Brittany

Ploeuc (C.N.) chl. arr. S. Brieuc. Several menhirs, but some of them are broken. The church is of 1752. Ploeuc lies high.

Plaintel. A remarkable menhir 15 feet high planted point downward. Church of 1759.

Plouagat (C.N.) chl. arr. Guingamp, near Châtelaudren. In the churchyard a Christian lech bearing the inscription VORMVNI. Ruins of the priory of N.D. des Fontaines, some portions of which go back to Romanesque, but the major portion belongs to the 15th cent.

Goudelin. The Chapel of N.D. de l'Ile was founded in the 15th cent. and contains a statue of S. Eligius dressed in Breton bragou-bras.

Lanrodic. Le Vieux Château de Perrun is a good example of a camp, probably of the Northmen invaders and devastaters of Brittany or of the Merovingians. The embankment was revetted with blocks of quartz not set in mortar. The new château is a fine mediæval ruin. It is surrounded by a deep moat and possesses a cylindrical tower with machicolation. All the rest of the original castle has disappeared, but in the midst of the court is a château built at the time of the renaissance, but that was burnt and gutted at the Revolution. It has, however, preserved its façade and some of its fine chimney-pieces. Among the fallen masses of sculpture may be seen a fragment of a verse of Virgil. "Quid pius Æneas tanto dabit indole dignum."

S. Pever. Ruins of the Château of Avauguer on a promontory above the Trieux and the lake. The chapel is of the 13th and 14th cents. and contains remains of an alabaster retable of the 16th cent.

* PLOUARET (C.N.) chl. arr. Lannion, at the junction of the branch line to Lannion. A prettily situated little town in a well-wooded country and with charming walks about it up the rocky broom-covered valleys. The neighbourhood teems with objects of interest, and it makes excellent headquarters for interesting excursions. The church is curious. It consists of nave and side-aisles all under one enormous roof and lighted through aisle windows under gables. It is flamboyant and has a square E. end that contains a fine window of geometric tracery, but not of 2nd pointed date, apparently, judging from the stiffness and lack of skill in the treatment. It looks like an attempt of a flamboyant architect to revive the earlier style. The tower is dated 1554, when it was begun, but in style it is later, and is an admirable example of a renaissance tower at its best period. The mountain, visible to the south is the Menezbré, from the top of which the Seven Saints cursed Conmore, with the result that the Usurper of Domnonia was deserted on all sides as one "fey" and was killed in 555.

Loquivy-Plougras. The fine Chapel of S. Emilion, the largest example of its kind in the Department, is of the 16th cent. It was begun in 1516 and the tower added in 1566.

For the beautiful chapel of Keramanachx, see under Plonevez Moedec, and for Tonquedec, see Lannion.

Trégrom. At Keranscot is a menhir 19 feet high called Menbras. At 300 paces from it is another 10 feet high. The church (S. Brendan of Clonfert) has been judiciously restored. It is 2nd pointed and is very prettily situated. The S. aisle was intended to be vaulted, but only the vaulting shafts remain. The S. porch has good 2nd pointed mouldings, and over it is an interesting statue of the Irish traveller-saint who discovered Madeira and the Canaries. The W. turret is for two bells. A quaint four-light square-headed window lights the baptistery. Brendan was forced to leave Ireland, owing to his having accidentally caused the death of a pupil, and he spent seven years in exile. Following the sun at midsummer, he reached Iceland, but did not remain there. The story of his voyages was embroidered by fancy, and converted into an Irish version of Sinbad the Sailor; but the greater part of his time of exile was spent in Brittany, where he founded two monasteries, one on the isle of Cézambre opposite S. Malo, and the other in the land of Heth, the site of which is not determined, but it was probably Lanvellec, which is also dedicated to him. The church there is modern, but in the churchyard is an elegant 16th cent. ossuary. Near the road from Plouaret to Keramanach is the curious chapel of S. Carré, built in 1697. It is a typical example of the period, all the detail is Italian, but the Gothic feeling is present in the main lines. E. of it is the Holy Well of the same period, well preserved. The P. at S. Carré is on Whitsunday.

Vieux Marché. The church is a huge modern flamboyant structure, successful except for the mean, pinched tower. The flamboyant doorway of the original church has been inserted at the west end of the new church, and some quaint carvings are preserved at the N. doorway. A pretty walk up the glen of about three miles leads to the chapel of the Sept-Saints, a cruciform structure erected in 1702, with a S. transept over a dolmen that serves as crypt, and with an altar in it to the Seven Sleepers. At S. Marcel at some little distance from Plouaret is a mutilated statue of a Roman horseman trampling on a half human monster, that receives a religious cult. Although the heads have been knocked off, and the clergy set their faces strongly against this devotion, the peasantry still have recourse to the image. Those paralysed are hoisted upon the back of the horse, and quite as well authenticated cases of cure are produced there as at some of the approved shrines.

