 "La Groac'h de l'île du Lok" after Théophile Busnel, forContes et légendes de Basse-Bretagne (1891) | |
| Grouping | Legendary creature |
|---|---|
| Sub grouping | Fairy |
| Similar entities | Witch, ogre |
| Folklore | Folklore |
| Country | Brittany |
| Habitat | Under or by the sea or springs |
Agroac'h (Breton for "fairy", "witch" or "crone", pl.groagez) is a kind of Breton water-fairy. Seen in various forms, often by night, many are old, similar toogres and witches, sometimes withwalrus teeth. Supposed to live in caverns, under the beach and under the sea, thegroac'h has power over the forces of nature and can change its shape. It is mainly known as a malevolent figure, largely because ofÉmile Souvestre's storyLa Groac'h de l'île du Lok, in which the fairy seduces men, changes them into fish and serves them as meals to her guests, on one of theGlénan Islands. Other tales present them as old solitary fairies who can overwhelm with gifts the humans who visit them.
Several place-names ofLower Brittany are connected with thegroac'h, especially the names of some megaliths inCôtes-d'Armor, as well as the island ofGroix inMorbihan and the lighthouse ofLa Vieille. The origin of those fairies that belong to the archetype of "the crone" is to be found in the ancient female divinities demonized by Christianity. The influence of Breton writers in the 19th century brought them closer to the classical fairy figure. Thegroac'h has several times appeared in recent literary works, such asNicolas Bréhal'sLa Pâleur et le Sang (1983).
According to Philippe Le Stum, originallygroac'h seems to have been the Breton word for fairies in general. It evolved to mean an old creature of deceptive beauty.[1] It is often spelled "groah", the final consonant being pronounced like the Germanch.[2] One of the possible plurals isgroagez.[3] According to Joseph Rio the assimilation of thegroac'h with the fairy is more the result of the influence ofÉmile Souvestre's tale, and commentaries on it, than a belief deriving from the popular traditions ofLower Brittany: "The Groac'h of Lok Island", a story intended for literate audiences, uses a writing technique based on the interchangeable use of the words "fairy" and "groac'h".[4]Anatole Le Braz comments on this name that "Groac'h is used in good and bad senses by turns. It can mean an old witch or simply an old woman."[5]
Thegroagez are the fairies most often encountered in Brittany,[2] generally in forests and near springs:[6] they are essentially the fairies of Breton wells.[7] Likewise, a certain number of "sea fairies" bear the name ofgroac'h,[3] sometimes interchangeably with those of "morgen" or "siren".[8]Joseph Mahé [fr] speaks (1825) of a malicious creature that he was frightened of as a child, reputed to inhabit wells in which it drowned those children that fell in.[9] It is possible that Souvestre drew the evil characteristics of "his"groac'h from Mahé,[10] and indeed he admits in his notes a certain reinvention of tradition.[11]
Because of their multiform character, thegroagez are hard to define.[12] One of them is said to frequent the neighborhood ofKerodi, but the descriptions vary: an old woman bent and leaning on a crutch, or a richly dressed princess, accompanied bykorrigans.[13] Often the descriptions insist on its likeness to an old woman;Françoise Morvan mentions the name "beetle-fairy".[14] She notes cases where thegroagez have exceptionally long "walrus" teeth, which may be the length of a finger or may even drag along the ground, though in other cases they have no such teeth, or at any rate nothing is said of them. Sometimes they are hunchbacked.[2] The storytellerPierre Dubois describes them asshapeshifters capable of taking on the most flattering or the most repugnant appearance: swans or wrinkled, peeringhobgoblins. He attributes green teeth to them, or more rarely red, as well as "a coat of scales".[15] For Morvan, the variety of these descriptions is a result of two phenomena. On the one hand, it is possible that these fairies change their appearance as they age, to become like warty frogs. On the other hand, a Russian tradition reported byAndrei Sinyavsky has the fairies go through cycles of rejuvenation and ageing according to the cycles of the moon: a similar tradition may have existed in Brittany.[12]
