Baring-Gould Sabine
Brittany
On the further side of the river is Lancieux; the church contains a Roman cippus but is otherwise destitute of interest and will shortly be rebuilt. The vast bay west of Lancieux is divided in twain by the tongue of land on which is S. Jacut. Here the tide goes out as much as 5 kilometres. To the north of the promontory of S. Jacut are the islands of Les Ebbiens on which is a battery.
Off Dinard is the fortified isle of Cézambre, but visitors are not suffered to land there. Here was a monastery founded by S. Brendan about 524, and when S. Malo arrived from South Wales, he was hospitably received by Festivus, the Irish monk left there in charge. A Chapel of S. Brendan was much resorted to by girls in want of husbands, who vowed candles to the Irish saint if he would supply them with a suitor. But since the military authorities have denied access to the island, the damsels have had to aspire at home.
Dol (I.V.) chl. arr. S. Malo. A dull town, formerly a cathedral city, and for three hundred years seat of an archbishop. The few old houses in the town are not particularly interesting. The former cathedral, now parish church (S. Samson), belongs for the most part to the 13th cent. The west part is flanked by two towers of the 14th and 15th centuries. That to the south has retained some remains of the original Romanesque church. King John of England burnt the church. At the crossing of the transepts a third tower of the 13th cent. was begun but never completed. The N. side of the church formed part of the fortifications of the town, and the wall of the chapels of the choir is surmounted by a crenilated parapet. The choir has a square east end like an English church, and with a magnificent 2nd pointed or geometrical E. window full of glass of the same period, badly restored. It represents the Last Judgment, scenes of the Passion, and the Life of S. Samson. The pillars of the nave belong to the original Romanesque church. After it was burnt they were retained, but disengaged columns were grouped about them and bound to the cylinders by bands of iron. Those in the side aisles are meaningless, supporting nothing. Behind the high altar is the Chapel of S. Samson. In the wall at the side are openings into a chamber into which the insane were admitted, and kept for a while enclosed near the tomb of the Saint, in hopes of a cure. In the N. transept is the sadly defaced tomb of Bishop Thomas James (1504) and of his brother, a canon. It was a peculiarly rich piece of renaissance work, by the Florentine family of Juste, two brothers of which were brought to Dol to execute it. After its completion they settled at Tours. It was barbarously mutilated at the Revolution. The S. transept has a rich porch, the statuary in which has been recently restored.
About a mile and a half out of Dol on the Combourg road is the Pierre du Champ Dolent, a menhir 27 feet high above ground and sunk nearly as many feet beneath the surface. It is dwarfed by a huge crucifix planted on the top. Near by is Carfeuntin with a hideous modern church replacing one of the 13th that has been wantonly destroyed. Here is the Holy Well of S. Samson.
Mont Dol is a height rising out of the great marsh of Dol, that was overflowed by the sea in 709. This was a prehistoric site and numerous flint weapons are there found. The church of the 11th, 12th and 15th centuries contains curious mural paintings.
Douarnenez (F.) chl. arr. Quimper. Prettily situated on a tidal creek that has its mouth almost closed by the Isle of Tristan. The railway station is high above the town and the ravine is crossed by a viaduct. The town itself is given up to sardines and is pervaded by bad odours. It has a very bad modern church. That of S. Helene is of the 17th cent. with glass of the period. The Chapel of S. Michel is of 1664 and has a painted ceiling. Douarnenez was the headquarters of the brigand Fontenelle during the wars of the League. He had his castle on the island of Tristan where he crowded his prisoners into the dungeons so dense that they could not lie down, and kept them there till they died, in a condition of indescribable filth. As one died, he made the rest throw him out at the window into the sea. Some, who he thought might ransom themselves, he placed in metal chairs over slow fires, others he left in bitter winter weather immersed to their necks in barrels of cold water. He carried on his barbarities, not for any cause, though he professed himself to be a leaguer. He warred on all alike for the sake of rapine and out of wanton love of slaughter. He was finally broken on the wheel in 1602. Douarnenez is connected by rows of houses with
Ploaré, where is a fine church very late flamboyant resolving itself into renaissance, and typical of a style very general throughout Finistère. A singular feature is to be noted in the pinnacles about the spire. Two of these have tall crocketed spirelets, but taste was changing whilst the tower was approaching completion, and the two other pinnacles are truncated Italian lanterns. The tower was begun in 1555. The side aisles are gabled over the aisle windows, and as usual in Breton churches there is no clerestory. The buttresses are surmounted by pinnacles that are crowned with cupolas. The cusping has gone from the tracery, a sure mark of decay of the style. There is a fine porch with niches, but no statues. A fireplace and chimney for heating the water for baptisms, shows that this usage was carried on to the latter half of the 16th cent. As we shall see under Le Juch there is a later example.
