Paimpont forest
Encyclopedia
Brocéliande
Brocéliande is the name of a legendary forest that first appears in literature in 1160, in the Roman de Rou, a verse chronicle written by Wace....
, is in the French commune of Paimpont
Paimpont
Paimpont is a commune in the Ille-et-Vilaine department in Brittany in north-western France.-Demographics:Inhabitants of Paimpont are called Paimpontais.-External links:* * *...
, near the city of Rennes
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:...
in Brittany
Brittany
Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
. As Brocéliande it had a reputation in the Medieval
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
imagination as a place of magic and mystery. It is the setting of a number of adventures in Arthurian legend, notably Chrétien de Troyes
Chrétien de Troyes
Chrétien de Troyes was a French poet and trouvère who flourished in the late 12th century. Perhaps he named himself Christian of Troyes in contrast to the illustrious Rashi, also of Troyes...
's Yvain, the Knight of the Lion
Yvain, the Knight of the Lion
Yvain, the Knight with the Lion is a romance by Chrétien de Troyes. It was probably written in the 1170s simultaneously with Lancelot, the Knight of the Cart, and includes several references to the action in that poem...
, and locals claim the tree in which the Lady of the Lake
Lady of the Lake
The Lady of the Lake is the name of several related characters who play parts in the Arthurian legend. These characters' roles include giving King Arthur his sword Excalibur, enchanting Merlin, and raising Lancelot after the death of his father...
supposedly imprisoned Merlin can still be seen today. Other recent legendary (from the 19th century) places said to lie within the forest include the Val sans Retour
Val sans Retour
In Arthurian legend, the Val sans Retour is an enchanted land in which the powerful sorceress Morgan le Fay imprisons her lovers. The spell is eventually broken by Lancelot...
, the tomb of Merlin, the Fountain of Youth, and Hotié de Vivianne (castle of the Lady of the Lake). The medieval chronicler Wace
Wace
Wace was a Norman poet, who was born in Jersey and brought up in mainland Normandy , ending his career as Canon of Bayeux.-Life:...
visited the forest of Brocéliande
Brocéliande
Brocéliande is the name of a legendary forest that first appears in literature in 1160, in the Roman de Rou, a verse chronicle written by Wace....
(but is it really Paimpont) but left disappointed:
"...I went there in search of marvels; I saw the forest and the land and looked for marvels, but found none. I came back as a fool and went as a fool. I went as a fool and came back as a fool. I sought foolishness and considered myself a fool."
For those living close to Paimpont, the Arthurian legend is very strong. Many names in the legend can be translated into Breton
Breton language
Breton is a Celtic language spoken in Brittany , France. Breton is a Brythonic language, descended from the Celtic British language brought from Great Britain to Armorica by migrating Britons during the Early Middle Ages. Like the other Brythonic languages, Welsh and Cornish, it is classified as...
or French, for example the name Lancelot
Lancelot
Sir Lancelot du Lac is one of the Knights of the Round Table in the Arthurian legend. He is the most trusted of King Arthur's knights and plays a part in many of Arthur's victories...
translates as "wanderer" or "vagabond" in Breton. There is also a strong influence from the Druid
Druid
A druid was a member of the priestly class in Britain, Ireland, and Gaul, and possibly other parts of Celtic western Europe, during the Iron Age....
s, and all around Brittany are standing stones or alignments, the most famous of which are nearby at Carnac
Carnac
Carnac is a commune beside the Gulf of Morbihan on the south coast of Brittany in the Morbihan department in north-western France.Its inhabitants are called Carnacois...
; a group of the alignments at Kerlescan are nicknamed "the soldiers of Arthur."
Description
Oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...
s and beech
Beech
Beech is a genus of ten species of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia and North America.-Habit:...
es mainly, with areas of conifers either inside after clear-felling or on the periphery as transition with the moor, for example towards the west in the sector of Tréhorenteuc and the Val-sans-Retour (= Valley of no Return) which was devastated by several fires in particular in 1976, a year of great drought
Drought
A drought is an extended period of months or years when a region notes a deficiency in its water supply. Generally, this occurs when a region receives consistently below average precipitation. It can have a substantial impact on the ecosystem and agriculture of the affected region...
. It occupies mainly the territory of the commune of Paimpont, but extends to bordering communes, mainly Guer
Guer
Guer is a commune in the Morbihan department in Brittany in north-western France.It is located at the edge of the famous Brocéliande/Brekilien Forest, which is the setting of the Round Table novels in Brittany...
and Beignon
Beignon
Beignon is a commune in the Morbihan département in Brittany in north-western France.-External links:* * -References:* *...
in the south, Saint-Péran
Saint-Péran
Saint-Péran is a commune in the Ille-et-Vilaine department in Brittany in north-western France.-Demographics:Inhabitants of Saint-Péran are called Saint-Péranais.-References:* * -External links:* *...
in the northeast, and Concoret
Concoret
Concoret is a commune in the Morbihan department of Brittany in north-western France.-External links:* * -References:* *...
in north. The forest of Paimpont is the largest remnant of an ancient forest occupying Argoat
Argoat
Argoat is the inland part of Brittany in France, in opposition to the coast, Armor. Its name is derived from Breton « ar » and « koad » . A literal translation would be "[the land] in front of or along the forest edge". It designates lightly wooded land or Bocage....
