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LEGENDS & ROMANCES OF BRITTANY

[Illustration: GRAELENT AND THE FAIRY-WOMAN _Fr._]


  LEGENDS & ROMANCES
  OF BRITTANY


  _BY_
  LEWIS SPENCE F.R.A.I.

  AUTHOR OF "HERO TALES AND LEGENDS OF THE RHINE"
  "A DICTIONARY OF MEDIEVAL ROMANCE AND ROMANCE WRITERS"
  "THE MYTHS OF MEXICO AND PERU"
  ETC. ETC.


  _WITH THIRTY-TWO ILLUSTRATIONS BY_
  W. OTWAY CANNELL A.R.C.A.(Lond.)

  NEW YORK
  FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY
  PUBLISHERS

  THE RIVERSIDE PRESS LIMITED, EDINBURGH
  GREAT BRITAIN




PREFACE


Although the folk-tales and legends of Brittany have received
ample attention from native scholars and collectors, they have not as
yet been presented in a popular manner to English-speaking readers.
The probable reasons for what would appear to be an otherwise
incomprehensible omission on the part of those British writers who
make a popular use of legendary material are that many Breton
folk-tales strikingly resemble those of other countries, that from
a variety of considerations some of them are unsuitable for
presentation in an English dress, and that most of the folk-tales
proper certainly possess a strong family likeness to one another.

But it is not the folk-tale alone which goes to make up the
romantic literary output of a people; their ballads, the heroic
tales which they have woven around passages in their national
history, their legends (employing the term in its proper sense),
along with the more literary attempts of their romance-weavers,
their beliefs regarding the supernatural, the tales which cluster
around their ancient homes and castles--all of these, although
capable of separate classification, are akin to folk-lore, and I
have not, therefore, hesitated to use what in my discretion I
consider the best out of immense stores of material as being much
more suited to supply British readers with a comprehensive view of
Breton story. Thus, I have included chapters on the lore which
cleaves to the ancient stone monuments of the country, along with
some account of the monuments themselves. The Arthurian matter
especially connected with Brittany I have relegated to a separate
chapter, and I have considered it only fitting to include such of
the _lais_ of that rare and human songstress Marie de France as deal
with the Breton land. The legends of those sainted men to whom
Brittany owes so much will be found in a separate chapter, in
collecting the matter for which I have obtained the kindest
assistance from Miss Helen Macleod Scott, who has the preservation of
the Celtic spirit so much at heart. I have also included chapters on
the interesting theme of the black art in Brittany, as well as on
the several species of fays and demons which haunt its moors and
forests; nor will the heroic tales of its great warriors and
champions be found wanting. To assist the reader to obtain the
atmosphere of Brittany and in order that he may read these tales
without feeling that he is perusing matter relating to a race of
which he is otherwise ignorant, I have afforded him a slight
sketch of the Breton environment and historical development, and in
an attempt to lighten his passage through the volume I have here and
there told a tale in verse, sometimes translated, sometimes original.

As regards the folk-tales proper, by which I mean stories collected
from the peasantry, I have made a selection from the works of Gaidoz,
Sebillot, and Luzel. In no sense are these translations; they are
rather adaptations. The profound inequality between Breton folk-tales
is, of course, very marked in a collection of any magnitude, but as
this volume is not intended to be exhaustive I have had no difficulty
in selecting material of real interest. Most of these tales were
collected by Breton folk-lorists in the eighties of the last century,
and the native shrewdness and common sense which characterize much of
the editors' comments upon the stories so carefully gathered from
peasants and fishermen make them deeply interesting.

It is with a sense of shortcoming that I offer the reader this volume
on a great subject, but should it succeed in stimulating interest in
Breton story, and in directing students to a field in which their
research is certain to be richly rewarded, I shall not regret the
labour and time which I have devoted to my task.

  L. S.




CONTENTS


  CHAPTER                                                         PAGE
        I The Land, the People and their Story                      13
       II Menhirs And Dolmens                                       37
      III The Fairies of Brittany                                   54
       IV Sprites And Demons of Brittany                            96
        V World-Tales in Brittany                                  106
       VI Breton Folk-Tales                                        156
      VII Popular Legends of Brittany                              173
     VIII Hero-Tales of Brittany                                   211
       IX The Black Art and Its Ministers                          241
        X Arthurian Romance in Brittany                            254
       XI The Breton Lays of Marie De France                       283
      XII The Saints of Brittany                                   332
     XIII Costumes and Customs of Brittany                         372
          Glossary and Index                                       392




ILLUSTRATIONS


                                                                  PAGE
  Graelent and the Fairy-Woman                          _Frontispiece_
  Nomenoe                                                           23
  The Death of Marguerite in the Castle of Trogoff                  34
  Raising a Menhir                                                  44
  The Seigneur of Nann And the Korrigan                             58
  Merlin And Vivien                                                 66
  The Fairies of Broceliande Find the Little Bruno                  72
  Fairies in a Breton 'Houle'                                       81
  The Poor Boy And the Three Fairy Damsels                          88
  The Demon-Dog                                                    102
  N'Oun Doare And the Princess Golden Bell                         112
  The Bride of Satan                                               144
  Gwennolaik and Nola                                              170
  The Devil in the Form of a Leopard appears before
      the Alchemist                                                179
  The Escape of King Gradlon from the Flooded City of
      Ys                                                          