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44-634: In the original Breton, the city receives the name of Kêr Ys , which translates as "low city". Kêr is the Breton word for "city", and is related to the Welsh caer and Cornish ker- , while Ys / Is is related to Welsh isel , Scottish Gaelic ìosal and Irish íseal ("low"). Different versions of the legend share several basic common elements. King Gradlon (Gralon in Breton ) ruled in Ys,

88-460: A beautiful lady bathing in the fountain, attended by two maidens. Graelent sneaks up and clutches the articles of clothing she has disrobed upon a bush. The lady cries out his name, demanding their return. Graelent does not comply, and bargains for her to emerge from the fountain, and asks for her love. She is at first scornful at the suggestion, but Graelent rapes her, and she then decides to help him. She would appear to him whenever he wills it, but

132-410: A city built on land reclaimed from the sea, sometimes described as rich in commerce and the arts, with Gradlon's palace being made of marble, cedar and gold. In some versions, Gradlon built the city upon the request of his daughter Dahut , who loved the sea. To protect Ys from inundation, a dike was built with a gate that was opened for ships during low tide. The one key that opened the gate was held by

176-458: A fragmentary version of the legend in his book La Légende de la mort en Basse-Bretagne , and its posterior 1902 augmented edition La Légende de la mort chez les Bretons armoricains This version also mentions Dahut (here called Ahés) transformation into a mermaid but, unlike other versions, here Dahut is thrown off the horse by king Gralon himself, on orders from St. Gwénolé. Paul Sébillot also collected oral versions among his extensive review of

220-598: A list of the 28, all of which are called "caer". Controversy exists over whether this list includes only Roman cities or a mixture of Roman cities and non-Roman settlements. Some of the place names that have been proposed include: The element caer , sometimes anglicized as car , is found in several place-names in Wales such as: The Cumbric language was spoken in Northern England until the Medieval era in which

264-510: A success at the Salon of 1884. Le roi d'Ys , an opera by the French composer Édouard Lalo which premiered in 1888, transforms the story significantly, replacing the figure of Dahut with Margared, whose motive for opening the gates (with the aid of her own betrothed Karnac) is her jealousy at her sister Rozenn's marriage to Mylio (characters who are also inventions of Lalo). Also inspired by

308-512: A version of the legend in his work Le Foyer breton . In the tale "Keris", the character of the Devil disguised as a man with a red beard appeared. His version may have come from a different oral source. His telling also played a great part in making the legend widely known, and many 19th century English tellings of the story are closely derived from this version. In the early 1890s, Édouard Schuré 's essay Les Grandes légendes de France introduced

352-426: A work by Marie de France by Jean-Baptiste-Bonaventure de Roquefort in 1820, and subsequently translated as one of her works by Eugene Mason (1911), but this attribution is considered erroneous. Although some early scholars such as Gaston Paris (1889) considered Graelent to antedate Lanval , and later William C. Stokoe, Jr. (1948) continued to argue it as the source of Lanval , many have voiced dissent, and

396-463: A year during the Black Night, a detail he may have borrowed from Lai de Graelent , probably written in the late 12th century. Also, the last verses of the song mention a fisherman seeing a mermaid combing her hair and singing a sad song. The mermaid is Dahut transformed into a morgen , which references another tradition. It also appears that elements of the text of this version were adapted from

440-488: Is Gradlon himself who throws her off on St. Gwénnolé's orders. In some versions, after falling into the sea, Dahut becomes a morgen or mermaid who continues haunting the sea, and can be seen combing her golden hair and singing sad songs. Some 19th-century folklorists also collected old beliefs that said, during the low tides, the ruins of Ys could be seen, or the sound of its carillon could be heard. In Le Grand's version, St. Gwénnolé goes to see Gradlon and warns him about

