Per Vari Kerloc'h (born 1952) is the current Grand Druid of the ''

Goursez Breizh 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 itself ...

'' (founded in 1899). He was born at

Douarnenez Douarnenez (, ; meaning ''douar'' (land) ''an enez'' (the island) or land of the island), is a commune in the French department of Finistère, region of Brittany, northwestern France. It is located at the mouth of the Pouldavid River, an estuary ...

, in the western part of

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 ...

. The Grand Druid is appointed for life (Kerloc'h succeeded his predecessor

Gwenc'hlan Le Scouëzec Loïc Gwenc'hlan Le Scouëzec (11 November 1929, Plouescat, Finistère – 6 February 2008 Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

and Cornish equivalents are now elected every three years. Kerloc'h has been a middle manager and trade union representative with La Poste. He is a native

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 ...

speaker and a fluent speaker of Cornish. His bardic name is ''Morgan''. Per Vari Kerloc'h was welcomed at the Welsh

National Eisteddfod The National Eisteddfod of Wales (Welsh: ') is the largest of several eisteddfodau that are held annually, mostly in Wales. Its eight days of competitions and performances are considered the largest music and poetry festival in Europe. Competitors ...

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 ...

(''Kerdiz'' in Breton) in 2008. An article in English published in the newspaper "Connexion" explains that after 2 years as a disciple, it is possible to become an Ovate, Bard or Druid, as in

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

. This is different from

Gorseth Kernow Gorsedh Kernow (Cornish Gorsedd) is a non-political Cornish organisation, based in Cornwall, United Kingdom, which exists to maintain the national Celtic spirit of Cornwall. It is based on the Welsh-based Gorsedd, which was founded by Iolo Mor ...

which has one order, Bards, and a Grand Bard who is elected for just one 3-year period. ''Goursez Breizh'' has members who are Christian, Jewish or atheist; on the principle that anyone living in

is Breton. However there are hopes that a younger new leader, rooted in Breton language culture will refocus the ''Goursez'' on Breton cultural matters as was the original intent of the movement.

References

Gorseth Kernow
(contains frequent news on the Breton Gorsedd written in English and Cornish)

Bibliography

* ''Hanes Gorsedd y Beirdd'' (authoritative chapter on the Breton Gorsedd written in Welsh). Barddas, 1991. {{DEFAULTSORT:Kerloch, Per vVari 1952 births Living people People from Douarnenez Neo-druids French modern pagans Modern pagan writers