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Origin and history

The Notre-Dame du Crann chapel, located in Spézet, Brittany, was built around 1535 on the lands of the lords of the Old Châtel, probably succeeding a 13th century building. Its Latin cross plan, atypical for a chapel with its sides, evokes rather local parish churches. The west facade, unlined from the nave, reveals an adjustment during construction, while the symmetric north and south facades are decorated with renaissant sculptures (angels, geometric motifs) and ogival bays. The interior decor, marked by wrought arcades and a girdle-bracketed frame, bears traces of ancient paintings.

The chapel depended on the parish of Spézet, attached to the chapter of Quimper since 1218. Its construction was financed by the parish factory, as attested by an inscription of 1535 mentioning Metre H. Bonet (Perpetual Vicar) and I. Lescoat (Procurer). Two glass windows, dated 1548 and 1553, confirm the prosperity of the factory, fed by a flourishing pilgrimage around prestigious relics (milk of the Virgin, Saint Julien, Holy Cross). These gifts attracted artists from Quimperois, perhaps via the chapter, to create a homogeneous set of stained glass and furniture (table, high altar).

In the 17th century, the sacristy (1653, inscription Y. Guen Coat Fraval) and a bell tower (undetermined date) were added. The role of local lords, like the Old Châtel, remains unclear despite their private chapel in the north transept. The treasure of relics, including fragments of saints and of the Holy Sepulcher, strengthened the radiance of the place. The architecture mixes shale and granite, the latter reserved for structural elements (buttress, gables), while the western portal, sober and decentralized, contrasts with the richness of other facades. Ranked a Historic Monument in 1916, the chapel illustrates the transition between Gothic and Renaissance in Brittany.

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