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Saint-Brieuc Cathedral
Saint-Brieuc Cathedral (French: Basilique-Cathédrale Saint-Étienne de Saint-Brieuc) is a Roman Catholic church located in the town of Saint-Brieuc, Brittany, France, and dedicated to Saint Stephen.
The cathedral is the seat of the Bishop of Saint-Brieuc and Tréguier. It was declared a minor basilica on 3 September 1875. It is a listed monument historique since 1906.
The Cathėdrale St-Étienne on the Place du Gėnėral de Gaulle in Saint-Brieuc has the look of a fortress, and did, in fact, fulfil the role of a church-fortress ("cathédrale-forteresse") on many occasions when the town was laid siege to in earlier times. The central porch is flanked by two sturdy towers: the 14th-century Tour Brieuc. which is 92 feet high and the 15th-century Tour Marie, which is 108 feet in height. These towers have loop-holes and machicolations which would have allowed the use of a variety of defensive weapons and are supported by stout buttresses. The two arms of the transept jut far out and are protected by towers with pepper-pot roofs. Although stripped of many of its treasures by the zealots of the French Revolution, it still holds many splendid artefacts and works of art. The Chapelle de l'Annonciation has, for example, a superb baroque altarpiece and the organ was built by Cavaillé-Coll, famous for having built the organ in the Church of Saint-Sulpice in Paris. The south arm of the transept is lit by 15th-century stained-glass windows and the tomb of Saint-Guillaume is amongst the many tombs and enfeu scattered throughout the building. The cathedral has an 18th-century pulpit and some interesting Stations of the Cross carved in 1958 by Georges Saupique
Brieuc was born in the 5th or 6th-century in Wales and at an early age was entrusted to the care of Saint Germain. He stayed in Germain's monastery until he reached the age of twenty-four when he was made a priest. He decided to travel to the Armorican peninsula and set off with a group of monks, his mission to convert the local people to Christianity. He founded a monastery at what is now Tréguier but when called back to Wales because of a terrible plague there, he left his nephew Tugdual in charge. When he returned he found Tugdual totally in control and set off along the Léguer estuary, landed where Saint-Brieuc stands today and founded a monastery after firstly setting up a modest oratory. Later he had the first cathedral built and took the role of bishop for himself.
The first church or oratory on this site was built in wood in the 6th century, and a replacement building was erected in around 970. Nothing remains today of these two constructions. The 10th century saw many attacks on Saint-Brieuc by the Normans, so much so that the relics of Saint-Brieuc which had been kept here were moved to the Saint-Serge Abbey in Angers for protection.
The building we see today was commenced in around 1180 during the episcopacy of Bishop Geffroy de Hénon and building was well advanced when in 1212 Bishop Pierre was buried at the base of the Tour Brieuc. Pierre had brought the Saint-Brieuc relics back to the town from Angers in October 1210.
Work on the building's west façade continued under the bishopric of Monseigneur Guillaume Pinchon from his arrival in 1220 to his exile to Poitiers in 1228 following Pinchon's conflict with Pierre Mauclerc. When he returned in 1231, he had a chapel built on the south side of the building, this dedicated to Saint Mathurin. His wish was to be buried in the chapel and this happened in 1234. The construction work was finished by Pinchon's successor Philippe before his departure to the Holy Land in 1248. It was Bishop Philippe who moved to have Pinchon canonised on 12 April 1247.
Over one hundred years later the cathedral suffered much damage at the hands of the English during the destructive War of the Breton Succession and then by a fire at the end of 1353. After the fire, Bishop Guy de Montfort made the reconstruction a priority and started work on the choir which was completed between 1354 and 1357. Under de Montfort's successor, Hugues de Montrelais, whose bishopric ran from 1357 to 1375, the new cathedral was finished, but in 1394 the town was under siege again, this time by Olivier de Clisson and again was badly damaged. Now Bishop Guillaume Angier took charge of the reconstruction necessary and apart from the reconstruction of the choir, he finalised the long-awaited construction of the Tour Marie. Then Bishop Jean de Malestroit reconstructed the gable of the north wing of the transept and had a magnificent window installed there, sadly destroyed by the storm of 1735. By the beginning of the 15th century, the cathedral was finished and between 1460 and 1472, Bishop John Prigent began the construction of the chapel of the Annunciation. Finally, the nineteenth and twentieth centuries saw much restoration and important works including the repair of the vaulting and work on the window framing. As we have seen in this brief summary, the cathedral had to be rebuilt on many occasions this as a consequence of military attacks or natural disasters.
