The

abbé ''Abbé'' (from Latin , in turn from Greek , , from Aramaic ''abba'', a title of honour, literally meaning "the father, my father", emphatic state of ''abh'', "father") is the French word for an abbot. It is also the title used for lower-ranki ...

Jean-Marie Perrot, in

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 **Gale ...

Yann-Vari Perrot (3 September 1877 in Plouarzel,

Breton nationalist Breton nationalism (, ) is the nationalism of the historical province of Brittany, France. Brittany is considered to be one of the six Celtic nations (along with Cornwall, Ireland, the Isle of Man, Scotland and Wales). Breton ''nationalism'' wa ...

who was assassinated by the Communist resistance. He was the founder of the Breton

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

movement

Bleun-Brug Bleun-Brug (Flower of the Heather) is a Catholic association that is oriented towards Breton nationalism. Origins The group was created in 1905 by abbé Jean-Marie Perrot, with a name devised at the 1905 conference of the Union Régionaliste B ...

Early life

Perrot was raised in a provincial Breton-speaking family. After studying at the Institut des Frères des Écoles in

Guingamp Guingamp (; ) is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department in Brittany in northwestern France. With a population of 7,115 as of 2020, Guingamp is one of the smallest towns in Europe to have a top-tier professional football team: En Avant Guin ...

in 1889, he expressed a desire to become a priest. He left to study humanities at the

Pont-Croix Pont-Croix (; ) is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in north-western France. The town lies about from Audierne on the road to Douarnenez and is connected to Plouhinec by a small, scenic road that passes through the Goyen ...

Youth Seminary. He spent one year in Brest with the 19th infantry regiment, then enrolled in the

Quimper Quimper (, ; ; or ) is a Communes of France, commune and Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Finistère Departments of France, department of Brittany (administrative region), Brittany in northwestern France. Administration Quimper is the ...

Seminary. He became

vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English p ...

Saint-Vougay Saint-Vougay (; ) is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in north-western France. Population Inhabitants of Saint-Vougay are called in French ''Saint-Vougaisiens''. See also *Communes of the Finistère department The followi ...

in 1904, where he undertook the patronage of ''Paotred Sant-Nouga'', where he formed study circles, a choir, and a theatre troupe for the local youth. He is the uncle of Louis Lalouer.

Activism for the Breton language

Perrot founded

(Heather Flower) in 1905, which soon absorbed the magazine ''

Feiz ha Breiz Feiz ha Breiz (Faith and Brittany) is the principal weekly journal in the Breton language. It originally appeared from 1865 to 1884, then was revived from 1899 to 1944, and then again from 1945 onwards. Original journal Léopold de Léseleuc, bish ...

'' (Faith and Brittany), which he edited after 1911. The aims of the organisation were: * to promote the Breton ideal in all three intellectual, political and economic arenas. * to contribute, as Catholics, to the return of Brittany to the full exercise of its traditional faith. He was named vicar of ''Saint-Thégonnec'' in March 1914. On the outbreak of war he was called up at

Lesneven 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 immigration f ...

on 5 August but he asked to leave to volunteer for the Groupe des Brancardiers Divisionnaires. He was decorated after

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. After 1910, he played an important role in the

Emsav Breton nationalism (, ) is the nationalism of the historical province of Brittany, France. Brittany is considered to be one of the six Celtic nations (along with Cornwall, Ireland, the Isle of Man, Scotland and Wales). Breton ''nationalism'' wa ...

, the Breton nationalist movement. In 1920, he was named vicar of

Plouguerneau Plouguerneau (; ) is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in north-western France. Geography A municipality located between the right bank of the coastal river Aber-Wrac'h and the English Channel, Plouguerneau is made up of thre ...

. In 1922

Yves Floc'h Yves may refer to: * Yves, Charente-Maritime, a commune of the Charente-Maritime department in France * ''Yves'' (single album), a single album by Loona * ''Yves'' (film), a 2019 French film People * Yves (given name), including a list of pe ...

, the future painter worked as his

parson A parson is an ordained Christian person responsible for a small area, typically a parish. The term was formerly often used for some Anglican clergy and, more rarely, for ordained ministers in some other churches. It is no longer a formal term d ...

. Perrot patronised Michel Le Noblez and organised theatrical performances. Yves Floc'h painted the scenery for a play, and his gifts were noticed by the vicar. From 1932, Perrot's secretary was

Herry Caouissin Herry may refer to: People * Herry Iman Pierngadi (born 1962), Indonesian badminton coach * Herry Janto Setiawan (born 1973), Indonesian cyclist * Herry Kiswanto (born 1955), Indonesian football manager and player * Herry Saliku Biembe (born 19 ...

. Perrot wrote countless articles and plays expressing his ideology, most notably in ''Feiz ha Breiz''. He was initially stationed in a conservative

parish, but was transferred to the more leftist area of Scrignac in 1930 by the episcopal hierarchy, who disliked his political activities. On 8 July 1941 he became part of the group of writers who adopted a unified orthography of the

Breton language Breton (, , ; or in Morbihan) is a Southwestern Brittonic language of the Celtic languages, Celtic language group spoken in Brittany, part of modern-day France. It is the only Celtic language still widely in use on the European mainland, albei ...

