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Origin and history

The chapel Notre-Dame-de-la-Clarté is located at Locadour, in the commune of Kervignac, in Morbihan. Built in the late 15th or early 16th century, it is distinguished by its squared plan, formed by a single long nave of a choir and a north arm. The western facade, made of large stone-cut apparatus, is surrounded by foothills with partially destroyed pinnacles. A staircase integrated with the north rampant leads to the bell tower, while the south facade features a basket handle door surmounted by an erased coat of arms. The bedside was rebuilt after 1945, and it appears to have been reamped at the end of the 19th century.

The name Locadour evokes Katur (or Cathur), a companion of Saints Cado and Goal, who was commissioned in the 5th or 6th century by Count Guerec The present chapel is the result of several construction campaigns: the nave dates back to the late 15th century, while the north wing, rebuilt in the 17th century, reuses medieval elements such as a door and a window of the 15th century. Polygonal sacristy, added between the late 17th and early 18th centuries, marks the angle of both vessels. A modern fountain, up by the choir, completes the ensemble.

Ranked a historic monument in 1925, the chapel preserves traces of missing coats of arms, especially on the bentier, where a fascice topped by three shells remains, perhaps linked to the Lopriac family. The later modifications (window of the 17th century, extinct altarpiece, post-Second World War cement coating) testify to its architectural evolution. The site, a communal property, is part of a landscape marked by Marian devotion and Breton religious history.

The building illustrates the medieval and modern constructive techniques, mixing stone-cuts, bellows and reuses. Its access by the west, underlined by an open facade, contrasts with the simplicity of the bedside. The foothills, fragmentary pinnacles and broken arched bays recall the flamboyant Gothic, while the additions of the 17th–15th centuries reflect the liturgical and community adaptations. The chapel remains a testimony of local piety and Breton hagiographic legends, such as that of Saint Gurthiern and his companions.

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