Eglise Notre-Dame-du-Roncier
ChurchHidden Treasure
Eglise Notre-Dame-du-Roncier, located in Josselin (Département 56), is a Renaissance château built in the 16th century. The monument is currently closed to visitors.
Key facts
- Type
- Church
- Period
- Renaissance (16th century)
- Location
- Josselin, Département 56, Bretagne
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 47.9537, -2.5473
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00091312
Au cœur de Josselin, Notre-Dame-du-Roncier mêle arcades romanes du XIIe siècle et dentelle gothique flamboyant du XVe, gardienne d'une légende médiévale et d'un pèlerinage breton millénaire.
History
Located in the old town of Josselin, in the heart of Morbihan, the church of Notre-Dame-du-Roncier is one of the most unusual in Brittany. Its very name tells a story: that of a statue of the Virgin Mary, said to have been discovered in the 9th century hidden in a bramble bush, and which gave rise to a Marian cult of remarkable longevity. This legendary foundation has shaped the profound identity of the monument, which is not simply a parish church but a living sanctuary, a place of uninterrupted pilgrimage for over eleven centuries. What makes Notre-Dame-du-Roncier truly unique is the legible superimposition of its successive ages. Where most medieval buildings have erased their primitive layers, this one has preserved them with a rare generosity: the Romanesque arcades of the choir and the arcade of the former north apse, soberly decorated, interact seamlessly with the 13th-century crossing of the transept and the Gothic exuberance of the 15th-century façades, brought about by the major building campaigns of 1461, 1470 and 1480. The history of stone reads like an architectural palimpsest. Inside, the attentive visitor will pause for a long moment in front of the Romanesque pillars separating the choir from the chapel of Sainte-Catherine: their capitals, sculpted with figures, fantastic animals and scrolls, form a strikingly expressive medieval bestiary, almost sculptural in its freedom of execution. The ancient stained glass windows, nestling in the Gothic windows, filter a colourful light that transfigures the Breton grey stone. The Sainte-Marguerite chapel, founded in the 14th century by Olivier de Clisson, Constable of France and Lord of Josselin, provides a direct link between national history and this discreet sanctuary. It is a reminder that the church was for a long time closely linked to the great families who ruled the town and its nearby castle, a feudal mirror of this aristocratic devotion. To visit Notre-Dame-du-Roncier is to take a few steps through eight centuries of Breton faith, power and artistic creation. The annual pardon, which attracts thousands of pilgrims every year on the first days of September, confirms that this monument is anything but a static museum: it is still a living place, rooted in the deep-rooted identity of the Josselin region.
Architecture
Notre-Dame-du-Roncier church has an enlarged rectangular floor plan, the result of several centuries of successive alterations. While the original shape was that of a Latin cross, the Gothic campaigns of the 15th century gradually integrated the transepts, aisles and chapels into a more compact, homogeneous volume. The nave and choir now form part of this rectangular structure, which is completed by the chapel of Sainte-Marguerite to the north and the chapel of Sainte-Catherine to the south. A tower in a later style and a sacristy were added at later periods, without breaking the overall harmony of the building. The exterior facades are uniformly in the flamboyant Gothic style of 15th-century Brittany, with moulded portals, windows with elaborate stonework and buttresses giving the elevations a rhythmic appearance. The local stone, with its bluish-grey hue typical of Morbihan granite, gives the building a sober, resistant elegance. Inside, the contrast between periods is striking: the Romanesque pillars of the choir, treated with the ornamental rigour of the 12th century - historiated capitals representing figures, animals and plant scrolls - stand alongside the slender Gothic arches of the side chapels. The windows contain a number of old stained-glass windows whose deep colours, predominantly blue and red, create a particularly intense effect of mystical light in the choir.
Related Figures
Olivier de Clisson — connétable de France, seigneur de Josselin, fondateur de la chapelle Sainte-Marguerite au XIVe siècleMarguerite de Rohan — épouse d'Olivier de Clisson, dont la dévotion mariale contribua au rayonnement du sanctuaireLes seigneurs de Rohan — famille ducale bretonne, protecteurs historiques de l'église et du pèlerinage de Notre-Dame-du-RoncierLe paysan légendaire du IXe siècle — figure fondatrice de la tradition, découvreur présumé de la statue de la Vierge dans les roncesAnne de Bretagne — reine de France dévote à la Vierge, dont le pèlerinage de Josselin entrait dans la sphère des grands sanctuaires bretons qu'elle honorait
Tags
Nearby castles
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Eglise Notre-Dame-du-Roncier located?
Eglise Notre-Dame-du-Roncier is located in Josselin, Département 56 department, Bretagne region, France.
When was Eglise Notre-Dame-du-Roncier built?
Eglise Notre-Dame-du-Roncier dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is Eglise Notre-Dame-du-Roncier open to visitors?
Eglise Notre-Dame-du-Roncier is currently closed to visitors.