Ploubalay (C.N.) chl. arr. Dinan. Modern church. Ruins of the Château de Crochais.

S. Jacut-de-la-Mer. The site of an ancient abbey founded by Gwethenoc and Jacut, brothers of S. Winwaloe, at the beginning of the 6th cent. The brothers in Breton mythology replaced the Heavenly Twins of classic mythology, and were wont to be seen when invoked steering a vessel that was in danger of being overwhelmed and wrecked at sea. The abbey was given over in commendam to favourites at court, and the few monks left in it without supervision led such idle and worthless lives that the feeling of the country was roused against them, and when the Revolution broke out, the peasants tore down the monastery to its very foundations so as to leave of it no trace whatever. There is now a conventual establishment at S. Jacut that receives boarders for the bathing season. The tower of Ebihens on an island was built in 1697.

Trégon. An allée couverte called Les Vielles Hautières is near the high road, and is 48 ft. long. Fourteen uprights sustain seven capstones. About 400 paces from this is a fallen dolmen. A vulgar modern church takes the place of an early Romanesque structure.

Château de Guildo. The old Castle is a ruin, in which Gilles de Bretagne was playing a game of tennis when snatched away, by order of his brother, Francis I., to be starved to death at La Hardouinais.

* PLOUDALMEZEAU (F.) chl. arr. Brest. The church was rebuilt in 1857, but the tower remains of 1775. Ploudalmezeau is in the old Pays d'Ach, and the British refugees swarmed hither, landing in the estuaries of the Aber Vrach, Aber Benoit, and the Aber Iltut. P. of S. Bridget, 15th August.

Lampaul Ploudalmezeau. Remains of an allée couverte, and by the roadside from Ploudalmezeau a menhir trimmed into shape and surmounted by a cross between two others of very early character. The church (S. Pol de Léon) is very charmingly situated among trees, and the tower is not of the type of renaissance so common. It more resembles that of Pleyben, and is remarkably well proportioned and dignified. It has a gallery above the porch, another at the summit of the tower, and curious flying buttresses support the turrets at the angles, and a cupola in the centre surmounted by a lantern on three stages. The church itself is late flamboyant. The porch is wide and enriched with Ionic pillars, within it is vaulted, and the groins meet in a pendant. A curious statue in the S. transept represents the Virgin and child. She is trampling on the Devil, who tauntingly upholds the fatal apple. Good metal-work encloses the baptistery. The N. aisle has been rebuilt. There is a Holy Well, but without character, in the churchyard.

Landunevez. La Four is a rock rising 200 ft. above the sea, and is supposed to indicate the point where the Ocean begins and the Channel ends. Fine ruins of the castle of Trémazan, where was born Tanguy du Châtel, who died 1449. He was one of the Generals of Charles VI. and Charles VII. After the Battle of Agincourt, things did not run as smoothly as represented by Shakespeare. The French Court was torn by factions. At the head of one was Jean sans Peur, Duke of Burgundy; at the head of the other the Armagnacs, the partisans of the Dauphin. In place of combining against the victorious English, they were engaged in murderous affrays between themselves. One night the Burgundians fell on and slaughtered the Armagnacs in the streets of Paris, and the Dauphin was only saved by Tanguy du Châtel, who smuggled him off to Milan. The Constable of France and the Chancellor were both murdered, and the massacre lasted three days. Richard, fourth brother of Duke John V. of Brittany, at great risk secreted and carried off Marie d'Anjou, wife of the Dauphin. The Duke of Brittany entered Paris and put a term to the horrors that were being perpetrated. Meanwhile the English were advancing, and burning the towns on their march. At length the Duke of Burgundy and the Dauphin agreed to meet and come to terms at Montereau. But no sooner were they face to face than they burst into mutual recrimination. This so exasperated Tanguy, that with an axe he split the skull of the Duke. This fresh crime threw the Burgundians into the arms of the English. The war was concluded by the Treaty of Amiens, 1423. At Landunevez are a dolmen, and at Argenton a menhir 18 ft. high. Patronal feast 3rd Sunday in Sept., P. of Kersaint Ascension Day and Aug. 15th; P. of S. Gonvel, 2nd Sunday in Sept., and P. of S. Samson, 3rd Sunday in July.

