Legends & Romances of Brittany Part 2

_Bertrand Du Guesclin_

Bertrand Du Guesclin (_c._ 1320-80), Constable of France, divides with Bayard the Fearless the crown of medieval French chivalry as a mighty leader of men, a great soldier, and a blameless knight. He was born of an ancient family who were in somewhat straitened circ.u.mstances, and in childhood was an object of aversion to his parents because of his ugliness.

One night his mother dreamt that she was in possession of a casket containing portraits of herself and her lord, on one side of which were set nine precious stones of great beauty encircling a rough, unpolished pebble. In her dream she carried the casket to a lapidary, and asked him to take out the rough stone as unworthy of such goodly company; but he advised her to allow it to remain, and afterward it shone forth more brilliantly than the l.u.s.trous gems. The later superiority of Bertrand over her nine other children fulfilled the mother's dream.

At the tournament which was held at Rennes in 1338 to celebrate the marriage of Charles of Blois with Joan of Penthievre, young Bertrand, at that time only some eighteen years old, unhorsed the most famous compet.i.tors. During the war between Blois and Montfort he gathered round him a band of adventurers and fought on the side of Charles V, doing much despite to the forces of Montfort and his ally of England.

Du Guesclin's name lives in Breton legend as Gwezklen, perhaps the original form, and approximating to that on his tomb at Saint-Denis, where he lies at the feet of Charles V of France. In this inscription it is spelt "Missire Bertram du Gueaquien," perhaps a French rendering of the Breton p.r.o.nunciation. Not a few legendary ballads which recount the exploits of this manly and romantic figure remain in the Breton language, and I have made a free translation of the following, as it is perhaps the most interesting of the number:

THE WARD OF DU GUESCLIN

Trogoff's strong tower in English hands Has been this many a year, Rising above its subject-lands And held in hate and fear.

That rosy gleam upon the sward Is not the sun's last kiss; It is the blood of an English lord Who ruled the land amiss.

"O sweetest daughter of my heart, My little Marguerite, Come, carry me the midday milk To those who bind the wheat."

"O gentle mother, spare me this!

The castle I must pa.s.s Where wicked Roger takes a kiss From every country la.s.s."

"Oh! fie, my daughter, fie on thee!

The Seigneur would not glance On such a chit of low degree When all the dames in France Are for his choosing." "Mother mine, I bow unto your word.

Mine eyes will ne'er behold you more.

G.o.d keep you in His guard."

Young Roger stood upon the tower Of Trogoff's grey chateau; Beneath his bent brows did he lower Upon the scene below.

"Come hither quickly, little page, Come hither to my knee.

Canst spy a maid of tender age?

Ha! she must pay my fee."

Fair Marguerite trips swiftly by Beneath the castle shade, When villain Roger, drawing nigh, Steals softly on the maid.

He seizes on the milking-pail She bears upon her head; The snow-white flood she must bewail, For all the milk is shed.

"Ah, cry not, pretty sister mine, There's plenty and to spare Of milk and eke of good red wine Within my castle fair.

Ah, feast with me, or pluck a rose Within my pleasant garth, Or stroll beside yon brook which flows In brawling, sylvan mirth."

"Nor feast nor flowers nor evening air I wish; I do entreat, Fair Seigneur, let me now repair To those who bind the wheat."

"Nay, damsel, fill thy milking-pail: The dairy stands but here.

Ah, foolish sweeting, wherefore quail, For thou hast naught to fear?"

The castle gates behind her close, And all is fair within; Above her head the apple glows, The symbol of our sin.

"O Seigneur, lend thy dagger keen, That I may cut this fruit."

He smiles and with a courteous mien He draws the bright blade out.

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE DEATH OF MARGUERITE IN THE CASTLE OF TROGOFF]

She takes it, and in earnest prayer Her childish accents rise: "O mother, Virgin, ever fair, Pray, pray, for her who dies For honour!" Then the blade is drenched With blood most innocent.

Vile Roger, now, thine ardour quenched, Say, art thou then content?

