In the heart of Brittany, geographically and historically speaking, the forest of Paimont is known as Brocéliande. This forest covered the whole of Brittany in the Middle Ages, and was a hotbed of the most fantastic Celtic legends. King Arthur and his knights searched the forest for the Holy Grail. While walking through the forest today, you can practically feel Merlin breathing down your neck, and you may see the reflection of Viviane in the lake next to the Tréhorenteuc. Look out for the Black Night, hiding maybe in an oak copse: he’s the guardian of the entire territory.
The Centre de l’Imaginaire Arthurien (at Comper Castle) will help you to understand the mystery of this land. Furthermore, the tourist office in Paimont will help you with maps and information to plan your route.
However, Brocéliande is not a place you visit, really. It’s more a place you get lost in. You dream, you discover. But to find the impressive Val Sans Retour, the Ponthus Ash, or the Golden Tree, you will need some help with the navigation, that’s for sure…
Even if you don’t find the Grail, hidden in the crook of some slippery rock, or in the ruins of a castle long lost to the forest, you will at least have some inspiration for vivid dreams! You’ll never forget the stunning beauty of the tiny valleys, filled with light wisps of mist, swirling over the damp ground. The smell of the earth gets inside you somehow, and you can see how the beauty of the forests and lakes inspired legends.
Worth the visit: the banks of the Vilaine, the Blavet Valley, the Dinan Forest up to Lanvaux… this landscape of legend will transport you into the Celtic imagination.
Les Mégalithes
Brittany is rich in megaliths, these giant stones “planted” by a little-known prehistoric people. The most impressive site, and the largest of its kind in Europe, is Carnac, in the Morbihan. In the area, there are several lines of stones, some of which contain over 1000 Menhirs (this means “standing stones” in Breton). The way these gigantic corridors of stone are laid out is not clearly understood. However, we know that they are in line with the sun at the moment of the summer solstice. They were almost certainly used as a way of calculating the right moment to sow seeds.
The religious character of such “constructions” seems obvious even if it is not understood. You basically just have to look at the stones, and you’re fascinated. Ancient man has shaped the rocks, often more than 5m tall, then pushed them into a standing position, each at a precise point. These corridors nearly all finish in a cromlech, which means a circle of stone.
The dolmens, which are best described as giant tables made with menhirs topped with a horizontal slab of rock, are almost certainly linked to burial grounds. Many of the long corridors end in a cairn, or pile of stones.
These strange temples which seem to have been made by giants or gods fascinated the Celts who came to populate the region of L’Armorique. They integrated peacefully those who had built the stone megaliths, but this mysterious population gradually disappeared as a cultural entity. One can also imagine that the Celts inherited some of their mythology, since many rituals were later performed in these granite temples.
Today, the memory of these rites simply adds to the enchanting mystery of the stones. Try to avoid the main tourist season, and you’ll certainly be able to appreciate the silent beauty of this incomprehensible scene...
