Josselin (; ) is a commune in the Morbihan

department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

in Brittany in north-western France.

History

St Meriadek Saint Meriasek ( br, Meriadeg) was a 6th-century Cornish and Brittany, Breton saint. The legends of his life are known through ''Beunans Meriasek'', a Cornish language play known from a single surviving manuscript copy dated 1504, and a few other ...

is said to have founded a chapel there during the 4th century. Much later Josselin became a stronghold of the

House of Rohan The House of Rohan ( br, Roc'han) is a Breton people, Breton family of viscounts, later dukes and princes in the French nobility, coming from the locality of Rohan (commune), Rohan in Brittany. Their line descends from the viscounts of Porhoët ...

. An alternative explanation for the location of the chapel concerns a labourer who in 808 discovered a wooden statue in the brambles which enabled his hitherto blind daughter to see. A chapel was constructed on the site of this miracle which subsequently grew into a church (parts of which date back to the twelfth century). A fresco in the church now recalls the Combat of the Thirty summarized below. In 1351, during the Breton War of Succession (part of the Hundred Years' War), two groups of approximately 30 English knights (led by Robert Bramborough, the English captain of Ploërmel) and Franco-Breton knights (commanded by Jean de Beaumanoir, captain of Josselin) staged an arranged combat at a spot halfway between the Chateau de Josselin and Ploërmel. The Franco-Breton side eventually won after killing or capturing the English force, including Bramborough. This episode was later known as the Combat of the Thirty. The Castle of Josselin can still be seen today, although only four of the original nine towers remain after the

Cardinal Richelieu Armand Jean du Plessis, Duke of Richelieu (; 9 September 1585 – 4 December 1642), known as Cardinal Richelieu, was a French clergyman and statesman. He was also known as ''l'Éminence rouge'', or "the Red Eminence", a term derived from the ...

ordered the castle partially demolished in 1629.

Demographics

Inhabitants of Josselin are called ''Josselinais''.

Breton language

In 2008, 16.05% of children attended the bilingual schools in primary education.

Twin towns

Josselin is twinned with: :

Alzey Alzey () is a ''Verband''-free town – one belonging to no ''Verbandsgemeinde'' – in the Alzey-Worms district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is the fifth-largest town in Rhenish Hesse, after Mainz, Worms, Germany, Worms, Ingelheim am Rhein ...

, Germany :

Tard Tard is a village in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén county, Hungary. References External links Street map Populated places in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén County {{Borsod-geo-stub ...

, Hungary : Brechin, Scotland, UK

References

External links