484-512: Is a placename element in Welsh meaning "stronghold", "fortress", or "citadel", roughly equivalent to an Old English suffix ( -ceaster ) now variously written as -caster , -cester , and -chester . In modern Welsh orthography , caer is usually written as a prefix , although it was formerly—particularly in Latin—written as a separate word. The Breton equivalent is kêr , which

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528-453: Is one of the so-called anonymous lais . The plot is similar to that of Marie de France's lai of Lanval . Graelent , a knight of Brittany , rebuffs amorous advances from the queen, who retaliates by manipulating the king against him. Graelent's wages are suspended, reducing him to poverty. Graelent dejectedly rides into the forest, and while tracking a white hind ( bisse blance v. 201; Mod. Fr. : biche blanche ), he stumbles upon

572-586: Is present in many Breton placenames as the prefix Ker- . The term is thought to have derived from the Brittonic * kagro- and to be cognate with cae ("field, enclosed piece of land"). Although stone castles were largely introduced to Wales by the invading Normans , "caer" was and remains used to describe the settlements around some of them as well. An example is the Roman fort at Caernarfon , formerly known in Welsh as Caer Seiont from its position on

616-772: The Middle High German Friedrich von Schwaben and the Eddic poem Völundarkviða . Schofield also discerned borrowings from the Irish narrative Noinden Ulad ("Debility of the Ulstermen"). Graelent was translated into Old Norse as Grelent , one of the Strengleikar ; this text has value for tracing the textual history of the French lai . In its turn, this translation seems to have influenced

660-575: The Seiont ; the later Edwardian castle and its community were distinguished as Caer yn Arfon ("fort in Arfon", the latter being a district name ( Cantref Arfon ) from "ar Fôn", "(land) opposite Môn or Anglesey "). However, the modern names of the Roman fort and Edwardian castle themselves are now Segontiwm or Castell Caernarfon , while the communities carry on the name caer . Note that

704-442: The "fairy mistress" here does not immediately take him back, and sets off on the journey back to her world beyond the river. Graelent follows mounted on the white horse she has given him, and ignoring her warning, begins to ford the river but is unhorsed and begins to drown. At the entreaty of her attendant damsel, the lady relents and pulls him up to safety. The couple disappear, never to be seen again. The horse left behind remains at

748-412: The bank neighing after his master, and can still be heard at this time of year. Graelent is closely resembles the plotline to Lanval by Marie de France , and the texts are considered interrelated. However, there has been considerable disagreement over the years among commentators regarding their authorship, the chronological order, and mutual relationship. Graelent was initially published by as

792-437: The character of Malgven , a sorceress who was Gradlon's wife and Dahut's mother. Malgven appeared in many subsequent retellings, including Charles Guyot 's La Légende de la ville d'Ys d'après les anciens textes (1926). Guyot named Gradlon's horse Morvarc'h and wrote that the horse was a gift from Malgven. A novel by Norman Douglas , They Went (1920), is based upon the Breton legend. In 1893, Anatole Le Braz collected

836-482: The church's spire or hears the sound of its bells, will become king of the city and all of its territory. There is another legend told in a Breton saying, that when Paris is swallowed, the city of Ys will rise up from under the waves (in Breton, Par Is means "similar to Ys"): Several famous artistic adaptations of the Ys legend appeared in the late 19th and early 20th century. E. V. Luminais ' painting Flight of King Gradlon , depicting Gradlon's escape from Ys, scored

880-510: The city was at an end, but the King had lost his power, living alone in one wing of the palace, and Dahut ignored the Saint's warning. One day, a bearded prince dressed in red came to Ys, and seduced Dahut and her friends with his compliments and sweet words. He proposed to them to dance a new kind of branle , and he played the tune on his bagpipe, sending everyone into a frenzy. He took advantage of

924-419: The city, killing everyone but the king. A Saint (either St. Gwénnolé or St. Corentin ) wakes the sleeping king and urges him to flee. The king mounts his horse and takes his daughter with him. As the water is about to overtake him, a voice calls out: " Throw the demon thou carriest into the sea, if thou dost not desire to perish. " Dahut falls from the horse's back, and Gradlon is saved. In Le Braz's version, it

