Tréguier: The Tomb of Saint Yves
Brittany, France
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Saint Yves's Pilgrim
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200
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+100 France
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1 day
Tréguier: The Tomb of Saint Yves
200 + 100 XP
The cathedral of Saint-Tugdual at Tréguier holds the tomb of Saint Yves — the medieval one paid for by the Duke of Brittany was smashed in 1794, and what you see was rebuilt on the same spot between 1886 and 1890 — and around 19 May every year a great pardon is held in his honour. Its unusual outline has three towers over the transept and none on the front, with the biggest belfry and its 60-metre open-work spire at the south end of the transept. Inside are the funeral chapel of Duke John V of Brittany, founded in 1420 and holding his grave since 1451, choir stalls carved at the start of the 16th century, and a cloister blessed in 1468 sheltering tomb slabs brought from buildings all over the region. The town also keeps the birthplace of the writer Ernest Renan, and on the quays the calvary that his opponents put up in 1904 in answer to his statue.
Required Activities
1
of 4
Find the tomb of Saint Yves in the north aisle, then stand in Duke John V's funeral chapel built alongside it in 1420 and work out why he put it there: he wanted to lie next to the saint. Look up at its vault keystones, repainted in 1469 with the arms of Duke François II and his wife Marguerite
2
of 4
In the cloister, blessed in September 1468, find the arms of Bishop Christophe du Châtel at the entrance, then work along the tomb slabs set under the galleries — many of them were brought here from other churches in the region — and look up at the three transept towers from inside the square
3
of 4
Go into the house where Renan was born in 1823, now a museum, then walk the few hundred metres between the two monuments his name produced: his statue on the cathedral square, unveiled by the Prime Minister Émile Combes in September 1903, and the Calvaire de protestation on the quays, paid for by national subscription and unveiled on the Saint Yves pardon of 1904, with the centurion's words carved on its base in Breton and Latin
4
of 4
Walk the lanes of the old town, which packs 57 half-timbered houses into the densest concentration of any town in Brittany, and find the maison Saint-Pierre at 14 rue de la Chalotais, built with a Pondalez staircase like the one in the Morlaix museum
Find the tomb of Saint Yves in the north aisle, then stand in Duke John V's funeral chapel built alongside it in 1420 and work out why he put it there: he wanted to lie next to the saint. Look up at its vault keystones, repainted in 1469 with the arms of Duke François II and his wife Marguerite
In the cloister, blessed in September 1468, find the arms of Bishop Christophe du Châtel at the entrance, then work along the tomb slabs set under the galleries — many of them were brought here from other churches in the region — and look up at the three transept towers from inside the square
Go into the house where Renan was born in 1823, now a museum, then walk the few hundred metres between the two monuments his name produced: his statue on the cathedral square, unveiled by the Prime Minister Émile Combes in September 1903, and the Calvaire de protestation on the quays, paid for by national subscription and unveiled on the Saint Yves pardon of 1904, with the centurion's words carved on its base in Breton and Latin
Walk the lanes of the old town, which packs 57 half-timbered houses into the densest concentration of any town in Brittany, and find the maison Saint-Pierre at 14 rue de la Chalotais, built with a Pondalez staircase like the one in the Morlaix museum
Before you go
A great pardon for Saint Yves is held around 19 May.
Renan's birthplace opens from the start of April to the end of September only, Wednesday to Sunday, with a break in the middle of the day and last entry half an hour before closing: it is shut on Mondays and Tuesdays and all winter. The cathedral and its cloister are open year-round. On the Saint Yves pardon around 19 May the cathedral is the start of a procession to Minihy-Tréguier and the town fills up, so park well out.
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About Brittany
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Challenge Location
XP Breakdown
Challenge XP
200 XP
France country bonus
+100 XP
Potential total
300 XP
Country bonus earned on completion of your first challenge in France.
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