PHOTOGRAPHS (Brittany)
A batch of summer photographs to share with you on the theme of churches.
They are the predominate feature in any Breton town and the smaller the town the more dominant they are. They pin point the centre, its usually where you'll find car parking and also the local tourist map when you are looking for the start point for a walk or cycle route. But one thing they don't generally have is a grave yard ( I've shared my fascination for French graveyards before?)
St. Gobrien
A village near the banks of the Nantes Brest canal near Josselin, Saint Gobrien's claim to fame seems just to be 'he cured many sick people' so basically if you did a bit of doctoring around the year 700 you could get promoted to saint if you did well, big pay increase? no, I guess you were dead.
Gargoyles on Notre Dame Cathedral, Josselin
There was a lot of looking up going on -----
This is St. Golven in Vieux Bourg, about 40 minutes walk from our house. I didn't know until this visit that the 'vieux bourg' which is 'old town' is the old town of Taupont, why did they move 3km. up the road? do you not just usually flatten your old town when you're building the new town (pre planning permission, of course).
Anyway Saint Golven is a slightly more interesting chap than Saint Gobrein. Young Golven magicked a fountain up to quench his immigrant parents (there, not all immigrants are bad people). As a young lad he continued to do the odd miracle while existing on a diet of bread and water. He then became a hermit with a side kick called Maden, who seems to have been more responsible for their biggest claim to fame when Maden turned some earth into gold and all Golven did was make it into a chalice, 3 crosses and 3 bells. Golven got himself electead as local bishop - not a hermit's idea of fun so he ran off to Rome, this got him nowhere as upon his return he got lumbered with being bishop of Rennes too. Finally retirement! and of course what always happens? - you go and die shortly afterwards, but he was living in abstinence and solitude - so he died happy. What happened to Maden? well he became a saint too, but I have gleaned no other information, his Wikipedia entry states 'jeune homme fort vertueux' - a young very virtuous man, living alone with Golven, I wonder?
...............a bit of a tree and a bit of a church, I just liked the textures and the closeness of the colours.
more pretty pictures to follow
I.ve just realised the first photo isn't St. Gobrien, this is it -
(it's all these red doors - confusing)
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