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Origin and history

The Saint-Martin church of Josselin, founded in 1105 by Josselin II of Porhoët, was originally a priory dependent on the Benedictine abbey of Marmoutier, near Tours. This Romanesque monument, which was built in the early 12th century, served as a burial place for the Counts of Porhoët in the 12th and 13th centuries. Its architecture reproduces a Benedictine plan rare in Brittany, with a high nave, a long-breasted transept, and a choir flanked by absidioles.

Transformed into a parish church around 1400, it underwent major changes: the original apse was replaced by a polygonal bedside in the late 16th or early 17th century, and the nave was destroyed in the late 18th or early 19th century. Today only the transept and the bedside remain, giving the building an atypical north-south orientation. A chapel added to the west forms a false transept, while wooden partitions mask the apsidioles.

In the 19th century, the church underwent other changes, including the reconstruction of the southern gable in 1868, after its collapse. It was listed as historical monuments in 2003. Its history reflects the religious and architectural evolutions of the region, moving from Catholic worship to temporary Protestantism in the sixteenth century, before returning to its parish vocation.

The priory, founded as a dependency of Marmoutier, illustrates the influence of the Tourangelle Abbeys in Brittany. The relics transferred from Marmoutier in 1110 testify to its spiritual importance. The archaeological remains allow to reconstruct its original plan, unique among Breton Romanesque churches, with a spatial organization in accordance with Benedictine principles.

Today, the church of Saint Martin, owned by the commune of Josselin, retains remarkable elements such as the loggia of the southern facade, used for outdoor celebrations during the pardon of Notre-Dame du Roncier. Its present state is the result of centuries of transformation, reflecting both its monastic past and its role in local parish life.

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