Croix du Hanhon
MonumentHidden Treasure
Croix du Hanhon, located in Carnac (Département 56), 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
- Carnac, Département 56, Bretagne
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 47.6294, -3.0969
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00091081
In Carnac, a Neolithic menhir transformed into a Christian cross in the 11th century: the Hanhon Cross embodies four millennia of Breton spirituality in a single block of granite.
History
In the heart of Europe's most megalithic area, the Hanhon Cross stands like a stone palimpsest, superimposing on a single shaft the beliefs of two civilisations separated by millennia. This solitary menhir, planted in the Carnac soil at a time when the great alignments of Kermario were taking shape, has stood the test of time before being reinterpreted by the medieval evangelists of the 11th century, who saw in its naturally slender silhouette the ideal support for a cross pattée carved into the rock. What makes the Hanhon Cross absolutely unique is the sobriety and intelligence of the sculptural gesture made by the Romanesque craftsmen. Rather than cutting down the ancestral stone - a common practice in Brittany, where Christianity was seeking to supplant ancient cults - they preserved the essence of the monolith while freeing two arms and a head from the carefully thinned upper mass. The result is a cross pattee of great formal power, whose cylindrical base is still a conspicuous reminder of its megalithic origins. The west face of the shaft conceals an additional mystery: two superimposed engraved motifs, which prehistorians interpret as the famous "frontal sign", a schematic anthropomorphic figure that recurs in Armorican Neolithic cave art. This superimposition - Neolithic engravings, medieval Christian replacement - makes the Hanhon Cross an archaeological document of rare density, as much as an object of contemplation. To visit the Hanhon Cross is to be surprised by the discretion of this monument, listed as a Historic Monument since 1937. Away from the crowds of the great alignments, it offers a moment of intimate encounter with the long religious and spiritual history of the Carnac region, in a silence conducive to meditation. Lovers of megalithism, Romanesque sculpture and the history of religions will find a striking synthesis here. The typical Morbihan setting, with its open moorland, broom and changing Atlantic light, gives this cross an austerity that perfectly suits its ambivalent nature: a Neolithic funerary monument that became a symbol of the Christian faith, the Hanhon Cross embodies better than any other building the ability of man to rewrite the sacred without ever completely erasing the previous layers.
Architecture
The Hanhon Cross is a monolith made of granite, a material that is ubiquitous in the Armorican subsoil. Its original shape was that of a menhir with an almost cylindrical cross-section - a relatively rare morphology that gives it a slender, gentle silhouette, in contrast to the more trapezoidal blocks we are used to. The lower part of the shaft retains all the authenticity of a Neolithic monolith, with its rough, slightly irregular surface bearing the marks of time and Atlantic erosion. The medieval transformation concentrated on the upper part of the menhir. The Romanesque craftsmen reduced the thickness of the head by freeing up two horizontal arms on either side, then shaped a top head, thus obtaining a cross pattée - i.e. with the ends of the arms widening slightly into a fan. The carving is sober and functional, with no attempt at ornamentation: the aim is to inscribe the Christian sign as legibly as possible in a pre-existing support, without trying to conceal the original nature of the menhir. The west face of the shaft conceals the most enigmatic element of the whole: two superimposed engraved motifs, identified as possibly belonging to the repertoire of the Neolithic "frontal sign", a schematic figure evoking a face or an idol that can be found on several orthostats of Armorican dolmens, notably at Gavrinis and in the corridors of Locmariaquer. These engravings, which predate Christianity, bear witness to the cult role played by the menhir in Neolithic practices, long before a medieval chisel inscribed the cross of Christ on it.
Related Figures
Prosper Mérimée — inspecteur général des Monuments Historiques, pionnier de l'inventaire du patrimoine mégalithique breton au XIXe siècleJames Miln — archéologue écossais, premier fouilleur scientifique de Carnac dans les années 1870-1880Zacharie Le Rouzic — archéologue carnacéen, conservateur du musée de Préhistoire, grand inventorieur des mégalithes du Morbihan au début du XXe siècleGrégoire le Grand — pape (590-604) dont les instructions sur la réutilisation des lieux de culte anciens ont guidé la politique de christianisation des menhirs en Europe occidentale
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Croix du Hanhon located?
Croix du Hanhon is located in Carnac, Département 56 department, Bretagne region, France.
When was Croix du Hanhon built?
Croix du Hanhon dates back to a period built in the Middle Ages (11th-15th century).
Is Croix du Hanhon open to visitors?
Croix du Hanhon is currently closed to visitors.