The Legend of Saint Ronan
Ton(Sol majeur).
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1. The holy Ronan was a squire Who was born on the Isle of Eire, In Saxon land, beyond the sea, High rulers in his pedigree. 2. Once, as he was on his knees and prayed, He saw a dazzling light that spread, An angel clad in white who told Him these words on behalf of God: 3. - O Ronan, far to travel away You're ordered by God, so that you may Once save your soul. Embark and flee To Breton Cornwall beyond the sea.- 4. And Ronan did as the angel said To Brittany at once he repaired,. First to the valley of Leon, then To Cornwall to the "Wood of the Shrine". 5. And 2 or 3 years went by, or more Once he did penance before his door, One evening, praying upon his knees, Devoutly was facing the sea, 6. A wolf sprang out of the nearby wood That held a sheep in his mouth, followed On by a man who ran in despair, Whose bitter laments rent the air. 7. Full of compassion for him, Ronan Prayed to God for the sake of this man. “O Lord my God, I do implore You; Do show Your strength and spare this ewe!” 8. No sooner had he finished his prayer Than the wolf to the door trod his way, Submissively he laid down the sheep Before Ronan's and the poor man's feet. 9. The good man got used from then on Every day to visiting Ronan. With greatest pleasure to him he fled To listen to the words God has said 10. But this man was married and he had A wife named Keban who was bad And she decided Ronan to harm Who was upsetting all on her farm. |
11. One day she came to him, furious, And made a row and a lot of fuss - On all in my house you cast a spell, My husband and my children as well. 12. They always are with you and your god. And my goods are going to the dogs. And they don’t obey me when I yelp. Now I bawl to you and you don't help. - 13. She put then into her head she would Calumniate the holy man of God. And she went to King Gradlon's court To Quimper town beyond the mount. 14. - My Lord and King, O avenge my child: My little girl was strangled and died. And Ronan of Koad-Nevet did it. I saw how into a wolf. he turned. - 15. Because of this infamous slander Saint Ronan was taken to Quimper. In a deep dungeon he was locked in By order of Lord Gradlon the King. 16. Out of it when at last he was freed, It was to be bound onto a tree And two ferocious and hungry hounds Were unleashed and on him at once pounced. 17. But, fearless, he did not give a start, Calmly crossed himself upon his heart. The hounds, that were at once put to flight, Burnt by some flame, barking, ceased from strife. 18. King Gradlon who this wonder beheld Then said to the holy man of God: - What’s the use of my doing you wrong, It's quite clear that to God you belong. 19. - No redress whatever I demand But pardon for this woman Keban: That her child is not dead I attest: It is in her house, shut in a chest. 20. They brought the chest they found underground They opened it and the child was found In it but it lay, dead, on its side; And Ronan called it back to life. |
21. Lord Gradlon and his followers Were all dumbfounded by the wonder. Before Saint Ronan they bowed low , And asked him forgivingness to show. 22. But Ronan went off, back to his wood Where he remained until he would Decease, in ashes and sackcloth, A mere hard stone was his pillow. 23. Clad in the speckled hide of a cow And belted with some intertwined boughs He drank naught but the brine from the marsh He ate naught but bread baked in wood ash. 24. And when the last hour for him had rung And he had left behind this world, Two white buffaloes drew his cart, Three bishops led him to the earth. 25. And when they had arrived at a pool Keban was there, dishevelled all Doing her washing on a Friday Despising Christ who died on that day: 26. And she did brandish her battledore And fling it at the wild bull’s horn Who startled frightened violently And broken was his horn by the hit. 27. “Off into your hole, son of a whore! I trust we won’t find you any more Doing your tricks to abuse us.” Go and rot away with the dead dogs! 28. No sooner had she closed her mouth Than she was engulfed by the earth Amidst dark smoke and flaming blaze. The spot is called now "Keban’s grave". 29. And the funeral cortege went forth Carrying Holy Ronan to earth, Until the two buffaloes did stop And would go neither ahead nor back; 30. The Saint was buried there on the hill. It was believed that it was his will. Atop the mount, in the green wood, too, So as to face the wind and the blue. Transl. Christian Souchon (c) 2008 |
| The hymn above tells us how the Sacred Wood aroundLocronan was freed from paganism early in the 7th century by an Irish bishop Saint Ronan whose name is found in the Irish place name "Kilronan" on the Aran Island Inishmore. (See picture)  Ronan was, in Rome, in charge of the Christian ecclesiastical calendar, the "computus", a body of procedures for determining the dates of Easter and putting them into tabular form, which was very important not only for religious but also economical purposes, as the dates of the great fairs were set in accordance .He came to Tours where a council was held and carried on his way to the Sacred Forest, - only shreds of it still exist today-, an area known for persisting in the druidic religion and worship of nature deities, whereas the neighbouring places had been since long Christianised by settlers from Cornwall and Wales. Ronan decided to put up his hermitage in the sacred forest and was