Plourin. The church (S. Budoc) is entirely modern, but excellent, the tower and spire are specially well proportioned. The E. flamboyant window is very good. Two old picturesque houses are near the church. Within the church is the pulpit from the old church of carved oak representing scenes from the legend of S. Azenore and her son Budoc. At Kergraden are two menhirs, one 30 ft. high, the other 24 ft. P. Sunday nearest to Aug. 7.

Plouguin. Modern church. The château of Lesven possesses a painting over the altar in which is represented S. Gwen, her three breasts disguised by the central breast being made into a gilded disc, dressed in the costume of a lady of the beginning of the 17th cent. presenting her son Winwaloe to S. Corentin, who gives him the habit. Fragan, husband of Gwen Teirbron, is also represented in the painting as a knight in armour. The parish takes its name from Gwen, and her husband gives his name to the neighbouring parish of S. Fragan. In a marsh are the ruins of an oratory, where, according to local tradition, Winwaloe as a child practised the ascetic life. For Lanrivoaré see S. Rénan.

Plouescat (F.) chl. arr. Morlaix. A menhir, 21 ft. high.

Plounevez Lochrist. In this parish is the interesting chapel of Lochrist with its 13th cent. tower, bold and massive, and surmounted by a spire very different in character from the flimsy barley-sugar constructions of the 16th cent. and the beginning of the 17th. The chapel itself is modern.

Plouguenast (C.N.) chl. arr. Loudéac. New and bad parish church, but happily the old one has been left, and contains some old glass, representing the Crucifixion, Entombment, and Pentecost. The altar rails are made out of the old roodloft gallery front, and bear representations of the apostles. Chapel of the Rosary 16th cent. Château de Touche Brondineuf, a stronghold of the 15th cent.

Plémy. A menhir, 12 ft. high, near Drény, on the road to Uzel. Two more of 9 ft. high at 300 paces thence. An old maison forte of the 16th cent. at Vaucles. At Ville Pierre remains of an Huguenot preaching station, a platform sustained on cylindrical pillars. Some of the great nobles of Brittany, casting covetous eyes on the church property, embraced the reform and encouraged the Calvinist preachers. But the people would have none of them.

Langast. The Church (S. Gall) of the 16th cent. has some old glass in the east window.

Plouha (C.N.) chl. arr. S. Brieuc. Modern uninteresting church. Four kilometres off is the Chapel of Kermaria, erected at different times. The first four arches belong to the 13th cent. The others as well as the S. porch and transept are flamboyant. This chapel contains a Dance of Death, in fresco, but now sadly faded. There are twenty-two subjects, each figure is attended by a skeleton. Above the Dance are eight prophets, seated. The chandeliers are of hammered iron.

Lanleff has a circular Romanesque church in ruins. It belongs to the 11th or early 12th cent. A portion of the external wall has fallen, exposing the arcade. Much fanciful stuff was published relative to this church early last century. It was supposed to have been a pagan temple. Near it is a well, the water issues from a three-lobed opening. Above is a stone marked with seven circles. The story goes that a woman here sold her child to the devil for seven pieces of silver, of which these circles are the memorial.

Plouigneau (F.) chl. arr. Morlaix. A menhir and a prehistoric camp. P. Ascension Day followed by dancing and a fair. P. at the chapel of S. Eloi 3rd Sunday in June.

Plougonven. A calvary of the 17th cent. A fallen dolmen and three menhirs.

Plouzévede (F.) chl. arr. Morlaix. In this commune is the very interesting chapel of Berven, with a beautiful tower. It stands by the highway from S. Pol de Léon to Lesneven, which runs mainly over the old Roman road, and was that taken by S. Paulus Aurelianus when he came from the land of Ach to the town that now bears his name. The entrance to the churchyard is by a triumphal arcade, the arches separated and sustained by Corinthian pillars. The beautiful tower and spire were built in 1567. The rood screen is late, 17th cent., and on it are four panel paintings. The tower sustains two galleries and superposed bell chambers. The whole surmounted by a lantern. It is of the same type as that of Rorcoff, but is more elegant. It is later than the church.

Plouvorn. The church is modern, but the chapel of Lambader is most interesting, as containing the only 16th cent. flamboyant screen that has been spared in the department. It is singularly rich and delicate. The date is 1481. The tower and spire resemble those of Creisker, but on a smaller scale and with the same fault. The chapel has been carefully restored. P. on Whit-Monday.