Poullan. The church (S. Cadvan) is flamboyant verging into renaissance. It has a thin tower with two galleries, and a pretty porch. The side aisles are peculiarly narrow. The capitals of the pillars are quaintly carved. The octagonal vestry is of the 17th cent. Several dolmens. A menhir near the seamark at Kermenhir. P. 1st S. in September.
Le Juch. Renaissance tower. Fireplace in the church for warming the water for baptism, as late as 1710. The east window has in it 16th cent. glass representing the Crucifixion.
Guengat. A small late flamboyant church. Ossuary adjoining the porch 1557. Owing to the fall of the tower in 1700, the church was restored in 1706. It contains some fine glass of the 16th cent. representing the Last Judgment and the Passion. The date is 1571. The porch flamboyant. Curious uncouth and late tracery in two gabled windows beside the porch. The third has flamboyant tracery. A Calvary in the churchyard is of the 16th cent. In the presbytère are preserved a beautiful chalice, and a processional cross of 1584. P. de S. Ivy, 2nd S. in May. Patronal feast last S. in August.
Kerlaz. Church (S. Germain) picturesque and interesting. It has a crocketed spire with subsidiary turrets and spirelets partially detached. The church contains old glass in the east window representing scenes of the Passion and S. John the Baptist presenting the donor and a canon. Font of 1567, tower 1660, Calvary 1645, lychgate 1558.
Elven (M.) chl. arr. Vannes. The Chapel of S. Germain is of the 16th cent. At the door is a sarcophagus supposed to be that of S. Germain. This Germanus is probably not the Great Bishop of Auxerre, but the nephew of S. Patrick, who was tutor of S. Brioc, and finally apostle of the Isle of Man. Elven is a good place whence to explore the Lande de Lanvaux. This upland ridge is strewn with prehistoric remains, dolmens and menhirs, notably La Loge aux Loups, a dolmen; an allée couverte Le Léty, a menhir at Carhaix, another at Villeneuve. An allée couverte at Villepierre, two dolmens in the wood at Coetby and two menhirs called Baboun et Baboune at the outskirts of the wood of Lanvaux. At S. Guyomard a menhir 22 feet high. At Plaudren beside the road, La Quenouille, about 18 feet high. Near it numerous remains of dolmens and fallen menhirs. Another group at Plaudren, a fallen menhir, 16 feet high, and two others prostrate of less height, an allée couverte called Mein-gouarec near a curious rock shaped like a crouching lion.
Etaples (C.N.) chl. arr. S. Brieuc. A watering-place in some repute with good sands. The church is of the 15th cent., but with a tower of 1786. Etaples is in the ancient county of Goelo.
Lantec. The parish church (S. Oswald) is a mean modern structure. How the great Northumbrian king should come to be here commemorated is hard to understand. He is represented over the altar as a chubby, smirking boy. The Chapel of N.D. de la Cour is a noble structure of 1460, of the finest and purest flamboyant, before it became degenerate and adulterated with Italian detail. Chancel and side aisles are vaulted. The nave has modern wood vaulting. The superb east window is filled with the finest stained glass, silvery in tone, with the colour set in it as jewels, after the English school, and entirely different from the prevailing Breton character of glass which, like the French, is overladen with colour. The modern glass in some of the windows is bad as bad can be. The tracery of the chancel windows is admirable. There is a second stained window, old, in the S. transept. In the chapel is the tomb of Guillaume de Rosmadec, 1608, in kersanton stone. P. 16th August, when pilgrim fishermen make the circuit of the chapel barefooted and in their shirts alone.
