Bretons were the inventors of crêpes. The poor soil of the inland regions was fit only for growing buckwheat. When ground into flour, the fruit of this plant lacks gluten and so it doesn’t rise like wheat flour. By binding buckwheat flour with eggs and milk, a batter for making thin pancakes was created. Through the centuries, instead of relying on the staple breads of the rest of France, Brittany’s population survived on buckwheat crêpes, also known as crêpes sarrasin or galettes. Traditionally they are served only with savory fillings. The crêpes made of wheat flour, which most people are familiar with, are traditionally served only with sweet fillings in France.
The term Châteaubriand was applied to a writer before it became applied to a steak. François-René, vicomte de Chateaubriand, was born in St. Malo, France. He first achieved populârity with his book, The Genius of Christianity. It provoked a post-Revolutionary revival in France. He was also known for the exotic novels he wrote about America. At its conception, the culinary dish Châteaubriand was a recipe, not a cut of meat. It was created for the vicomte by his chef. History is silent on the exact details of the recipe, but the version passed on to me is that a top-quality filet was sandwiched between two lesser-quality steaks and then cooked. This method gave the filet more flavor.
Mont St. Michel is hotly disputed territory: both Normandy and Brittany have traditionally laid claim to it. Mont St. Michel has been a monastery, a church, a fortress, and a prison. It still houses a small monastic community, and it holds the distinction of never having been captured. The island of Mont St. Michel is separated from the mainland at high tide by almost a kilometer of sea. There is a forty-foot difference between the tides. Before a causeway between the island and the mainland was built in 1880, the tides rushed in at a speed of up to 10 miles an hour, and when they went out, they left an ever-changing field of quicksand. In earlier centuries, the only time pilgrims could reach the island was at low tide, through the uncharted fields of quicksand. The pilgrims would entrust that treacherous journey to God, knowing that if their prayers had found grace and favor, then they would pass unharmed. And if not, then they had been judged for their sins.
Brittany is home to dozens of megalith sites totaling thousands of stones. Most of these sites are three thousands years older than Stonehenge. Carnac, in southern Brittany, houses one of the largest megalithic sites in the world. It includes not only the remains of a stone circle, but 3,000 standing stones (menhirs) strung out for over one kilometer. Although closed to the public, the visitors’ center interprets the site. The words menhir and dolmen, used to describe features of megaliths, are taken from the Breton language.
Breton is the only Celtic language still spoken in continental Europe. It is part of the family of languages that includes Welsh and Cornish, and possibly the extinct languages of Cumbric and Pictish. During the Roman occupation of Britain and Gaul, Latin loan-words invaded these languages; eight hundred of them still survive in the modern versions of Breton, Welsh, and Cornish. Breton is still spoken by 500,000 people in Brittany; before World War II, this figure was closer to 1.3 million. The first dictionary in France, published in 1464, was a trilingual dictionary including Breton, French, and Latin.
Pierre Abélard, half of Abélard and Héloïse, one of the most famous couples in history, was born in Le Pallet, near Nantes. An itinerant student, he traveled from school to school and from teacher to teacher before arriving at the school of Notre Dame de Paris. He remained there until he defeated his instructor in a debate, causing him to found his own school. Soon he was offered the chair at his old alma mater: Notre Dame de Paris. It was there that he fell in love with Héloïse, the niece of the canon. She was known for both her intelligence and beauty. Abélard talked himself into being appointed her tutor, and they commenced what would become a legendary love affair. Héloïse’s uncle separated the couple when he found out about their affair, but Abélard continued to see her in private. When she became pregnant, he took her to Brittany to have the child. The couple was married in secret so that Abélard could continue advancing in the church. But like most secrets, this one was not kept, and when the news was made public, Héloïse had no choice but to deny it. And then retire to a convent. Convinced that Abélard was trying to dump his bride, the uncle had him castrated. The couple now shares a tomb in Père Lachaise cemetery in Paris.