Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1885-09-23
BLUE-HEARD.
Historical Origin OF the Nursery Tale.

/ "CiC S"O DlOlA1Cl5 tlduut
and Charles Perrauii. The first de
signed the famous colounade of the
Louvre; the latter wrote some very am.
bilious poems and disputations, OF
which he was very proud, and some ex.
quisite fairy tales, of which he thought
very little. Nobody now cares anything
about his poems; but every one is fani-
liar with his ''Hop-o'-My Thumb, -
"Riquet with the Tuft," and his still
more famous 'Blae-Leard. Many OF
Perrault's fairy tales are purely imagi-
nary, others are based upon legends OF
historic facts, which were already well
known, and among the latter class is
"Blue- beard"
The home of the true Blue-beard was
Brittany. Take a map and look for the
River Blavet. AT the point where it
changes its course from east to west
there is desolate, rocky prOmOntory
and on Its summit the remains of stone
Notifications. 1t is still called Castle
Finans, and. beyond all reasonable
doubt, it was the stronghold of Blue
beard, whose real name was Comorre
the Cursed.
He lived about 1. 300 years ago, but,
in order to begin the story at the be-
ginning, we must go still further back,
TO the time wheh GrallOn the Great, a
British prince. emigrated to Breton and
built the famous City of Is, whence,
some scholars say, the City of Paris
derived Its name. This was long before
King Arthur and his famous knights
fought dragons and redressed GrallOn' 3
| mo iaIa h.
beautiful and wicked princess, called
Ahes, and she gave her name to the
quaint old City of Carhalx-Ker-Ahes,
which still stands, full of high-peaked,
queer-gabled houses, between Lorient
and ROscOff.
Well, in A. d. $50 Carhaix was taken
from Grallon's descendants by a motor
ious bandit called Finans, or COmorre.
This was when Prince Arthur reigned
IN Britain; but Il was an age of great
and general misrule and oppression; an
lage which allowed many bad, brave
men to carve out kingdoms for them
selves, and Comorre was only following
the prevalent law:
That they should take who haze the power,
And they should keep who can.
Commore was brutal tyrant. Worse,
even than the traditional Bluebeard;
for he killed his sous as well as his wives,
although one of them was such holy
man that he was canonIZed after his
death. The incidents of his life adOrn
the church door at Carhaix, and in one
of the groups he is represented as hold
ing his head on his hands; 50 We may
presume that he was beheaded by his
fathers order. While ruling at Car
haiX COmOrre married four wives, all of
whom mysteriously disappeared Then
he fell in love with Triphyne, the dang
ter of the Count of Vannes
| But he was so universally abhorred
for his unnatural cruelty that he did
not care to ask for her hand himself.
So he sent for Sir GIldas, whose fame
for sanctity was all over Brittany. He
built the abbey which bears his name,
overlooking the bay of Quilberon, and
of which, six hundred years later. the
renowned Abelard was Abbot. Sir
GIldas answered readily the call of Co.
mOrre. He desired 10 convert him, and
when requested to go and ask for the
hand of Triphyne, he did his best to for
ward the marriage. He hoped 20 pre-
vent war and bloodshed and to bind
ComOrre to better life through
the influence of a wife whom he loved.
Triphyne was not willing to go to
Castle Finans, but she consented finally,
on the condition that the very hour
Comorre tired of her she should be al
lowed to return in honor and in safety
TO her fathers court. COmorre prom
iSed all that was required, and the mar
riage was splendidly solemnized at
Vannes.
So far the monkish chronicles gath
cred by Albert LIE Grand agree with
the more important evidence of the
frescoes discovered fe years ago near
Napoleonville; but as the monks were
writing TO glOrify st. Gildas they tell
the story to suit that aim. According
TO them, very soon after Triphyne ar
rived at Castle Finans she saw change
i'll her husbands manner. His brow
was ever blsck with anger, his words
few and rough She became terrified,
and one morning, in sudden panic,
mounted her palfrey and fled.
Her flight was Immediately discoy-
SANd. ShO Weho Wy SObuOlACs
dragged from the thicket in which she
had hid TO the high road, and beheaded.
Then COmorre left tine body and return
ed TO the castle, but servant who had
accompanied her reached Vannes and
told what had been done to her mis-
tress. The poor lady's remains were
recovered by her father, and st. Gildas
was sent for to see.
The SAINT was terribly angry and
much troubled, and according to the
monks, by wonderful prayer, full of
sublime faith, he restored Triphyne To |
life. Then he went to Castle Finans, |
but COmmore refused to admit him. So !
the holy man threw handful of dust |
against the walls and they instantly !
tumblsd away. COmmore was not |
killed, he escaped to another castle |
which he possessed, and continued his |
course of sin and crusade until con-
vocation of bishops met upon the case !
and solemnly cursed him. He was i'm |
mediately seized with some awful NAL. |
ady, and his soul was borne to hell ON !
stream of blood.
This Is the story told for the gratifi- |
cation Of st. Gildas and the eonvOcatiOn |
of bishops, but in the vault of the cha |
pei of st. Nicholas de BienZy, south of !
NaP3leOnville, some wOrkmen discov- !
cred about twenty years ago set of |
frescOes, which tell the story as Perrault |
told 1t. The first is the marriage Of |
Commorre and Triphynne az Vannes;
and the beard of Commore is painted |
bluish-black. The second one exhibits |
Commorre starting on some warlike ex-
peditiOn, and handing Triphyne a key.
The third is the mysterious chamber;
the door Is open, and the seven mur-
dered wives hung against the wall.
Then followed the scene of the terrible
question. "Where is the keyp" Tri-
phyne Is on her knees, Sister Anne is
looking anxiously out of the window.
In the last, Commore is putting the rope
round Triphyne's neck, but her
brothers. accompanied by st. Gildas, in
his holy robes, are at the door.
The dreadful death procured by the
bishops of Comorrs is not ratified by
popular tradition, which asserts that he
was killed in battle at a spot called
Willow Bough, near the heights of
Arez. Within very few years a large
stone was pointed out as the one cover
ing the grave of Commore, the Cursed,
who was-if the frescoes of st. Mich.
olas de Bienzy are to be belleved-with-