![Erwan Berthou](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/02/Erwan_Berthou.jpg)
Erwan Berthou (4 September 1861 – 30 January 1933) was a
French and
Breton language
Breton (, ; or in Morbihan) is a Southwestern Brittonic language of the Celtic language family spoken in Brittany, part of modern-day France. It is the only Celtic language still widely in use on the European mainland, albeit as a member of t ...
poet, writer and
neo-Druid
Druidry, sometimes termed Druidism, is a modern spirituality, spiritual or religion, religious movement that promotes the cultivation of honorable relationships with the physical landscapes, flora, fauna, and diverse peoples of the world, as w ...
ic bard. His name is also spelled Erwan Bertou and Yves Berthou.
He was born in
Pleubian,
Côtes-d'Armor
The Côtes-d'Armor (, ; ; br, Aodoù-an-Arvor, ), formerly known as Côtes-du-Nord ( br, Aodoù-an-Hanternoz, link=no, ), are a department in the north of Brittany, in northwestern France. In 2019, it had a population of 600,582. . He studied at the small seminary of
Tréguier
Tréguier (; br, Landreger) is a port town in the Côtes-d'Armor department in Brittany in northwestern France. It is the capital of the province of Trégor.
Geography
Tréguier is located 36 m. N.W. of Saint-Brieuc by road. The port is situat ...
, then at the college of
Lannion
Lannion ( ; ) is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department in Brittany in northwestern France. It is a subprefecture of Côtes-d'Armor, the capital of Trégor and the center of an urban area of almost 60,000 inhabitants.
Climate
Lannion has a ...
. He worked as an engineer in
Le Havre
Le Havre (, ; nrf, Lé Hâvre ) is a port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the river Seine on the Channel southwest of the Pays de Caux, very cl ...
, later moving in 1892 to
Rochefort
Rochefort () may refer to:
Places France
* Rochefort, Charente-Maritime, in the Charente-Maritime department
** Arsenal de Rochefort, a former naval base and dockyard
* Rochefort, Savoie in the Savoie department
* Rochefort-du-Gard, in the Ga ...
. On 12 June 1892, he married Elisa Mézeray.
He joined the Navy for five years. During his service he visited the Caribbean,
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
and
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
. Berthou returned to Le Havre in 1896. He then began contributing to the journals ''L'Hermine'' and ''Revue des provinces de l'Ouest''. In 1897, he published a magazine ''La Trêve de Dieu'' (The Truce of God), but it folded after a year. He continued to work as an engineer, especially in construction of settlements in 1898 in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
.
In the following year was one of twenty-two Bretons who went to
Cardiff
Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...
to establish links with Welsh neo-Druidism, being received at the
Gorsedd
A gorsedd (, plural ''gorseddau'') is a community or meeting of modern-day bards. The word is of Welsh origin, meaning "throne". It is spelled gorsedh in Cornish and goursez in Breton.
When the term is used without qualification, it usually r ...
. He also joined the
Union Régionaliste Bretonne
The Breton regionalist union (Union Régionaliste Bretonne or URB) was a Breton cultural and political organisation created August 16, 1898. It was a broadly conservative grouping dedicated to preserving Breton cultural identity and regional indep ...
, helping to create the
Breton nationalist
Breton nationalism (Breton: ''roadelouriezh Brezhoneg'', French: ''nationalisme Breton'') is a form of regional nationalism associated with the region of Brittany in France. The political aspirations of Breton nationalists include the desire ...
movement. He participated in all stages of the creation of the
Gorsedd of Brittany
Goursez Vreizh (officially Breudeuriezh Drouized, Barzhed hag Ovizion Breizh) is the national gorsedd of Brittany ("Breizh" in Breton). It often has delegates from the Welsh gorsedd and Gorsedh Kernow in Cornwall. The Breton organisation is its ...
, of which he was
Archdruid
Archdruid () is the title used by the presiding official of the Gorsedd.
The Archdruid presides over the most important ceremonies at the National Eisteddfod of Wales including the Crowning of the Bard, the award of the and the Chairing of the ...
from 1903 to 1933, using the bardic name Kaledvoulc'h. He occasionally participated in
Emile Masson
Emil or Emile may refer to:
Literature
*''Emile, or On Education'' (1762), a treatise on education by Jean-Jacques Rousseau
* ''Émile'' (novel) (1827), an autobiographical novel based on Émile de Girardin's early life
*''Emil and the Detective ...
