Ancient History in Brittany
16.10.2024
17 °C
If Sheila had been standing on this spot seven thousand years ago, she might have been hauling on a rope along with the other inhabitants to pull these giant rocks upright…
These are the menhirs de Monteneuf - the Stonehenge of Brittany. Neolithic people erected hundreds of enormous standing stones in this area of northwest France but, over the millennia, gravity took over and felled nearly all of them. Their purpose and existence has been forgotten in the mists of time, and a dense forest grew to conceal them. A major forest fire revealed this truly ancient monument to the world in 1976 and archeologists are now painstakingly recreating the site.
Ancient is a relative term in Europe where anything less than 500 years old could be viewed as modern. Parts of this castle at Vitré are a thousand years old…
However, it was greatly enlarged and improved over many centuries and became the home of a wealthy heiress, Jeanne of Laval-Châtillon, in the 15th century when these streets were built around it…
Vitré became a wealthy city because of the many foreign traders who wanted the valuable hemp that was locally grown. King Henry IV was so surprised by the city’s wealth in 1598 that he said, "If I was not King of France, I want to be bourgeois from Vitré!"
Brittany has a trove of ancient castles, châteaux and monuments. But it is the numerous houses of the proletariat and streets of the artisans that are particularly picturesque. This 15th century house was the studio of a potter in Vitré…
Beautifully preserved half-timbered medieval houses dating from the 15th and 16th centuries are common here along with colonnaded shopping streets… 
Older houses were built of local fieldstones. This house in Malestroit was built in 1306…
The many enormous medieval castles like this one at Fougères are awe-inspiring and it is difficult to envisage how they could be attacked…
The entire city of Fougères is built on a hill top and surrounded by a massive wall topped by ramparts and is said to be the largest medieval fortress in France. But it is the everyday artifacts that are particular interesting as they give us an insight into daily life in medieval times. For instance, this is an ancient laverie in Malestroit – a riverside laundry where women would wash the family’s clothes.…
One thing that is very noticeable is the almost total lack of traffic within the ancient cities and towns. Pedestrians and cyclists rule.
We still have many ancient castles, châteaux, cathedrals and cities to visit, but we promise to stop and smell the roses, (and the delicious food), in the next few blogs.
Very picturesque and well maintained cities. Happy for Sheila she is not hauling stones. Are you enjoying the food of Brittany? Not so many tourists this time of year.
by Susan Fitzwilson