Croix du 17e siècle
MonumentHidden Treasure
Croix du 17e siècle, located in Lannion (Département 22), 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
- Lannion, Département 22, Bretagne
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 48.7166, -3.4046
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00089282
Erected in the 17th century in the Lannion region, this wayside cross, carved from Breton granite, combines popular piety with sculptural simplicity, bearing witness to a tradition of rural devotional art that has been listed as a Historic Monument since 1927.
History
At the crossroads of the everyday and the sacred, the 17th-century wayside cross in Lannion is in the purest tradition of Breton calvaries. While large sculpted crosses such as those at Guimiliau or Pleyben usually attract the attention of travellers, it is often the more discreet crosses, planted by the roadside or on the edge of fields, that bear the most authentic witness to the popular piety that has shaped the soul of Armorique. This one, carved from the characteristic bluish granite of the Trégor quarries, reveals to the discerning eye the quiet mastery of the Lannion stonemasons of the Classical period. What sets this monument apart is precisely its human dimension. Neither ostentatious nor monumental, the cross stands at eye level as a spiritual landmark anchored in the hedged farmland. The figures sculpted on the shaft or crosspiece - Christ on the Cross, the Virgin of Sorrows, or the patron saint according to local devotion - are treated with an economy of means that commands respect: every chisel stroke counts, every detail is deliberate. Your visit will be brief but intense. Get up close to observe the golden patina of the granite, the orange lichens that colonise the edges, the differential polish of the sheltered areas and the surfaces exposed to the onshore winds. Time seems to have worked the stone with as much care as the anonymous 17th-century sculptor. It is in this in-between place - between the work of man and the work of nature - that the special emotion of this type of monument lies. Lannion, a town of art and history bathed by the River Léguer, offers an exceptional setting in which to discover this heritage. The cross is part of an area rich in popular religious heritage: Trégor, between Côtes-d'Armor and Finistère, is one of France's most densely populated regions in terms of wayside crosses, calvaries and votive chapels. A stroll through the medieval streets of the old town or along the banks of the River Léguer will put these modest monuments into their geographical and spiritual context.
Architecture
The Lannion cross is one of a large family of granite wayside crosses from the Trégor region, whose formal characteristics were established over the course of the 16th and 17th centuries. It consists of a monolithic shaft with a square or slightly chamfered cross-section resting on a stepped base - usually two or three steps carved from the same block - which provides both structural stability and a symbolic display of spiritual elevation. The main face of the cross, with its soberly profiled arms, features a Christ on the Cross sculpted in bas-relief, whose anatomical treatment reveals the hand of a craftsman familiar with post-Tridentine iconography. The granite used, probably extracted from the geological formations of the Armorican massif near Lannion, has a medium-grained texture, with a slightly bluish grey tinge that turns golden under low-angled lighting. Its natural resistance to the elements - wind, rain and sea spray typical of the coastline of the Trégorrois region - explains the generally good conservation of the monument after nearly four centuries. The reverse of the crosspiece may feature a representation of the Virgin Mary or a patron saint, as was common practice in Breton religious sculpture of the period. Stylistically, the cross bears witness to the synthesis achieved by Breton workshops in the 17th century between the late Gothic heritage - visible in the rigour of the proportions and the frontal nature of the figures - and the influences of Baroque sculpture conveyed by missionaries and the iconographic models circulating throughout post-Tridentine Catholicism. The sober elegance of the whole, devoid of superfluous ornamentation, is characteristic of the taste of Trégor, less exuberant than that of neighbouring Léon.
Related Figures
Artisan tailleur de pierre local (XVIIe siècle) — sculpteur anonyme formé dans la tradition des ateliers du Trégor, auteur probable de la croixConfrérie du Rosaire de Lannion — association de dévotion mariale vraisemblablement commanditaire ou mécène de l'érection de la croix au XVIIe siècleJean-Baptiste de la Curne de Sainte-Palaye — érudit et archiviste du XVIIIe siècle dont les travaux inspirèrent les premières inventaires du patrimoine bretonProsper Mérimée — inspecteur général des Monuments Historiques, père fondateur de la politique de protection du patrimoine en France, dont l'œuvre législative permit l'inscription de 1927Habitants anonymes de Lannion — qui auraient protégé la croix durant la Révolution française, perpétuant un geste de résistance culturelle bien documenté en Bretagne
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Croix du 17e siècle located?
Croix du 17e siècle is located in Lannion, Département 22 department, Bretagne region, France.
When was Croix du 17e siècle built?
Croix du 17e siècle dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is Croix du 17e siècle open to visitors?
Croix du 17e siècle is currently closed to visitors.