Croix Saint-Yves
MonumentHidden Treasure
Croix Saint-Yves, located in Boqueho (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
- Boqueho, Département 22, Bretagne
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 48.4868, -2.9621
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00089027
A 16th-century stone sentinel, the Saint-Yves Cross at Boqueho bears six coats of arms, testifying to the Breton noble pride of the Lords of Kermedret - a masterpiece of heraldic sculpture in the heart of the Côtes-d'Armor region.
History
At the bend in a sunken path in the Côtes-d'Armor region, the Saint-Yves Cross emerges as a silent testimony to Breton seigneurial piety. Erected in the 16th century in Boqueho, this monumental wayside cross is more than just a devotional marker: it is a veritable manifesto of noble prestige engraved in granite, adorned with religious representations and a remarkably rich heraldic programme. What immediately sets the Saint-Yves Cross apart from the countless calvaries dotted around Brittany is the presence of six coats of arms carved on its shaft and crosspiece. These coats of arms, with the alliances of the House of Botmillau, tell the story in stone of the matrimonial and political network of a local aristocratic lineage. Few rural crosses of this scale contain such an iconographic programme combining Christian devotion and dynastic affirmation. Visitors will discover two highly expressive sculpted scenes: a Crucifixion whose late Gothic stylisation contrasts with the vigour of Breton granite, and a Virgin and Child with a sober tenderness characteristic of Breton statuary from the early Renaissance. These representations place the cross in the great tradition of the monumental calvaries of the Armorican peninsula, while retaining a more intimate scale, conducive to contemplation. The setting of Boqueho, a discreet village in the Pays de Guingamp nestling between hedged farmland and moorland, reinforces the monument's authentic, unspoilt character. Far from the crowds of the large parish enclosures of Finistère, the Saint-Yves Cross offers a privileged encounter with Breton art and spirituality of the 16th century, in a silence disturbed only by the wind in the gorse.
Architecture
The Saint-Yves Cross belongs to the large family of Breton monumental crosses, whose development reached its peak between the 15th and 17th centuries. Carved from local granite - the preferred material of Armorican sculptors because of its resistance to the Atlantic weather - it rests on a quadrangular or octagonal shaft, raised on a stepped plinth according to the custom of the time. The cross, characteristic of Breton calvaries, bears the two main sculpted scenes: the Crucifixion, represented on the main side with Christ on the cross in a late Gothic style, and the Virgin and Child on the opposite side, a figure of tenderness and intercession. The architectural and iconographic originality of the cross lies in the arrangement of the six coats of arms that adorn the shaft and perhaps the base. These coats of arms, sculpted in relief, bear witness to the particular care taken when carving them: each shield shows the arms of the family and its alliances with a heraldic precision that implies the work of a sculptor trained in the customs of the nobility. The general style of the sculptures, which combine Gothic sobriety with a timid Renaissance influence, places the work in the first third of the 16th century, in keeping with historical data. The golden patina of the granite, covered in places with grey-green lichen, lends the monument that atmosphere of poetic antiquity so characteristic of Breton crosses. The balanced proportions of the monument - neither too imposing like the great calvaries of Guimiliau or Saint-Thégonnec, nor reduced to a simple milestone - make it a perfect transitional work between popular devotion and aristocratic artistic ambition.
Related Figures
Seigneurs de Kermedret — commanditaires de la croix au XVIe siècleMaison de Botmillau — famille noble bretonne dont les armes ornent les écussonsSaint Yves de Tréguier (1253-1303) — patron de la Bretagne à qui la croix est dédiéeFamilles alliées des Botmillau — représentées par les six écussons héraldiques
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Croix Saint-Yves located?
Croix Saint-Yves is located in Boqueho, Département 22 department, Bretagne region, France.
When was Croix Saint-Yves built?
Croix Saint-Yves dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is Croix Saint-Yves open to visitors?
Croix Saint-Yves is currently closed to visitors.