"Ha, I will wash my dagger keen In the clear-running brook.

No human eye hath ever seen, No human eye shall look Upon this gore." He takes the blade From out that gentle heart, And hurries to the river's shade.

False Roger, why dost start?

Beside the bank Du Guesclin stands, Clad in his sombre mail.

"Ha, Roger, why so red thy hands, And why art thou so pale?"

"A beast I've slain." "Thou liest, hound!

But I a beast will slay."

The woodland's leafy ways resound To echoings of fray.

Roger is slain. Trogoff's chateau Is level with the rock.

Who can withstand Du Guesclin's blow, What towers can brave his shock?

The combat is his only joy, The tournament his play.

Woe unto those who would destroy The peace of Brittany!

In the decisive battle of Auray (1364) Charles was killed and Du Guesclin taken prisoner. John of Montfort, son of the John who had died, became Duke of Brittany. But he had to face Oliver de Clisson, round whom the adherents of Blois rallied. From a war the strife degenerated into a vendetta. Oliver de Clisson seized the person of John V and imprisoned him. But in the end John was liberated and the line of Blois was finally crushed.

_Anne of Brittany_

The next event of importance in Breton history is the enforced marriage of Anne of Brittany, d.u.c.h.ess of that country in her own right, to Charles VIII of France, son of Louis XI, which event took place in 1491. Anne, whose father, Duke Francis II, had but recently died, had no option but to espouse Charles, and on his death she married Louis XII, his successor. Francis I, who succeeded Louis XII on the throne of France, and who married Claude, daughter of Louis XII and Anne, annexed the duchy in 1532, providing for its privileges. But beneath the cramping hand of French power the privileges of the province were greatly reduced. From this time the history of Brittany is merged in that of France, of which country it becomes one of the component parts in a political if not a racial sense.

We shall not in this place deal with the people of modern Brittany, their manners and customs, reserving the subject for a later chapter, but shall ask the reader to accompany us while we traverse the enchanted ground of Breton story.

FOOTNOTES:

[1] Consult E. Ernault, _Pet.i.te Grammaire bretonne_ (Saint-Brieuc, 1897); L. Le Clerc, _Grammaire bretonne_ (Saint-Brieuc, 1908); J. P. Treasure, _An Introduction to Breton Grammar_ (Carmarthen, 1903). For the dialect of Vannes see A.

Guillevic and P. Le Goff, _Grammaire bretonne du Dialect de Vannes_ (Vannes, 1902).

[2] Lit. 'long stone,' a megalithic monument. See Chapter II, "Menhirs and Dolmens." Students of folk-lore will recognize the symbolic significance of the offering. We seem to have here some connexion with pillar-worship, as found in ancient Crete, and the adoration of the Irminsul among the ancient Saxons.

[3] Charles the Bald.

[4] For the Breton original and the French translation from which the above is adapted see Villemarque, _Barzaz-Breiz_, p. 112.

[5] 'Sons of the Chief.' MacTier is a fairly common name in Scotland to-day.

CHAPTER II: MENHIRS AND DOLMENS

In the mind of the general reader Brittany is unalterably a.s.sociated with the prehistoric stone monuments which are so closely identified with its folk-lore and national life. In other parts of the world similar monuments are encountered, in Great Britain and Ireland, Scandinavia, the Crimea, Algeria, and India, but nowhere are they found in such abundance as in Brittany, nor are these rivalled in other lands, either as regards their character or the s.p.a.ce they occupy.

To speculate as to the race which built the primitive stone monuments of Brittany is almost as futile as it would be to theorize upon the date of their erection.[6] A generation ago it was usual to refer all European megalithic monuments to a 'Celtic' origin, but European ethnological problems have become too complicated of late years to permit such a theory to pa.s.s unchallenged, especially now that the term 'Celt' is itself matter for fierce controversy. In the immediate neighbourhood of certain of these monuments objects of the Iron Age are recovered from the soil, while near others the finds are of Bronze Age character, so that it is probably correct to surmise that their construction continued throughout a prolonged period.