Breton Legends And Tells II - The Myth of Arthur, the Round Table and the Holy Grail
The legend of Arthur, son of Uther Pendragon and Ygerne Tintagel (Cornwall) is a classic of the region. King Uther, was in love with Ygerne. With the aide of his magician friend Merlin Uther took on the appearance of Ygerne's, husband( king Antor) and concieved Arthur with her.
Arthur is best known for his mythical ascent to the throne- thanks to Excalibur, the mythical Swored in the Stone. The tale recounts that only the rightful king could extract the sword from the enchanted stone. This rightful King of Brittany was Arthur. He led many relentless wars against the Saxons, who were his enemy. He is also known for his pursuit of the Holy Grail, which according to legend was used by Jesus at the Last Supper. This grail is said to posess miraculous powers. The sacred mission of Arthur's knights, and particulary Perceval, was to find the Holy Graal for God and glory!
The great city of Ys.
At that time, Gradlon the Great, King of Cornwall, built the city of Ys for his daughter Dahut. Ys was protected from the force of the ocean by a powerful dam. A lock sealed the copper gate of the dam and only Gradlon could open or close it.
Sadly, the princess Dahut adored pagan gods and was hungry for earthly pleasures . The bishop took notice of this and called upon God to punish the princess.
One morning, a prince, dressed in red, arrived in the city. Dahut immediately fell in love. It was the devil that God sent to punish the sinful city. Out of her love for this man in red Dahut stole the keys of the dam from her father and then gave them to the devil.
The prince opened the lock and the ocean surged in fury over the city, destroying the streets and annihilating the people.
Even today, sometimes in calm weather, the fishermen of Douarnenez often hear the bells ringing under the sea and say: one day Ys will reborn. More beautiful than ever.
Magic Creatures!
Brittany is full of different fantastic creatures: Fairies, elfs, dwarfs and dragons. They are everywhere, even nowadays!!!! The one i will present you is the most famous of them all! The Korrigan!
Korrigans, are spirits who take the appearance of dwarfs in the Celtic and Brittany traditions. They are dynamic creatures and are capable of being extremely generous and they are also capable of horrific vengeance. Their appearance is varied, some accounts describe them as having beautiful hair and bright red eyes, while other accounts describe them as small creatures who are black and hairy.
Although most live in caves the luckiest amongst them live in dolmens. But they also haunt the springs, fountains and all the forests of Brittany.
The faerie rings found in the woods and fields are attributed to these creatures when they dance together.If a mortal disturbs them, they may offer challenges which, if successful, entitle a reward but may, in case of failure , turn into death traps.
On the night of the 31st of october, they leave their hiding places in order to punish men who have commited crimes This tradition links them to Halloween, originaly named Samhain, the Celtic New Year.
Over the centuries their tricks led to the celebration that we have today.
(c) Alexandre Dubois