's journal ''Brug''. Much of his writing is imbued with
pantheist
Pantheism is the belief that reality, the universe and the cosmos are identical with divinity and a supreme supernatural being or entity, pointing to the universe as being an immanent creator deity still expanding and creating, which has ex ...
ideas.
In 1906 Berthou and
Jean Le Fustec
Jean Le Fustec (10 May 1855, in Rostrenen – 22 March 1910, in Paris) was a Breton bard, and the first Archdruid of the Goursez Vreizh (Gorsedd of Brittany). He is also known by his Breton language name Yann ab Gwilherm and his Druidic name Lemeni ...
published ''Eur to gir of rear Varzed, Triades des druides de Bretagne'',
[''Triadon, Eur gir d’ar Varzed, Triades des duides de Bretagne'', Paris, Bib. de l'Occident, 1906), édition bilingue, Iann Ar Fustec et Yves Berthou.] a translation into Breton of the 46 theological Triads of the neo-Bards, according to a text first published by
Iolo Morganwg
Edward Williams, better known by his bardic name Iolo Morganwg (; 10 March 1747 – 18 December 1826), was a Welsh antiquarian, poet and collector.Jones, Mary (2004)"Edward Williams/Iolo Morganwg/Iolo Morgannwg" From ''Jones' Celtic Encyclopedi ...
with his own Lyric Poems, then in the ''Barddas'' of
J. William ab Ithel (1862). The collection, in fact a forgery by Morganwg, was claimed to have been a translation of works by
Llywelyn Siôn
Llywelyn Siôn (1540 – c. 1616) was a Welsh language poet and bard.
His instructors included Meurig Dafydd and Thomas Llewelyn. Around 1575, he is mentioned under the name Lewelyn John by Sir Edward Mansel in his ''History of the Norman Conques ...
detailing the history of the Welsh bardic system from its ancient origins to the present day. Based on these ideas Berthou also published ''Sous le chêne des druides'' (Under the Druids' Oak), which described a mystical history of human spiritual and cultural evolution culminating in the achievement of "pure whiteness".
In 1918, he returned to live in Pleubian, to take over his parents' farm. He found it difficult to keep it solvent, and was reduced to great poverty a result of the inflation after the war. His last years were severely impoverished, leading to his wife's mental breakdown. Members of the Breton national movement organised financial assistance for him.
The following is an obituary notice in the Western Mail & South Wales Newspaper, Monday, March 6, 1933
Writings
* ', premières poésies, 1892
* ''La Lande fleurie'', 1894
* ''Les Fontaines miraculeuses'', 1896
* ''Âmes simples'', dramatic poem, 1896
* ''La Semaine des Quatre Jeudis'', ballads, 1898
* ''Le Pays qui Parle'', poem, 1903.
* ''Dre an dellen hag ar c'horn-boud. (By the harp and by the horn of war)''.
Saint-Brieuc
Saint-Brieuc (, Breton: ''Sant-Brieg'' , Gallo: ''Saent-Berioec'') is a city in the Côtes-d'Armor department in Brittany in northwestern France.
History
Saint-Brieuc is named after a Welsh monk Brioc, who Christianised the region in the 6th c ...
/ Paris René Prud'homme & Moriz an Dault 1904
* ''Triades des Bardes de l’île de Bretagne'', 1906
* ''Istor Breiz'', 1910.
* ''Kevrin Barzed Breiz'', treatise of Breton language versification, 1912.
* ''Les Vessies pour des Lanternes'', tract, 1913.
* ''Lemenik, skouer ar Varzed'', 1914.
* ''Ivin ha Lore'', gwerziou, 1914.
* ''Dernière Gerbe'', poems, 1914.
* ''Avalou Stoup'', rimadellou, 1914.
* ''Hostaliri Surat'', 1914.
* ''Daouzek Abostol'', 1928.
* ''Sous le chêne des druides'' P. Heugel Editeur 1931
* ''En Bro-Dreger a-dreuz parkoù (1910-1911)'', republished
* ''Lemenik: skouer ar varzhed''. -
Lesneven
Lesneven (; br, Lesneven) is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in northwestern France.
It lies northeast of Brest, about from the English Channel in the middle of the Leon plateau.
History
Lesneven has its origins in the immi ...
: "
Hor yezh", 2001
Notes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Berthou, Erwan
1861 births
1933 deaths
People from Côtes-d'Armor
Neo-druids
Poets from Brittany
Breton-language writers
French male poets
French modern pagans
Modern pagan poets
French male non-fiction writers