Elvire-Louise-Léonarde de Preissac, comtesse de Cerny, known as Elvire de Cerny (1818-1899) was a French writer and folklorist. She lived near

Dinan Dinan (; ) is a walled Breton town and a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department in northwestern France. On 1 January 2018, the former commune of Léhon was merged into Dinan. Geography Its geographical setting is exceptional. Instead of n ...

for many years and wrote about

Breton Breton most often refers to: *anything associated with Brittany, and generally ** Breton people ** Breton language, a Southwestern Brittonic Celtic language of the Indo-European language family, spoken in Brittany ** Breton (horse), a breed **Ga ...

folklore in local newspapers. Her book ''Contes et légendes de Bretagne (1856-1898)'' was published in 1899 (helped by ) and reprinted several times, including in 1995. Her 1861 work ''Saint-Suliac et ses traditions : contes et légendes d'Ille-et-Vilaine'' was reprinted in 1987. The Breton folklorist

Paul Sébillot Paul Sébillot (6 February 1843 in Matignon, Côtes-d'Armor, France – 23 April 1918 in Paris) was a French folklorist, painter, and writer. Many of his works are about his native province, Brittany. Early life and art Sébillot came from an ...

is said to have called her "la doyenne du folklore français". She was a proponent of the theory that

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

was not born in Corsica but 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 ...

, where he was allegedly baptised in the church of

Sainte-Sève Sainte-Sève (; br, Sant-Seo) is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in north-western France. Population Inhabitants of Sainte-Sève are called in French ''Saint-Sévistes''. See also *Communes of the Finistère department T ...

Selected publications

* (reprinted 1995, Rennes: La Tourniole) * (reprinted 1987, Rennes:Rue des Scribes)

References

1818 births 1899 deaths French folklorists French women folklorists Writers from Brittany 19th-century French women writers French nobility {{France-writer-stub