Everything about Mont-saint-michel totally explained
Mont Saint-Michel (
English:
Mount Saint Michael) is a rocky
tidal island in
Normandy,
France. It is located approximately one kilometer off the country's north coast, at the mouth of the
Couesnon River near
Avranches.
Formation
In prehistoric times the bay was land. As sea levels rose
erosion shaped the coastal landscape over millions of years. Several blocks of
granite or
granulite emerged in the bay, having resisted the wear and tear of the ocean better than the surrounding rocks. These included
Lillemer, the Mont-Dol,
Tombelaine and Mont Tombe, later called Mont Saint-Michel.
Tidal island
Mont Saint-Michel was previously connected to the mainland via a thin natural
land bridge, which before modernization was covered at high
tide and revealed at low tide. Thus, Mont Saint-Michel has been compromised by several developments. Over the centuries, the coastal flats have been
polderised to create pasture. Thus the distance between the shore and the south coast of Mont-Saint-Michel has decreased. The
Couesnon River has been
canalised, reducing the flow of water and thereby encouraging a
silting-up of the bay. In
1879, the land bridge was fortified into a true
causeway. This prevented the tide from scouring the silt round the mount.
On
16 June 2006, the French prime minister and regional authorities announced a
€164 million project (
Projet Mont-Saint-Michel) to build a
hydraulic dam that will help remove the accumulated silt and make Mont Saint-Michel an island again. It is expected to be completed by
2012.
History
Mont Saint-Michel was used in the
sixth and
seventh centuries as an
Armorican stronghold of
Romano-Breton culture and power, until it was ransacked by the
Franks, thus ending the trans-
channel culture that had stood since the departure of the
Romans in AD
460.
Before the construction of the first monastic establishment in the
8th century, the island was called
Mont Tombe. According to legend, the archangel
Michael appeared to
St. Aubert,
bishop of Avranches, in
708 and instructed him to build a church on the rocky islet. Aubert repeatedly ignored the angel's instruction, until Michael burned a hole in the bishop's skull with his finger.
The mount gained strategic significance in
933 when William "Long Sword",
Duke of Normandy, annexed the
Cotentin Peninsula, definitively placing the mount in
Normandy. It is depicted in the
Bayeux Tapestry, which commemorates the
1066 Norman conquest of
England. Ducal patronage financed the spectacular
Norman architecture of the abbey in subsequent centuries.
In 1067, the monastery of Mont Saint-Michel gave its support to duke
William of Normandy in his claim to the throne of England. It was rewarded with properties and grounds on the English side of the Channel, including a small island located at the west of
Cornwall, which, modelled after the Mount, became a
Norman priory named
St Michael's Mount of Penzance.
During the
Hundred Years' War the
English made repeated assaults on the island but were unable to seize it, partly due to the abbey's improved fortifications.
Les Michelettes, two wrought-iron
bombards left by the English in their failed 1423–24 siege of Mont Saint-Michel, are still displayed near the outer defense wall.
The wealth and influence of the abbey extended to many daughter foundations, including St Michael's Mount in Cornwall. However, its popularity and prestige as a centre of
pilgrimage waned with the
Reformation, and by the time of the
French Revolution there were scarcely any monks in residence. The abbey was closed and converted into a
prison, initially to hold clerical opponents of the republican régime. High-profile political prisoners followed, but by
1836 influential figures, including
Victor Hugo, had launched a campaign to restore what was seen as a national architectural treasure. The prison was finally closed in
1863, and the mount was declared a historic monument in
1874. The Mont Saint-Michel and its bay were added to the
UNESCO list of
World Heritage Sites in 1979, as they rank very high on such World Heritage Site criteria as cultural, historical, and architectural significance, as well as human-created and natural beauty.
Development of Mont Saint Michel
Image:200506 - Mont Saint-Michel 50 - Maquette.JPG|10th century
Image:200506 - Mont Saint-Michel 51 - Maquette.JPG|11th to 12th century
Image:200506 - Mont Saint-Michel 52 - Maquette.JPG|17th to 18th century
Image:200506 - Mont Saint-Michel 53 - Maquette.JPG|20th century
Design
William de Volpiano, the Italian architect who had built the
Abbey of Fécamp in Normandy, was chosen as building
contractor by
Richard II of Normandy in the
11th century. He designed the
Romanesque church of the abbey, daringly placing the
transept crossing at the top of the mount. Many underground
crypts and
chapels had to be built to compensate for this weight; these formed the basis for the supportive upward structure that can be seen today. Today Mont Saint-Michel is seen as a
Gothic-style church.
Robert de Thorigny, a great supporter of
Henry II of England (who was also
Duke of Normandy), reinforced the structure of the buildings and built the main
façade of the church in the
12th century. In 1204 the Breton Guy de Thouars, allied to the King of France, undertook the seat of the Mount. After having set fire to the borough and having massacred the population, he was constrained to beat a retreat under the powerful walls of the Abbey. Unfortunately, the fire which he himself lit extended to the buildings, and the roofs fell prey to the flames. Horrified by the cruelty and the exactions of his Breton ally,
Philip Augustus offered Abbot
Jourdain a grant for the construction of a new Gothic-style architectural set which included the addition of the
refectory and
cloister.
