St. Yves’ Day Special: The Ankou
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Our third Celtic Month piece celebrates St. Yves’ Day, the national day of Brittany; which is on May 19th. Remember to sing some Breton folk songs.
Before you read what the piece means to me, share what it means to _you_. I’m just the artist; you’re the beholder.
Leave a comment.
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The Bretons dwell in Brittany, a peninsula of France; and both the people and their homeland derive their name from their origin as Britons who fled from Britain to the mainland during the Anglo-Saxon invasion. They are the only Celts who live in mainland Europe, at present; but they came from the Isles. The Breton language is closely related to Welsh and even more closely related to Cornish.
In Breton folklore, the Ankou is said to be an assistant to Death; a figure in a black cloak and hat who collects the souls of the dead and guides them into the afterlife.
Many tales are told about his origins. Some say he was the first child of Adam and Eve, and the first human being to die. Others say he was a prince who challenged Death, and lost.
Others say, and this is the notion I prefer, that the Ankou is the last, or first, person to die in each parish each year; responsible for guiding souls for one year until another takes their place. That way, the dead are greeted by a familiar personage when it’s time to make their final journey.
There are equivalent legends in Cornwall and Wales; the Cornish term is Ankow, and the Welsh term is Angau. There are comparable legends elsewhere. According to a Scottish legend, the last person buried in a graveyard is responsible for guarding it until the next burial. In parts of England there are legends that the first person buried in a graveyard will be responsible for guarding it; and customarily, a dog is buried first, to become the graveyard’s church-grim (a well and truly good boy).
The soldier in the grave, whose soul is being beckoned by the Ankou, as well as the priest performing the funeral liturgy, are a homage to one of my favorite Breton folk songs, Ar Soudarded (Zo Gwisket e Ruz). The chorus-verse means “The soldiers dress in red; the priests dress in black.” It’s a melancholy song about a soldier who speaks of his burial if he should die.
I chose to depict the dead spectres in monochrome; and I’m not sure it was an effective choice. I found it necessary to add the luminous peach-colored halos to clarify the intended effect.
The steeple in the background is inspired by the distinctive cutout designs in the steeple of Tréguier Cathedral.
St. Yves of Kermartin, also called St. Yves Hélory, whose name is also spelled all sorts of other ways such as Ives, Ivo, Erwan, Iwan, Youenn, and Eozenn, and who is not to be confused with St. Yves of Chartres, St. Erbin of Dumnonia, or anyone with the surname Saint-Yves, was a pious clergyman and lawyer who was known for representing the poor and vulnerable, refusing bribes, and unraveling the tricks of swindlers. Every year on his feast day, May 19th, Catholic lawyers from around the world gather at his major shrine at Tréguier Cathedral to pay pilgrimage. Tréguier is also one of the seven sites of the Tour of Brittany, although not because of St. Yves.
The two women mourning at the burial are wearing distinctive traditional stovepipe bonnets, a notable feature of Breton dress.
