The granite giants of the Vallée des Saints, a site between magic and madness in the heart of Brittany

From our special correspondent in Carnoët,

” Saint-Jorand is a dowser, and on top of that, he attracts rain. He is a hermit who settled in the small town of Plouhiec du Trieux. The pagans of the time chased him away, and suddenly all the springs dried up and it was no longer raining. ! So the locals asked him to come back and with his pendulum he made the springs spring up again, the rain reappeared and the crops returned to normal. During the whole construction of this sculpture, it did not stop raining, sometimes it was even the deluge, I had to stop working. “The story barely finished by Goulven Jaouen, a 33-year-old sculptor, it begins to rain on the Valley of the Saints. The site then takes on an air worthy of Breton tales and legends….

Nestled on the Quénéquillec hill at an altitude of 230 m, in the town of Carnoët, you have to “deserve” this Valley of the Saints. Right in the center of this “empty” and deserted Brittany, a hundred kilometers east of Brest, the site is in itself magical: submerged Roman remains, a feudal mound from the 11th century from which a breathtaking 360 view. ° is offered to the visitor in good weather. Immersed in the mist, the magic of the place still operates: shadows of extraordinary statues appear throughout the discovery.

Since 2009, it is here that more than one hundred and fifty immense heterogeneous sculptures have been erected, recounting the saints of Brittany and their legends. There will be a thousand of them, in the future … Or how to bring this notion of holiness up to date in a troubled time, at a time when ” time is out of its hinges As Shakespeare said.

A cultural and spiritual project in honor of Brittany

At the origin of the adventure, four men, including Philippe Abjean who in 1989 wanted to celebrate the 1500th anniversary of the birth of Pol Aurélien, monk of Welsh origin and first bishop of Leon. ” And then, one thing leading to another, the idea came to take an interest in the seven founding saints of Brittany, says the professor of philosophy passionate about Breton culture. Then, from seven saints to a thousand saints, as an evidence, to remember all these characters, who have existed for the most part and who have given their name to the majority of the towns and cities of Brittany (formerly called Armorique, Editor’s note). »Between the 4th and 9th centuries, saints indeed came from Ireland, Scotland, Wales and British Cornwall, but there were also Breton saints present in the region when others, such as Saint Emilion , left Brittany for new horizons.

Thus, in 2008 Philippe Abjean and his three accomplices founded the association of the Valley of Saints with the same desire: the desire to place on the same site a thousand monumental Breton granite statues bearing the effigy of the saints of the region. . Each sculpture is oriented towards the municipality from which it originates. The objective is to create a place which would contribute to the cultural influence of Brittany, ” culture being what remains when worship is gone », Analyzes Philippe Abjean.

To do so, he intends to highlight the spiritual part of the soul of Brittany, this region of France which concentrates the most saints. ” We are in a disoriented time where we have lost our bearings. The saints, apart from any great theological consideration, are people who give everything and who, in fact, give themselves first. The statues are only a pretext, a support for the imagination, to recall the history and the foundation of Brittany in the Middle Ages. It is also a support to preserve a popular culture which was disappearing. These stories of saints are our Breton mythology. It is our heritage to be safeguarded. To preserve this very particular Breton identity. ”

Secular Republic requires, it is through patronage that the granite giants are born. Like the Old plows festival from Carhaix, the idea was to start “from the base”, a Breton project carried out by Bretons. ” Each individual or company makes a donation to finance a statue of saint worth 17 500 euros, carried out in a maximum of thirty days. The average donation is 250 euros », Affirms Sébastien Minguy, current general manager of the Vallée des Saints.

A real challenge for sculptors from all over the world, each with their own unique style, who set out to transcribe the stories desired by patrons (more than 4,500 today, including more than 350 companies). The artists work at the entrance to the site, in the eyes of all, helmets screwed onto their ears, jackhammers in hand on the granite blocks weighing several tons and of different colors depending on their origin. Titanic construction sites for a project which is a real success, the statues multiplying from year to year.

