Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1885-08-20
THE ORIGINAL BLUE-BEARD
The Historical Origin of the Old Mar
sery Ta1e-The Different Versions
Given 1t.
New York Independent.

there We're two brothers called Claude
and Charles Perrault. The first de>
signed the famous colonnade Of the
Leuyre; the latter wrote some very
ambitious poems and disputations, of
which he was very proud, and some
exquisite fairy tales, of which he
thought very little. Nobody now
cares anything about his poems; but
everybody is familiar with his Hop
o'>My-Thumb," ''Riquet with the
Tuft." and his still more famous
blue Beard" Many of Perrault's
fairy tales are purely imaginative;
others are based upon legends Or his
torical facts, which were already well
known, and among the latter class is
"Blue-Beard."
The home of the true BIue~Beard
was Brittany. Take a map and look
for the river Blavet. At the point
where it changes It's course from east
to west there is a desolate, rocky pro-
montory, and on its summit the re-
mains of stone Notifications. It is
still called castle Finans, and, and be-
yond all reasonable doubt, it was the
stronghold of Blue-Beard, whose real
name was Comorre the Cursed.
He lived about 1, 800 years ago; but,
in order to begin the story at the be-
ginning, we must 90 still farther
back to the time when Grallon the
Great, British prince, emigrated to
Breton, and built the famous city of
Is, whence, some scholars say, the
city Of Paris derived it's name. This
Iof A -nAI, l,
famous knight fought dragons and re.
dressed wrongs in Grallon's native
isle. Grallon had daughter, a beau
tiful and wicked princess, called Ahes,
and she gave her name to the quaint
old city of Ker~Anes, 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 descendant by
notorious bandit called Finans, or
Conaorre. This was when Prince
Arthur reigned in Britain; but it was
an age of great and general nisrule
and oppression; an age which allowed
many bad, brave men to carve out
kingdoms for themselves, and Com
ORA was only following the prevalent
law
That they should take who have the power
And they should keep who can.
Comorre was brutal tyrant, worse
even than the traditional Blue>Beard;
for he killed his sons as well as his
wives, although one of them was such
a 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 repre-
sented as holding his head on his
hands; so we may presume that he
was beheaded by his fathers orders.
While ruling at Carhaix, Comorre
married four wives, all Of whom nays
teriously disappeared. Then he fell
in love with Triphyne, the daughter
of the Count of Vanpes.
But he was so universally abhorred
for his unnatural cruelty that be did
not care to ask 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 Quiberton,
and Of which, 600 years later, the re-
nowned Abelard was abbot. st. Gill
das answered readily to the call of
ComOrre. He desired to convert him,
and when requested to go and ask for
the hand of Triphyne he did his best
to forward the marriage. He hoped
bind Comorre to better life through
the influence Of q wife whom he
loved.
Triphyne was not willing to go to
the Castle Finan, but she consented
finally on condition that the very hour
Com0rre tired of her she should be al
lowed TO return In honor and safety to
her fathers court. ComorTe promis-
ed all that was required, and the mar
riage was splendidly solemnized at
Vannes.
So far the naonkish chronicles
gathered by Albert LIE Grand agree
with the more important evidence of
the frescoes discovered a few years
ago near Napoleonville; but as the
monks were writing to glorify st.
Gildas they could tell the story to suit
that aim. According to them, very
soon after Triphyne arrived at Castle
F'lnans she saw a change In her hus>
bands manner. His brow was ever
black with anger, his words few and
rough. She became terrified, and one
morning, in sudden panic, mounted
her paifrey and fled.
Her flight was Immediately discover
ed. She was pursued by Commorre,
dragged from the thicket in which she
had hid to the high road and beheaded. |
Then Comorre left the body and re-
turned to the castle, but servant
who had accompanied her reached
Vannes and told what had been done
to her mistress. The poor lady's re-
mains were recovered by her father,
and st. Gildas was sent for to see the |
result of his advice
The saint was terribly aRgry and
much troubled, and, according to the
by wonderful prayer full of
faith he restored Triphyne to
life. Then he went to Castle F'1nans,
but Comorre refused to admit him. |
So the hOly man threw a handful of |