Charles VI is credited with adding major fortifications to the abbey-mount, building towers, successive courtyards and strengthening the ramparts.
Tides
The tides in the area change quickly, and have been described by Victor Hugo as "
à la vitesse d'un cheval au galop" or "as swiftly as a galloping horse". The tide actually comes in at one metre per second.
The tides can vary greatly, at roughly 14 metres between high and low water marks. Popularly nicknamed "St. Michael in peril of the sea" by medieval
pilgrims making their way across the flats, the mount can still pose dangers for visitors who avoid the causeway and attempt the hazardous walk across the sands from the neighbouring coast. The danger of drowning due to coastal tides after getting caught in
quicksand continues to claim lives.
Polderisation and occasional flooding created
salt marsh meadows that were found to be ideally suited to grazing sheep. The well-flavoured meat that results from the diet of the sheep in the
pré salé (salt meadow) makes
agneau de pré-salé (salt meadow lamb), a local speciality that may be found on the menus of restaurants that depend on income from the many visitors to the mount.
Administration
The islet belongs to the French
commune of Le Mont-Saint-Michel, of the
Manche département, in the
Basse-Normandie région. Population (1999): 50. The nearest major town, with an
SNCF train station, is
Pontorson. Mont Saint-Michel belongs to the
Organization of World Heritage Cities.
Mont Saint-Michel has also been the subject of traditional, but nowadays good-humoured, rivalry between Normans and Bretons. Bretons claim that, since the Couesnon River marks the traditional boundary between
Normandy and
Brittany, it's only because the river has altered its course over the centuries that the mount is on the Norman side of the frontier - as expressed in the rhyme "
le Couesnon en sa folie mit le Mont en Normandie" ("The Couesnon in its madness placed [MontSaint-Michel] in Normandy"). This legend amuses the frontier inhabitants who know that the border isn't located on the Couesnon river itself but on the firm ground at 4 km in the west, with the foot of the solid mass of Saint-Brelade.
Mont Saint-Michel in modern culture
- Mont Saint-Michel is featured in the 1950 Powell and Pressburger film The Elusive Pimpernel.
- The Mont Saint-Michel was featured in the 1985 IMAX film Chronos, in which an aerial view of the incoming tides are shown using time lapse video.
- The 1990 Bernt Amadeus Capra film Mindwalk was filmed on the mount.
- Mike Oldfield composed instrumental track dedicated to the Mont Saint-Michel and released it on the Voyager album in 1996.
- In 1998, the French composer Patrick Broguière
released a progressive rock album entirely dedicated to the Mont Saint-Michel.
- Cornish electronic music artist Aphex Twin released a song entitled "Mt Saint Michel + Saint Michaels Mount".
- The castle was featured in the Disneyland Paris ride The Timekeeper.
- The Mont was featured in Impressions de France, a movie shown at Epcot in Orlando, Florida.
- Mont Saint-Michel was also featured in a scene in the 2004 animated Disney movie, in which Captain Pete of the Musketeers attempted to drown Mickey Mouse in order to carry out his plot to take over France's monarchy as king without interruption. Pete even mentions it by name, telling Mickey before leaving the dungeon, "Enjoy your stay at the Mont Saint-Michel -- they say the tide comes in faster than horses!" This is in reference to the cathedral's history as a jail for political prisoners, as well as Victor Hugo's description of the tides.
- Mont Saint-Michel, along with St Michael's Mount, was an inspiration for the design of Minas Tirith in the 2003 film, directed by Peter Jackson.
- Mont Saint-Michel was featured in . The Genma had taken control of it and used it to house the time folder. Mont Saint-Michel was destroyed after the time folder exploded.
- In Bernard Cornwell's book The Winter King, the island is given the name Ynys Trebes and is the capital of the Armorican kingdom of Benoic. The book also gives a fictionalized portrayal of its destruction by the Franks.
- In 1913, the American intellectual Henry Brooks Adams wrote Mont-Saint-Michel and Chartres, celebrating the unity of medieval society, especially as represented in the great cathedrals of France.
- In La promesse de l'ange, a novel by Frederic Lenoir and Violette Cabesos, the main action takes place in Mont Saint-Michel.
- Appeared in the Roxette music video "Queen of Rain"
- French composer Claude Debussy frequented the island and possibly drew inspiration from not only the legend of the mythical city of Ys, but also Mont Saint-Michel's cathedral for his piano prelude La Cathedrale Engloutie.
- French author Maxime Chattam used Mont Saint-Michel as one of the main locations in his book Le Sang du Temps
- Seen in the cover of japanese musician Erika Sawajiri's debut single Free.
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