A BOOK OF BRITTANY.
A Book of Brittany. By S. Baring-Gould. With 69 Illustra- tions. (Methuen and Co. 68.)—Mr. Baring-Gould is untiring, and in his manifold writings never ceases to be readable. But it is an especial pleasure to read him when he writes of the older races that linger on the Western fringes of Europe, and preserve along with their ancient and passionate devotion to Christianity not only the monuments, but the beliefs of a far older faith. What is written concerning the Bretons in this book has often an equal application to the folk of the West Highlands or the Atlantic seaboard of Ireland. And if it be true of the Bretons, as it is true of the Irish, that there exists underlying their religion "an extraordinary jumble of rites and formulas and ceremonial usages, badly enchained, and these as ancient as the race itself"; so also it is true of the Irish, as of the Bretons, that
"Christianity—that is, Christian morality—has steeped their lives in its principles." Drunkenness is almost their only vice. "They have assimilated the morality of the Gospel, if they have got but a confused notion of its doctrines." In the Highlands and in Wales is a Celtic race deeply imbued with religion, but with the Protestant religion; and from a comparison between the Welsh and Highlanders on the one hand, and Bretons and Irish on the other, much might be argued as to the respective values of the tee) persuasions. But it can hardly be denied that the Roman form of worship harmonises more naturally and more fully with the genius of this fascinating race. In Brittany the local festivals, the "pardons," which correspond to the almost disused " pattherns " or " patrons " in Ireland, retain many beautiful and picturesque observances. And in Brittany the Northmen invaders did what they came to Ireland too late to do : they taught the Celts to build, and gave to the popular religion shrines of surpassing beauty. Mr. Baring- Gould's book will help the uniustructed to understand not only the beauty of the Brpton churches, but the history that they bear written on their faces. On the other hand, of the wonderful craftsmanship, the purely Celtic art, which produced such works as the Book of Kells, the crosses of Monasterbolce, and many of the old Irish pieces of jewellery and goldwork, little trace seems to survive in Brittany. Still, for the good of a country the builder's art ranks before all others, and Brittany has reason to be thankful for her Norman masters. The architectural monu- ments supply, so to say, a skeleton to Mr. Baring-Gould's book ; the passages of history and legend which he introduces are, as a rule, linked to the description of some building. Of history and legend the store is endless, as how should it not be, in the country of Broceliande and the forest Baranton, in the birthland of Du Gueselin and Dugouay - Trouin Incidentally, too, many other things come into the story. On p. 127 there are instructive remarks about the modern traffic in Breton carved oak. Elsewhere is an account of the Macphereon of Brittany, M. de la Viilemarque, who collected Breton ballads and folk-songs, added to them, revised, and altered, and published the collectioe as authentic. A more satis- factory Breton is Theodore Botrel, who, like Mistral in Provence and Dr. Hyde in Ireland, has set himself to recreate a popular literature in the existing dialect. In short, the book is a mine of miscellaneous information and comment, much of which, as we have endeavoured to show, is applicable beyond its immediate purpose, and it may be heartily recommended not only to all who design to visit Brittany, but to those who are interested in the Celtic race and its monuments.
Previous page
