La cathédrale de Saint Paul Aurélien
The monk Paul Aurélien came from Wales in the year 525 to preach Christianity to the
Bretons. He founded a monastery in the port of Ocsimor where he landed, in area then
known as the Leonaz (le pays de Léon in French), and he later founded another monastery
on the nearby Ile de Batz. He became the first bishop of the diocese of Léon; this may be
the oldest bishopric in Brittany. When he died he was buried under the high altar of his
church, which was already known by his name. The port also became known as Saint-Pol
after him, but was later named Saint-Pol de Léon to distinguish it from other Saint Pauls.
As happened to many other Christian buildings, the first church was destroyed by Danish
Vikings, in the year 875. Subsequent bishops operated from temporary buildings on the
site, but in 1170 even these were destroyed – this time by English invaders sent by Henry
II, Plantagenet king of England. The reason for the English raid isn’t known, but it was
probably some form of reprisal. Brittany was founded by Britons fleeing from the Anglo-
Saxon invasion of their original home in what is now England, so the Angles were
considered as Brittany’s primary enemy, and tit-for-tat cross-channel warfare was constant
during the middle ages.
A permanent stone-built cathedral wasn’t possible until the Plantagenets ceased to be a
European force with the death of King John. As the English royal family degenerated into
the Wars of the Roses, the king of France took over their European dominions and Brittany
was left free to prosper under its own rulers. In 1230 a new cathedral was begun on the
plan we still see today, added to and lovingly embellished over the centuries.
In the 13th century prosperity allowed pilgrimages to become fashionable. The Tro Breizh, a
pilgrimage visiting all seven of churches of the founding fathers of Christianity in Brittany,
naturally included Saint Paul Aurélien, site of the relics of the saint. But after the
Revolution in 1793 the church was desecrated, and in 1801 when the Catholic Church
returned to France, the bishopric was merged with Quimper. The ferry port of Roscoff has
now expanded and rendered the old port of St-Pol less important. But the gracefulness and
majesty of the old cathedral still welcome every visitor. The interior, formed by twin naves
and two side-aisles, is a forest of columns.
But three’s also a different link with history. In a small niche is the bell of the court of Mark
king of Cornwall (pre-Revolution, Finistère was known as Cornouaille). The bell was rung as
later ages used trumpets, to announce the entrance of the great and powerful king. But
Mark’s wife was Iseut (in opera called Isolde) and Mark’s nephew was Tristan of the Leonaz
(his name is usually spelt Lyonesse). And the love story? It’s very likely true.
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