapelle, sitting modestly on the granite as it
has sat for a millenium.
This is history, reassuring certainly, but also at times it feels more than a
little sombre.
Our other vacation spots in Brittany include St. Malo
and La Grée
Vacations in the present day include Disney
and New York.
Our other vacations with the land include Death
Valley, Yosemite
and Colorado.
La Brocéliande is the real thing.
