Gwilherm Berthou (10 May 1908,

Paimpol Paimpol (; ) is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department in Brittany in northwest France. It is a tourist destination, especially during the summer months when people are attracted by its port and beaches. Geography The town is located in the ...

– 14 March 1951,

Rennes Rennes (; br, Roazhon ; Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in northwestern France at the confluence of the Ille and the Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the region of Brittany, as well as the Ille-et-Vilaine department ...

) was a

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 ...

and neo-Druidic bardic poet. He was a member of the Breton artistic movement

Seiz Breur Seiz Breur was an artistic movement founded in 1923 in Brittany. Although it adopted the symbolic name ''seiz breur'', meaning ''seven brothers'' in the Breton language, this did not refer to the number of members, but to the title of a folk-story. ...

Terrorism

Berthou was born in

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 trained as a chemical engineer, then worked full-time as a pharmacist at Guipavas. In 1929 he suggested to fellow chemist and Breton nationalist

Célestin Lainé Célestin Lainé (1908–1983) was a Breton nationalist and collaborator during the Second World War who led the SS affiliated Bezen Perrot militia. His Breton language name is Neven Hénaff. He was a chemical engineer by training. After ...

that a militant group dedicated to

direct action Direct action originated as a political activist term for economic and political acts in which the actors use their power (e.g. economic or physical) to directly reach certain goals of interest, in contrast to those actions that appeal to oth ...

against the French state and its symbols should be formed. This was to be called ''Kentoc'h Mervel'' (Rather Death). As Lainé sought his own recruits, Berthou brought the staff of the nationalist journal

Breiz da Zont Breiz da Zont (Brittany of the Future), was a Breton nationalist periodical active during the 1930s. It was affiliated to an extremist offshoot of the Breton Autonomist Party. Initially, Breiz da Zont was the organ of the nationalist grouping know ...

to join ''en masse''. When Lainé discovered this he distanced himself from Berthou, believing that a public journal could not create an effective support for a secret organization, as it would be too easily infiltrated. Lainé went on to form the terrorist faction '' Gwenn ha du''. Lainé later wrote "I don't know what became of Kentoc'h Mervel after that, except that it never grew beyond fancy words." However when ''Gwenn ha du'' launched their first attack in 1932, bombing a sculpture, four informants claimed that Berthou had provided the

nitroglycerin Nitroglycerin (NG), (alternative spelling of nitroglycerine) also known as trinitroglycerin (TNG), nitro, glyceryl trinitrate (GTN), or 1,2,3-trinitroxypropane, is a dense, colorless, oily, explosive liquid most commonly produced by nitrating g ...

.Ronan Carléon, ''Gwenn ha Du'', 1938.

Neo-Druidism

Berthou became closely associated with neo-Druidic and

Celticist Celtic studies or Celtology is the academic discipline occupied with the study of any sort of cultural output relating to the Celtic-speaking peoples (i.e. speakers of Celtic languages). This ranges from linguistics, literature and art histor ...

movements, writing poetry in the

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 ...

. As part of the Aryanist ideologies of the era, he studied the links between ancient Celtic (Brythonic and Gaelic) culture and

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...

. His esoterism linked him with various Masonic and Aryanist groups. Along with

Morvan Marchal Morvan Marchal (31 July 1900, Vitré, Ille-et-Vilaine – 13 August 1963, Paris), is the Breton name of Maurice Marchal, an architect and a militant Breton nationalist. He is best known for having designed the national flag of Brittany. Bio ...

and others he participated in the Kredenn Geltiek (Celtic Creed) Druidic group, adopting the bardic name Kerverziou, though also using the pseudonym "Iaktimagos Vissurix". He contributed to the Celticist journals ''

Gwalarn Gwalarn ("Northwesterly") was a Breton language literary journal. By extension, the term refers to the style of literature that it encouraged. 166 issues (numbered from 0 to 165) appeared between 1925 and May 1944. The journal was founded by Ropa ...

'' and ''Kad''. He also founded the periodical ''Ogam'' and was president of ''Les Amis de la Tradition Celtique'' (Friends of the Celtic Tradition). In his metaphysical poetry written in "ancient Gallic", he predicted the end of the "white race" in the year 2018, a date which corresponded to 3888 in his own personal calendar, which he created based on the cycles of the moon and sun, starting with the supposed date of the legendary Irish Battle of Mag Tuired.

Collaborationism

Berthou's mystical Aryanist ideas were closely linked to aspects of Nazi ideology. He contributed to the openly pro-Nazi review ''Stur'', edited by

Olier Mordrel Olier Mordrel (29 April 1901 – 25 October 1985) is the Breton language version of Olivier Mordrelle, a Breton nationalist and wartime collaborator with the Third Reich who founded the separatist Breton National Party. Before the war, he worked a ...

, and also contributed to other pro-Nazi periodicals. During the war he was involved with the ''Institut Celtique'', created by the Occupation government. Nevertheless, Berthou's involvement remained purely literary.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Berthou, Gwilherm 1908 births 1951 deaths People from Paimpol Modern pagan religious leaders French modern pagans Breton nationalists Neo-druids Modern pagan poets