Well not many know this , it still a small space in an old town of the Morbihan breton. If you are into wines ,and go beyond the simple tasting and drinking of it and into the history of the men and women who creates them, then you too will come to Vannes. This is my hommage to the story of Saint Emilion, that wonderful wine town of Bordeaux who started it all by a Breton monk from Vannes!!!
Saint Émilion was intendant of the Counts of Vannes, monk and hermit Breton. He is celebrated on 16 November and is the patron Saint of wine merchants and traders. Born in Vannes, the capital of the Broërec in Brittany, he was intendant of a count of Vannes whose name is unknown. According to a legend, he gives bread to the poor of the area of present day Vannes in hiding from his master. The count wanting to take him on the fact, stops him while he transports under his mantle the bread. He asks him to open his coat, but Émilion makes a miracle by transforming the breads into pieces of wood.
He became a monk in Saujon, near Royan. Forced to flee due to the influx of pilgrims as a result of his miracles, he settled in a solitary retreat in Combes, near what became Saint-Émilion, and died in 767. Nearby, a great Latin-speaking poet, Ausone,(in a great wine name now) had erected his villa in the 4C. Saint Emilion settled in a cliff where he dug a troglodyte Hermitage.
A metro station in Paris has its name ,cours Saint Émilion on line 14. Saint Émilion is the patron Saint of the parish of Loguivy-Plougras , Côtes-d’Armor, dept 22 of Brittany. A hamlet in the commune of Motreff, in the dept 29 of Finistère, Brittany is called Saint-Émilion.
And in his native city of Vannes it has, at 24 ,rue des Viérges, a statue of the famous hermit. Built and blessed in 1986. In 2009, a second granite statuette housed in a small monument was placed on 8, Avenue Saint-Emilion . This discreet reminder of a local Vannetais, which symbolizes first of all life, will offer the passing folks the opportunity of a small pause in a pleasant site. Indeed it is nice.
A bit on his life, Saint Emilion
Emilion made the decision to go to Spain to visit Santiago de Compostela, and to withdraw himself unknown in this region to serve the Lord God alone. On his way, Emilion stopped in a monastery of Saintonge, region of Saintes. The Abbot of this Benedictine monastery, Martin, engaged Emilion to become a monk. Saint Emilion was named cellarer, i.e. steward of the monastery. The place of this Hermitage has now become the city of Saint Emilion. It was then only a forest just a short distance from the Dordogne. This beautiful Dordogne river comes from the Massif Central, to the north east, and will extend to the west, 80 km farther, with the Garonne river this great estuary that is then the Gironde. Blessed waters of the best wines in the world!
On the edge of the forest there was a rocky escarpment and caves. Saint Emilion fixed his Hermitage, with an oratory, in one of these caves. But Holiness attracts, and once again Saint Emilion is being sought. Folks came to see him, ask questions, hear him, and sometimes convert. Among the converts, Saint Emilion then decided to propose to some to live with him in community to teach them, to train them and to support them in their good dispositions. The monastery of Saint Emilion was born.
This monastery of Saint Emilion known many hours and misfortunes over the centuries. The Sarrazins/moors damaged it; then it was taken over by monks from the Benedictine Abbey of Nanteuil near Poitiers. Then lay people seized it; they were brought to its doorsteps by Gosselin, Archbishop of Bordeaux, who set up regular Canons, followed by the religious Esterp. Finally this abbey was secularized by a bubble of Pope Clement V in 1309, and until the French revolution it remained collegial. With the end of the revolution it was in ruins. The Monolith Church and its bell tower remain. The Church was dug into limestone rock, a massive so-called karstic stones. The steeple built above, with its 133 meters high is the highest of the steeples of the Bordelais region after that of the Church of Saint Michel of Bordeaux.
The wines of Saint Emilion are excellent, rightly famous. There are: Saint Emilion, Montagne Saint Emilion, Puissegain-Saint Emilion, Lussac-Saint Emilion, Pomerol, and Lalande de Pomerol. All from a hermit’s story from Vannes !
He has best on him from the tourist office of Saint Emilion. Tourist office of Saint Emilion on history
Ok so en vino veritas and enjoy the wines of Saint Emilion. However, if you want to see him do come by his native city of Vannes. He is a popular statue here for many visitors.
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all!!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 