Vefa de Saint-Pierre | |
|---|---|
| Born | Geneviève de Méhérenc de Saint-Pierre (1872-05-04)4 May 1872 Plian, France |
| Died | 1967(1967-00-00) (aged 94–95) Sant-Brieg, France |
| Other names | Brug ar Menez Du (Heather of the Black Mountains) |
| Occupations | Writer, explorer |
| Spouse | Joseph-Marie Potiron de Boisfleury |
| Parents |
|
Vefa de Saint-Pierre, bornGeneviève de Méhérenc de Saint-Pierre (orVefa Sant-Pêr in the Breton language), orBrug ar Menez Du (bardic name) was aBreton explorer, reporter and author, born inPlian, France, on 4 May 1872 and died inSant-Brieg in 1967.
She was the daughter of Count Henri de Méhérenc de Saint-Pierre and Marie Espivent de La Villesboisnet, a "pure heiress of the Breton nobility" and born in a castle in theCôtes-d'Armor.[1] By turns a nun, reporter, novelist, author of poetry and youth fiction, Saint-Pierre was a global voyager and hunter travelling across North and South America andAustralia who wrote enthusiastically about her adventures.[2]
Deciding as a young girl against marriage, Vefa (short for Geneviève) chose instead to pursue the only option available for an unmarried young woman of her time: religion. She joined a convent associated with theOblates of Saint Francis de Sales inBrittany, located in northwestern France, and remained a nun for 15 years. It was in that religious capacity, during one[2] or two[1] missions to Ecuador, that she gained a taste for travel and adventure.[1][2]
In 1905, Saint-Pierre left convent life without ever having made her final vows. To feed her need to travel, she left Brittany alone for North America - United States andCanada - where she renewed her passion for hunting (reportedly, she had received her first shotgun for her tenth birthday).[2][1] Soon her exploits became legend; she killed a boar, as well as a moose that charged her, and grizzly bears, among others. It was on this trip that she met others from the Brittany region of France who had made a new home in Canada. As Saint-Pierre toured the world, she was also known to exploreQuito,Ecuador in 1899, and she journeyed toSydney,Australia in 1928.[2][3]
In 1910, at 38 years of age, she married Joseph-Marie Potiron de Boisfleury, but the marriage failed, lasting only three months.[2][1]
In France, Saint-Pierre is also known for having owned the Menez Kamm manor since 1908 when she bought it.[2] There, from 1970 to 1976, she sponsored various Breton movements, both Catholic and communist.[4] A vigorous promoter of theBreton language (which is ofCeltic origin), she is quoted as saying, "Bilingualism is a huge advantage! Children must be taught Breton and then they will learn English in three or four months."[4] She was known to translate the Breton language works into French, with the aim of promoting national awareness of her regional language and culture.[3] She was known to be a close friend of philosopherYann Fouere.[5]
In 1930, she was admitted to the community in Brittany known asGoursez Vreizh as a bard under a new nameBrug ar Menez Du (Heather of the Black Mountains).[2]
In 1949, she was the first to use a bilingual notarized agreement in France, written in both French and Breton.
After Saint-Pierre's death in 1967, the Menez Kamm cultural center flourished for some years, but despite all the dedication and hard work to keep the manor open as a place to live and learn Breton ways, financial difficulties increased, and in October 1976, the center closed.[2] The property was then returned to the Saint-Pierre family and, as of 2018, the manor and its land had become a farm.[4]
Saint-Pierre's works are primarily in the French and Breton languages.[3]
