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in Brittany, forming the largest group of native speakers of a Celtic language [Le Monde de l’Education, September 1976]. Little survives in Breton in terms of mythological tales compared with the corpus of Irish and Welsh manuscripts. Like Cornish, Breton has its series of medieval miracle plays such as Burzu bras Jean (1530) and Buhez santes Barba (1557). Also, it produced saints’ lives such as Buez Santes Nonn hag he map Deuy (The Life of St. Nonn, Son of Devy) as well as religious poetical works such as Tremenvan an itron gwerches Maria (The Passing of the Virgin Mary), Pemzec levenez Maria (The Fifteen Joys of Maria) and Buhez Mabden (Life of Man). Mellezour an Mary (The Mirror of Death), composed in 1519 and printed in 1575, remains another classic of Breton literature. Father Jehan Lagadeux’s Catholicon, dated 1465 but first printed in 1499 at Trégueir, was the first Breton, Latin, and French dictionary of the language. However, to the fifteenth century belongs the classic Dialog etre Arzu Roe d’an Bretounet ha Guynglaff (The Dialogue of Arthur, King of the Bretons, and Gwenc’hlan).
A rhymed story that became popular in England during the fourteenth century. The Breton lais usually dealt with Celtic themes and often drew on material from the Arthurian cycles. It is felt that this type of tale was transmitted into England via French translation rather than directly from Breton forms. Marie de France (ca. a.d. 1200) was famous for her Breton lais, versified narratives full of Celtic myth and atmosphere, often using Arthurian legend. She seems to have spent most of her life at the English court. Of the fifteen lais that are extant, Sir Launfel is the best known. Launfel is a knight at Arthur’s court who falls in love with a fairy. Guinevere accuses Launfel of insulting her and Arthur swears to have him executed, but the beautiful fairy carries Launfel off to Avalon. This became a popular tale in a fourteenth century version and was used in The Vision of Sir Launfel by James Russell Lowell (1848). Other Breton lais that survive are Sir Orfeo and Chaucer’s The Franklin’s Tale.
[I] The eldest son of Tuireann by the goddess Brigid. With his brothers Iuchar and Iucharba he slew Cian, Lugh Lámhfada’s father. As compensation Lugh demands that the three brothers must fulfil eight tasks. They set out to do so in a voyage tale that has been deemed the Irish equivalent of “Jason and the Golden Fleece.” In
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