S. Quay is a watering place.
Le Faou (F.) chl. arr. Châteaulin, at the head of a long arm of the sea. It is reached from Henvec station. The church is of the 16th cent. late flamboyant, with a slender unsatisfactory tower, 1626-40. The porch is of 1593, with statues of the apostles.
Rumengol. The story goes that as King Grallo was riding with S. Winwaloe from Is, which had been overwhelmed by the sea, and reached the hill that commanded the valley, he saw a fire on the height opposite, and found that the pagan inhabitants were holding a sacrifice on the rou-men-goulon, the Red Stone of the Dawn. He vowed to build there a church. This is represented in the E. window. The church is late flamboyant with renaissance detail. The porch is of the usual type and contains, over the door, an adoration of the Magi. A hundred paces to the east is the Holy Well. In the little structure is a bas-relief of the Annunciation, and statues of S. Winwaloe and S. Fiacre. One of the most largely attended Pardons of Brittany takes place here on Trinity Sunday, the pilgrims arrive over night and sleep in the church.
* LE FAOUËT (M.) chl. arr. Pontivy. Fine timber and slate Halles. The church of the 16th cent. is of little interest, but the chapels of Ste. Barbe, S. Fiacre, and S. Nicolas in Prisiac, are well deserving of a visit and a study. Ste. Barbe is planted on a rock above a pretty valley, and is reached by a staircase of stone. A bridge connects the upper platform with another chapel, that of S. Michel. The wooden belfry is on the platform above. The chapel of Ste. Barbe is of fine flamboyant work, 1489. The structure is curious: there is no nave, it is composed of long transepts and a small budding chancel. It was vaulted in 1512. Some very fine old glass remains, side by side with some very villainous modern stuff. Below, in the valley, is the well of Ste. Barbe. The P. of Ste. Barbe is on the last Sunday in June.
S. Fiacre is a superb example of the architecture of the 15th cent. The main spire, with its flamboyant gallery, is corbelled out on the west gable and is tied by two flying buttresses to two smaller towers with spirelets. The S. porch is vaulted and has niches within. The chapel contains very fine glass of 1550, but falling to pieces and fragments detaching themselves with every storm. The subjects represented are the Nativity, the Passion, and the legend of S. Fiacre. A roodscreen of 1480 has been badly "restored" and painted. The condition of the magnificent glass is disgraceful. The chapel is a "monument historique," so that the curé can do nothing to it, and the State will do nothing for its preservation. The foliage carving in granite is admirable for its boldness. The Chapel of S. Nicolas in Prisiac has a very fine roodscreen, quite perfect and untouched, covered with curious paintings; it is, however, later than that at S. Fiacre. There is here also some good old glass. The chapel is in a sad condition of neglect. It possesses a broken wheel set with bells for ringing by pilgrims to call the attention of the Saint to their prayers. Le Faouët may be reached from either Gourin or Quimperlé. The P. at S. Fiacre is on the 4th Sunday in July. S. Caradec Trégomel, a splendid late Gothic chapel, one of the finest monuments of 15th cent. in Brittany.
* FOUESNANT (F.) chl. arr. Quimper, with nice sands. A pleasant holiday resort. The costumes of the women are very pretty. The church is Romanesque, but was frightfully maltreated in the 18th cent., when large round-headed windows were introduced. The tower was struck by lightning and rebuilt at the same time. The piers are 11th cent. From above them rise pilasters that sustain relieving arches under which are the clerestory windows. The capitals have byzantine-looking work on them. The Chapel of Ste. Anne, in the midst of trees, was built in 1685, and has a tower for two bells and spire between two detached turrets surmounted by cupolas. This chapel is the object of visit when the Pardon takes place on July 28. Peasants and girls in white arrive by water in boats with their crosses and banners.
