The tour originally was a month-long 600km (370mi) walking tour, but when relaunched in 1994 by Les Chemins du Tro Breizh ("The Paths of the Tro Breizh" in French), it was decided to limit the tour to one week-long stage every year, still following the original path:
A new guidebook in four parts called “Breizh ma Bro” is underway from enthusiasts of the Breton Association “Mon Tro Breizh” (my tour of Brittany) with the goal of covering the entire 1,500 kilometres of the pilgrims’ routes around the whole of Brittany [ www.montrobreizh.bzh ] “O Breizh my Bro” are Breton words taken from an old local hymn and mean “Oh Brittany my country”. The routes lead from one cathedral city to another and are detailed without any religious aspect being imposed on the reader. The first Guidebook is for Quimper to Saint-Pol-de –Léon and then Saint-Pol-de –Léon to Tréguier is available now, followed by the second guide in 2021: Tréguier to Saint Brieuc then to Saint Malo and then to Dol-de Bretagne. The third, for 2022: Dol-de-Bretagne to Rennes then to Vannes and then finally to Quimper again, with by 2024 the fourth for the routes linking Rennes to Nantes and Nantes to Vannes.
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 afterlife, walking the length of the tour from within their coffin every seven years. Until the 16C tradition demanded that every Breton should make a pilgrimage at least once in his or her lifetime to the seven Cathedrals of Brittany. The “Tro Briez”, or Tour of Brittany, as it was known, drew people in their thousands during the 12C to the 16C, with its popularity reaching a peak in the 14C; estimates suggest that crowds numbering up to 30,000 to 40,000 pilgrims were taking to the roads. The tour covered nearly 700km / 435mi, and it enabled the faithful to pay homage to the holy relics of the founding saints of Brittany: St Brieuc and St Malo at the towns of those names, St Samson at Dol de Bretagne, St Patern at Vannes, St Corentine at Quimper, St Paul the Aurelian at St Pol de Léon and St Tugdual at Tréguier. Whoever failed to carry out this duty was supposed to have to undertake the pilgrimage after death, advancing by one coffin-length every seven years... Today, ever increasing numbers make the same journey, in groups or alone, retracing the steps of the earlier pilgrims. See for example http://www.trobreiz.com/ and https://www.saintpoldeleon.fr The first writings mentioning the existence of these tours dates from the 13th century. [citation needed]
In 2002, after successfully completing the seven-year tour, the pilgrimage moved on to Wales, whence many of the bishops came.
Brittany is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period of Roman occupation. It became an independent kingdom and then a duchy before being united with the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province governed as a separate nation under the crown.
Vannes is a commune in the Morbihan department in Brittany in north-western France. It was founded over 2,000 years ago.
The flag of Brittany, a region in the northwest of France, is called the Gwenn-ha-du, which means white and black, in Breton. The flag was designed in 1923 by Morvan Marchal. It is also unofficially used in the department of Loire-Atlantique, although this now belongs to the Pays de la Loire and not to the region of Brittany, as the territory of Loire-Atlantique is historically part of the province of Brittany. Nantes, its prefecture, was once one of the two capital cities of Brittany.
Saint Tudwal, also known as Tual, Tudgual, Tugdual, Tugual, Pabu, Papu, or Tugdualus (Latin), was a Breton monk, considered to be one of the seven founder saints of Brittany.
The Bretons are a Celtic ethnic group native to Brittany, north-western France. They trace their heritage to groups of Brittonic speakers who emigrated from southwestern Great Britain, particularly Cornwall and Devon, mostly during the Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain. They migrated in waves from the 3rd to 9th century into Armorica, which was subsequently named Brittany after them.
The Diocese of Quimper (–Cornouaille) and Léon is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in France. In 1853, the name was changed from the Diocese of Quimper (–Cornouaille) to the Diocese of Quimper (–Cornouaille) and Léon.
Saint-Brieuc Cathedral is a Roman Catholic church located in the town of Saint-Brieuc, Brittany, France, and dedicated to Saint Stephen.
Corentin of Quimper is a Breton saint. He was the first bishop of Quimper. Corentin was a hermit at Plomodiern and was regarded as one of the seven founding saints of Brittany. He is the patron saint of Cornouaille, Brittany, and is also the patron saint of seafood. His feast day is December 12.
Saint-Malo Cathedral is a Roman Catholic Cathedral located in Saint-Malo, Brittany, France. The church was founded in dedication to Saint Vincent of Saragossa and is a national monument of France. It was built in a mix of Roman and Gothic styles during the episcopacy of Jean de Châtillon (1146-1163) on the site of an ancient church founded in the 7th century. The cathedral suffered damage during World War II when the steeple toppled onto the Sacred Heart Chapel. An organ which had been built in 1893 by Louis Debierre was destroyed. On 21 May 1972, after 28 years of work, a ceremony was held to celebrate the completion of the restoration. It is a stop on the Tro Breizh, a Catholic pilgrimage that links the towns of the seven founding saints of Brittany.
The Breton and French Catholic diocese of Dol existed from 848 to the French Revolution. It was suppressed by the Concordat of 1801. Its see was Dol Cathedral. Its scattered territory was shared mainly by the Diocese of Rennes and the Diocese of Saint-Brieuc.
The Diocese of Saint-Brieuc and Tréguier is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church in France. The diocese comprises the department of Côtes d'Armor in the Region of Brittany. The diocese is currently suffragan to the Archdiocese of Rennes, Dol, and Saint-Malo. The current bishop is Denis Moutel, appointed in 2010.
Upper Brittany is the eastern part of Brittany, France, which is predominantly of a Romance culture and is associated with the Gallo language. The name is in counterpoint to Lower Brittany, the western part of the ancient province and present-day region, where the Breton language has traditionally been spoken. However, there is no certainty as to exactly where the line between 'Upper' and 'Lower' Brittany falls.
The language boundary in Brittany is the language border between the part of Brittany where Breton is spoken and the area in Brittany where Gallo is spoken. The existence of this linguistic border led to differentiate the Celtic-speaking Lower Brittany (West) from the Romance-speaking Upper Brittany (East).
The French–Breton War lasted from 1487 to 1491. The cause of this war was the approaching death of the Breton Duke Francis II of Brittany, who had no clear successor. If not resolved, this meant a resumption of issues from a previous War of the Breton Succession (1341–1364), which had rival claimants allying with England or France, resulting in an ambiguous peace treaty that failed to prevent future succession disputes.
Jean de Malestroit was a French pseudo-cardinal who served as Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Nantes from 17 July 1419 until 1443 AD when he resigned.
Église Saint-Patern de Vannes is a Roman Catholic Church in Vannes, France.
Albert Le Grand was a Breton hagiographer and a Dominican brother.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
