Gradlon

Born in around 460, "Gradlon the Great" ("Gradlon Meur") was a legendary "king" of Cornouaille present in many legends who lived in the fifth century. The most famous of those legends is the legend of Ys.

The legend

Gradlon and Malgven

According to some legends, he was in love with a magician called Malgven.

Gradlon and Malgven's meeting

Gradlon had many ships he used to wage war against the faraway countries of the North. Strategist outstanding, he earned most of the battles and pillaged the vanquished. he amassed wealth.

One day, his sailors tired of all this fighting refused to continue to lay siege to a castle. The king left the exiting Cornwall and he remained alone in the North. When he was single he saw a red-haired woman : Malgven, Queen of the North, was standing in front of him. She told him: "I know you, you are courageous and skillful in fighting. My husband is old, his sword was rusted. You and I are going to kill him. Then go in your country of Cornouaille." They killed the king of the North and went on Morvarc'h ("sea horse" in Breton), the Malgven magical horse. It was black, spit fire from his nostrils and was able to gallop on the sea. They catch up with Gradlon's vessels Gradlon but the run-up of Morvarc'h move away the rest of the fleet the ship where it stopped.

The return trip and the Dahut's birth

Gradlon Malgven and remained long at sea, so Malgven gave birth to a daughter, Dahut.

According to some versions of the story, it killed the queen.

According to other versions, she does not but died some time after the birth of Dahut, she asked Gradlon what he thought about Dahut. He responded "I already cherish her as I cherish you". Malgven announced to him the Dahut's face keep the appearance of the hers to don't be forgotten by him because it was time for her to return to her world and then added that they would see an island shortly after and that he should let go there because otherwise they could never resee the earth. Soon after, they saw an island and there Malgven left alone.

Shortly after, Gradlon arrived in Cournouaille with Dahut But without Malgven.

Later, Dahut had a key role in the story of Ys.

Descendants

At Gradlon's death, his son Salomon the 1st succeeded him, then his grand-son, Aldrien.

Dahut reappeared appear again in the Arthurian legend of King Mark.

History

According the sources, several Gradlon existed, Gradlon Meur cited in cartulary of Landévennec but also Gradlon Flam and Gradlon Plueneuor (Plonéour). They are generally classified as consul, which can be understood as the count - as the Latin texts translate the title of breton mac'htiern by tyrant. It would have most likely lived between the Vth and IXth century.

At the Gallo-Roman era, the capital of Osismes - predecessors of Cornouaillais, Trégorrois and Léonards - was Carhaix. And if there was a city on the Odet it was not yet Quimper, but a little downstream in the current quarter Locmaria. In its debut Quimper not called Corisoptiensis is a misinterpretation late, but more probably (and therefore without certainty), Civitas Aquilonia.

However, by the names, there is a "castle" said of Saint-Corentin in the district of the Cathedral of Quimper, district called the Middle Ages Tour Chastel. And under the Old Regime Quimper will be named Quimpercorentin.

Vestiges of an aristocratic residence of the IXth-Xth centuries and goldsmiths workshops can be found on the Mountain of Locronan, which could be one of the places of power and wealth creation exploited by the various princes who ruled Quimper during the High Middle Ages.