Gargantua

As you may know, behind Aeternum is a small business based in Brittany (in southern Finistère, to be precise). It is well known that this region lives to the rhythm of legends, myths, and magical practices, more or less well known (Brocéliande, Merlin, the Lady Viviane, the Standing Stones, and many others). Thus, to highlight our beautiful region, we will regularly publish little-known legends from Breton history.

This week, I invite you to discover the legend of Gargantua. This name resonates in several regions of France and around the world, known for an appetite as great as his size. But the Breton legend paints a slightly different portrait. So I would like to tell you the story.

Gargantua's epic begins at the request of King Arthur, who calls upon Merlin to help him overcome his adversaries. The latter uses his skills as a necromancer (the practice of magic and divination involving the dead), using the bones of two whales to bring Grantgosier and Gallemelle to life. These two colossi then give birth to Gargantua.

It is said that, when he came into the world, the cosmos seemed to suspend its course: the sun stood still for three hours, the moon for six hours, the winds remained silent for three days, and even the trees remained motionless for three months.

He was baptized Gargantua in the presence of the fairy Morgana and the fairy Philocrate, who were appointed as his godmothers.

Of course, the legend emphasizes his gigantic stature, prodigious strength, and insatiable appetite. At only three years old, he had already reached a height of 180 meters, already surpassing the second floor of the Eiffel Tower.

To reach England at Merlin's request, Gargantua, Grantgosier and Gallemelle undertook a journey across Europe, eventually coming face-to-face with an obstacle that was not especially insurmountable for giants several hundred meters tall: the English Channel.

Each of them placed a stone to cross it, thus giving rise to Mont-Saint-Michel and the islet of Tombelaine.

However, a tragic fate awaited the two parents, as they succumbed to a fever they could not fight. Yes, microscopic microbes would defeat Gargantua's parents, while he continued on his way, his purpose in life determined by Merlin's command.

Gargantua's adventures took him to London, where he saved King Arthur from an enemy invasion. He returned to France many times, with Merlin using him as a formidable weapon, but sometimes for his own convenience, such as asking him to bring back salt from Guérande, leaving none in stock for the villagers and creating a growing sense of anger.

Thus, during one of his journeys between England and the continent, he stopped at Saint-Malo one fine day.

To live up to his reputation, he devoured no fewer than... 790 oxen, which gave him indigestion and made him "vomit" the islands of Petit Bé and Grand Bé. In the same way, never satisfied, he is said to have created Agot Island near Saint-Briac. Thus was born the legend of Gargantua's insatiable appetite. But the story does not end there.

Gargantua is also credited with creating the Anse de Vigneux, where a tooth was even said to have been found in the form of the Chablé Menhir, 5 meters high, a grim reminder.

Indeed, legend tells that the giant, who had mysteriously become a father, tried to devour his own son! But witnesses are said to have intervened to save the child by quickly placing a boulder in his place, causing Gargantua to lose a tooth when he swallowed it: the famous menhir. Mad with rage, he is said to have accidentally killed his son with a single punch.

Overwhelmed by this tragedy, the witnesses are said to have tormented Gargantua until his death, one year later.

And so the legend of Gargantua comes to an end, a darker story than some versions described elsewhere. Remember the lesson well: don't anger a giant!

Additional source: Les Secrets de Saint-Malo