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Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The church Our Lady of Kernascleden, originally a chapel dedicated to the Virgin, was erected in the middle of the 15th century under the impulse of the Viscounts of Rohan and the Dukes of Brittany. His work, begun around the 1420s by Alain VIII de Rohan and Béatrix de Clisson, was completed in 1464 with the laying of the vaults by the brothers Le Bail. The building, classified as a Historic Monument since 1857, embodies the climax of Breton flamboyant Gothic art, combining architectural elegance and decorations carved in rebel granite. His stained-glass windows, roses, and pinnacles make him a model of ornamentation, while his Latin cross plan, with a single low side nave and choir to collateral, reveals a bold conception for the era.

The chapel owes its fame to its 15th century murals, considered one of the most complete sets of medieval French painting. These frescoes, executed with gum, illustrate biblical scenes (Passion of Christ, Life of the Virgin) and eschatological themes (Dance macabre, Hell), reflecting the influence of preacher Vincent Ferrier. The musicians angels of the north crusillon, dated from the 1430s, testify to an Aragonese Mass, while the 24 scenes of the vault of the choir, inspired apocryphal, reveal an artist mastering perspective and narration. The furniture, including carved altars and statues (Vierge à l'Enfant, Pietà), as well as the 73 identical stone tailors marks in nave and choir, confirm the unit of the site, led by a travelling workshop that also worked in Quimperlé and Saint-Fiacre du Fauët.

The history of the building is marked by vicissitudes: partial collapse of the bell tower in 1876, successive restorations (notably by Édouard Corroyer), and rediscovered paintings in 1923. Kernascleden became a parish autonomous in 1908. Today, the church, a communal property, also houses a colony of bats in its attic, observable via a thermal camera. His forgiveness, once celebrated in September, now attracts pilgrims in mid-August, perpetuating a Marian tradition dating back to the Middle Ages.

The combined patronage of the Rohans (Alain IX, John II) and the Dukes of Brittany (John V, Francis II) is reflected in the heraldic of the key vaults, where their arms are alongside those of Louis II of Rohan-Guémené. The chapel, built of local granite despite the difficulty of size, is distinguished by its carved porches (porch of the Ladies to the south, porch of the Men to the east) and its bell tower-wall, innovative for the time. The pinnacle foothills, openwork balustrades, and gargoyles animate a dynamic silhouette, while the interior, vaulted with stone, surprises with its adorned lamp asses and its veins falling into direct penetration on the cylindrical pillars of the choir.

The frescoes of the southern crusillon, though degraded, offer a striking contrast between the Paradise of the Music Angels and the torments of Hell, where demons and damned illustrate medieval fears. The macabre dance, one of the last two in Brittany, recalls the human fragility faced with death, a theme dear to the preaching of Vincent Ferrier. These paintings, restored in the 20th century, are surrounded by remarkable liturgical furniture (altars with flamboyant archatures, polychrome wooden statues) and stained glass windows with complex networks, where the curves and countercurves typical of the flamboyant dominate. The building, often compared to Notre-Dame du Folgoët or Saint-Fiacre du Faouët, remains an exceptional testimony of Breton art under the Dukes.

The local legend tells that angels carried the tools between the Kernascleden and Saint-Fiacre yards, highlighting the links between these two 15 km distant jewels. This poetic image reflects historical reality: the same workshop, formed in Quimperlé, would have worked on both sites, adapting its style to the evolutions of the flamboyant Gothic. Today, the church, attached to the parish of Guémené-sur-Scorff, aims to become again a major Marian sanctuary, as in the Middle Ages, thanks to the appointment of a dedicated priest in 2022. Its peak, home to 16 species of bats from the 21 Bretons, adds an ecological dimension to this historical and spiritual heritage.

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