I went back up to the north of me at the Côtes d’Armor dept 22 of my lovely Bretagne, We went to Tréguier! Always by the coast and again a new town visited, amazing of the many wonderful spots that we still need to visit, easy does it, I will be telling you about this town ,see previous posts in my road warrior mode ! Therefore, let me tell you about the Cathedral Saint Tugdual of Tréguier, interiors !!!, and hope you enjoy the post as I.
The magnificent Cathédrale Saint-Tugdual Cathedral,located at Place du Martray, It dates from the 14C and 15C (actually built between 1339 and 1435). The stained glass windows of the choir illustrate biblical themes from the Old Testament or the Gospel. A large glass roof in the right arm of the transept illustrates numerous Breton saints including the seven founding saints. Near the south porch, a 15C statuary group can be read as “Saint Yves between the rich and the poor”. The cathedral also contains: 15C enfeus of knights in armor; a reliquary of the head of Saint Yves in a gilt bronze shrine dating from the 19C; a recumbent figure of John V, Duke of Brittany, dating from 1945: the tomb of Saint Yves, dating from 1890, in neo-Gothic style: Renaissance stalls in the choir with their sculpted merricords. The cathedral was erected as a minor basilica in 1947. Its pavilion was restored in 2003, on the occasion of the commemorative ceremonies of the 700th anniversary of the death of Saint Yves. The treasure shows beautiful furniture (chapery and Renaissance furniture, chalices, ciboria, chasubles, stoles, copes), The cloister, attached to the bishopric, is accessible from the transept of the cathedral. It forms an irregular quadrilateral and is made up of around forty Gothic style arcades, made of granite , In the middle of the grassy interior courtyard is a calvary from the chapel of Keralio, in Plougrescant. The circulation gallery presents numerous recumbent figures from the 15C to the 17C.
The Porche du Peuple or people’s porch to the right of the fifth bay of the south aisle, a porch was added allowing entry into the nave of the church. It facilitates access to the tomb of Saint Yves, located in the north aisle. It is built on a trapezoidal plan, which allows a good-sized porch to be opened from a rather narrow bay. A clerestory gallery crowns it, preceding a recessed gable, based on the model of the porch of the facade. An apostolic college on two levels, distributed in a staggered pattern, is today made visible by statues of apostles made in the 19C.
The tomb of Saint Yves and that of Duke Jean V ,we do not know what the first tomb of Saint Yves at Tréguier Cathedral could have been. It was replaced in the 15C, at the expense of Duke John V, by a monumental tomb which found its place in the ducal chapel. it featured a recumbent figure of the saint surmounted by a dome supported by elegant columns. The walls of the tomb were carved with battle scenes depicting the victories of Duke John IV of Montfort over Charles of Blois. The whole was enhanced with gilded silver ornaments. This tomb was part of an important political enterprise for the Dukes of Brittany of the House of Montfort: it consisted of using popular devotions for local saints to consolidate their legitimacy, even though it was the rival family of the Penthièvre (Charles de Blois) who had historically supported the canonization of the official of Tréguier ,This tomb, destroyed in May 1794 by the battalion of Étampes, was rebuilt between 1886 and 1890 in the form of the neo-Gothic cenotaph which currently exists. The chapel, following its funerary vocation, also houses the tomb of Duke John V, who was buried there in 1451.
The Chapelle de Jean V or Chapel of John V is located at the corner of the nave and the north arm of the transept, the funeral chapel founded by Duke John V is made up of three bays covered with quadripartite vaults. The chapel seems to have replaced a pre-existing construction, because arcades existed before the current construction and the cutters which received them had to be partially burned to allow the launching of the vaults. I will include here the Chapels of the Cross, and St John Paul II; Notre Dame de Bon Secours; Notre Dame and child; St André and Ste Thérèse de Lisieux; St Francis of Assisi; and Virgin and Child.
The high altar in the choir of the cathedral with a carved wooden countertable from the first half of the 16C. the style was close to German workshops and showed some points in common with that of the stalls. Seven of these high reliefs were reused to create the new altar in 1966; they were stolen in 1969 and have not been recovered. They represented the episodes of the Passion of Christ: the Condemnation of Jesus, the Crowning with Thorns, the Carrying of the Cross, the Crucifixion, the Descent from the Cross, the Entombment, and the Resurrection.
The staircase of Hastings Tower gives access to the cathedral’s treasure room, which houses a large sculpted hat dating from the 16C. Priestly ornaments are preserved there, some of which are old: a purple damask cope from the 20C using orphreys embroidered in the 16C; an ivory satin cope embroidered with ermines in gold thread, dated to the 18C; a damask cope, embroidered with gold and silver, made in the 18th century; finally a set including chasuble, stole, maniple and chalice veil, embroidered with silver thread on a green and pale blue background, also from the 18C. Added to this are various liturgical goldwork objects, as well as a page from the breviary of Saint Yves and relics of Saint Yves and Saint Tugdual, including the skull of Saint Yves enclosed in a silver-gilt reliquary. The treasure also contains a series of portraits of the last fourteen bishops of Tréguier until the French revolution,
The Saint Tugdual Cathedral already had an organ in the 15C. This instrument was destroyed during the French revolution ,during the sacking of the cathedral by the Étampes battalion. Devoid of an organ at the beginning of the 19C, in 1835 the cathedral purchased the old organ from the abbey of Bégard. The instrument was repaired and moved to the back of the nave, its current location, in 1835-1837. The bell tower houses a ringing of 5 bells. Tugdual (bumblebee) 2100 kilos, Yves 1,720 kilos Sacré-Cœur 1,110 kilos, Notre-Dame 920 kilos, and Balthazar 640 kilos.
The Côtes d’Armor dept 22 tourist office on the Saint Tugdual Cathedral : https://www.cotesdarmor.com/fr/fiche/patrimoine-culturel/cathedrale-saint-tugdual-treguier_TFOPCUBRE0220HA6396/
The town of Tréguier and its heritage : https://ville-treguier.fr/decouvrir-treguier/visiter-la-ville.html
The local pink granite coast tourist office on Tréguier : https://www.brittany-pinkgranitcoast.co.uk/cities-of-the-pink-granite-coast/treguier/
There you go folks, again another lovely town and beautiful monuments of Tréguier. This was worth the trip and nice, another spot in my world map, Again, hope you enjoy this post on the Cathedral Saint Tugdual of Tréguier, interiors as I.
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 