immediately opposed by the upholders of the old creed, embodied by Keban in the hymn. Ronan did not destroy the pagan open air sanctuary but "recycled" it to a Christian holy ground with Christian saints replacing the Celtic gods. The 12 stations with statues of saints on the processional tour of 12 Km known as the "Troménie" could have been in pre-Christian times, dedicated to the months of the year, as well as to 12 deities of the Celtic pantheon. Once his mission was fulfilled, Ronan withdrew to Hilion near Saint Brieux. There was a strife between the Counts of Rennes, Vannes and Cornouaille who laid claim to the possession of the Saint's body. The difference was settled in the 9th century, in the way described by the hymn - which however places this episode immediately after Ronan's death -, in favour of Locronan that became since then an important pilgrimage town. Source: www.bretagne.com - 1. In the Lower Brittany districts Léon, Trégor and Cornouaille, circumambulations in connection with the veneration of a holy man were held with variable periodicity since most ancient times. This ceremony is called a "troménie" (Breton: "un droveni") whose most likely etymology is "tro vinihi"="tour of the asylium", as the main aim of the rite was consecrating in a solemn way the boundaries of the area where immunity was granted on behalf of the saint, involving protection against prosecutions and exemption from certain taxes and statute labours. The limits of the free land were set by this scrupulous periodical wandering around the "minihy" (asylum) far better than they would have been on a piece of parchment. - 2. The troménies consist in a long range procession starting from a church, leading across fields and woods, up the hills and down the valleys before returning to the starting point. - 3. All of them are aimed at honouring a local Breton saint: Ronan in Locronan, Sané in Plouzané, Gouesnou in Gouesnou, Conogan in Beuzit-Conogan near Landerneau, Théleau in Landéleau. The relics of the Saint are as a rule carried ahead of the procession, hence the name “tro-ar-relegoù”(tour of the relics) once given the troménie of Landéleau - 4. Sometimes, like in Locronan, the tale of how the domain was granted to the saint, involves a miracle he worked on behalf of God to prove his superiority over the existing creed when he first settled in the land. - 5. Sometimes, it is only a wandering tour the saint made around his domain as a penance: every day (Saint Goulven), once a year at a specific date (Saint Briac) or just before he died (Saint Hervé). - 6. All troménies are held in the period from 1st May to 21st July with reference to a movable feast, even if the Saint is celebrated in another period of the year. Saint Ronan's day is on the 1st of June whereas the Troménie takes place on the 2nd Sunday of July. This hints at motivations (seasonal cycle) disconnected from the celebration of the Saint. - 7. All these circumambulations are performed in the direction of the sun: the relics of the saint leaving the church turn to the right and follow the sun, like in all ancient lustration rites, biblical, Roman, pradakshina, Hindu, Old Irish. - 8. Very often the pilgrims are barefoot (Locronan, Gouesnou, Landeleau), - 9. keep silent (Locronan, Plouzané), - 10. stop at certain stations (Locronan, Gouesnou, Landeleau, Plouzané, Goulven). - 11. and go past certain stones and monuments (Locronan, Gouesnou, where a stone on the tromenie's way is called "St Ronan's chair" and "St Gouesnou's chair"). These explanations account for the Grand Troménie in Locronan but not for the Lesser Troménie with the climbing up the hill that is likely to have been performed before Ronan's arrival. For the most astonishing about the Locronan Troménie is that it could preserve its sacred character, unchanged over so many centuries. As it often happens, the Church recycled here for its own purposes preexistent pagan rituals Every six years the relics of Saint Ronan followed by a long retinue of pilgrims proceed on the same way around one of the remnants of the old Sacred Forest, the Coatnevet Wood ("koat"= wood, "nevet" from Celtic "nemeton", sacred glade, that could be the origin of the Breton word for "heaven": "neñv") along the borders of the domain bestowed to Ronan after his death.  In Locronan the penitents were allowed to kiss the relic shrine and, like in Landéleau, to pass under the relics held high up above the church gate, each partaker endeavouring to reach up to them. It is supposed that these rites are pre-Christian, maybe Celtic, as Roman-Celtic temples had a corridor round the “cella”, the most sacred part of the edifice. The old Roman Lupercal feast consisted in a similar procession around the Palatine and were a rite of fecundity. Now, in Locronan, Saint Ronan was also supposed to assist in sterility problems. That is why the Duchess Anne of Brittany named her daughter “Renée” which she thought to be equivalent to Ronan. In fact Ronan is the Irish for “seal” - Reunig in Breton-, but the tale above hints at a strange affinity between the holy man and the wolf, an animal which the Romans connected with their fertility rites - "Lupercal" is the feast of the wolf: "lupus" in Latin. Anne of Brittany and her daughter contributed the stately gothic Pénity chapel where the relic shrine is kept. This fertility creed is still alive and three stones in the course of the procession are touched by the penitents to that end: at the foot of the hill, on the “Plas ar c’horn” and “Saint Ronan’s chair”. Source: the “Guide to Mysterious Brittany: Finistère”. The meaning of the word, in Breton “Troveni”, is not sure. Ordinary Breton speakers understand “tro venez” “round the mountain”, whereas, as already mentioned, historians look on it as on a deformed “tro vinihi” “round the asylum”. Brittany had many such asylums, as this one, where criminals were out of reach for civilian courts of justice.  