World War II

With the outbreak of war, hostility towards Perrot in Scrignac grew, as he was suspected of pro-German sympathies. On 16 October 1939 telegraphic lines in the region of Huelgoat were cut. Perrot was accused by authorities of sabotage. The

gendarme A gendarmerie () is a paramilitary or military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population. The term ''gendarme'' () is derived from the medieval French expression ', which translates to "men-at-arms" (). In France and som ...

s searched his estate twice and interrogated him, but he was released as he had an alibi. However, one gendarme publicly accused him of cutting the wires, and Perrot accused the gendarme of defamation. Afterwards, an enquiry established that a military prisoner was responsible for cutting the wires. At the request of the colonel of the Gendarmie of Quimper, the abbé dropped his accusation of defamation. During the war, he continued to produce ''Feiz ha Breiz''. Braving the ban by Adolphe Duparc on celebrating nationalist anniversaries during the occupation, he organised the members of Bleun-Brug in

Tréguier Tréguier (; ) is a port town in the French department of Côtes-d'Armor, Brittany, northwestern France. It is the capital town of the province of Trégor. Geography Tréguier is located 36 m. N.W. of Saint-Brieuc by road. The port is situat ...

on the 29 and 30 August to celebrate the 500th anniversary of the death of

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...

Jean V of Brittany. In October 1942, he was named a member of the Comité Consultatif de Bretagne (CCB), a non-elected council put in place by

Regional Prefect In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

Jean Quénette to put forward proposals relating to Breton language and culture. In July 1941, Perrot took part in the German-sponsored effort to unify the writing of Breton. Perrot sympathised strongly with the collaborationist Breton National Party. When his parsonage was partly requisitioned by the Germans, Perrot was accused of assisting them. According to

Henri Fréville Henri Fréville (; 4 December 1905, in Norrent-Fontes, Pas-de-Calais – 15 June 1987, in Rennes, Ille-et-Vilaine) was a French history professor, writer, politician and French Resistance member. Life He was history professor at the lycée Cha ...

, on 7 August 1943 Perrot was questioned about the movements of members of Bagadou Stourm, Breton nationalist stormtroopers allied to the Nazis, who had stopped at Scrignac. He was hospitable toward the Bagadou Stourm Youth, who were most active around

Finistère Finistère (, ; ) is a Departments of France, department of France in the extreme west of Brittany. Its prefecture is Quimper and its largest city is Brest, France, Brest. In 2019, it had a population of 915,090.Yann Goulet Yann Goulet (or Yann Renard-Goulet; 20 August 1914 – 22 August 1999) was a Breton sculptor, Breton nationalist and war-time collaborationist with Nazi Germany who headed the Breton ''Bagadou Stourm'' militia. He later took Irish citizenship ...

and L'Haridon had been arrested by the French police but released by the Germans.

Assassination

On 12 December 1943, aged 66, the abbé was killed by Jean Thépaut, a member of the

French Communist Party The French Communist Party (, , PCF) is a Communism, communist list of political parties in France, party in France. The PCF is a member of the Party of the European Left, and its Member of the European Parliament, MEPs sit with The Left in the ...

, after a series of denunciations of Perrot for alleged collaborationist activity.

Exploitation of memory

After Perrot's death, the collaborator Célestin Lainé recruited about sixty men whom he organised under the name ''Bezen Kadoudal''. Ael Péresse, second in command to Laîné, suggested naming the group after Perrot and so it became Bezen Perrot instead.

Legacy

Abbé Perrot was laid to rest at the chapel of Coat-Quéau, in Scrignac. His memory is often celebrated on

Easter Monday Easter Monday is the second day of Eastertide and a public holiday in more than 50 predominantly Christian countries. In Western Christianity it marks the second day of the Octave of Easter; in Eastern Christianity it marks the second day of Br ...

. His role of has been the source of much controversy about "the "Breton cause", notably between Ronan Caouissin and the director of the theatre troupe Ar Vro Bagan. Unvaniez Koad Kev was a law association created to maintain his legacy. Since 1957, the association has been administered principally by Youenn Craff. Tepod Gwilhmod was president from 2001 to 2003. In 2005, a crisis arose over an attempted takeover by Gérard Hirel (French police officer, ex-member of the French far-right party " National Front"), Roland de la Morinière, and Loig Kervoaz, all members of Adsav. The current president and chaplain are Yann Sanseau and abbot

Blanchard Blanchard is a French family name. It is also used as a given name. It derives from the Old French word ''blanchart'' which meant "whitish, bordering upon white". It is also an obsolete term for a white horse. Geographical distribution As of 2014, ...

Citations

Yvon Tranvouez, in ''Bretagne et identités régionales pendant la Seconde Guerre mondiale'' asserts that Abbot Henri Poisson said in his book: Francis Gourvil in 1990:

Publications

* ''Alanik al Louarn. Pe "n'euz den fin n'en deuz e goulz". Pez c'hoari plijadurus rimet e daou Arvest'', Brest, Moullerez "Ar c'hourrier", 1905 * ''Buez ar zent'', Ar Gwaziou, Morlaix, 1911 * R. G. Berry, ''Eun nozveziad reo gwenn'' Translation from Welsh to Breton by Geraint Dyfnallt Owen and Jean-Marie Perrot of ''Noson o Farrug'' (One frosty night), (Plougerne, 1928).

rama Rama (; , , ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the seventh and one of the most popular avatars of Vishnu. In Rama-centric Hindu traditions, he is considered the Supreme Being. Also considered as the ideal man (''maryāda' ...

Performed by Bleun-Brug theatre company inLesneven 1928. http://bibliotheque.idbe-bzh.org/document.php?id=eun-nozveziad-reo-gwenn-18682&l=fr * Special 30th anniversary edition 1936 of '' Ouvres Bretonnes'': http://bibliotheque.idbe-bzh.org/data/cle_52/Bulletin_de_lUnion_des_Oeuvres_Bretonnes_1936_nA78_.pdf

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Perrot, Jean-Marie 1877 births 1943 deaths 20th-century French Roman Catholic priests Assassinated activists Breton collaborators with Nazi Germany Breton nationalists French collaborators with Nazi Germany assassinated by the Resistance French military personnel of World War I People from Finistère People murdered in France Christian fascists Catholicism and far-right politics French civilians killed in World War II