Brittany folklore


Brittany is a land of legends and superstition. Many folk customs and legends center on death, symbolized by a character named Ankou. He figures in numerous tales, depicted as a skeleton carrying a scythe and often riding on a wooden cart. Bretons believe that the creaking of the cart Ankou rides in predicts the death of a person in the neighborhood.
According to legend, the town of Quimper was founded by King Gradlon. His former capital, the city of Is, is said to have been destroyed when his daughter, bewitched by the Devil, let in the floodwaters of the sea. Escaping with her on horseback, the king received an order from Heaven to throw her into the sea. There she turned into the mermaid Marie-Morgane. It is said that if Mass is ever celebrated in one of Is's churches on Good Friday, the drowned city will be restored and the mermaid will become human again.


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