Pierre Dubois compares thegroac'h to an ogress or a "water-witch".[15]André-François Ruaud [fr] relates it rather toundines,[16]Richard Ely and Amélie Tsaag Valren towitches,[17]Édouard Brasey describes it as a "lake fairy".[18] Be that as it may, thegroac'h is one of the most powerful fairies in Breton waters.[19] In its aquatic habitat, as on land, it has power over the elements.[20] Thegroac'h of Lanascol Castle could shake the dead autumn leaves and turn them to gold, or bend the trees and make the ponds ripple as it passed.[13] Although it is mostly known by negative representations, thegroac'h is not necessarily bad. It may politely receive humans in its lair and offer treasure, magical objects (most often in threes), and cures. Like many other fairies, it also takes care of laundry[6] and spinning.[21] They are overbearing, but generally full of good intentions. Most often, thegroagez are described as being solitary in their retreats under the sea, in a rock or in the sands,[3] but some stories tell of an entirely female family life. They do not abandon their children or leavechangelings.[22] Sometimes they are accompanied by a greenwater horse and apikeman.[23] They are more inconstant and more sensitive than other Breton fairies, taking offence easily.[23] InFinistère,groagez reveal to miners the existence of silver-bearing lead.[24]
Several collections report agroac'h in one or another place in Brittany. Souvestre evokes one of these fairies, likened to anaiad, in a well inVannes:[10][20] this legend seems to have been quite popular in its day, and could have the same sources as the tale of the fairy of the well.[25] It belongs to the theme of "spinners by the fountain" in theAarne-Thompson classification.[26] A story collected by Anatole Le Braz makes one of these fairies the personification of the plague: an old man fromPlestin finds agroac'h who asks for his help in crossing a river. He carries it, but it becomes more and more heavy, so that he sets it back down it where he found it, thereby preventing an epidemic of plague in theLannion district.[27]François-Marie Luzel also brings together several traditions around thegroagez, that people would shun them as they wouldAnkou. Some are known to have the power of changing into foals, or again to haunt the forest ofCoat-ann-noz (the wood of the night).[28] The duke's pond in Vannes would house agroac'h, a former princess who threw herself into the water to flee a too importunate lover, and who would sometimes be seen combing her long blonde hair with a golden comb.[29]
The most famous story evoking agroac'h isLa Groac'h de l'Île du Lok, collected, written and arranged by Émile Souvestre for his bookLe Foyer breton (1844). Houarn Pogamm and Bellah Postik, orphan cousins, grow up together inLannilis and fall in love, but they are poor, so Houarn leaves to seek his fortune. Bellah gives him a little bell and a knife, but keeps a third magic object for herself, a wand. Houarn arrives atPont-Aven and hears about thegroac'h ofLok Island [fr], a fairy who inhabits a lake on the largest of theGlénan Islands, reputed to be as rich as all the kings on earth put together. Houarn goes to the island of Lok and gets into an enchanted boat in the shape of a swan, which takes him underwater to the home of thegroac'h. This beautiful woman asks him what he wants, and Houarn replies that he is looking for the wherewithal to buy a little cow and a lean hog. The fairy offers him some enchanted wine to drink and asks him to marry her. He accepts, but when he sees thegroac'h catch and fry fish which moan in the pan he begins to be afraid and regrets his decision. Thegroac'h gives him the dish of fried fish and goes away to look for wine.[30]
Houarn draws his knife, whose blade dispels enchantments. All the fish stand up and become little men. They are victims of thegroac'h, who agreed to marry her before being metamorphosed and served as dinner to the other suitors. Houarn tries to escape but thegroac'h comes back and throws at him the steel net she wears on her belt, which turns him into a frog. The bell that he carries on his neck rings, and Bellah hears it at Lannilis. She takes hold of her magic wand, which turns itself into a fast pony, then into a bird to cross the sea. At the top of a rock, Bellah finds a little blackkorandon, thegroac'h's husband, and he tells her of the fairy's vulnerable point. Thekorandon offers Bellah men's clothes to disguise herself in. She goes to thegroac'h, who is very happy to receive such a beautiful boy and yields to the request of Bellah, who would like to catch her fish with the steel net. Bellah throws the net on the fairy, cursing her thus: "Become in body what you are in heart!". Thegroac'h changes into a hideous creature, the queen of mushrooms, and is thrown into a well. The metamorphosed men and thekorandon are saved, and Bellah and Houarn take the treasures of the fairy, marry and live happily ever after.[30]