S. Evarzec. Here was a commandery of the Knights of Malta at Moustoir (13th cent.). A dolmen and menhir.
Goueznach. A ruined allée couverte. Chapel of N.D. de Bonsecours, P. Sept. 8. Chapel of S. Cado, P. Sept 25; that of Ste. Barbe, P. June 5.
Benodet. A favourite bathing resort. The church (S. Thomas à Becket) was erected in his honour in 1241, seventy-one years after his death. But it has undergone much alteration and enlargement. All that remains of the original church are two bays of the apse. The foliage of the capitals has all the freshness and charm of work of that period.
Perguet (S. Bridget) was formerly the mother church of Benodet, but now the relations are reversed. Externally, on the N. side may be seen Romanesque work, and the small windows of the period. The S. side has been completely transformed by the addition of a little ossuary and a porch and a transept of the 16th cent. But on entering the church the early character of the building becomes manifest. The arcades of the nave and the chancel arch are of the 12th cent. The three bays on the north are bold and rectangular, and, as at Fouesnant, support relieving arches that enclose the clerestory windows. This is all 11th cent. But the chancel arch shows distinct signs of the coming on of the reign of the pointed style. The choir is flamboyant. Here also the Byzantine character of the ornamentation of the 11th cent. capitals may be observed. The east window contains 16th cent. glass, and represents the Crucifixion. Among the statues in the church are S. Bridget and S. Patrick, but the latter has been altered into S. Paternus. In this church is a fireplace for warming baptismal water. The tower is of 1595. On the highway from Quimper to Benodet is the Holy Well of N.D. de Drenec. The basin is surmounted by a niche containing a statue of Our Lady of Pity. In times of drought the parishioners of Ergué Armel come here to pray for rain; but those of Clohars Fouesnant go in quest of it to Petit Ergué.
La Forest Fouesnant. This pretty little church is planted near the sea. The spire is bracketed out above the west gable, and contains a stone cage for bells. The Calvary is the earliest in the Department and is of the 16th cent. In the presbytère is a noble chalice of the first half of the 16th cent.
* FOUGÈRES (I.V.) chl. d'arrond. Picturesquely situated on a hill above the Nançon. Originally a frontier town between Brittany and France, it has preserved its venerable fortifications, but they are crowded in by buildings. The castle was founded in the 11th cent., destroyed in 1166, rebuilt in 1176, has been restored. It is planted on a rock, and was flanked by ten towers including those that commanded the entrance. It is divided into four distinct portions, the avantcour, the main court, the donjon, and the postern court. The entrance is between three towers of the 12th cent. The keep was destroyed in 1630. It rose in the midst of the second court, flanked by three towers that still remain, that of Melusine dates from 1242. The Church of S. Sulpice was rebuilt in 1410, but the nave and tower were not completed till 1490. The slate spire leans. The choir, begun in the 16th cent., was not completed till 1765. The Church of S. Leonard was erected 1407-44, but underwent alterations in 1586-1637, and contains fragments of old glass. Altogether Fougères is a most interesting place, and rivals Vitré.
In the Forest of Fougères is a fallen dolmen, Pierre du Tresor, also an alignment of 80 stones, called Le Cordon des Druides, near the ruins of a convent founded in 1440.
La Gacilly (M.) chl. arr. Vannes. Near the town on the road to Malestroit, a menhir 15 ft. high, La Roche Piqué, and near it another of the same height but fallen. On the Lande de Signé E. of Gacilly a circular camp and the slope of the hill is pitted with excavations. The parish church was formerly chapel to the castle and was of 14th cent., but was altered and enlarged 1626-31.
