Mont Saint Michel

Mont-Saint-Michel

At the mouth of the river Couesnon, which has traditionally marked the borderline between Brittany and Normandy since Roman times, there was once a rocky island called Mont Tombe (Tomb on the Hill). At the beginning of the 8th century Saint Aubert had an oratory built on the island, in order to reinforce Christian faith against ancient beliefs that were particularly strong and vivid in Celtic environment of the time. A small chapel dedicated to the saint can still be seen on a spur facing the sea, at the bottom north.

Between the 10th and 12th centuries, the oratory was replaced by a huge Benedictine monastery, a Gothic masterpiece called la Merveille ('the Miracle'), topped later on by an impressive flamboyant Gothic church, crowned with a figure of Saint Michael and supported by two 11th century vaults, Notre-Dame des Trente Cierges (the Crypt of Thirty Candles) and Saint Martin's Crypt. At the middle level of the Abbey are the famous 'Salle des Hôtes' (Guest Room) and Salle des Chevaliers (Knights' Room), and exactly above, at church level, the long and narrow refectory and the 13th century cloister, with its slender columns typical of the Anglo-Norman style. It is interesting to note that Mont-Saint-Michel is already depicted on the Bayeux Tapestry (probably embroidered soon after 1066). Fortified walls were added in the 15th century, to resist English attacks during the Hundred Years' war. For centuries, thousands of pilgrims called miquelots have crossed the bay on foot and climbed up to the abbey and church on a steep route, what is today the Grande Rue and crowded with tourists. Hard to imagine that the small town has less than a hundred permanent residents!

After the French Revolution, the monastery became a prison for nearly a century. As the revolutionary leaders had decided to ban all religious terms from the public vocabulary, Mont-Saint-Michel was called Mont-Michel then, quite ironically Mont-Libre! When the monarchy was restored, Republican activists such as Auguste Blanqui and Armand Barbés were among the most famous political prisoners. The abbey was returned to the Church by Napoleon III in 1863 (a small community is still present on the site) and, in 1880, the island was linked to the mainland by a causeway.

The landscape is wild and beautiful, but the deep bay is a very dangerous place at low tide, spotted with pits of sables mouvants (quicksand), where inattentive fishermen or children collecting shells were frequently trapped and drowned. The tides are very strong in the area, especially in Spring and Autumn, easily reaching speeds of 10 miles per hour. The waves were said by Victor Hugo to progress and reach their victims 'á la vitesse d'un cheval au galop' (as swiftly as a galloping horse). The number of casualties has probably been overrated by the legend over the years, but unluckily, it is not only a rumour: a little girl drowned near the car park three years ago, and nobody was quick enough to rescue her!

Mont-Saint-Michel is one of the most frequently visited monument in France (nearly one million visitors a year). Considering the number of people (and cars) involved, various projects have been introduced to regulate the access. It must also be stressed that the causeway had gradually ruined the ecosystem of the bay, by blocking the circulation of the sands and silts. Although the long-term process of polderisation is difficult to fight, it had been recently decided to pull down the present pier (forcing the cars and buses to park on the mainland), and to replace it by a bridge, preferably a footbridge, to allow the sea to surround the island as it used to.

Lise-Éliane Pomier