As you may know, behind Aeternum is a small business based in Brittany (in southern Finistère, to be precise). And it is well known that this region lives to the rhythm of legends, myths, and magical practices that are more or less well known (Brocéliande, Merlin, the Fairy Viviane, the Alignments, and many others). Thus, to shed light on our beautiful region, we will regularly publish little-known legends from Breton history. This week, we explore one of the most beautiful corners of Brittany: the Gulf of Morbihan.
Long ago, in the Gulf of Morbihan, Île-aux-Moines and Île d’Arz formed one single territory, connected by a strip of land. Île-aux-Moines was then called Izenah. At that time, the people of Arz lived by fishing, simple folk who were close to the sea, while those of Izenah called themselves lords of the water, proud and domineering.
One day, a young man from Izenah met the gaze of a girl from Arz. Love sprang forth at once, deep and sincere. But this love did not please the young lord’s family, who refused to let him unite with a simple fisherman's daughter. To break up the union, they entrusted their son to the monks, locking him behind the walls of the island’s monastery.
The young girl, heartbroken, refused to abandon hope. Every day, she crossed the sandy isthmus that connected the two islands. When she reached the foot of the monastery, she sang for the one she loved, her voice carried by the salty winds to the stone cells.
But the monks, disturbed by these daily laments, called upon the Korrigans, those mischievous beings of Brittany. In a single night, they caused the gulf’s waters to rise. The isthmus disappeared beneath the waves, and the two islands were swallowed up in separation.
The next day, the young girl wanted to join her love once more. She walked along the causeway, not realizing that the sea had engulfed it. The current swept her away. Her song faded into the waves, and she never returned.
Since that day, Île-aux-Moines and Île d’Arz have never touched again. The elders say that at the first light of dawn, when the sea is calm, one can hear a gentle song drifting between the two shores… the last echo of a love sacrificed to the waters of Morbihan.
Additional source: Gulf of Morbihan
Par Olivier of Aeternum
Passionate about esoteric traditions and the history of the occult from the earliest civilizations to the 18th century, I share some articles on these topics. I am also co-creator of the online esoteric shop Aeternum.
