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Tombelaine is a small tidal island off the coast of Normandy in France. It lies a few kilometres north of
According to
Marquis de Tombelaine
was created as part of the burgeoning tourist industry around Mont Saint-Michel. The island was purchased by the state in 1933, and was declared a historic monument by a decree of 1936. It became a bird reserve in 1985..
Tombelaine is a small tidal island off the coast of Normandy in France. It lies a few kilometres north of Mont Saint-Michel
Mont-Saint-Michel (; Norman: ''Mont Saint Miché''; ) is a tidal island and mainland commune in Normandy, France.
The island lies approximately off the country's north-western coast, at the mouth of the Couesnon River near Avranches and is ...
. At low tide
Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon (and to a much lesser extent, the Sun) and are also caused by the Earth and Moon orbiting one another.
Tide tables can ...
the island can be reached on foot (with a guide) from the coast of Cotentin, to the northeast, and from Mont Saint-Michel.
The island lies just to the south of the course of the Sélune river, which has to be forded to access the island from Cotentin. The island is by , and high. It is composed of granite. It is in the commune of Genêts.
Name
According to popular etymology
A false etymology (fake etymology, popular etymology, etymythology, pseudo-etymology, or par(a)etymology) is a popular but false belief about the origin or derivation of a specific word. It is sometimes called a folk etymology, but this is also a ...
the name means "the tomb of Hélène", from a princess named Hélène, daughter of King Hoël, said to have been buried on the rock.
The name could also come from ''tumulus belenis'', the " tumulus of Belenos", a Celtic god, or from Celtic words meaning "the little mountain", in contrast with Mont St-Michel.
History
In the 11th century, two monks from Mont Saint-Michel were hermits on Tombelaine. In 1137 Bernard du Bec founded a priory on the island, and it became a place of pilgrimage. On 11 February 1423, in theHundred Years War
The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a series of armed conflicts between the kingdoms of England and France during the Late Middle Ages. It originated from disputed claims to the French throne between the English House of Plantagen ...
, Tombelaine was occupied by the English as a base to attack Mont Saint-Michel. In the 16th-century French religious wars, Gabriel, comte de Montgomery, leader of the Huguenot armies, occupied the island.
In 1666 the marquis de la Chastrière ordered the destruction of the island's fortifications, in case they were again used by the English.
At the end of the 19th century a legend about theMarquis de Tombelaine
was created as part of the burgeoning tourist industry around Mont Saint-Michel. The island was purchased by the state in 1933, and was declared a historic monument by a decree of 1936. It became a bird reserve in 1985..
References
{{Authority control Islands of Normandy Tidal islands of France Landforms of Manche