The Chapel of S. Jugon, 4 kilometres W.N.W. Jugon was a peasant boy who led a devout life. P. Whitsun-Monday. Peasants take little bags of seed to have it blessed at the end of Mass. This is then mingled with what is to be sown.
Cournon. A fine dolmen, La Tablette. One of the coverers was broken in 1820. W. is a menhir 9 ft. high, further W. other blocks that may be the remains of an alignment.
Les Fougerêts. A pretty gorge with grottoes in the sides called Les Chambres du Coucou.
S. Congard (Cyngar) near Bignac. An allée couverte measuring 43 ft. long and 4 ft. 6 in. high within. It has five coverers, of which one only has fallen. A menhir near the wood of Misny. The Chapel of N.D. de Quimper is an object of pilgrimage on Whitsun-Monday, and here, possibly, may still be heard the barking of the pilgrims, an hysterical phenomenon, that formerly accompanied the Pardon of Josselin. At Wesley's revivalist meetings a similar phenomenon was noticed.
* GUINGAMP (C.N.). A pleasantly situated town in green surroundings, with the little river Trieux flowing through it. The finest view of the town with the towers of the church is from the garden of the Hôtel de France, whence water, foliage and old buildings group admirably. The Church of N.D. de Bonsecours is indebted to a miraculous image for the lavish expenditure upon it. This image stands in the N. porch, and has been accorded a gold crown from the Pope, and has been profusely "indulgenced." The church was formerly the chapel of the Counts of Ponthièvre. It was rebuilt in the 14th and 15th cents. and added to in the 16th. The church consists of a nave with four aisles, double transepts and an ambulatory round the choir. The transept and S. transept front are of the 12th cent. The central tower and spire of the 13th. To the same period belong the tower and turret on the N.W. The arcade on the N. of the nave is of the 13th cent. On the S. side the arcade is renaissance. In the spandrils are the cardinal virtues sculptured in relief, and corbels support statues. Above the arcade is a triforium consisting of three ranges. Above the arcade on the north side the triforium is of the 14th cent. The choir is composed of four bays of the 15th cent. The apse is of the same date. A curious feature is the carrying of the triforium across the church above the chancel arch. The transepts are lighted by rose windows of the 14th cent. The principal porch containing the miraculous image is closed by a grating and converted into a chapel; it contains modern statues of the apostles. The W. doorway is a magnificent specimen of renaissance work. Owing to the windows being all filled with modern coloured glass overloaded with colour, the interior cannot be well seen except on sunny days. The vaulting of the choir is sustained by flying buttresses within the church. The fine S.W. tower is an excellent but unfinished work of the renaissance. In the market-place is a leaden fountain of the renaissance. A few picturesque old houses remain. The P. is on the 1st Sunday in July. A procession with torches takes place on the Saturday night, and bonfires are lighted in the Place. After the religious ceremonies follow dances. N. of Guingamp on a height is the little Chapel of S. Lambert with some early 11th cent. work, but for the most part it was transformed in the 18th cent. The abbey of Ste. Croix is of the 16th cent., but the church has the piers of the transept of the 13th.
Grâces. The church is entirely flamboyant of 1508, and a typical specimen. All the aisle windows are under gables. The baptistery is of the end of the 16th cent. The relics of Charles de Blois are preserved here.
Pedernec. A menhir 25 ft. high. On one face three cup-hollows. The church was rebuilt in 1847, but the S. side aisle and arcade and a good rose window in the transept, of the 16th cent., have been preserved. Also a delicately carved roodscreen, out of its proper place.
Coadout. An allée couverte at Pen-poul-ar-hus, destroyed in 1863, except for three stones, has one much polished. On this, according to local tradition, S. Illtyd and S. Briac were wont to meet and pray together, and it contains hollows supposed to have been worn by their knees.
Pommeret-le-Vicomte. Remains of a dolmen at Kerbic, one coverer and four supports still in situ. The church is of various periods. The oldest portion is the east end, and is of the 14th cent. with a large window. The tower and spire of 1712. In the graveyard a Calvary of the 15th cent. with a pulpit at its base. The Chapel of N.D. du Paradis is interesting, 16th cent., with a Calvary of the same period, with the apostles carved in relief on the octagonal base.