Controversies expected

But what is often nicknamed “Breton Easter Island” does not only have admirers and controversies have been rife since its creation. Some denigrate the artistic side of this pile of statues ” that would make no sense “. ” We didn’t want to be figurative, a statue only has meaning depending on the place where it is, there, they are in the open air », Explains Philippe Abjean. Since the start of the project, the specifications of the sculptors have been as follows: first, to make the monumental, from 5 to 7 meters high. Let us recall that in Celtic Christianity, the saints of the time claimed to fight on an equal footing with god, hence these saints of excess. Then, let there be a face, a “presence”, a capacity of invocation and evocation, and then, to represent somewhere an attribute of the legend of the saint. Thus the dragon for Saint Pol Aurélien, the wolf for Saint Hervé etc. For the rest, the sculptors have carte blanche, hence a certain eclecticism which does not please everyone.

Since the Valley of the Saints is not intended to be unanimous, tastes and colors are personal, it is also the spiritual dimension that creates controversy. Proof of this is an article by Release which calls into question the emphasis on Breton identity. At a time of erasure of borders, of the abolition of cultures, the Valley of the Saints would therefore be a provocation, a ” obstacle to the integration of foreign populations “. However, notes Philippe Abjean, “ the Valley of the Saints is also an opportunity to discover a spiritual continent that is often overlooked, even forgotten, but which somehow founds us all the same, in a collective unconscious that remains despite everything “. ” One of the values ​​that we carry is the freedom that we will find in the freedom of approach to the site, analysis for his part Sébastien Minguy. Everyone will come there for what they want, the walk, the History, the culture, the art, the spirituality or the worship. The process is really personal. We have always taken care to maintain this diversity of approach to the site. It is an inspired project, which speaks to the heart before speaking to the intellect. The relationship to emotions is important. “

And then, the reviews are obviously also economical. Commercialism would have entered the project with the establishment of paid parking to access the place. For Philippe Abjean, the spiritual dimension would have thus atrophied. He therefore decides to withdraw from the project in 2020, without regret, he said. ” The Valley of the Saints has taken a turn that I do not share. Indeed, one of the commitments that had been made at the outset was free access to the place (…) and that could be prophetic in a consumerist ocean. “Sébastien Minguy refutes the mercantile side of the project:” No paid entry, that does not prevent having paid services. When we welcome a certain number of people, we are obliged to put infrastructure in place. However, we do not have any subsidies. “And the director ensures that the site will never be closed with a paid entry. ” It is recorded. We can hardly be taxed like this. This is not the reality. ”

Towards eternal life?

In any case, the Valley of the Saints continues to expand and the 156th statue should soon appear on the Quénéquillec hill. ” A thousand sculptures, you have to see it as a dream to achieve, likes to say Sébastien Minguy. It makes people dream. The real reality will rather be 500 or 600! We may be there if we find little Breton saints, hidden away. In 80, 90 years, maybe a hundred years! “

While waiting for the dream to come true, the Vallée des Saints association is teeming with projects, some of which are international. Among them, a twinning with Easter Island because the Carnoët site has a real historical link with the Polynesian site, a real surprise for the members of the Valley of the Saints. ” The owner of the site was none other than the second of La Perouse, the expedition financed by Louis XVI to map the first islands of the Pacific », Says Sébastien Minguy. ” And then, we also have a project with Lebanon, because there is another valley of the saints there, that of Qadisha, one of the most important sites of establishment of the first Christian monasteries in the world. “

In the wind and under the raindrops, Goulven Jaouen pursues, as if living them, his stories of legends at the top of the Quénéquillec hill. ” It seems to me that I made this sculpture in 2017, but I’m not sure and whatever, since it is eternal. Time is only temporary. Granite will still be there in 5 000 years », He tells in front of Saint They, surrounded by yellow gorse, the patron saint of the point of Van, next to the famous point of Raz. ” This saint has no legend, it is the place that has one, the Raz de Sein, the Baie des Trépassés, monstrous currents, all these words that speak for themselves. My character is a cliff man, because the chapel is at the top of the cliff. The chapel bell was used to guide the boats at the time. The block of granite, as if by chance, takes on the colors of the rusts over there … There is no doubt that the mysteries of these legends of Brittany have not finished captivating the Valley of Saints… A project which, like eternal granite, could remain beyond its creators.