Brocéliande
Brocéliande (Bret. Brekilien) is the name of a fabulous forest in Brittany , in which a number of stories from the Arthurian legends are located (in particular Chrétien de Troyes ' Yvain ou Le Chevalier au lion ).
location
The Brocéliande Forest (La Forêt de Brocéliande) is not found on any modern map. It is said to be west of Rennes in High Brittany, where it is recorded as the Paimpont Forest . It is the largest forest and the heart of Brittany. According to legend, the magician Merlin of Nimue (Viviane) was locked into a hawthorn hedge in the forest of Brocéliande after he had revealed to her the sources of his magic powers.
Here should:
- have stood the bridge of secrets on which Viviane revealed her love for Merlin and disappeared in a cloud,
- the valley of no return ( Val sans retour ), in which the Morgan le Fay kept her unfaithful lovers captive,
- Comper Lake is where Lancelot was raised in an underwater castle by Viviane.
- the source of Barenton (French: La fontaine de Barenton ) lie, the water of which, poured onto "Merlin's staircase" (a stone), makes it rain (maybe).
Many megalithic sites in this forest were ascribed to the heroes of the Arthurian legend:
- The grave of Merlin is "couverte Allée" the residue of a near Lake Marelles in the east of the forest, a place where each year the followers of the Knights of the Round Table come together.
- The Monks' Garden (Jardin aux Moines) is a megalithic monument that is more than 3500 years old.
- The house of Viviane (Hôtié de Viviane), formerly called the Druid Tomb, is made of red slate.
- The tomb of the giants (Tombeau des géants) was once called "Witches Rock".
- The guillotine oak (le Chêne à Guillotin) is a hollow tree ten meters in circumference that is said to accommodate ten people. It is said that a stubborn priest took refuge here during the French Revolution .
- The municipality of Tréhorenteuc (the smallest in the Morbihan department ) houses the astonishing "L'église du Saint Graal" (Church of the Holy Grail) with the parish church of Ste-Onenne . The church, which was restored between 1942 and 1962, is decorated with themes from Arthurian legend and esoteric symbolism.
Attractions
- Trécesson Castle
- Saint-Jean Templar Chapel
- Fontaine de Barenton
- Oak by Hindrés
literature
- Jacques Briard : The Megaliths of Brittany. Gisserot, Paris 2000, ISBN 2-87747-065-2
- Corinne J. Saunders: The forest of medieval romance: Avernus, Broceliande, Arden. Brewer, Woodbridge 1993, ISBN 0-85991-381-3
- Contes et legends de Brocéliande. Edited by Fédération d'Associations Carrefour de Trécélien. Terre de Brume, Rennes 2002, ISBN 2-84362-157-7
- Marianne Stauffer: The forest. For the representation and interpretation of nature in the Middle Ages . Juris-Vlg., Zurich 1958, esp. Pp. 45-55
Individual evidence
Web links
Commons : Brocéliande - Collection of images, videos and audio files