Gourin (M.) chl. arr. Pontivy. An unattractive spot with poor hotel accommodation. Hence conveyances may be had to Le Faouët. At Kerbiguet a menhir 12 feet high and two others prostrate. The parish church is of 1500 with a tower of 1745. Numerous chapels are scattered over the parish: that of S. Hervé to the N.E. is of the 16th cent. and has stained glass representing saints, and scenes in our Lord's life.
Langonnet. A menhir at Bodéro, 13 feet high. The parish church has flamboyant windows and doorways, but a few pillars of the 12th cent. remain. The tower is modern. On the S. side of the church is an ossuary. In the cemetery a lech. The chapel of the Trinity, 1500-68, with fine old glass representing the Jesse tree, the Passion, and the Last Judgment, and the Life of the Virgin. The abbey of Langonnet was founded in 1130 and is on the bank of the Ellé. It is converted into a reformatory. Chapel of N.D. de la Pitié, P. 15th Aug.
Le Saint (S. Samuel). Partly Romanesque, but with flamboyant windows. The chapel of S. Adrian is an object of pilgrimage.
Grand-Champ (M.) chl. arr. Vannes. On the north the Lande de Lanvaux, which was once crowded with megalithic remains. Many still are to be seen. A fine dolmen is on a rocky elevation a kilometre N. of Locperet. The capstone measures 16 feet long. Numerous menhirs further on in the direction of Croix-de-bois, perhaps the relics of an alignment. The church (S. Tugdual) has been destroyed and replaced by a structure of 1866. At Locperet is a flamboyant Chapel of S. Bridget. Another of N.D. de Burgo is of 1528 and 1538, and near it a Holy Well. P. at Locmaria-Grandchamp on Aug. 10th; at Moustoir des Fleurs on the 4th S. in August. At Grand-Champ itself on the 2nd S. in Sept.
Locqueltas. A menhir, called Le Fuseau de la Femme de Gargantua, 15 feet high. At Plaudren another 18 feet high, and bearing the same name. It is near the road to Josselin on the Lande. The whole neighbourhood is strewn with remains of dolmens and with fallen menhirs.
Guéméné (M.) chl. arr. Pontivy. Anciently Kemenet-Guegnant, owes its origin to a castle of Guegnant, nephew of Alan Canhart, who erected it. The fief passed to the family of Rohan. The castle was converted into a prison for English soldiers in 1792. It is now a ruin.
Silfiac. A Chapel of S. Laurent of the 16th cent. with curious carvings; near it the Holy Well of S. Nodez, which is supposed to cure corns, and other maladies of the feet.
Langoelan. A dolmen on the E. of the hamlet of Villeneuve and in an islet of the Scorff. The church is flamboyant. Le Merzer marks the spot where Selyf or Solomon, King of Devon and Cornwall, coming to Armorica to see his domains there, encountered the pagan natives and was murdered by them. He was son of Geraint, who fell at Langport in Somersetshire in 522, fighting against the Saxons. His wife was S. Gwen, sister of Nonna, mother of S. David, and he was the father of S. Cuby. The Chapel of S. Solomon has been destroyed.
* GUÉRANDE (L.I.) chl. arr. S. Nazaire. An interesting town surrounded by its machicolated walls of granite, erected in 1431 by John V., and flanked by ten towers. There are four gates; that of S. Michel is a veritable fortress in itself defended by two lofty towers. The Church of S. Aubin is of the 12th and 16th cents., and has two porches, and an external pulpit of stone of the 16th cent. Within the church the pillars have carved Romanesque capitals. There is good glass of the 16th cent. N.D. la Blanche is a graceful chapel, erected in 1348 by Jean de Montfort. A menhir with cup-markings at Escoblac. Dolmens at Kerléour, Kerlo, and Sandun. A circle of stones at Kerbourg. Guérande is a good place for a botanist to stay at who desires to study the flora of the saltmarshes on one hand, and of the Grande Brière on the other. The production of salt goes on largely in the salines, and is carried on by private owners. It requires about 40 consecutive dry days between June and September to evaporate the water. The annual production averages 6600 tons. The Grande Brière is divided into 17 communes, and is a vast freshwater peat bed occupying the basin of an ancient lake.
