As you may know, behind Aeternum is a small business based in Brittany (specifically in the south of Finistère). It is well known that this region lives to the rhythm of legends, myths, and magical practices, some more or less known (Brocéliande, Merlin, the Fairy Viviane, the Alignments, and many others). Thus, to highlight our beautiful region, we will regularly publish lesser-known legends from Breton history.
Let’s discover together the legend of the lost city of Ys and its strong pagan symbolism. Note that there are several versions of this legend, some heavily influenced by Catholicism. We aim here to present the original story.
Steeped in pagan traditions, the young Gradlon, enchanted by Malgven, the queen of the north, meets this sovereign during a warrior raid. She, resembling a fairy-druidess, captivates his heart. However, Gradlon incurs her wrath by embracing Christianity and seeking guidance from Saint Guénolé, a 5th-century cleric in Brittany.
Crossing a raging river to distance herself from him, Malgven challenges Gradlon not to follow her. Ignoring her warning, the madly in love Breton throws himself into the wild current. Forced to save Gradlon from drowning, Malgven, although she rescues him, cannot suppress her animosity towards him, revealing that the flames of her love were not entirely extinguished.
Years later, this lost love reappears through Dahud (or Dahut), the daughter of Gradlon and Malgven.
The term Dahud, of Celtic origin, translates as “good magic.” She embodies an entity from the Celtic Otherworld, called Sidh (or Underworld, Beyondworld, Afterlife depending on beliefs).
Dahud, as heir, embodied the spirit and traditions of the queen of the North. Attached to the rites of ancient goddesses, Dahud openly criticized Bishop Corentin of Quimper, accusing him of plunging the region into gloom and boredom. She opposed the monks head-on and asked her father to build a city, Ys or Ker-Is, where people would live according to pagan precepts, in a city without a church.
Thus began the construction of Ys (or Is), a city quickly emblematic of the ancient Celtic civilization confronted with the arrival of Christianity. In Ys, pleasure reigned, a lifestyle deemed unbearable by the nascent Christian religion. Under Gradlon’s reign, the city was a model of equality. Its inhabitants enjoyed great wealth, and the city, open to various peoples and beliefs, shone with opulence and splendor.
Located in the bay of Douarnenez, in Cornouaille, Ys was considered the most magnificent city in the world, surpassing even Lutetia, which was renamed Paris, because in Breton Par-Ys means “like Ys.”
Dominating Ys with her undisputed authority, Dahud positioned herself as protector of ancestral Celtic beliefs, resisting the rise of Christianity. Profoundly connected to the earth goddess, to whom the Arrée mountains may owe their name (some versions say Dahud was also called Ahès), Dahud paid homage through regular forest walks, thus celebrating the joys of nature and sensuality.
Living according to the principles of free love, Dahud never married. Each night, she invited a new lover to the palace, making him wear a silk mask. At the first light of dawn, the lover was asked to leave the room quickly.
This lifestyle, deemed sinful, attracted constant admonitions from the very pious Saint Guénolé, who did not fail to warn her through his sermons.
The arrival of envoys from the Roman Catholic Church marks a turning point for the city of Ys. They come with an ultimatum for Gradlon: accept the construction of a church within the city, or see Ys destroyed by Roman forces. Faced with this threat, Dahud, outraged by the pressure on her people and traditions, leaves the city to take refuge in the Arrée mountains. There, she implores the help of Cernunnos, the Celtic god of fertility, recognizable by his stag antlers.
This physical characteristic, later interpreted by the Church as a diabolical sign, contributed to the assimilation of Cernunnos with the devil.
He advises her to return to Ys, promising that under the veil of night, he will intervene to save the city.
The barbarity and determination of the Church being boundless, she noticed that the city of Ys was built below sea level. No matter, the key to the dams was stolen from Gradlon and the water flooded and then submerged the entire city, silencing the cries and pleas of the inhabitants.
Gradlon barely managed to take his daughter Drahud away thanks to Morvach, a sea horse sent by Malgven. Furious at this attempt, Saint Guénolé forced the king to abandon his daughter in the storm, she who represented the very quintessence of sin. The tragedy that submerged Ys under the ocean leads to the disappearance of Princess Dahut.
Nevertheless, the legend states that she did not perish but continues to wander in the bay of Douarnenez, transformed into a mermaid (becoming Morgane, the goddess of the Breton seas). Ys would remain intact and alive under the waters, its inhabitants having gained immortality.
The prophecy says that one day, someone will manage to glimpse the sunken city and venture there, thus breaking Cernunnos’s protective spell. At that moment, Ys will emerge from the depths, more radiant than ever, signaling the return of the Breton heroes from the Otherworld, the Celtic realm of the dead. It is also said that, under certain sunlight, the city’s ramparts appear beneath the waves and the bells of its towers still ring, especially on days filled with magic, like May 1st.
Don’t hesitate to listen carefully if you pass through the region...
