department
Department may refer to:
* Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility
Government and military
*Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...
of
Ille-et-Vilaine
Ille-et-Vilaine (; br, Il-ha-Gwilen) is a department of France, located in the region of Brittany in the northwest of the country. It is named after the two rivers of the Ille and the Vilaine. It had a population of 1,079,498 in 2019.
in
Brittany
Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, Historical region, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known ...
. It is located in northwestern
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
.
Geography
The river Meu forms the commune's southwestern border.
Breteil is part of the canton of Montfort-sur-Meu and the arrondissement of Rennes.
The town has 3502 inhabitants and covers 1470 hectares. It is surrounded by the towns of
Montfort-sur-Meu
Montfort-sur-Meu (, literally ''Montfort on Meu''; br, Moñforzh) is a Communes of France, commune in the Departments of France, department of Ille-et-Vilaine in Brittany (administrative region), Brittany in the northwest of France.
It is noted ...
,
Bédée
Bédée (; br, Bezeg; Gallo: ''Bedésc'') is a commune in the department of Ille-et-Vilaine in Brittany. It is located in the North West of France and is labeled as a village étape since 2009.
Etymology
The name of Bédée would come from the ...
,
La Nouaye
La Nouaye () is a commune in the department of Ille-et-Vilaine in Brittany in the northwest of France.
Population
Inhabitants of La Nouaye are called ''Lanoysiens'' in French.Iffendic,
Pleumeleuc
Pleumeleuc (; ; Gallo: ''Ploemenoec'') is a commune in the department of Ille-et-Vilaine in Brittany in the northwest of France.
Geography
The town of Pleumeleuc is part of the county of Montfort-sur-Meu and of the town of Rennes.
It stretches o ...
,
Talensac
Talensac (; ; Gallo: ''Talanczac'') is a commune in the department of Ille-et-Vilaine in Brittany in the northwest of France.
Geography
The river Meu forms all of the commune's eastern border.
Located at 20 km in the West of Rennes in the pe ...
,
Saint-Gonlay
Saint-Gonlay (; Local pronunciation: Saint Gonlâ) is a commune in the department of Ille-et-Vilaine in Brittany in the northwest of France.
Geography
The Meu river goes through the town.
There are 280 inhabitants in Saint-Gonlay and the territ ...
.
Population
Inhabitants of Breteil are known as ''Breteillais'' in French.
History
In 1120, Raoul de Montfort included the castle of Breteil in the dowry of his daughter for her wedding to the earl of La Riolaye. The parish of Breteil was created from the division of the former parish of
Pleumeleuc
Pleumeleuc (; ; Gallo: ''Ploemenoec'') is a commune in the department of Ille-et-Vilaine in Brittany in the northwest of France.
Geography
The town of Pleumeleuc is part of the county of Montfort-sur-Meu and of the town of Rennes.
It stretches o ...
in 1122. In this year, the bishop of Aleth consecrated the church of Breteil to
Benedictine
, image = Medalla San Benito.PNG
, caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal
, abbreviation = OSB
, formation =
, motto = (English: 'Pray and Work')
, foun ...
monks of Saint-Melaine de Rennes. In 1152, the Lord of Montfort-sur-Meu gave two plots of agricultural land in Breteil to the abbey of Saint-Jacques de Montfort to contribute to the monks' activities. In the town centre of Breteil, a priest named Guillaume gave a house to the abbey of
Montfort-sur-Meu
Montfort-sur-Meu (, literally ''Montfort on Meu''; br, Moñforzh) is a Communes of France, commune in the Departments of France, department of Ille-et-Vilaine in Brittany (administrative region), Brittany in the northwest of France.
It is noted ...
.
Like everywhere in
Brittany
Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, Historical region, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known ...
, particularly
Upper Brittany
Upper Brittany (french: Haute-Bretagne; br, Breizh-Uhel; Gallo: ''Haùtt-Bertaèyn'') is the eastern part of Brittany, France, which is predominantly of a Romance culture and is associated with the Gallo language. The name is in counterpoint to L ...
, small farmers had land, but they were usually small areas. Relatively few peasants were economically secure; the others, except for farmers, had to work as day labourers and servants. With 167 servants out of 1271 inhabitants in 1774, Breteil had relatively fewer servants than several neighboring towns.