S. Lyphard was a Roman station at the point where the lake of La Brière formerly discharged into the sea. The church is of the 11th cent. The peasants of the Bruyère wear a peculiar costume, and are true Bretons.
La Guerche (I.V.) chl. arr. Vitré. The church, of which portions belong to the 13th and 14th cents., contains some old stained glass. At 2 kilometres to the S. is the Church of Rannée, in part Romanesque.
Guichen (I.V.) chl. arr. Redon. Old chateaux at Gaylieu and Gressillonnoye.
Hédé (I.V.) chl. arr. Rennes. Ruins of the castle on a rock. The church is Romanesque. S. Gaudran, good glass of the 17th cent. in the church, and two silver reliquaries of the 12th cent.
Hennebont (M.) chl. arr. Lorient. Prettily situated on the river Blavet. The town is divided into the Ville Clos within its ancient walls and the new town. A bridge connects them. The old town was fortified by Duke Jean I. (1237-86). It played a signal part in the War of Succession. Jean de Montfort had secured the place. At the end of May 1342, Charles of Blois laid siege to it. Within was the Countess Jeanne, who held out with determination, set fire to the camp of the enemy, and leaving the town unperceived threw herself into Auray, where she gathered reinforcements which she introduced into Hennebont without the feeble Charles being aware what she was about. At last provisions failed, and the magistrates insisted on capitulation. The countess entreated for a couple of days' delay, and at the last moment saw gleaming in the west on the sea the sails of an English fleet sent to her relief. Charles hastily retreated, but again a few months later laid siege to the place. He was, however, again repulsed. The parish church (N.D. de Paradis) on the further side of the river. It is the principal monument in Hennebont, and was erected in 1514-24, and is consequently flamboyant before it sank in debasement. The W. front is light and graceful and has a porch and a tower flanked by a couple of turrets tied to it by galleries sustained on flying buttresses. The spire rises to 150 feet. The choir ends in an apse lighted by two stages of windows. A procession takes place on the last Sunday in Sept. in commemoration of the cessation of an epidemic in 1699. The chapel of S. Antoine is partly Romanesque.
Kervignac. A fine dolmen near the road from Hennebont to Landévant. On the south, near Kermadio, is another. A third, small, near Lopriac. This is one of the most ancient parishes in the diocese of Vannes. It is mentioned as early as the 6th cent. At this time a cloud of locusts came down on the country, and the Count Weroch, fearing famine, sought Gunthiern, a refugee king of Gwent, who had settled at Quimperlé and was in great repute for his austerities. Gunthiern gave water he had blessed to the envoys of Weroch, and this drove the locusts away. In return for this favour, Weroch granted to Gunthiern the plou of Vineac. The Chapel of N.D. de la Clarté is of the 15th cent. That of S. Laurent contains some remains of the screen. A Holy Well of S. Gildas is still in request in the hamlet of Kanden.
* HUELGOAT (F.) chl. arr. Châteaulin. A picturesquely situated townlet at the extremity of a lake that discharges amongst masses of granite down a ravine. The ruinous condition of the granite is not due to earthquake or to glacial action as supposed by some, but to its composition. It contains a large amount of soluble silicate of potass. This disappears under the action of the rain and the granite crumbles away. Huelgoat is four miles from the nearest railway station. The road is through the valley of the Argent, between pine-clad hills. The granite here encounters the schist. The church is a mean renaissance structure, but the Chapel of N.D. des Cieux is more interesting. It is of the 16th cent. and contains some old glass of the period. A camp on a height above the town is attributed to King Arthur.
