Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

Mézedern Manor House, located in Plougonven in Finistère, is an architectural complex organized around a quadrangular courtyard, dating mainly from the 15th, 16th and 18th centuries. Ranked a historic monument in 1992, it is distinguished by its 16th-century house-porch, 17th-century chapel, and an early 20th-century stable. His history is closely linked to the Le Lagadec family, lords of places from the 15th to the 18th century, including Jehan Lagadec, author in 1464 of the Catholicon, first trilingual dictionary Breton-French-Latin, probably written in this mansion.

The property then passed into the hands of several families, including Le Rouge de Guerdavid (from 1732), then Raoul, Loz de Coatgourhant, and Coudre-Lacoudrais in the 19th century. Threatened by ruin in the 20th century, the mansion was saved in 1992 by Jack Meyer, who undertook a complete restoration after his classification. The works preserve its defensive elements (hexagonal tower, murderous) and its architectural character unique in Brittany, such as the integrated house-porch, rare in the region.

The Catholicon, first printed in 1499 in Tréguier, remains the major work associated with the mansion. Although the exact place of its writing is not proven, Jehan Lagadec, Bachelor of Arts and Decrees, evokes his attachment to Plougonven in the preface. In 2014, the mansion celebrates 550 years of the book, highlighting its role in Breton cultural history. After Jack Meyer's death in 2015, the estate was sold in 2020.

The architecture of the mansion reflects its evolution: the main house of the 15th century, commons of the 16th and 18th centuries, and a chapel dedicated to Saint Nicholas, built outside the enclosure in the 17th century. The 1992 classification protects all buildings, including the chapel. Meyer owners also furnished the interiors and exhibited collections of ancient objects, giving life to this heritage.

In culture, the mansion inspires the writer Xavier Grall, who describes it in 1983 in And tell me about the land as a "jewel of Breton architecture", symbol of the golden age and the decline of Brittany. Grall evokes its square courtyard, ancient well, and melancholic atmosphere, contrasting with the fascists of Versailles. The site, now private, remains an exceptional testimony of the seigneurial and intellectual history of the region.

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