Camelot, Avalon, Tintagel—these are all places we usually associate with King Arthur and his legendary court. Although historians and poets of Arthurian lore have, throughout the centuries, grouped these with other sites around the globe in places like Sicily and Palestine, popular opinion tends to ground most “Arthuriana” quests in the British Isles. Over time, writers such as Thomas Malory, Alfred, Lord Tennyson, and T. H. White standardised the mythos by romanticising England’s diverse landscapes and cultures.

Britain, once home to Scandinavians, Anglo-Saxons, and Celts helped to nurture the heroic sagas of the mysterious ruler whose kingdom and ancestry—like King David—seemed to stretch beyond the timeline and borders of history. Yet somehow, the settings of Arthur’s adventures became associated with British nationalism and wistful euhemerism. Camelot and Avalon surfaced in Glastonbury. Meanwhile, the sunken city of Lyonesse became the Cornish Isles of Scilly and the Holy Grail was placed somewhere in the crypts of Scotland’s Rosslyn Chapel. Enchanted Albion began to intermingle with the real-world, much like the Raven King’s realm in Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell and the Wizarding World in Harry Potter.

South of the Chunnel, tales of Arthur abound in Brittany, which is just as much of a Celtic stronghold as any other region in Britain. For one, Brittany is one of the three regions with a national Gorsedd of modern-day bards and druids (that’s right—druids). Like Cornwall, Brittany’s gorsedd descends from the Welsh Gorsedd, which was created by antiquarian and ritualist Iolo Morganwg in the eighteenth century as part of a revival of Celtic literature and mythology. Brittany’s Celticism doesn’t start there; Bretons were known for their magic and mystique even in Roman times. Once populated with korrigans and other fairy-folk, Brittany still retains the bulk of its allure. The writers of medieval and Renaissance Arthurian romances also weaved the region’s geography into their own myths.

Imitating the mood and cues of romancers Robert de Boron and Chrétien de Troyes, Tennyson wrote that the deep forest of Brocéliande was where Merlin, Arthur’s kingmaker and master magician wasted away under the spell of his apprentice and lover Viviane:

Then, in one moment, she put forth the charm Of woven paces and of waving hands, And in the hollow oakhe lay as dead, And lost to life and use and name and fame.

Today, conteurs and conteuses (storytellers) such as DamEnora conjure up this tragedy along with other folkloric tales. Anyone wanting to pay his respects to the old wizard can do so at his tomb in Paimpont forest. The lake nearby, L’étang de Comper, is also purportedly the abode of The Lady of the Lake and the resting place of Excalibur.

The chateau de Comper is also home to the Centre de l’Imaginaire Arthurien, a cultural institute that partners with French artists and performers and runs programs on the Middle Ages and Breton mythology.

As far as accommodation goes, there are two bed and breakfasts worth mentioning that evoke the fantastical history of the forest. The first, Maison du Graal is close by Paimpont lake. Ar Litorienn is on the western corner of Brocéliande in the village of Folle Pensée (Foolish Thought) whose name sounds more like the dwelling place of Puck or some other mischievous elf. At the B&B Dame Catherine will welcome you to three rooms: one for elves, another for King Arthur and Guinevere, and the last for Viviane.

Brocéliande seems to have a distinct genius loci, a spirit of romance and wonder, distinct from its northern English-speaking neighbours. Maybe the story of Merlin’s demise at Viviane’s siren-song is just a metaphor for the enchanting qualities of the forest, whisking away curious passersby to a timeless dimension. Folk tradition says that the person who communes with fairies will be spirited away to another plane, never to return to the human world. As far as anyone can tell, those thousand-year-old Arthurian fables are still central to Brocéliande’s culture. The fairies haven’t lifted the spell just yet.

More Reading

http://www.broceliande-vacances.com

http://www.brittanytourism.com/discover-brittany/quintessential-brittany/broceliande

http://d.lib.rochester.edu/camelot-project

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