Tro Breizh (
BretonThe Breton language is a Celtic language spoken in Brittany , France.-History: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,...
for "Tour of Brittany") is a
CatholicThe Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church. With more than a billion members, over half of all Christians and more than one-sixth of the world's population, the Catholic Church is a communion of the Western, or Latin Rite Church, and...
pilgrimageIn religion and spirituality, a pilgrimage is a long journey or search of great moral significance. Sometimes, it is a journey to a shrine of importance to a person's beliefs and faith. Members of many major religions participate in pilgrimages...
that links the towns of the seven founding saints of
BrittanyBrittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Brittany was previously a kingdom and then as a duchy it was a fief of the Kingdom of France. It was at one time called Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
. These seven
saintSaints, individuals of exceptional holiness, are significant in many religions, particularly Christianity.-General characteristics :Though the term is mostly used for Christians considered holy or virtuous, many religions use similar concepts to elevate people worthy of respect, e.g. see Hindu...
s were
CeltCelts is a modern term used to describe any of the European peoples who spoke, or speak, a Celtic language...
ic
monkA monk is a person who practices religious asceticism, living either alone or with any number of monks, whilst always maintaining some degree of physical separation from those not sharing the same purpose...
s from
BritainSub-Roman Britain is a term derived from archaeologists' label for the material culture of Britain in Late Antiquity. "Sub-Roman" was invented to describe the potsherds in sites of the 5th century and the 6th century, initially with an implication of decay of locally-made wares from a higher...
from around the 5th or 6th century who brought
ChristianityChristianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented by the revelations in the New Testament....
to
ArmoricaArmorica or Aremorica is the name given in ancient times to the part of Gaul that includes the Brittany peninsula and the territory between the Seine and Loire rivers, extending inland to an indeterminate point and down the Atlantic coast...
and founded its first
bishopricsIn some forms of Christianity, a diocese is an administrative territorial unit administered by a bishop. It is also referred to as a bishopric or Episcopal Area or episcopal see, though strictly the term episcopal see refers to the domain of ecclesiastical authority officially held by the bishop,...
.
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Tro Breizh (
BretonThe Breton language is a Celtic language spoken in Brittany , France.-History: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,...
for "Tour of Brittany") is a
CatholicThe Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church. With more than a billion members, over half of all Christians and more than one-sixth of the world's population, the Catholic Church is a communion of the Western, or Latin Rite Church, and...
pilgrimageIn religion and spirituality, a pilgrimage is a long journey or search of great moral significance. Sometimes, it is a journey to a shrine of importance to a person's beliefs and faith. Members of many major religions participate in pilgrimages...
that links the towns of the seven founding saints of
BrittanyBrittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Brittany was previously a kingdom and then as a duchy it was a fief of the Kingdom of France. It was at one time called Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
. These seven
saintSaints, individuals of exceptional holiness, are significant in many religions, particularly Christianity.-General characteristics :Though the term is mostly used for Christians considered holy or virtuous, many religions use similar concepts to elevate people worthy of respect, e.g. see Hindu...
s were
CeltCelts is a modern term used to describe any of the European peoples who spoke, or speak, a Celtic language...
ic
monkA monk is a person who practices religious asceticism, living either alone or with any number of monks, whilst always maintaining some degree of physical separation from those not sharing the same purpose...
s from
BritainSub-Roman Britain is a term derived from archaeologists' label for the material culture of Britain in Late Antiquity. "Sub-Roman" was invented to describe the potsherds in sites of the 5th century and the 6th century, initially with an implication of decay of locally-made wares from a higher...
from around the 5th or 6th century who brought
ChristianityChristianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented by the revelations in the New Testament....
to
ArmoricaArmorica or Aremorica is the name given in ancient times to the part of Gaul that includes the Brittany peninsula and the territory between the Seine and Loire rivers, extending inland to an indeterminate point and down the Atlantic coast...
and founded its first
bishopricsIn some forms of Christianity, a diocese is an administrative territorial unit administered by a bishop. It is also referred to as a bishopric or Episcopal Area or episcopal see, though strictly the term episcopal see refers to the domain of ecclesiastical authority officially held by the bishop,...
.
The tour originally was a month-long 600 km (370 mile) walking tour, but when relaunched in 1994 by Les Chemins du Tro Breizh ("The Paths of the Tro Breizh" in
FrenchFrench is a Romance language globally spoken by about 65 million people as a first language , by 50 million as a second language, and by about another 200 million people as an acquired foreign language, with significant speakers in 57 countries. Most native speakers of the language live in France,...
), it was decided to limit the tour to one week-long stage every year, still following the original path:
Path
- Quimper, Saint Corentin's town
- Saint-Pol-de-Léon
Saint-Pol-de-Léon is a commune in the Finistère department in Bretagne in north-western France.It is famous for its 13th century cathedral on the site of the original founded by Saint Paul Aurelian in the 6th century...
, Saint Pol's town
- Tréguier
Tréguier is a port town in the Côtes-d'Armor department in Bretagne in north-western 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 5 1/2 m...
, Saint TudwalSaint Tudwal was a Breton monk. He is considered one of the seven founder saints of Brittany.Tudwal was said to be a son of Hoel Mawr . Tudwal travelled to Ireland to learn the scriptures, then became a hermit on what is now called Saint Tudwal's Island East off North Wales...
's town
- Saint Brieuc, named after its founder
- Saint Malo, similarly named
- Dol
Dol-de-Bretagne is a commune in the Ille-et-Vilaine département in Bretagne in north-western France.Dol-de-Bretagne is reputed to be the origin of the royal House of Stuart who became the monarchs of Scotland and later the United Kingdom and there is a plaque in Dol commemorating that...
, Samson of DolSaint Samson of Dol was a Christian religious figure who is counted among the seven founder saints of Brittany. Born in southern Wales, he died in Dol-de-Bretagne, a small town in north Brittany.-Life:...
's town
- Vannes
Vannes is a commune in the Morbihan department in Bretagne in north-western France. It was founded over 2000 years ago.-Geography:Vannes is located on the Gulf of Morbihan at the mouth of the Vannes River. It is around 100 km northwest of Nantes and 300 km west of Paris...
, Saint Patern's town
An old Breton legend says that those who do not complete the Tro Breizh in their lifetime will be sentenced to complete it in their
afterlifeThe afterlife is the idea that the consciousness or mind of a being continues after physical death occurs. In many popular views, this continued existence often takes place in a spiritual or immaterial realm. Major views on the afterlife derive from religion, esotericism and metaphysics...
, walking the length of the tour from within their
coffinA coffin is a funerary box used in the display and containment of deceased remains – either for burial or cremation.-Practices:Any box used to bury the dead in is a coffin...
every seven years.
The first writings mentioning the existence of these tours dates from the 13th century
In 2002, after successfully completing the seven-year tour, the pilgrimage moved on to
WalesWales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom, bordered by England to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It is also an elective region of the European Union...
, whence many of the bishops came.
See also
- Blessed Julian Maunoir
Blessed Julien Maunoir, SJ, , known as the "Apostle of Brittany" was born in France in 1606. A classmate of Saints Isaac Jogues and Gabriel Lalemant he aspired to become a Jesuit missionary to the peoples of Canada....
, "Apostle of Brittany"