The territory of the parish fell into two jurisdictions:
* Breteil and la Riollais
* la Touche Parthenay, Launay-Sinan and la Gautrais
The head tax, the "twentieth" and other taxes were collected by tax collectors who travelled throughout the parish, which was divided into four districts: town centre, the abbey, la Boulais and Painbay.
The French Revolution
On 1 April 1789, inhabitants gathered to write down the register of grievances ahead of the next
convention
Convention may refer to:
* Convention (norm), a custom or tradition, a standard of presentation or conduct
** Treaty, an agreement in international law
* Convention (meeting), meeting of a (usually large) group of individuals and/or companies in a ...
. Seventy-one voters voted for Mathurin Vitré de la Corbinais and Noël Legros to attend the next meeting of the
Estates of the realm
The estates of the realm, or three estates, were the broad orders of social hierarchy used in Christendom (Christian Europe) from the Middle Ages to early modern Europe. Different systems for dividing society members into estates developed and ...
of the jurisdiction of the Sénéchal of Rennes.
In January 1791, none of the parish priests swore an oath to the Civil Constitution of the Clergy; in 1792, with the decree of 26 August and the election of François-Guy Martin as a priest, they were forced to go into exile or hiding, with the help of local farmers.
The presbytery and the lodging of a buyer of ecclesiastical goods were looted on 18 March 1793 by about 300 bandits, later called
chouan
Chouan ("the silent one", or "owl") is a French nickname. It was used as a nom de guerre by the Chouan brothers, most notably Jean Cottereau, better known as Jean Chouan, who led a major revolt in Bas-Maine against the French Revolution. Part ...
s (= royalists).
The turmoil sparked by the mass movement of 300 men lasted several days: on 19 March, women and children sound the alarm by hitting bells with hammers, as the fighters had been arrested the day before by the national guard of
Montfort-sur-Meu
Montfort-sur-Meu (, literally ''Montfort on Meu''; br, Moñforzh) is a Communes of France, commune in the Departments of France, department of Ille-et-Vilaine in Brittany (administrative region), Brittany in the northwest of France.
It is noted ...
. Of the 22 soldiers requested to form the conscript, only 5 men volunteered. The national guard only needed to fire a few times to make the insurgents panic; a dozen ''Breteillais'' were arrested, but most were released the next day.
In 1794, the revolt of the chouans expanded. At La Herdrouais, Jean Éveillard, captain of the national guard, is assassinated on 31 December while resisting people wearing masks and looking for guns. Marie Gallais, his mother, and a half-sister suffered a similar fate on 16 December 1795.
Tourism
Management of tourism in Montfort-sur-Meu is entrusted by
Montfort Community
Montfort can refer to:
Feudal fiefs and houses
* Montfort-l'Amaury, a French noble house, extinct in the 14th century
* Montfort of Brittany, descendants in the female line, reigning house of the Duchy of Brittany in the 14th and 15th centuries
* ...
to the Tourist Office of the district of Montfort.
Buildings and other sights
Buildings
* Saint Malo church
The body and the southern side of the church were built during the 16th century; its framework carries an inscription from 1503. The church is noteworthy for its porch, which has a carinated archway.
* Chapel of the Abbey
This chapel, belonging to the abbey of Saint-Jacques de Montfort-sur-Meu, is built from
schist
Schist ( ) is a medium-grained metamorphic rock showing pronounced schistosity. This means that the rock is composed of mineral grains easily seen with a low-power hand lens, oriented in such a way that the rock is easily split into thin flakes o ...
and puddingstone.
* Chapel of La Riolais
This chapel seems to have been built during the 17th century, even though the sculpted pediment located at the top of the eastern door seems to date from the 15th or 16th century. Strangely, this chapel is not orientated, for its core is to the south.
Sights
* Pedestrian circuit "Le Pont Rozel"
The "Pont Rozel" pedestrian circuit can be walked all year, in any season. It starts at the church of Breteil.
See also
*
Communes of the Ille-et-Vilaine department
The following is a list of the 333 Communes of France, communes of the Ille-et-Vilaine Departments of France, department of France.
The communes cooperate in the following Communes of France#Intercommunality, intercommunalities (as of 2020):
*
Emmanuel Guérin
Emmanuel Guérin (1884–1967) was a French sculptor.
Brief biography
Guérin studied at the École des beaux-arts in Rennes alongside Pierre Charles Lenoir, Éloi Emile Robert, Armel Beaufils, Francis Renaud (sculptor), Louis Henri Nicot and J ...