The Menhir de Champ-Dolent (; ) is a

menhir A menhir (; from Brittonic languages: ''maen'' or ''men'', "stone" and ''hir'' or ''hîr'', "long"), standing stone, orthostat, or lith is a large upright stone, emplaced in the ground by humans, typically dating from the European middle Br ...

, or upright standing stone, located in a field outside the town of

Dol-de-Bretagne Dol-de-Bretagne (, literally ''Dol of Brittany''; ; Gallo: ''Dóu''), cited in most historical records under its Breton name of Dol, is a commune in the Ille-et-Vilaine ''département'' in Brittany in northwestern France. Geography Dol-de-Bret ...

. It is the second largest standing stone in

Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...

and is around 9.4 metres high.

Location

The Menhir de Champ-Dolent is 2 kilometres (1 mile) south of

in the department of

Ille-et-Vilaine Ille-et-Vilaine (; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Ill-e-Vilaenn'', ) is a departments of France, department of France, located in the regions of France, region of Brittany (administrative region), Brittany in the northwest of the country. It is named a ...

. It is in a small picnic area fenced off among the fields near the D795 road.

Description

The menhir is the second tallest of Brittany's standing stones. Its height above ground is between 9.3 and 9.5 metres (about 31 feet). It is made of pinkish granite, quarried about away, and has an estimated weight of around 100 tonnes. It is oval in shape with a smooth surface. A cross was once placed on top to Christianize it. It is not precisely dated, but recent scholarship suggests that Brittany's menhirs were erected c. 5000–4000 BC. It has been registered as a ''

monument historique () is a designation given to some national heritage sites in France. It may also refer to the state procedure in France by which national heritage protection is extended to a building, a specific part of a building, a collection of buildings, ...

'' by the

French Ministry of Culture The Ministry of Culture () is the ministry (government department), ministry of the Government of France in charge of List of museums in France, national museums and the . Its goal is to maintain the French identity through the promotion and pro ...

since 1889.

In folklore

According to legend, the menhir rose from the ground to separate two feuding brothers who were on the point of killing each other. This legend is said to account for the name "Champ Dolent" which means "Field of Sorrow". In reality, the word ''dolent'' is more likely to derive from Breton ''dolenn'' ("

meadow A meadow ( ) is an open habitat or field, vegetated by grasses, herbs, and other non- woody plants. Trees or shrubs may sparsely populate meadows, as long as they maintain an open character. Meadows can occur naturally under favourable con ...

"). Another legend states that the menhir is slowly sinking into the ground, and the world will end when it disappears altogether. According to tradition, in the year 560,

Chlothar I Chlothar I, sometime called "the Old" (French: le Vieux), (died December 561) also anglicised as Clotaire from the original French version, was a king of the Franks of the Merovingian dynasty and one of the four sons of Clovis I. With his eldes ...

, King of the Franks, is said to have met his rebel son,

Chram Chram (also spelled ''Chramn'', ''Chramm''; Old Frankish 'raven'; Latin: , modern French: ) (died 561) was the son of Chlothar I, a Merovingian dynasty, Merovingian king of the Franks (r. 558–561), and his fifth wife, Chunsina. Chram rose in reb ...

, here.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Menhir De Champ-Dolent Megalithic monuments in Brittany Monuments historiques of Ille-et-Vilaine Menhirs Buildings and structures completed in the 5th millennium BC

Location

Description

In folklore

See also

References

External links