In the first half of the first century, Celtic religion and Christianity confronted each other, and, especially in the countryside, Christianity had to accept and incorporate some pagan rituals and beliefs to be able to survive in Western Europe . The Roman Church did everything to convert the pagan souls: they used violence, lies and they even betrayed their own beliefs to that end, by incorporating Celtic beliefs.
A good example is the Virgin Mary. The church had to give her the status of Mother of God, which made her a goddess, because a male god without a female counterpart wasn’t acceptable for the European Celts. In a way, the church replaced the existing Celtic divine couples like Brigid-Ruadan and Frigga-Balder by Mary-Christ.
In the case of Chartres, which means Kar-tres, three virgins, they replaced the three Celtic Matres or Matrones by three Madonnas: in the crypt, the Black Madonna Our Lady from Under the Earth, guardian of the underworld; in the cathedral, the Black Madonna Our Lady of the Pilar, guardian of this world; in the most famous window of Chartres, Our Lady of the Beautiful Window, the Queen of Heaven.
Celtic religion also knew the immortality of the soul, and they had a single deity, an enigmatic “absolute”. This god, “the one we do not name”, acted in the human world by way of divinities. They were the manifestations of the one without name on earth. The Celts easily found the equivalent of goddess Ana, the fertility goddess, their “grandmother of all, the grandmother of all Bretons””, in Saint Anne, the Virgin Mary’s mother, for example.
In 658, the Council of Nantes decided to destroy and recuperate the Celtic sanctuaries, helped by the Franks, who had occupied the Celtic countries. The religious dictatorship of the Roman Church and the Franks had begun…
The Roman Catholic Church acknowledges only 3 Saints fromBrittany
Most of these saints are related to animals, mythical creatures or to natural elements. Wolf: Saint Ronan, cattle: Saint Cornely, snakes: Saint Maudez, birds: Saint Guénolé, dragons: Saint Tugdual, sea water: Saint Gildas, rain water: Saint Malo, air: Saint Gunstan , earth: Saint Gouesnou, fire: Saint Cado, to name only a few. This also points in the direction of Celtic gods.
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Locronan, Fountain of Saint Eutrope
The 12 stations of the Troménie and their saints:
A good example is the Virgin Mary. The church had to give her the status of Mother of God, which made her a goddess, because a male god without a female counterpart wasn’t acceptable for the European Celts. In a way, the church replaced the existing Celtic divine couples like Brigid-Ruadan and Frigga-Balder by Mary-Christ.
In the case of Chartres, which means Kar-tres, three virgins, they replaced the three Celtic Matres or Matrones by three Madonnas: in the crypt, the Black Madonna Our Lady from Under the Earth, guardian of the underworld; in the cathedral, the Black Madonna Our Lady of the Pilar, guardian of this world; in the most famous window of Chartres, Our Lady of the Beautiful Window, the Queen of Heaven.
Celtic religion also knew the immortality of the soul, and they had a single deity, an enigmatic “absolute”. This god, “the one we do not name”, acted in the human world by way of divinities. They were the manifestations of the one without name on earth. The Celts easily found the equivalent of goddess Ana, the fertility goddess, their “grandmother of all, the grandmother of all Bretons””, in Saint Anne, the Virgin Mary’s mother, for example.
In 658, the Council of Nantes decided to destroy and recuperate the Celtic sanctuaries, helped by the Franks, who had occupied the Celtic countries. The religious dictatorship of the Roman Church and the Franks had begun…
The Roman Catholic Church acknowledges only 3 Saints from
Most of these saints are related to animals, mythical creatures or to natural elements. Wolf: Saint Ronan, cattle: Saint Cornely, snakes: Saint Maudez, birds: Saint Guénolé, dragons: Saint Tugdual, sea water: Saint Gildas, rain water: Saint Malo, air: Saint Gunstan , earth: Saint Gouesnou, fire: Saint Cado, to name only a few. This also points in the direction of Celtic gods.
The 12 stations of the Troménie and their saints:
1st station: Saint Eutrope
2nd station: the Eternal Father
3rd station: Saint Germain of Auxerre
4th station: Saint Anne
5th station: Notre Dame de Bonne Nouvelle
6th station: Saint Milliau
7th station: Saint John the Evangelist
8th station: Saint Gwenolé
9th station: Saint Ouen
10th station: Plas ar c’horn (the place of the horn).
11th station: Saint Telo
12th station: Saint Maurice .
Sometimes it’s easy to find the equivalent Celtic god for a saint, like in the case of Ana or Cernunnos (The Horned One), because there’s a common phonetic root. Saint Cornely of Carnac is definitely the same as Cernunnos. Wherever people came with their cattle to be blessed, you’ll find the same saint.
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