Word: locronan
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Dates: during 1959-1959
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...marketplace of Locronan, a tiny (pop. 1,000) village in Brittany, 5,000 Frenchmen got set for a hike. Most were Bretons or of Breton origin, and many had come from far-off towns and lands; all had waited six years for the day. The occasion: the Tromenie, Brittany's sexennial pilgrimage, whose history, like Locronan's, dates back to the 5th or 6th century...
That was when St. Ronan, an Irish bishop consecrated by St. Patrick himself, founded Locronan. According to legend, St. Ronan spent his time in a hermit's cell, studied spiders as they spun their webs, and adapted their technique to the art of weaving, which soon brought prosperity to the village. St. Ronan, tradition has it, was driven out of town by a mob of angry shrews whose leader accused him of being a werewolf-she was afraid that the hermit was persuading her husband to become a monk. The saint left town walking barefoot across the rocky terrain...
...pilgrims marched the ten penitential miles. Bearing crosses and banners, whole families walked together, singing and praying. The young helped the old across improvised bridges and through the sharp stubble of newly sickled wheat. At twelve resting places along the way, prayers were recited in makeshift chapels. That evening Locronan doors stayed open, and big rustic tables were laden with crêpes, bread, butter and cider. Last week the rituals ended with midnight Mass and a pageant re-enacting the life of St. Ronan...
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