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Origin and history

The chapel of Kermaria an Iskuit, located in the hamlet of Kermaria in Plouha (Côtes-d'Armor), is a religious building dating mainly from the thirteenth and fifteenth centuries. His Breton name means "the village of Marie who saves", evoking his protective role. Founded around 1240 by Henry II of Avaugour, a crusader from the Holy Land, it was enlarged in the 15th and 16th centuries, and then revised in the 18th century. Ranked a Historic Monument in 1907, it is distinguished by its hybrid architecture, combining Gothic and Renaissance styles.

The southern porch, the most remarkable element, served as a seigneurial court in the 16th century. Its Renaissance gallery, overtaking an ogival bay, housed the statues of the twelve apostles and a polychrome Virgin. Upstairs, the "secretary" allowed the lords of Noë-Verte (like the Marquis of Lézobre, legendary giant buried in the chapel) to do justice. The 16th century gargoyles and murals, including a macabre dance (1488–1501) of 47 figures, make it a Breton artistic gem.

The nave, divided into seven spans, illustrates the architectural evolution: the first four (12th century) are built on cylindrical pillars, while the next three (15th century) are built on octagonal columns. The choir, reconstructed between 1720 and 1721, houses a sacristy extended by a altar with a retable. The private chapel in the south forms an incomplete transept. The west tower, covered by a slate arrow dated 1702, dominates the whole.

The macabre dance of Kermaria, rediscovered in 1856 after having been hidden under a badigeon in the 18th century, is one of the only two preserved in Brittany. Painted in clear tones on ochre background, it represents a farandole of skeletons and living, accompanied by moral sentences today partially lost. Another fresco, the Dit of the three dead and the three alive (near side), completes this macabre medieval ensemble, showing the concern of the era for death and salvation.

The chapel is also linked to local legends, such as that of the Marquis de Lézobre, a giant invincible after being bathed in a holy fountain. His tomb, discovered at the end of the 19th century, contained his skull in a shawl. In 1747, the site passed from the lords of La Feillée to the Taillart family, a member of which was buried in a fire in the southern transept. In the 20th century, the fresco inspired Ridley Scott for his film Kingdom of Heaven (2005).

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