S. Vougai. Church (S. Fiacc of Stetty) of the 16th cent. The château of Kerjean is a fine example of a late flamboyant and renaissance castle. After having been in ruins, it has been repurchased by a descendant of the ancient family to which it originally belonged, and is being gradually restored. One wing was destroyed by fire in the 18th cent., the rest was wrecked at the Revolution. It is called the Versailles of Finistère.

Pluvigner (M.) chl. arr. Lorient. This was the centre of a vast district comprising nine parishes, that formed the "plou" of Fingar, an Irish settler, who, after having established himself here with a number of colonists, returned to Ireland to fetch more, but was carried by contrary winds into S. Ives' Bay in Cornwall, where the native prince Tewdrig fell on him and murdered most of the party. The place where he was killed is Gwinear. The church of Pluvigner is a vast building erected in 1545. The tower and spire, however, date from 1781. Numerous lechs are in the churchyard, and one is at the door of the mairie. The Holy Well of S. Guinger (Fingar) is of the 16th cent., a little way out of the village. According to the legend Fingar was hunting when he came to the well, and looking in saw his face reflected in the water. "On my word," said he; "I'm an uncommonly handsome man, too good-looking to be anything but a saint," and this effected his conversion. He renounced the world and dedicated his beauty to religion. The chapel of S. Fiacre is of 1453, with additions of 1640. In the transept is a richly carved flamboyant altarpiece. The chapel of S. Beuzy marks the spot where that favourite disciple of Gildas, flying with a mortal wound in his head, passed the night on his way to Rhuys. The chapel is of 1593.

* PONT-AVEN (F.) chl. arr. Quimperlé. The costume of the women in this district is peculiarly charming. The broad quilled collars and the white coiffe, with a pink ribbon behind the lace, serve to show off a pretty face to advantage. Pont-aven is a favourite resort of artists, and some of their work may be seen in a much frequented hotel there. Moreover, the scenery about Pont-aven is pleasing, and it serves as a better headquarters than Concarneau, where the smell of the sardine pickling is offensive, and produces in some stomachic trouble. Pont-aven is picturesquely situated on the Aven, the same name as our Affon, Awne, and Avon, and at the foot of two hills crowned with granite rocks that have been rounded by the action of the weather, which dissolves the silicate of potass in it, when the other matters, mica, felspar, hemblend, and quartz fall away in gravel and sand. A huge rock in the river facing the quay is called la Roche Forme. Below Pont-aven the river widens into an estuary and forms a port. Near the mouth of the river is the sanatorium of Kerfarny. There are two menhirs in the commune, one 15 feet and the other 16 feet high, one at Kérangosquer, and the other on the lande de Kervéquilen. About four kilometres down the river is the château du Hénan of the 15th and 16th cents. At Riec are some dolmens.

Nizon. Here are the fine 15th cent. ruins of the castle of Rustéphan flanked by turrets. Several dolmens are scattered over the neighbourhood, and menhirs as well, of which one is 21 feet high.

Nevez. About two miles to the east of the village are the important remains of the château of Hénan, of the 15th cent., much altered in the 16th cent., with a keep some 75 feet high, machicolated. A dolmen is here whose capstone measures 45 feet in length, and 27 feet in breadth, and 6 feet thick. It has been converted into a smith's shop. At Nizon there are two Pardons, that of N.D. de Kergomet on the 1st Sunday in May; the other at N.D. de Trémalo on the 2nd Sunday in September. At Pont-aven the patronal feast is on the 3rd Sunday in September, and the P. of S. Mathurin on the 2nd Sunday in May. At Nevez the patronal feast is on the 2nd Sunday after Easter; the Pardon de S. Barbe, the 2nd Sunday in August; that of S. Nicolas the 1st Sunday of September; that of Trémorvézen the 2nd Sunday in September. The P. of S. Mathieu on the last Sunday in September: that of the Rosary Sunday in October, and there are fêtes and a fair on the Monday following. Perhaps the best is that of Bélon on the river of that name, which flows into the sea close to the mouth of the Aven. Here is a grand procession on Sept. 8th, and very picturesque costumes may be seen. Near Belen is N.D. de Lanriot, a fine chapel; and in a most lovely situation is de Moustoir. Between Pont-aven and de Trinité in a wood is a dolmen. It is actually in the parish of Moëlan or Maelon, in which the Pardon of S. Roch is held on Aug. 15, and that of S. Philibert on the second Sunday after. Excursions may be made by boat from Pont-aven to the isles of Glenan, a veritable archipelago, and to the more distant Ile de Groix. This was the island to which Gunthiern, the first settler at Quimperlé, was wont to retire, and where there is a chapel that contains a statue of him. He was a native of Southern Wales, and his name is identical with Vortigern. But who he really was is very uncertain. In summer there is communication daily by a little steamboat with Lorient. An arm of the sea called le Coureau separates the isle from the mainland. The population is composed entirely of fishermen, and it has a little harbour, the port Tudy. The island coast is honeycombed with caves; it also possesses numerous prehistoric monuments. On the N. the tumulus of Moustéro and the menhir of Quelhuit, and the dolmens more or less ruined of S. Tudy and of Porte Mélite. On the E. the menhir of the Fort de la Croix. On the S. the dolmens of Locmaria and S. Nicolas and the tumulus of Kervédan, surmounted by a menhir, and near Kervédan on the shore the remains of an enclosure called the fort des Romains. As there are hotels on the island, a day or two can be very comfortably spent there.

