Vefa de Saint-Pierre, born Geneviève de Méhérenc de Saint-Pierre (or Vefa Sant-Pêr in the Breton language), or Brug ar Menez Du (bardic name) was a Breton explorer, reporter and author, born in Plian, France, on 4 May 1872 and died in Sant-Brieg in 1967.
She was the daughter of Count Henri de Méhérenc de Saint-Pierre and Marie Espivent de La Villesboisnet, a "pure heiress of the Breton nobility" and born in a castle in the
Côtes-d'Armor
The Côtes-d'Armor ( , ; ; , ), formerly known as Côtes-du-Nord until 1990 (, ), is a department in the north of Brittany, in northwestern France. In 2019, it had a population of 600,582. By turns a nun, reporter, novelist, author of poetry and youth fiction, Saint-Pierre was a global voyager and hunter travelling across North and South America and
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
who wrote enthusiastically about her adventures.
Biography
Deciding as a young girl against marriage, Vefa (short for Geneviève) chose instead to pursue the only option available for an unmarried young woman of her time: religion. She joined a convent associated with the Oblates of Saint Francis de Sales 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 ...
, located in northwestern France, and remained a nun for 15 years. It was in that religious capacity, during one or two missions to Ecuador, that she gained a taste for travel and adventure.
In 1905, Saint-Pierre left convent life without ever having made her final vows. To feed her need to travel, she left Brittany alone for North America - United States and
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
- where she renewed her passion for hunting (reportedly, she had received her first shotgun for her tenth birthday). Soon her exploits became legend; she killed a boar, as well as a moose that charged her, and grizzly bears, among others. It was on this trip that she met others from the Brittany region of France who had made a new home in Canada. As Saint-Pierre toured the world, she was also known to explore
Quito
Quito (; ), officially San Francisco de Quito, is the capital city, capital and second-largest city of Ecuador, with an estimated population of 2.8 million in its metropolitan area. It is also the capital of the province of Pichincha Province, P ...
,
Ecuador
Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...
in 1899, and she journeyed to
Sydney
Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
in 1928.
In 1910, at 38 years of age, she married Joseph-Marie Potiron de Boisfleury, but the marriage failed, lasting only three months.
In France, Saint-Pierre is also known for having owned the Menez Kamm manor since 1908 when she bought it. There, from 1970 to 1976, she sponsored various Breton movements, both Catholic and communist. A vigorous promoter of the
Breton language
Breton (, , ; or in Morbihan) is a Southwestern Brittonic language of the Celtic languages, Celtic language group spoken in Brittany, part of modern-day France. It is the only Celtic language still widely in use on the European mainland, albei ...
(which is of
Celtic
Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to:
Language and ethnicity
*pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia
**Celts (modern)
*Celtic languages
**Proto-Celtic language
*Celtic music
*Celtic nations
Sports Foot ...
origin), she is quoted as saying, "Bilingualism is a huge advantage! Children must be taught Breton and then they will learn English in three or four months." She was known to translate the Breton language works into French, with the aim of promoting national awareness of her regional language and culture. She was known to be a close friend of philosopher Yann Fouere.Yann Fouere, La Patrie interdite : Histoire d'un Breton, France-Empire, 1987, p. 125 et 410
In 1930, she was admitted to the community in Brittany known as Goursez Vreizh as a bard under a new name Brug ar Menez Du (Heather of the Black Mountains).
In 1949, she was the first to use a bilingual notarized agreement in France, written in both French and Breton.
After Saint-Pierre's death in 1967, the Menez Kamm cultural center flourished for some years, but despite all the dedication and hard work to keep the manor open as a place to live and learn Breton ways, financial difficulties increased, and in October 1976, the center closed. The property was then returned to the Saint-Pierre family and, as of 2018, the manor and its land had become a farm.
Selected publications
Saint-Pierre's works are primarily in the French and Breton languages.
*''Les Émeraudes de l'Inca'', fiction in collaboration with Fernand de Saint-Pierre, Paris, Les Gémeaux, 1923
*''Iverzon gwelet gant eur Vretonez'', report at the Eucharistic Congress of Dublin (1932), Moulerez Thomas, Guingamp,1933
* Several poems in Breton periodicals.
* Many letters from her travels.
Bibliography
* Claire Arlaux, Une Amazone bretonne - Vefa de Saint-Pierre, Coop Breizh, 2000. https://www.franceculture.fr/oeuvre-une-amazone-bretonne-vefa-de-saint-pierre-1872-1967-de-claire-laux.html
*
*