For the scholar Joseph Rio this tale is important documentary evidence on the character of thegroac'h.[10] Souvestre explained why he chose to place it on the island of Lok by the multiplicity of versions of the storytellers which do so.[31]La Groac'h de l'île du Lok was even more of a success in Germany than it had been in Brittany. Heinrich Bode published it under the title ofDie Wasserhexe in 1847,[32] and it was republished in 1989 and 1993.[33] The story was likewise translated into English (The Groac'h of the Isle) and published inThe Lilac Fairy Book in 1910.[34] Between 1880 and 1920 it served as study material for British students learning French.[35]
This tale, collected by Joseph Frison around 1914, tells of a young girl who goes one night to a spring to help her mother. She discovers that agroac'h lives there. The fairy tells her never to come back by night, otherwise she will never see her mother again. The mother falls ill, and the girl returns to draw some water in the night in spite of the prohibition. Thegroac'h catches the girl and keeps her in its cave, which has every possible comfort. Although she is separated from her family the girl is happy there. A younggroac'h comes to guard her while thegroac'h of the spring is away visiting one of its sisters. She dies while with her sister, having first sent a message to the younggroac'h: the girl is free to leave if she wishes. Knowing that the home of thegroac'h is much more comfortable than her own, the girl asks for a key so that she can enter or leave at her own convenience. The younggroac'h has her wait for one month, while the elder sister dies. She then gives her two keys, with instructions never to stay outside after sunset. The little girl meets one of her family while out walking, but resolves to return early to keep her promise. Later she meets a very handsome young man, whom she leaves, promising to come back the next day. Thegroac'h advises her to marry him, assuring her that this will lift the prohibition on her returning after sunset. She follows this advice and lives happily ever after with her new husband.[36]
According to this recent story (collected by Théophile Le Graët in 1975), a widower with a daughter marries a black-skinned woman who has a daughter, also black. The new bride treats her stepdaughter very badly, and demands she spin all day long. One day, when near a well, the girl encounters an old walrus-toothed fairy who offers her new clothes, heals her fingers, goes to her place and offers to share its house with her. She eagerly moves in and is very happy there. When eventually she announces that she wants to leave, the fairy gives her a magic stone. She goes back to her stepmother's home where, with her new clothes, no-one recognizes her. With the fairy stone she can get everything she wants. The black girl becomes jealous and throws herself down the well in the hope of getting the same gifts, but the fairy only gives her a thistle. The black girl wishes for the greatest prince in the world to appear so that he can ask for her hand in marriage, but it is the Devil who appears and carries her away. In the end the good girl returns to her home in the well, and sometimes she can be heard singing.[37]
This tale takes place on the island of Groagez (the "island of women" or the "fairy island"), whichPaul Sébillot describes as being the home of an old woman who is a spinner and a witch; it is inTrégor, one kilometer fromPort-Blanc.[19]
According to this tale, collected by G. Le Calvez at the end of the 19th century, avor Groac'h, "sea fairy",[38] lives in a hollow rock on the island. A woman happens to pass by, and comes across the old fairy spinning with her distaff. Thegroac'h invites the woman to approach it and gives her itsdistaff, instructing her that it will bring her her fortune, but that she must tell no-one about it. The woman goes home and quickly becomes rich thanks to the distaff, the thread of which never runs out and is much finer in quality than all others. But the temptation to speak about it becomes too great for her. The moment she reveals that the distaff comes from a fairy all the money she has earned from it disappears.[39]
This story was collected by Anatole Le Braz, who makes reference to the belief in fairies among people of his acquaintance living near his friendWalter Evans-Wentz. A ruined manor house called Lanascol Castle is said to have housed a fairy known asLanascol groac'h. One day, the landowners put up for sale a part of the estate where they no longer live. A notary fromPlouaret conducts the auction, during which prices go up very high. Suddenly, a gentle yet imperious female voice makes a bid raising the price by a thousand francs. All the attendants look to see who spoke, but there is no woman in the room. The notary then asks loudly who bid, and the female voice answersgroac'h Lanascol!. Everyone flees. Since then, according to Le Braz, the estate has never found a buyer.[40]
