Croix de chemin en pierre
MonumentHidden Treasure
Croix de chemin en pierre, located in Tréglamus (Département 22), is a medieval landmark built in the Middle Ages. The monument is currently closed to visitors.
Key facts
- Type
- autre
- Period
- Medieval (11th-15th century)
- Location
- Tréglamus, Département 22, Bretagne
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 48.5571, -3.2752
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00089694
Érigée au XIVe siècle dans le Trégor breton, cette croix de chemin en pierre incarne la piété médiévale dans toute sa sobriété. Son fût taillé à même le granite local dialogue avec un paysage d'bocage préservé.
History
In the heart of the Tréglamus region, in the Côtes-d'Armor département, stands a medieval wayside cross whose austere yet familiar silhouette sums up centuries of popular Breton devotion. Listed as a Historic Monument since 1964, this 14th-century cross is part of the local heritage that dots the roads and crossroads of inland Brittany, bearing witness to a lively faith and a mastery of the art of lapidary long before the great monumental calvaries became established on the coast. What makes this cross so special is precisely its discretion and age. Unlike the triumphant calvaries of the 16th century that were the glory of Cornwall and Leon, the wayside crosses of medieval Trégor were not ostentatious. Carved from the characteristic bluish-grey granite found in local quarries, they feature a slender monolithic shaft, a sober crossbeam and a Christ-like sculpture whose features have been softened by centuries of erosion to give them an almost abstract serenity. A visit to this cross is a natural part of a walk or cycle along the sunken lanes of Trégor, a region of hedged farmland, moorland and wet meadows. If you come across it on the edge of a path, you will be reconnecting with an experience that has remained unchanged for seven hundred years: that of the medieval traveller pausing, taking off his hat and murmuring a prayer before continuing on his way. The emotion is heightened by the fact that there are no barriers or entry tickets between the visitor and the stone. The immediate environment contributes fully to the atmosphere of the place. The grassy slopes, the nearby trees whose roots have sometimes warped the base, and the changing light of the Breton sky create a picture of rare authenticity. Here, photographers and watercolourists can capture the unexpected, the solitude and the direct contact with the raw material of time.
Architecture
The Tréglamus cross belongs to the family of simple Breton medieval crosses, as distinct from the complex calvaries with multiple figures that would flourish two centuries later. It consists of a monolithic shaft with a quadrangular cross-section slightly chamfered at the edges, resting on a stepped base carved from the same block of granite or assembled from wedge stones. The carefully-proportioned crosspiece bears a representation of Christ on the cross, whose modelling, worn by successive weathering, nevertheless retains the expressive power characteristic of 14th-century Breton Gothic statuary. The granite used comes from local outcrops in the Trégor region, a medium-grained, slightly bluish-grey rock renowned for its resistance to the freeze-thaw cycles of the Breton climate. Its unpolished surface now has a patina of yellow, grey and orange lichens, reflecting the length of time it has been exposed to the elements. The traces of pointed and stubbed tools that can be seen on certain faces reveal direct hand-crafting, without polished finishes, in keeping with the practices of medieval rural stonemasons. Its height is estimated at between 1.80 and 2.50 metres, a common size for this type of monument in the Trégor region. The whole structure rests on a buried foundation which has ensured its stability over the centuries. There is no plant or heraldic decoration on the shaft, which is consistent with the sober style of lapidary produced in inland Trégor, where iconography is less abundant than in Finistère.
Related Figures
Artisan tailleur de pierre breton anonyme (XIVe siècle) — sculpteur présumé de la croixJean IV de Bretagne (1339-1399) — duc de Bretagne sous le règne duquel la croix fut vraisemblablement érigéeÉvêques de Tréguier médiévaux — autorité ecclésiastique tutélaire du territoire de TréglamusSaint Yves de Tréguier (1253-1303) — figure spirituelle dominante du Trégor, canonisé peu avant l'érection de la croixÉrudits de la Société d'Émulation des Côtes-du-Nord (XIXe-XXe siècle) — premiers inventoriateurs du petit patrimoine bretonInspecteurs des Monuments Historiques (1964) — responsables de l'inscription protectrice de la croix
Tags
Nearby castles
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Croix de chemin en pierre located?
Croix de chemin en pierre is located in Tréglamus, Département 22 department, Bretagne region, France.
When was Croix de chemin en pierre built?
Croix de chemin en pierre dates back to a period built in the Middle Ages (11th-15th century).
Is Croix de chemin en pierre open to visitors?
Croix de chemin en pierre is currently closed to visitors.