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Saint-Brieuc Cathedral
Saint-Brieuc Cathedral (French: Basilique-Cathédrale Saint-Étienne de Saint-Brieuc) is a Roman Catholic church located in the town of Saint-Brieuc, Brittany, France, and dedicated to Saint Stephen.
The cathedral is the seat of the Bishop of Saint-Brieuc and Tréguier. It was declared a minor basilica on 3 September 1875. It is a listed monument historique since 1906.
The Cathėdrale St-Étienne on the Place du Gėnėral de Gaulle in Saint-Brieuc has the look of a fortress, and did, in fact, fulfil the role of a church-fortress ("cathédrale-forteresse") on many occasions when the town was laid siege to in earlier times. The central porch is flanked by two sturdy towers: the 14th-century Tour Brieuc. which is 92 feet high and the 15th-century Tour Marie, which is 108 feet in height. These towers have loop-holes and machicolations which would have allowed the use of a variety of defensive weapons and are supported by stout buttresses. The two arms of the transept jut far out and are protected by towers with pepper-pot roofs. Although stripped of many of its treasures by the zealots of the French Revolution, it still holds many splendid artefacts and works of art. The Chapelle de l'Annonciation has, for example, a superb baroque altarpiece and the organ was built by Cavaillé-Coll, famous for having built the organ in the Church of Saint-Sulpice in Paris. The south arm of the transept is lit by 15th-century stained-glass windows and the tomb of Saint-Guillaume is amongst the many tombs and enfeu scattered throughout the building. The cathedral has an 18th-century pulpit and some interesting Stations of the Cross carved in 1958 by Georges Saupique
Brieuc was born in the 5th or 6th-century in Wales and at an early age was entrusted to the care of Saint Germain. He stayed in Germain's monastery until he reached the age of twenty-four when he was made a priest. He decided to travel to the Armorican peninsula and set off with a group of monks, his mission to convert the local people to Christianity. He founded a monastery at what is now Tréguier but when called back to Wales because of a terrible plague there, he left his nephew Tugdual in charge. When he returned he found Tugdual totally in control and set off along the Léguer estuary, landed where Saint-Brieuc stands today and founded a monastery after firstly setting up a modest oratory. Later he had the first cathedral built and took the role of bishop for himself.
The first church or oratory on this site was built in wood in the 6th century, and a replacement building was erected in around 970. Nothing remains today of these two constructions. The 10th century saw many attacks on Saint-Brieuc by the Normans, so much so that the relics of Saint-Brieuc which had been kept here were moved to the Saint-Serge Abbey in Angers for protection.
The building we see today was commenced in around 1180 during the episcopacy of Bishop Geffroy de Hénon and building was well advanced when in 1212 Bishop Pierre was buried at the base of the Tour Brieuc. Pierre had brought the Saint-Brieuc relics back to the town from Angers in October 1210.
Work on the building's west façade continued under the bishopric of Monseigneur Guillaume Pinchon from his arrival in 1220 to his exile to Poitiers in 1228 following Pinchon's conflict with Pierre Mauclerc. When he returned in 1231, he had a chapel built on the south side of the building, this dedicated to Saint Mathurin. His wish was to be buried in the chapel and this happened in 1234. The construction work was finished by Pinchon's successor Philippe before his departure to the Holy Land in 1248. It was Bishop Philippe who moved to have Pinchon canonised on 12 April 1247.
Over one hundred years later the cathedral suffered much damage at the hands of the English during the destructive War of the Breton Succession and then by a fire at the end of 1353. After the fire, Bishop Guy de Montfort made the reconstruction a priority and started work on the choir which was completed between 1354 and 1357. Under de Montfort's successor, Hugues de Montrelais, whose bishopric ran from 1357 to 1375, the new cathedral was finished, but in 1394 the town was under siege again, this time by Olivier de Clisson and again was badly damaged. Now Bishop Guillaume Angier took charge of the reconstruction necessary and apart from the reconstruction of the choir, he finalised the long-awaited construction of the Tour Marie. Then Bishop Jean de Malestroit reconstructed the gable of the north wing of the transept and had a magnificent window installed there, sadly destroyed by the storm of 1735. By the beginning of the 15th century, the cathedral was finished and between 1460 and 1472, Bishop John Prigent began the construction of the chapel of the Annunciation. Finally, the nineteenth and twentieth centuries saw much restoration and important works including the repair of the vaulting and work on the window framing. As we have seen in this brief summary, the cathedral had to be rebuilt on many occasions this as a consequence of military attacks or natural disasters.