Many place-names in Lower Brittany are attributed to agroac'h.The Grand Menhir, calledMen Er Groah, at Locmariaquer probably owes its name to an amalgamation of the Breton word for "cave",groh, with the wordgroac'h.[41]Pierre Saintyves cites from the same commune a "table of the old woman", a dolmen calleddaul ar groac'h.[42] AtMaël-Pestivien three stones two meters high placed next to each other in the village of Kermorvan, are known by the name ofTy-ar-Groac'h, or "the house of the fairy".[43]
In 1868, an eight-metermenhir calledMin-ar-Groach was destroyed inPlourac'h.[44] InCavan, the tomb of the "groac'h Ahès", or "Be Ar Groac'h", has become attributed not to thegroac'h but to the giantAhès [fr].[45] There is a Tombeau de la Groac'h Rouge (Tomb of the RedGroac'h) inPrat, attributed to a "red fairy" that brought the stones in her apron.[46] This megalith is however almost destroyed.[47] According to Souvestre and theCeltomaniacAlfred Fouquet [fr] (1853), the island ofGroix got its name (in Breton) from thegroagez, described by them as "druidesses" now seen as old women or witches.[48] For the writer Claire de Marnier this tradition, which makes the islanders sons of witches, is a "remarkable belief" peculiar to "the Breton soul".[49][50]
The rock of Croac'h Coz, or "the island of the old fairy", in the commune ofPlougrescant, was the home of an oldgroac'h who would engage in spinning from time to time. Sébillot relates that the fishermen ofLoguivy (inPloubazlanec) once feared to pass near the cave named Toul ar Groac'h, "fairy hole", and preferred to spend the night under their beached boats until the next tide, rather than risk angering the fairy.[51] Similarly, Anatole Le Braz cites Barr-ann-Heol nearPenvénan, as a dangerous place where agroac'h keeps watch, ready to seize benighted travellers at a crossroads.[52] InUshant many place-names refer to it, including the Pointe de la Groac'h and the lighthouse ofLa Vieille, in reference, according to Georges Guénin, to "a kind of witch".[53]
Some traces of possible religious invocation of these fairies are known.Paul-Yves Sébillot [fr] says that the sick once came to rub the pre-Christian statue called Groac'h er goard (or Groac'h ar Goard ) so as to be healed.[54][55] The seven-foot-tall granite statue known as theVenus of Quinipily represents a naked woman of "indecent form"[56] and could be a remnant of the worship ofVenus orIsis.
According to Marc Gontard, thegroac'h demonstrates the demonization of ancient goddesses under the influence of Christianity: it was changed to a witch just as other divinities became lost girls and mermaids.[57] Its palace under the waves is a typical motif of fairy tales and folk-stories, which is also found in, for example, the texts of theArthurian legend,Irish folklore and several Hispanic tales.[58] Pierre Dubois likens thegroac'h to many maleficent water-fairies, likePeg Powler,Jenny Greenteeth, themère Engueule and the green ogresses ofCosges, who drag people underwater to devour them.[59] Joseph Rio included it in a global evolution of Breton fairies between 1820 and 1850, so that from small, dark-skinned, wrinkled creatures close to the korrigans, in the texts of the scholars of the time they more and more often become pretty women of normal size, probably to compete with the Germanic fairies.[60]
Thegroac'h has been likened to the enigmatic and archetypal character of "theCrone", studied by various folklorists. This name, in Frenchla Vieille, is often applied tomegaliths.[61] Edain McCoy equates thegroac'h withla Vieille, citing especially the regular translation of the word as "witch". She adds that several Breton tales present this creature in a negative way, while none draw a flattering portrait.[62]
Agroac'h appears in the novelLa Pâleur et le Sang published byNicolas Bréhal in 1983. This horrible witch, feared by the fishermen, lays a curse on the Bowley family.[63] A "mystical and fantastic" novel,[64]La Pâleur et le Sang includes thegroac'h among the mysterious and almost diabolical forces that assail the island ofVindilis. This old woman is portrayed as having "magical and evil powers", and as threatening with reprisals those characters who offend her. Her murder is one of the causes of the misfortunes that hit the island.[64] Agroac'h also appears inAbsinthes & Démons, a collection of short stories byAmber Dubois published in 2012.[65] InJean Teulé's novelFleur de tonnerre (2013),groac'h is a nickname given to Hélène Jégado when she is a little girl, in Plouhinec.[66]