Le Pouldu (the Black Pool) is a bathing place, where the climate is singularly warm, and plants that flourish in the south of France here stand the winter.

* PONT-CROIX (F.) chl. arr. Quimper. This little town is far more attractive than Audierne, and is better suited to stay at for a visit to the numerous objects of interest in the peninsula. It is built about a remarkable abbey church, one of the finest in Finistère, and with the noblest tower and spire in Brittany. Most of these towers and spires look like hot-house growths, and are over-weighted by their spires. But the tower of Pontcroix is solid and in perfect proportion to its spire. The church also presents admirable examples of 2nd pointed architecture, notably its unique S. porch. The spire is of the same period. The S. transept had a window of the same, circ. 1380, but the tracery has been hacked away and replaced by feeble weedy flamboyant. Of the other flamboyant windows, one is well designed, two are under acute gables. The church has an apse (flamboyant) with six windows. On entering the sacred building, the surprised visitor finds himself in a Romanesque church, but of a late period, 1160. The pillars are spindly and tall, and sustain round arches. It is Romanesque at its last gasp, and without its original vigour and massiveness. A very ugly feature is the inner member of the arch, which is sustained on corbels resting on the capitals. The arcade of the sanctuary is of the 13th cent. The piers supporting the central tower were Romanesque, but were encased at a late period, when the spire was added. Some stained glass is of the 15th cent.

A walk or drive may be taken to N.D. de Confort on the Quimper road; it is 16th cent. with a graceful spirelet above a double gallery and a turret at the side to give access to the bells. The Calvary is of the same period, purer in design and better in detail than the overcrowded Calvaries of Guimiliau and Plougastel. In the chapel is a Wheel of Fortune set with bells, which the pilgrims set in motion so as to summon the Saint to hearken to their prayers. At Meilars is another Calvary, also a dolmen. Half-way between N.D. de Confort and Poullan is the admirable Chapel of Kerinec with its Holy Well and a Calvary consisting of a cross above a preaching platform. The great charm of this chapel lies in its interior, which is very beautiful. Further on is Poullan buried in trees (S. Cadvan), a transition church between flamboyant and renaissance, with a thin oblong tower and a good porch. There is no chancel arch. Nave and aisles have boarded ceilings. The granite capitals are rudely carved. The side aisles very narrow, the pillars tall, sustaining small pointed arches. An octagonal 17th cent. baptistery. There is a menhir near the seamark at Kermenhir, and there are dolmens in the parish. The country is barren, planted with Austrian pine, but is being brought under cultivation by the use of sardine heads as manure. The coast to Cap Sizun is bold and fine. Beuzec Cap Sizun. Church (S. Budoc) with tower of the 16th cent. A fine coast. P. at N.D. de Confort, 1st Sunday in July. P. of Kerinec, 3rd Sunday in July. P. at Poullan, 1st Sunday in Sept. P. at N.D. de Clarté in Beuzec, on the Eve of Rogation Sunday.

* PONTIVY (M.) chl. d'arr. A busy town, very modern and vastly ugly in its modern portion, but with a few picturesque bits in the old town. In the new Pontivy is the hideous Church of S. Joseph, about as bad in architecture as the perversity of ignorance could design. The church in the old town in decadent flamboyant, is bad of its kind. The tracery had been removed from the windows, and has been replaced by new stuff of no character except feebleness. The W. tower is octagonal with a spire surmounting it. The castle has been in part destroyed, but two faces remain with singularly low drums of towers. In it is now the museum. The costume of the neighbourhood of Pontivy in the women is not remarkable, but that of the men is picturesque, white jackets bordered and ornamented with black velvet.