Anatole le Braz, the "Bard of Brittany" (1859–1926) was a Breton folklore collector and translator. He was highly regarded amongst both European and American scholars, and known for his warmth and charm.
Le Braz was born in
Saint-ServaisSaint-Servais is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department in Bretagne in northwestern France.-Population:-External links:*...
(
Côtes-d'ArmorCôtes-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...
,
BrittanyBrittany 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...
) and raised amongst woodcutters and charcoal burners, speaking the
Breton languageBreton 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...
; his parents did not speak French. He spent his holidays in
TrégorTrégor is one of the nine provinces of Brittany, in its northwestern area. It comprises the western part of the department of Côtes-d'Armor and a small part of the northeast of Finistère, as far as the river Morlaix...
, which inspired his later work. He began school aged 10 at
Saint-BrieucSaint-Brieuc is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department in Brittany in northwestern France.-History:Saint-Brieuc is named after a Welsh monk Brioc, who evangelized the region in the 6th century and established an oratory there...
and progressed swiftly to a degree at the
SorbonneThe Sorbonne is an edifice of the Latin Quarter, in Paris, France, which has been the historical house of the former University of Paris...
, where he studied for seven years.
He then returned to Brittany, where for 14 years he taught at the Lycée at Quimper and gradually translated old Breton songs into modern French, continuing the folklore work of
François-Marie LuzelFrançois-Marie Luzel , often known by his Breton name Fañch an Uhel, was a French folklorist and Breton-language poet.- Early years :...
. He often entertained local peasants and fishermen in the old manor house where he lived, recording their songs and tales. His book,
Chansons de la Bretagne ("Songs of Brittany") was awarded a prize by the
Académie françaiseL'Académie française , also called the French Academy, is the pre-eminent French learned body on matters pertaining to the French language. The Académie was officially established in 1635 by Cardinal Richelieu, the chief minister to King Louis XIII. Suppressed in 1793 during the French Revolution,...
.
In 1898, he became president of the
Union régionaliste bretonne formed in
MorlaixMorlaix is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in northwestern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department.-Leisure and tourism:...
following the Breton festivals. In 1899 he joined the
Association des bleus de Bretagne. He was made lecturer and then professor in the Faculty of Arts at
RennesRennes 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:...
University between 1901 and 1924.
Le Braz was sent on foreign cultural missions by the Government of France twenty times. He made several visits to the US, Canada and Switzerland, notably lecturing at
Harvard UniversityHarvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
in 1906, and at
Columbia UniversityColumbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
in 1915. During his 1915 visit he married Henrietta S. Porter of Annapolis, who died in 1919. In 1921 he married Mabel Davison of Manhattan, sister of the famed banker
Henry P. DavisonHenry Pomeroy Davison, Sr. was an American banker and philanthropist.-Biography:He was born on June 12, 1867 in Troy, Pennsylvania, the oldest of the four children of Henrietta and George B. Davison. Henry's mother died when he was just eight years old in 1875...
.
Le Braz died at
MentonMenton is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France.Situated on the French Riviera, along the Franco-Italian border, it is nicknamed la perle de la France ....
on the
French RivieraThe Côte d'Azur, pronounced , often known in English as the French Riviera , is the Mediterranean coastline of the southeast corner of France, also including the sovereign state of Monaco...
. Mourners included the Premiere,
Aristide BriandAristide Briand was a French statesman who served eleven terms as Prime Minister of France during the French Third Republic and received the 1926 Nobel Peace Prize.- Early life :...
.
A number of memorials to Le Braz exist in Brittany. A large statue of him with a peasant storyteller was created in
Saint-BrieucSaint-Brieuc is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department in Brittany in northwestern France.-History:Saint-Brieuc is named after a Welsh monk Brioc, who evangelized the region in the 6th century and established an oratory there...
, and a memorial stele in
TréguierTréguier is a port town in the Côtes-d'Armor department in Brittany in northwestern France. It is the capital of the province of Trégor.-Geography:Tréguier is located 36 m. N.W. of Saint-Brieuc by road. The port is situated about 5½ m...
, both designed by
Armel BeaufilsÉmile Jean Armel Beaufils was a French sculptor who created numerous commemorative works in his native Brittany. Beaufils was born in Rennes and died in Saint-Briac-sur-Mer. He always signed his work "Armel Beaufils". He also collaborated with his partner Suzanne Duvivier, who used the name Zannic...
.
Publications
- La Chanson de la Bretagne ("The Songs of Brittany"), poetry, 1892
- Tryphina Keranglaz, poem, 1892
- La Légende de la mort en Basse-Bretagne, 1893.
- Les Saints bretons d'après la tradition populaire en Cornouaille ("Breton Saints according to popular tradition in Cornouaille
Cornouaille is a historic region in Brittany, in northwest France. The name is identical to the French name for the Duchy of Cornwall, since the area was settled by migrant princes from Cornwall...
"), 1893-1894.
- pays des pardons, 1894.
- Pâques d'Islande, 1897.
- Vieilles histoires du pays breton, 1897
- Le Gardien du feu, novel, 1900.
- Le Sang de la sirène ("The Blood of the Siren"), 1901.
- La Légende de la mort chez les Bretons armoricains, revised and expanded as La légende de la mort en Basse-Bretagne, 1902.
- Cognomerus et sainte Trefine. Mystère breton en deux journées, text and translation, 1904
- Contes du soleil et de la brume, 1905.
- Ames d'Occident, 1911.
- votifs, 1926.
- Introduction, Bretagne. Les guides bleus, Hachette, Paris, 1949
- La Bretagne. Choix de texte précédés d'une étude, Ed. La recouvrance, Rennes, 1995 (re-edition), 255 pages.
External links
Anatole Le Braz, his work in audio version 