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Malgven
Malgven, or Malgwen(n), is a character introduced into the legend of the city of Ys, a mythical city on the coast of Brittany, at the end of the 19th century by Édouard Schuré, and is possibly based on a local legend from the Cap Sizun. She was made known by Charles Guyot (Géo-Charles) at the beginning of the 20th century, in his literary adaptation of the legend of Ys. As a valkyrie and queen of the "North", Malgven reigns over the land with her ageing husband, King Harold. She meets King Gradlon while he is raiding and falls in love with him. She persuades him to kill her husband and to flee with her on her horse Morvarc'h, towards Gradlon's lands in Brittany. The journey lasts a year, during which time she gives birth to a daughter, Dahut. Malgven dies in childbirth. Although she may not be an authentic part of the legend of the city of Ys, Malgven provides a magical origin story for her daughter Dahut and contributes to the dramatic and romantic aspect of the lege ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dahut
Dahut, also called Ahes, is a princess in Breton legend and literature, associated with the legend of the drowned city of Ys. Etymology Amy Varin suggests that Dahut was given the name Ahes due to confusion with "alc'huez" (key). Legend of Ys Dating to the 15th century, the earliest mentions of Ys and its king, Gradlon, do not mention Gradlon's daughter Dahut, and the king himself is to blame for the destruction of the city. Dahut was first mentioned in the third edition of Albert Le Grand's ''Vie des Saincts de la Bretagne Armorique'' (1680). In this early version, the "shameless" Dahut intends to kill her father and steals the key which symbolizes his royalty. Her wickedness causes a storm which floods Ys, and she dies in the destruction. In most retellings, the city of Ys is protected from floods by a dike, with King Gradlon possessing the keys to its gate. His daughter, Dahut, is a wicked and lustful young woman. In some versions she has many lovers, whom she murders, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gradlon
Gradlon the Great (''Gradlon Meur'') was a semi-legendary 5th century "king" of Cornouaille who became the hero of many Breton folk stories. The most famous of these legends is the story of the sunken city of Ys. He is supposed to have been the son of Conan Meriadoc. Legend of Ys King Gradlon (Gralon in Breton) ruled in Ys, a city built on land reclaimed from the sea, sometimes described as rich in commerce and the arts. He lived in a wealth palace of marble, cedar and gold. In some versions, Gradlon built the city upon the request of his daughter Dahut, who loved the sea. To protect Ys from inundation, a dike was built with a gate that was opened for ships during low tide. The one key that opened the gate was held by the king. Some versions, especially early ones, blame Gradlon's sins for the destruction of the city. However, most tellings present Gradlon as a pious man, and his daughter Dahut as a sorceress or a wayward woman who steals the keys from Gradlon and opens th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cantre'r Gwaelod
, also known as or ( en, The Lowland Hundred), is a legendary ancient sunken kingdom said to have occupied a tract of fertile land lying between Ramsey Island and Bardsey Island in what is now Cardigan Bay to the west of Wales. It has been described as a "Welsh Atlantis" and has featured in folklore, literature, and song. The legend Cantre'r Gwaelod was an area of land which, according to legend, was located in an area west of present-day Wales which is now under the waters of Cardigan Bay. Accounts variously suggest the tract of land extended from Bardsey Island to Cardigan or as far south as Ramsey Island. Legends of the land suggest that it may have extended 20 miles west of the present coast. Rachel Bromwich questions this identification, saying that "There is no certainty, however, that in twelfth century tradition Maes Gwyddneu did represent the submerged land in Cardigan Bay." She also links Gwyddno Garanhir with the Hen Ogledd, not Wales. There are several ver ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Quimper, Finistère
Quimper (, ; br, Kemper ; la, Civitas Aquilonia or ) is a commune and prefecture of the Finistère department of Brittany in northwestern France. Administration Quimper is the prefecture (capital) of the Finistère department. Geography The city was built on the confluence of the Steir, Odet and Jet rivers. Route National 165, D785, D765 and D783 were constructed to intersect here, northwest of Lorient, west of Rennes, and west-southwest of Paris. Climate Quimper has a oceanic climate (Köppen climate classification ''Cfb''). The average annual temperature in Quimper is . The average annual rainfall is with December as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around , and lowest in February, at around . The highest temperature ever recorded in Quimper was on 30 June 1976; the coldest temperature ever recorded was on 13 January 1987. Etymology The name ''Quimper'' comes from the Breton ''kemper'', meaning "confluent". History Quim ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brittany
Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period of Roman occupation. It became an independent kingdom and then a duchy before being united with the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province governed as a separate nation under the crown. Brittany has also been referred to as Little Britain (as opposed to Great Britain, with which it shares an etymology). It is bordered by the English Channel to the north, Normandy to the northeast, eastern Pays de la Loire to the southeast, the Bay of Biscay to the south, and the Celtic Sea and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. Its land area is 34,023 km2 . Brittany is the site of some of the world's oldest standing architecture, home to the Barnenez, the Tumulus Saint-Michel and others, which date to the early 5th millennium BC. Today, the h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Baie De Douarnenez
The Baie de Douarnenez (; br, Bae Douarnenez) is a bay in Finistère, France, between the Crozon Peninsula to the north and the Cap Sizun to the south. It is a vast semi-circular basin over wide and from its entrance to the opposite shore. Although half closed off to the west by Cap de la Chèvre, it opens out again to a width of on the side of the Mer d'Iroise. To the south-east is the port of Douarnenez, which was the center of a large sardine industry in the early 20th century. The bay was named after it. Dourarnenez is the only settlement of importance on the banks of the bay. The bathing station at Morgat is located to the north, on the Crozon peninsula. The mythical town of Ys, which legend says was engulfed by the ocean, is commonly said to be located in this bay. References Geography of Brest, France Douarnenez Douarnenez (, ; meaning ''douar'' (land) ''an enez'' (the island) or land of the island), is a commune in the French department of Finistère, r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gwerz Ar Roue Gralon Ha Ker Is
Gwerz (, " ballad", " lament", plural ''gwerzioù'') is a type of folk song of Brittany. In Breton music, the ''gwerz'' tells a story which can be epic, historical, or mythological. The stories are usually of a tragic nature. The gwerz is characterised by an often monotonous melody and many couplets, all in the Breton language. Though historically sung unaccompanied, some modern musicians use limited instrumentation with the gwerz. Some of the most famous performers in current gwerzioù are Erik Marchand, Yann-Fañch Kemener, and Denez Prigent. Notable gwerzioù *''Gwerz Skolan'' *''Gwerz Santes Enori The ''Gwerz Santes Enori'' is a Breton ''gwerz'', a type of folk song that combines literary with musical characteristics. The song, which is preserved in many versions and fragments, tells a story that resembles a saint's life, a 14th-century ve ...'' *Gwerz Ker is *'' Gwerz Fañchig kemper *Gwerz ar vezhinerien *Ar Roue Gralon ha Kear Is References Breton music ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Barzaz Breizh
''Barzaz Breiz'' (in modern spelling ''Barzhaz Breizh'', meaning "Ballads of Brittany": ''barzh'' is the equivalent of "bard" and ''Breizh'' means "Brittany") is a collection of Breton popular songs collected by Théodore Hersart de la Villemarqué and published in 1839. It was compiled from oral tradition and preserves traditional folk tales, legends and music. Hersart de la Villemarqué grew up in the manor of Plessix in Nizon, near Pont-Aven, and was half Breton himself. Significance The collection was published in the original Breton language with a French translation. It achieved a wide distribution, as the Romantic generation in France that "discovered" the Basque language was beginning to be curious about all the submerged cultures of Europe and the pagan survivals just under the surface of folk Catholicism. The ''Barzaz Breiz'' brought Breton folk culture for the first time into European awareness. One of the oldest of the collected songs was the legend of Ys. The bo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Winwaloe
Saint Winwaloe ( br, Gwenole; french: Guénolé; la, Winwallus or ; – 3 March 532) was the founder and first abbot of Landévennec Abbey (literally " Lann of Venec"), also known as the Monastery of Winwaloe. It was just south of Brest in Brittany, now part of France. Life Winwaloe was the son of Fragan (or Fracan), a prince of Dumnonia, and his wife Gwen the Three-Breasted, who had fled to Brittany to avoid the plague.Butler, Alban. The lives of the fathers, martyrs, and other principal saints', volume 1, p. 275 (Henry & Co. 1857). Winwaloe was born about 460, apparently at Plouguin, near Saint-Pabu, where his supposed place of birth, a feudal hillock, can still be seen. Winwaloe grew up in Ploufragan near Saint-Brieuc with his brother Wethenoc, and his brother Jacut. They were later joined by a sister, Creirwy, and still later by half-brother Cadfan. He was educated by Budoc of Dol on Lavret island in the Bréhat archipelago near Paimpol. As a young man Winwaloe con ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Morgen (mythological Creature)
Morgens, morgans, or mari-morgans are Welsh and Breton water spirits that drown men. Etymology The name may derive from Mori-genos or Mori-gena, meaning "sea-born. The name has also been rendered as Muri-gena or Murigen. The name may also be cognate with the Irish ''Muirgen'', an alternate name of Lí Ban, a princess who was transformed into a mermaid when her city was flooded. The Cornish term for a mermaid is usually ''Morvoren'', as in the Mermaid of Zennor. Welsh and English legend The oldest occurrence of the name is in Geoffrey of Monmouth's ''Vita Merlini'', where the ruler of Avalon is referred to as "Morgen". As such, the origin of Morgan le Fay may be connected to these Breton myths. The medievalist Lucy Allen Paton argues against this, stating that the Welsh name Morgen was pronounced "Morien" in the twelfth century, and that aside from living on an island, Morgan le Fay was not associated with the sea until later literature. Controversial English folklorist Rut ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