Locronan has two Troménies:The yearlyLesser Troménie has a length of 4 or 5 km and is supposed to be the tour Ronan performed every morning, barefoot and on an empty stomach. Every 6 years the 12 kilometre Grand Troménie is held. It is also a route allegedly initiated by the Saint himself. The Grand Troménie begins with a solemn procession on the second Sunday of July and ends on the 3rd Sunday in the same way. In between everyone may go on pilgrimage individually, as the “stations” are kept arranged all through the week with attendants to welcome individual pilgrims. It is generally admitted that such individual penitents have a better time of it than the banner carriers or the normal followers who have to tread among the crowd. That’s why if one Grand Troménie opens the gate of Paradise to a Breton, three "private" troménies are necessary to acquire the same benefit. But woe betide the one who never went on troménie! He will suffer from a terrible curse: “an hini na ra ket an Droveni e bev, e rayo marv ahed e arched bemdeiz”= “whoever doesn’t go on the Troménie in his lifetime, shall have to, once dead, advancing by one coffin’s length each day”. The 12 stations on the sacred way(See the map below)  The route of the Grand Troménie follows very old paths, along an olden route that should not be shortened by shortcuts. You should miss none of the traditional stations. These are made up of small boughs of leaves covered up with white linens sheltering statues from Locronan and neighbouring parishes. There are in all 44 such altars of repose: 12 of them are the “major stations”. Each station is attended by a “fabrician” with a bell announcing his presence afar.The route is as follows: Departure: the Pénity chapel (where Ronan's relics are kept). 1st station: Saint Eutrope. The relics of this Saint are venerated by kissing his shrine and drinking a glassful water from the fountain Our Lady of the Good Spell (Notre Dame de Bonne Nouvelle) offered by the attendant. 2nd station: the Eternal Father This is the traditional name though the statue in the bough represents the suffering Christ (“Ecce Homo”). 3rd station: Saint Germain of Auxerre who although non-Breton enjoys in Brittany great popularity. 4th station: Saint Anne of La Palud. From there the route leads to the Roman road though the morass “Pradig an Droveni” where branches are strewn on the ground. 5th station: Notre Dame de Bonne Nouvelle on the old Roman road. 6th station: Saint Milliau. Whose statue comes from Plonévez-Porsay.. The pilgrim crosses then the hamlet Leustec. 7th station: Saint John the Evangelist. The route then goes over the stream Stiff to the place called “Trobalo”. 8th station: Saint Gwenolé. This is the spot where the buffaloes drawing Saint Ronan’s hearse stopped waiting for a donation to be made by the Count of Cornouaille. A little further after the Our Lady of Kergoat chapel the route goes south toward Gernevez village. The washing place where Keban was washing (on a Friday!) when the funeral cortege with the Saint passed still exists. Here was consequently the broken horn episode. 9th station: Saint Ouen: After this station the pilgrim crosses the Chateaulin road, before he climbs up the steep Saint Ronan Hill. During the solemn processions clarion calls encourage the pilgrims when they reach this point. 10th station: Plas ar c’horn (the place of the horn) . Here the buffalo’s broken horn fell off. And here Ronan was buried and a modern chapel erected. It contains a curious statue of Saint Michael equipped with scales to weigh the defunct souls –like his Egyptian colleague Thot. 300 m further, but away of the route, is the summit of the hill in 289 m height, a place where a “guet du feu” (Fire guard) was held. 11th station: Saint Théleau.. 
12th station: Saint Mauricius. Here stands also the Keban Cross (Kroaz Keban) on the very spot where the wicked woman was engulfed by hell, that is also called therefore “Bez Keban” (Keban’s grave). Kroaz Keban is the only cross to which a Breton should not bend!
Then the meandering path leads past a granite block called "Kador Sant Ronan"( St Ronan's chair) or "Ar Gazeg vaen", (the Stone mare), that is said to be the boat used by Ronan when he came from Ireland. The boat turned into a mare after his landing and into a stone when Ronan had reached his destination. On this stone sterile women used to sit down.The pilgrim follows then the old Quimper road for 100 meters, then the modern street brings him back to the Penity chapel which he enters passing underneath Ronan’s shrine held high up by two men. The Lesser Troménie route is by 2/3 shorter. made by American pilgrims who contributed the photos around the map: "I had an idea for the station attendants. They could sell bracelets and then at each hut, they could sell beads. If you donated at every hut, you would get all the beads to spell out 2007GRANDTROMENIE. The beads would cost pennies and aside from children, most people would donate enough for them to make a profit."  To know more about Breton Saints |
