BATTERIES WATCH

Paimpont forest, also known as Broceliande, is in the French commune of Paimpont, near the city of Rennes in Brittany. As Broceliande it had a reputation in the Medieval imagination as a place of magic and mystery. It is the setting of a number of adventures in Arthurian legend, notably Chretien de Troyes's Yvain, the Knight of the Lion, and locals claim the tree in which the Lady of the Lake supposedly imprisoned Merlin can still be seen today. Other legendary places said to lie within the forest include the Val sans Retour, the tomb of Merlin, the Fountain of Youth, and Hotie de Vivianne (castle of the Lady of the Lake). The medieval chronicler Wace visited the forest but left disappointed:

"...I went there in search of marvels; I saw the forest and the land and looked for marvels, but found none. I came back as a fool and went as a fool. I went as a fool and came back as a fool. I sought foolishness and considered myself a fool."

For those living close to Paimpont, the Arthurian legend is very strong. Many names in the legend can be translated into Breton or French, for example the name Lancelot translates as "wanderer" or "vagabond" in Breton. There is also a strong influence from the Druids, and all around Brittany are standing stones or alignments, the most famous of which are nearby at Carnac; a group of the alignments at Kerlescan are nicknamed "the soldiers of Arthur."

Paimpont is a forest of broadleaf trees, oaks and beeches mainly, with areas of conifers either inside after clear-felling or on the periphery as transition with the moor, for example towards the west in the sector of Trehorenteuc and the Val-sans-Retour (= Valley of no Return) which was devastated by several fires in particular in 1976, a year of great drought. It occupies mainly the territory of the commune of Paimpont, but extends to bordering communes, mainly Guer and Beignon in the south, Saint-Peran in the northeast, and Concoret in north. The forest of Paimpont is the largest remnant of an ancient forest occupying Argoat, the interior region of Brittany. It was more often called the forest of Brecelien, but its ancient character and other qualities underlined by many authors decided on its name of "forest of Broceliande," tallying of the adventures of the legend of the Round Table. This flattering designation was reinforced by the birth of the Pays de Broceliande at the end of the 20th century, an institution intended to facilitate the development of the communes of the west of the departement.

The relative altitude of the forested massif contributes to give it a climate close to the oceanic climate of the coasts of Finistere. This mode, where west and south-west winds carry of clouds and regular rain supports the vegetation, dominates. The surplus of water feeds the many brooks occupying the bottoms of small valleys before flowing into the river Aff, then the Vilaine, to the area around Redon in the south of the department. The highest point is at 256 m in the western part called Haute foret. Altitude decreases regularly while offering viewpoints towards the department of Morbihan; viewpoints which one finds the equivalents in the north on the commune of Mauron, port of the Cotes-d'Armor. It is not far from there that the Paimpont Biological Station of the University of Rennes 1, built in 1966 and 1967, dominates the lake of Chatenay. The varied forest and its surroundings constitute a framework favorable to many training courses in which the Rennes 1 biology students as well as foreign researchers take part. These buildings can accommodate approximately 70 people, and researchers work all the year on subjects generally very far away from the local biotope such as behavior of primates, represented by Cercopithecus, whose cries are familiar for the area but surprising to the walker little accustomed to this exotic fauna. The first researchers lengthily studied the ecology of the Armorican moors, the grounds, and the hydrology.

The forest belongs mainly to owners who maintain it and exploit it for timber and hunting; only in the north-eastern part, a small part (10%) is "domanial" and is managed by the National Forestry Commission. This situation prevents freedom of movement in the forest even with the access to the borough and its pond. The owners, however, signed a convention authorizing, from April 1 to the end of September, the use of some hiking trails in the forest. Among the responsibilities of the forest guards are watching for behaviors that threaten the forest, its flora, and its fauna. For example, behaviors that pose the risk of fire, and those that endanger the game, like dogs running loose. The gathering of mushrooms is not absolutely prohibited, but it is only tolerated near the approved trails. Because of its importance before the French Revolution, the forest was the responsibility of a royal jurisdiction called the National Forestry Commission, a

Detail from Lady and the Unicorn tapestry.
Hearing -
The lady plays a portative organ on top of a table covered with a Turkish rug. Her maidservant stands to the opposite side and operates the bellows. The lion and unicorn once again frame the scene holding up the pennants. Just as on all the other tapestries, the unicorn is to the lady's left and the lion to her right - a common denominator to all the tapestries.


This photo was taken in very, very low light without a flash, as obviously the museum does not allow any bright light in the room where these gorgeous tapestries are displayed.

From Wikipedia:


"The Musee de Cluny, officially known as Musee National du Moyen Age (National Museum of the Middle Ages), is a museum in Paris, France. It is located in the 5th arrondissement at 6 Place Paul Painleve, south of the Boulevard Saint-Germain, between the Boulevard Saint-Michel and the Rue Saint-Jacques.

The structure is perhaps the most outstanding example still extant of civic architecture in medieval Paris. It was formerly the town house (hotel) of the abbots of Cluny, started in 1334. The structure was rebuilt by Jacques d'Amboise, abbot in commendam of Cluny 1485-1510; it combines Gothic and Renaissance elements. In 1843 it was made into a public museum, to contain relics of France's Gothic past preserved in the building by Alexandre du Sommerard.

Though it no longer possesses anything originally connected with the abbey of Cluny, originally the hotel, was part of a larger Cluniac complex that also included a building (no longer standing) for a religious college in the Place de la Sorbonne (just south of the present day Hotel de Cluny along Boulevard Saint-Michel). Although originally intended for the use of the Cluny abbots, the residence was taken over by Jacques d'Amboise, Bishop of Clermont and Abbot of Jumieges, and rebuilt to its present form in the period of 1485-1500. Occupants of the house over the years have included Mary Tudor, who was installed here after the death of her husband Louis XII by his successor Francis I of France in 1515 so he could watch her more closely, particularly to see if she was pregnant. Seventeenth-century occupants included several papal nuncios including Mazarin.

In 1793 it was confiscated by the state, and for the next three decades served several functions. At one point it was owned by a physician who used the magnificent Flamboyant chapel on the first floor as a dissection room.

In 1833 Alexandre du Sommerard moved here and installed here his large collection of medieval and Renaissance objects. Upon his death in 1842 the collection was purchased by the state and opened in 1843, with his son as the museum's first curator. The present gardens, opened in 1971, include a "Foret de la Licorne" inspired by the tapestries.

The Hotel de Cluny is partially constructed on the remains of Gallo-Roman baths dating from the third century (known as the Thermes de Cluny ), which are famous in their own right and which may still be visited. In fact, the museum itself actually consists of two buildings: the frigidarium ("cooling room"), where the remains of the Thermes de Cluny are, and the Hotel de Cluny itself, which houses its impressive collections.


Among the principal holdings of the museum are the six La Dame a la Licorne (The Lady and the Unicorn) tapestries, from the late fifteenth century, often considered one of the greatest works of art of the Middle Ages in Europe.

Other notable works stored there include early Medieval sculptures from the seventh and eighth centuries. There are also works of gold, ivory, antique furnishings, and illuminated manuscripts.