Cimetière de Monteneuf
MonumentHidden Treasure
Cimetière de Monteneuf, located in Monteneuf (Département 56), is a Renaissance château built in the 16th century. The monument is currently closed to visitors.
Key facts
- Type
- autre
- Period
- Renaissance (16th century)
- Location
- Monteneuf, Département 56, Bretagne
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 47.8725, -2.2095
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00091448
In the heart of Morbihan, this monolithic schist cemetery cross, listed since 1927, bears witness to Breton medieval funerary fervour and rural lapidary art at its purest.
History
Standing in the cemetery of Monteneuf, a small commune in the Morbihan department nestling between moors and forests, this monolithic schist cross is one of the most discreet and touching examples of Breton funerary heritage. Carved from a single block of schist stone, it belongs to the family of rural crosses found at crossroads and in parish enclosures in Armorique, each with its own personality dictated by the hand of the local quarryman and sculptor. What makes this cross particularly distinctive is its patté shape: the ends of the arms flare out into a paw, a strong heraldic and symbolic motif, evoking both the Maltese cross and the great Templar crosses. This ornamental detail, far from being insignificant, reveals a concern for community development and identity that transcends the simple funerary function. In a village where schist is the everyday stone - for houses, walls and roofs - the choice of this local material for the cemetery cross affirms the community's roots in the land. To visit this monument is to agree to slow down. It doesn't impose its presence through height or gilding, but through the integrity of its silhouette, black and weathered, silhouetted against the changing skies of inland Morbihan. The golden and grey lichens that slowly colonise the schist add an almost cosmic dimension to its patina, as if the stone were in dialogue with time itself. The Monteneuf cemetery is also just a few kilometres from the Demoiselles de Monteneuf megaliths, a remarkable prehistoric site. This proximity invites us to reflect on the long tradition of death and commemoration in this region, from the menhir to the Christian cross. The schist cross is thus part of a continuity of memory that goes well beyond the Middle Ages.
Architecture
The Monteneuf cemetery cross is a monolith, a sculpture carved from a single block of schist, with no joints or joints. This technical choice, demanding because of the constraints imposed by the flaky, cleavable nature of the schist, bears witness to the mastery of the local quarrymen and sculptors who knew how to select the most homogeneous blocks from natural outcrops that were least likely to disintegrate. The shape of the cross is known as pattée: the four arms of the cross gradually widen from their point of origin to their extremity, where they form a flared end reminiscent of a paw or fan. This sober but elaborate profile contrasts with simple crosses with a constant rectangular cross-section and gives the piece a characteristic graphic dynamism. The shaft supporting the cross itself has a quadrangular cross-section, probably widened at the base to ensure the stability of the whole in its base. Schist, a metamorphic rock of clay origin, has a grey-blue to black colour depending on weathering and exposure. Over the centuries, its surface has been covered with biological patinas - leafy lichens, mosses - which give the cross a presence that is both severe and lively. The absence of polychromy or gilding, common to the majority of Breton rural crosses, reinforces the austere, pared-back character of the work, perfectly in keeping with the region's medieval funerary aesthetic.
Related Figures
Artisans carriers locaux du Morbihan médiéval (tailleurs de schiste anonymes, XIIe-XVe siècle)Curés de la paroisse de Monteneuf (gardiens du cimetière au fil des siècles)Administrateurs des Monuments Historiques (signataires de l'arrêté de protection du 30 mai 1927)Prosper Mérimée (inspecteur général des Monuments Historiques, promoteur de la protection du patrimoine rural breton au XIXe siècle)
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Cimetière de Monteneuf located?
Cimetière de Monteneuf is located in Monteneuf, Département 56 department, Bretagne region, France.
When was Cimetière de Monteneuf built?
Cimetière de Monteneuf dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is Cimetière de Monteneuf open to visitors?
Cimetière de Monteneuf is currently closed to visitors.