Abelard and Heloise the Witch

Often described as one of the world’s great love stories, the relationship between Abélard and Héloïse is often celebrated alongside such fabled affairs as Helen and Paris, Dido and Aeneas or Cleopatra and Mark Anthony. However, the Bretons of yesteryear carried a very different remembrance; that of Héloïse as evil witch but does either standing hang true?

Some Breton Love Spells

Spells to attract that most elusive of treasure, true love, have been noted in disparate cultures across the world since the earliest times. It is therefore no surprise that in the Brittany of yesterday, spells and charms to inspire romantic desire were also once quite widespread.

Visions of Love in Brittany

The novena of Candlemas was once a devotion popularly believed to reveal one’s true love. In Brittany, a curious legend merges this belief with a more ancient tradition; the power of the fairy mirror.

Looking for Love in Brittany

Marriage, whether motivated by romantic idealism or social necessity was a key concern for the people of rural Brittany. A number of unusual customs and superstitions once surrounded marriage and the quest for love.