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Origin and history

The Notre-Dame-du-Roncier basilica in Josselin, Brittany, has its origins in a legend of the ninth century: in 808, a peasant discovers a statue of the Virgin in a bush of thorns on the edge of the Oust. Despite its attempts to move it, the statue reappears systematically in the munker, leading to the construction of a chapel, the nucleus of the future city of Josselin. A falcon, suspended in the building, and thorns embedded in the gable, symbolize this founding miracle. Miraculous healings, including those of the "Josselin's barkers", were attributed to them in the Middle Ages.

The present church was rebuilt in the late 12th century after the destruction of Josselin in 1168 by Henry II of England. Only the choir preserves Romanesque remains. In the 13th century, the choir and vault of the transept, a rare work in medieval Brittany reserved for the great shrines, was enlarged. In the 14th century, Olivier V de Clisson and Marguerite de Rohan turned the southern absidiole into a private chapel. Between 1461 and 1491, under the impulse of the lords of Rohan (John II, Alain IX), the nave and the lower sides were built, followed by a square tower to the north, partially collapsed in 1705.

The basilica underwent major changes in the 19th to 20th centuries. In 1891 Pope Leo XIII granted him the title of minor basilica. The architects Lafargue (Blésois), Libaudière and Ménard (Nantais) then led major works: renovation of the chapels (including that of Saint Marguerite, dedicated in 1890), replacement of the ruined vaults with false plaster vaults, and construction of a new tower-clocher completed in 1949. The arrow, erected according to René Ménard's plans, crowns the building after half a century of interruption.

Interior furniture and decor reflect this composite history. The southern porch, inspired by the Renaissance (16th century), features motifs from the Basilica of Guingamp. The stained glass windows, Romanesque capitals, and 15th century swimming pools (classified in 1927) bear witness to successive phases. The basilica, listed as a historic monument in 2020, remains an active place of pilgrimage, marked by traditions such as the forgiveness of aboyous women, where procession and blessings perpetuate a medieval heritage.

The legend and miracles associated with Notre-Dame-du-Roncier — healings, protection from flames (a fragment of the original statue, burned during the Revolution, is preserved in a reliquary) — forged his identity. Until the 19th century, a macabre dance was held in the northern chapel, and the "boy girls", women with seizures, came to seek healing there. Today, forgiveness brings together elected locals, bishops, and descendants of the Rohan, emphasizing the link between religious heritage and seigneurial memory.

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