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The setting of the Chapel of St.Gildas
is one of the most beautiful in the Blavet Valley. On a grassy bank
overlooking the river, it nestles under a huge granite outcrop and is the
perfect spot
for a picnic.
The Chapel of St.Gildas
The Chapel marks the site where
Gildas, an Irish monk, preached Christianity to a local, mainly pagan
population during the 6th century. Gildas and his fellow monk
Bieuzy, are said to have lived in a cave at the base of the rock where the
chapel now stands and to have had miraculous healing powers.
Legend has it that after healing the
daughter of a local Count who had been seriously injured by her husband,
Gildas was under threat of death and it was no longer safe for him to
remain in the area. Bieuzy, however, continued to preach and was
renowned for his ability to cure rabies, which was widespread at the time.
Bieuzy met an unpleasant demise when he refused to interrupt one of his
sermons to cure the rabid dog of a local pagan chief who later returned
and attacked Bieuzy with an axe.
A rather macabre statue of Bieuzy with an axe lodged in his head can be
seen inside the chapel today.
The Early Postcard of the
Chapel of St.Gildas
Saint Gildas is remembered on the
first Monday of Pentecost each year with a procession followed by a pardon
held in the chapel.
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