Morvan Marchal
Encyclopedia
Morvan Marchal is the Breton name of Maurice Marchal, an architect and a militant Breton nationalist. He is best known for having designed the national flag of Brittany
.
A former pupil of the Saint Martin's day college of Rennes
, Marchal went on to study architecture at the Rennes School of Art. In 1918 he joined the Breton Regionalist Union
and became involved with its journal Breiz Atao
and the nationalist youth movement Breton Youth.
In 1923 he designed the Breton national flag Gwenn ha du
. An artist, poet and illustrator, he participated in many Breton publications, political and intellectual. He also belonged to "Seiz Breur
", a group of Breton artists.
He took part in the creation of the Breton Separatist Party (PAB) at the first congress of Breiz Atao, held in September 1927 at Rosporden
. He was a member of the party's management committee. In constant conflict with the pro-Nazi nationalist Olier Mordrel
, he finally broke with Breiz Atao.
At the April 11, 1931 congress, the PAB split. Mordrel set up the fascist Breton National Party
, and Marchal joined the moderate Breton Federalist League
, from which in 1932 he founded the journal Federal Brittany. In 1934, he joined the Breton Federalist Movement, with Y. Gestalen, Francis Bayer of Kern, Goulven Mazéas and Rafig Tullou
. In 1938 he signed the manifesto of the Breton federalists, which affirmed:
Marchal turned to philosophical and occult studies, associated with Druidic revivalism. With other members of the Breton Federalist Movement, he founded the neo-Pagan "Kredenn Geltiek Hollvedel" (World Celtic Creed) group, of which he was the first arch-Druid. The group is separate from the Gorsedd of Brittany
.
Following the Liberation of France he suffered from the association of Breton nationalism with collabrationism. He left Brittany to live in Paris, where he worked installing gas. He continued to contribute to some journals, such as Marius Lepage's Le Symbolisme. He died in poverty in 1963 in the commonroom of the Lariboisière hospital
.
A street of the district of Poultière in the North-East of Vitré
has been named after him.
Flag of Brittany
The flag of Brittany is called the Gwenn-ha-du, pronounced , which means white and black in Breton. It is also unofficially used in the département of Loire-Atlantique, although this now belongs to the Pays de la Loire and not to the région of Brittany, as the territory of Loire-Atlantique is...
.
Biography
Rennes
Rennes is a city in the east of Brittany in northwestern France. Rennes is the capital of the region of Brittany, as well as the Ille-et-Vilaine department.-History:...
, Marchal went on to study architecture at the Rennes School of Art. In 1918 he joined the Breton Regionalist Union
Breton Regionalist Union
The Breton regionalist union , was a Breton cultural and political organisation created August 16 1898. It was a broadly conservative grouping dedicated to preserving Breton cultural identity and regional independence...
and became involved with its journal Breiz Atao
Breiz Atao
Breiz Atao , was a Breton nationalist journal in the mid-twentieth century. The term is also used for the broader movement associated with the journal's political position....
and the nationalist youth movement Breton Youth.
In 1923 he designed the Breton national flag Gwenn ha du
Flag of Brittany
The flag of Brittany is called the Gwenn-ha-du, pronounced , which means white and black in Breton. It is also unofficially used in the département of Loire-Atlantique, although this now belongs to the Pays de la Loire and not to the région of Brittany, as the territory of Loire-Atlantique is...
. An artist, poet and illustrator, he participated in many Breton publications, political and intellectual. He also belonged to "Seiz Breur
Seiz Breur
Seiz Breur was an artistic movement founded in 1923 in Brittany. Although it adopted the symbolic name seiz breur, meaning seven brothers in the Breton language, this did not refer to the number of members, but to the title of a folk-story...
", a group of Breton artists.
He took part in the creation of the Breton Separatist Party (PAB) at the first congress of Breiz Atao, held in September 1927 at Rosporden
Rosporden
Rosporden is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in north-western France.The small city specializes in the manufacture of "chouchen," a version of mead native to Bretagne, and is known as "The Capital of Chouchen."-Population:...
. He was a member of the party's management committee. In constant conflict with the pro-Nazi nationalist Olier Mordrel
Olier Mordrel
Olier Mordrel is the Breton language version of Olivier Mordrelle, a Breton nationalist and wartime collaborator with the Third Reich who founded the separatist Breton National Party. Before the war he worked as an architect. His architectural work was influenced by Art Deco and the International...
, he finally broke with Breiz Atao.
At the April 11, 1931 congress, the PAB split. Mordrel set up the fascist Breton National Party
Breton National Party
The Breton National Party was a nationalist party in Brittany that existed from 1931 to 1944. The party was disbanded after the liberation of France in World War II, because of ties to the Nazi party....
, and Marchal joined the moderate Breton Federalist League
Breton Federalist League
The Breton Federalist League was a short lived Breton political party in the 1930s. A new organization with the same name was created in the 21st century.-Origin:...
, from which in 1932 he founded the journal Federal Brittany. In 1934, he joined the Breton Federalist Movement, with Y. Gestalen, Francis Bayer of Kern, Goulven Mazéas and Rafig Tullou
Rafig Tullou
Raffig Tullou , alias Neven Lewarc’h was a Breton sculptor and set designer...
. In 1938 he signed the manifesto of the Breton federalists, which affirmed:
...the pressing duty to gather those of our compatriots who do not want to confuse Brittany with the Church; Brittany with reaction; Brittany with puerile anti-French bias; Brittany with capitalism; and even less, Brittany with racism.
Marchal turned to philosophical and occult studies, associated with Druidic revivalism. With other members of the Breton Federalist Movement, he founded the neo-Pagan "Kredenn Geltiek Hollvedel" (World Celtic Creed) group, of which he was the first arch-Druid. The group is separate from the Gorsedd of Brittany
Goursez Vreizh
Goursez Vreizh is the national gorsedd of Brittany . It often has delegates from the Welsh gorsedd and Gorsedh Kernow in Cornwall.-History:...
.
Wartime activity and later life
During the war, Marchal was not associated with the pro-Nazi activities of Mordrel and his followers. However his group Kredenn Geltiek Hollvedel published a Druidic journal, Nemeton, one of the goals of which was to denounce Catholic influence in Brittany in the name of a supposed Aryan (Indo-European) cultural fraternity which bound a Nordic "New Europe" to the Celtic fatherland in Germany.Following the Liberation of France he suffered from the association of Breton nationalism with collabrationism. He left Brittany to live in Paris, where he worked installing gas. He continued to contribute to some journals, such as Marius Lepage's Le Symbolisme. He died in poverty in 1963 in the commonroom of the Lariboisière hospital
Lariboisière Hospital
Lariboisière Hospital is a hospital in the 10th arrondissement of Paris, France.The hospital was one of several built following the second cholera pandemic, which had reached Paris in 1832, and which led to a new emphasis on hygienic practices in hospitals...
.
A street of the district of Poultière in the North-East of Vitré
Vitré, Ille-et-Vilaine
Vitré is a commune in the Ille-et-Vilaine department in Brittany in north-western France.Vitré, a sub-prefecture until 1926, is the seat of a canton of around 17,000 inhabitants . It lies on the edge of Brittany, near Normandy, Maine, and Anjou...
has been named after him.