, the interior region of Brittany. It was more often called the forest of Brécélien, but its ancient character and other qualities underlined by many authors decided on its name of "forest of Brocéliande", tallying of the adventures of the legend of the Round Table
Round Table (Camelot)
The Round Table is King Arthur's famed table in the Arthurian legend, around which he and his Knights congregate. As its name suggests, it has no head, implying that everyone who sits there has equal status. The table was first described in 1155 by Wace, who relied on previous depictions of...
. This flattering designation was reinforced by the birth of the Pays de Brocéliande at the end of the 20th century, an institution intended to facilitate the development of the communes of the west of the département.
The relative altitude of the forested massif contributes to give it a climate close to the oceanic climate of the coasts of Finistère
Finistère
Finistère is a département of France, in the extreme west of Brittany.-History:The name Finistère derives from the Latin Finis Terræ, meaning end of the earth, and may be compared with Land's End on the opposite side of the English Channel...
. This mode, where west and south-west winds carry of clouds and regular rain supports the vegetation, dominates. The surplus of water feeds the many brooks occupying the bottoms of small valleys before flowing into the river Aff, then the Vilaine, to the area around Redon in the south of the department. The highest point is at 256 m in the western part called Haute forêt. Altitude decreases regularly while offering viewpoints towards the department of Morbihan; viewpoints which one finds the equivalents in the north on the commune of Mauron
Mauron
Mauron is a commune in the Morbihan department of Brittany in north-western France.-Demographics:The inhabitants of Mauron are known in French as Mauronnais.-Twin towns:Mauron is twinned with the town of Newmarket in Ireland.-References:* *...
, port of the Côtes-d'Armor
Côtes-d'Armor
Côtes-d'Armor is a department in the north of Brittany, in northwestern France.-History:Côtes-du-Nord was one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790. It was created from part of the former province of Brittany. Its name was changed in 1990 to...
. It is not far from there that the Paimpont Biological Station of the University of Rennes 1
University of Rennes 1
The University of Rennes 1 is one of the two main universities in the city of Rennes, France. It is under the Academy of Rennes. It specializes in science, technology, law, economy, management and philosophy. The University of Rennes 1 has been in existence since 1969, but its heritage stems back...
, built in 1966 and 1967, dominates the lake of Chatenay
Châtenay
Châtenay or Chatenay is the name or part of the name of several communes in France:* Châtenay, in the Ain département* Châtenay, in the Eure-et-Loir département* Châtenay, in the Isère département...
. The varied forest and its surroundings constitute a framework favorable to many training courses in which the Rennes 1 biology students as well as foreign researchers take part. These buildings can accommodate approximately 70 people, and researchers work all the year on subjects generally very far away from the local biotope such as behavior of primate
Primate
A primate is a mammal of the order Primates , which contains prosimians and simians. Primates arose from ancestors that lived in the trees of tropical forests; many primate characteristics represent adaptations to life in this challenging three-dimensional environment...
s, represented by Cercopithecus, whose cries are familiar for the area but surprising to the walker little accustomed to this exotic fauna. The first researchers lengthily studied the ecology of the Armorican moors, the grounds, and the hydrology.
The forest belongs mainly to owners who maintain it and exploit it for timber and hunting; only in the north-eastern part, a small part (10%) is "domanial" and is managed by the National Forestry Commission. This situation prevents freedom of movement in the forest even with the access to the borough and its pond. The owners, however, signed a convention authorizing, from April 1 to the end of September, the use of some hiking trails in the forest. Among the responsibilities of the forest guards are watching for behaviors that threaten the forest, its flora, and its fauna. For example, behaviors that pose the risk of fire, and those that endanger the game, like dogs running loose. The gathering of mushrooms is not absolutely prohibited, but it is only tolerated near the approved trails. Because of its importance before the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
, the forest was the responsibility of a royal jurisdiction called the National Forestry Commission, as the traditional jurisdictions of the seigneurs, it did not occupy itself with forest management. The wood was excessively exploited for the power supply of the charcoal blast furnaces for the nearby industry, at least in the 17th and 18th centuries; the assignment of the trees of first choice to the navy was a marginal role.
An extract of the files of the correctional court of Montfort
Montfort
- People :* Amaury de Montfort, Canon of York * Amaury I de Montfort * Amaury IV de Montfort * Bertrade de Montfort , Queen of France* Guy de Montfort, Count of Nola...
:
"Having left the forging mills of Paimpont on Monday morning, he passed by the workshop of the carpenterCarpenterA carpenter is a skilled craftsperson who works with timber to construct, install and maintain buildings, furniture, and other objects. The work, known as carpentry, may involve manual labor and work outdoors....
who was far away from the forging mills but in the middle of the forest, he drank there with Julien Auffray his cousin and foreman of the carpenters." (Foreman of the carpenters and sawyers on contract to the naval yards elsewhere). Auffray interrogation, 1826.