Pic: Beyond the Veil

We are very proud to announce our second Special Guest Blogger and it is none other than Sela Carsen; paranormal, historical and romance author. She has titles such as Not Quite Dead, Love & Lore, The Virgin Courtesan and Romance by the Cup available as well as anthologies of short stories. You can find her work at Samhain Publishing as well as on the Sela Carsen website. Here she turns her hand and her keen eye for research to the subject of Breton Mythology. Let’s pass you over to her… At the very northwestern tip of France lies a region called Brittany, or Bretagne. Directly north of it, across the English Channel, is Cornwall. And a very long time ago, they weren’t so different from each other.

When the Romans came to Gaul, they called the area “Armorica.” Trade between Armorica and Britain had been long established and Brittany had far more in common with Cornwall than with its Frankish neighbors to the south. They even shared a language across the strip of sea. Continue Reading »

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Pic: Novopress

As reported earlier in our first post on the exciting finds from Brittany, French experts have called the four axes, which Adam MacHale spotted in the sea off Petit Rohu beach and donated to France, an exceptional archaeological discovery. The Telegraph reports that the discovery was made by a British tourist who received a £20,000 reward.

Mr MacHale, 38, from Malvern, Worcestershire handed them in to authorities, and the neolithic pieces are now on display at the Carnac Museum of Prehistory in southern Brittany.

Curator Emmanuelle Vigier said:

Their attitude was that of good citizens.

They could be rewarded for not keeping the objects or selling them to a private collector with a prize worth £23,800 (€30,000)

Read the full article on the Telegraph site.

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Pic: Connexion

Connexion reports that King Arthur and the Knights of the Round-Table have thrilled generations of British children with their exploits. However, less well-known to Britons is the fact they play a starring role in French folklore and literature as well. The first ever major French exhibition about Le Roi Arthur, classified by the Culture Ministry as “of national importance,” has opened in Rennes.

It is designed to appeal to everyone from families to experts in the field.

Curator Sarah Toulouse said:

There are beautiful pieces like original illuminated manuscripts from the 13th to 15th Centuries and beautiful 19th Century English pre-Raphaelite paintings, embroidery and stained glass by Edward Burne-Jones.

There was a major revival of interest in King Arthur in Britain in Victorian times, in art and also by poets like Tennyson and in children’s literature. In France it was more the 20th Century, with films and books.

The show also features pop culture exhibits and two impressive parade giants from Ewell, in Surrey, of Morgan le Fay and the Green Knight - who has been decapitated and is carrying his head.

Children love it and they can try to pull Excalibur from the stone.

added Ms Toulouse.

She said that, while academics on both sides of the Channel placed Camelot in Britain, some Arthurian adventures took place not in La Grande Bretagne but in what was, in the Middle Ages, known as la Petite Bretagne - modern Brittany.

[source]

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Pic: Daily Post

A special twin-sword has been used to strengthen the link between the Eisteddfod and its Celtic cousins, the Welsh Daily Post reports. At a ceremony on the Maes in Cardiff one half was presented to the Archdruid Dic Jones and the other half presented to the Breton Gorsedd of Bards. Isle of Man, Cornwall, Scotland, Ireland and Patagonia also attended.

Gorsedd of Bards spokes-man John Gwilym Jones said:

It was the Bretons that had the idea of instituting the twinhalf sword ceremony to celebrate the Celtic knot. But the dismantling of the sword, in accordance with tradition, is also a symbol of refusing to fight.

The sword dates from 1899.

After that ceremony one half was taken to Brittany, and when officials of the two Gorsedd of Bards meet the two halves are brought together.

Source

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Pic: freresmorvan

Please accept my apologies for the translation, but the Breton Novopress have reported that the Brothers Morvan were greeted last night (the 6th August) with tumultuous applause, when they appeared at the daily party of the 38th Festival Interceltique de Lorient. It is now absolutely certain, that no other traditional breton group caused as much anticipation as the two brothers at the party! The amount of photographers, both amateur and professional, who were there demonstrated the respect that the current duo demand !

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Pic: Novopress

On Sunday, July 13, the 55th Festival of Embroidery brought together 35 young women in dress and large cap for the traditional election of the new queen of embroiderers of Pont-l’Abbé in Brittany. They say it is to.. ..pay tribute to those who still wear the costume and traditional headdress high, even if they are not very numerous. It is a gesture of identity. It’s exceptional to say that despite the abandonment of costume on a massive scale, it is still a garment and not just a costume. The preservation of this identity has become the driving force behind Celtic Circle Ar Vro Vigoudenn who were crowned last year as Champions of Brittany.

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Pic: Sacred Texts

FRENCH historians have suggested King Arthur was indeed a Welshman despite years of English “spin” claiming the mythical figure as their own. As part of a major conference into the legend, academics say that if the king ever existed he was probably from Wales with strong links to Brittany, in northern France. And far from being English – a ploy, they say, to appeal to nationalist sentiment – he would actually have been the sworn enemy of the Anglo-Saxons. The organisers of the event at Rennes University, in Brittany, say the fable of Arthur and Camelot has been continually updated by English nationalists keen to bring back the Age of Chivalry.

The tales of Camelot, Excalibur and Arthurian derring-do have long been popular throughout Europe, with the earliest images of the king found in Italy, dating from about 1120. They also quickly spread as far apart as Iceland and found particular popularity in rural Brittany, although French historians have not gone as far as trying to claim the king as French. Continue Reading »

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AFP reports that the legend of Britian’s King Arthur will take hold of the city of Rennes next month when it hosts a series of events on the mythical hero once said to have roamed this wild, western French region called Brittany. A major exhibition on the Arthurian tales, which will run for six months, is to open July 15, fully translated into English, the same day the International Arthurian Society begins it’s 22nd annual congress at Rennes university, one of the biggest campuses in France.

The Society brings together experts on the Arthurian tales from across the world, mingling eminent academics and amateurs. Formed in the Breton city of Quimper in 1948, it meets in congress every three years. Continue Reading »

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The outcome of the first ‘regional’ language debate at the French Parliament on Wednesday (7th May) was predictably disappointing and the Government used it as an opportunity to reaffirm its authoritarian position. The hemicycle at the Assemblée Nationale, where the debate was held, was predictably only a quarter full, as the following day (8th May) was a public holiday in France and most representatives had already returned to their home towns and cities to prepare for the coming festivities. Nevertheless Culture Minister Christine Albanel was present and even took part in the debate.

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Stu Bramley

Easier Travel tells us that “the cultural hub of Rennes, the Champs Libres (the Musée de Bretagne, the Bibliothèque de Rennes Métropole and the Espace des Sciences) launches the first ever major exhibition on the legend of King Arthur on 15 July 2008. The exhibition will stay open until 04 January 2009. In partnership with The French National Library the exhibition traces the cultural history of the Arthurian myth and has been nominated as an “Exhibition of National Interest” by the Ministry of Culture.

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