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968-539: The city, which they used to go find rare goods or to reach their enemies' vessels. The citizens were so wealthy that they measured out grain with silver hanaps (goblets), but their wealth had also turned them vicious and harsh. Beggars had been chased from the city like beasts; the church had been abandoned, and the citizens spent all day and night entertaining themselves at the inns, dance halls and performances, while Dahut herself threw parties at her palace all day around. St. Corentin warned Gradlon that God's patience with

1012-506: The city. Albert Le Grand 's Vie des Saincts de la Bretagne Armorique, third edition published in 1680, contains all the basic elements of the later story including the first known mention of Dahut. In 1839, T. Hersart de la Villemarqué published a collection of popular songs collected from oral tradition , the Barzaz Breizh . The collection achieved a wide distribution and brought Breton folk culture into European awareness. In

1056-444: The contrary opinion is the recent consensus, according to Glynn S. Burgess: The definitive view of these three lays ( the third being Guingamor ), chronologically and thematically, is that of R. N. Illingworth, who concluded that they were composed in the order Lanval , Graelent , and Guingamor , with Graelent and Guingamor (both anonymous) drawing on Lanval , but Guingamor also drawing on Graelent . Moreover, although

1100-467: The day and nights with his lady. Graelent is now extricated from financial difficulties, but another ordeal is awaiting. A year goes by, and at the king's annual Pentecost feast, all present are expected to praise the beauty of the queen as being greater than any other that they know. Graelent refuses, blurting out that he knows a woman thirty times as beautiful. The enraged queen dares him to produce this woman on pain of punishment (on count of calumny), and

1144-546: The element caer ("fort") was used in naming places. It also appears in Cornish place-names as Ker- . Caer is also found in Welsh exonyms for English cities. Cumbric and Pictish were Brittonic languages spoken in Scotland until around the 12th century, and caer ("fort") was a place-naming element in both languages. Graelent Graelent is an Old French Breton lai , named after its protagonist . It

1188-658: The history of the legend in the second volume of his 1905 book Le folk-lore de France In 1917, Scottish folklorist Lewis Spence included the legend of Ys among the tales told in his book Legends & Romances of Brittany . One year later, Jonathan Ceredig Davies published a short version of the legend in the 29th issue of the Folklore journal. A few years later, in 1929, Elsie Masson also included it in her book Folk Tales of Brittany , citing Souvestre and Le Braz among her sources. The science fiction and fantasy writer Poul Anderson and his wife Karen Anderson published

1232-411: The horse, but Gradlon could not do it. So it was Corentin himself who hit her with his crozier to make her fall off into the sea. The horse ran again, taking the king to safety. When Gradlon looked back, from the ruins of the city the demon mockingly showed him the silver keys. A few legends speak of Ys' resurrection. Le Braz mentions one which says that, on the day it happens, the first person who sees

1276-415: The key to the dikes from Gradlon, and its misuse leads to catastrophe. Commonly, Dahut steals the keys (made either of silver or gold) from her father while he sleeps, either to allow her lover inside for a banquet or after being persuaded to do so by her flattering lover. She opens the gates of the dikes, either in a wine-induced folly or by mistake, believing she is opening the city gates. The sea inundates

1320-552: The key, symbol of royalty, from around her father's neck. Gradlon takes refuge in Quimper . Other versions of the legend tell that Ys was founded more than 2,000 years before Gradlon's reign in a then-dry location off the current coast of the Bay of Douarnenez, but the Breton coast had slowly given way to the sea so that Ys was under it at each high tide when Gradlon's reign began. While legends and literature about Gradlon are much older,

1364-476: The king orders him thrown in prison. The lady does not appear at his whim as she has always done before, and Graelent is struck by remorse, but gains no reprieve until the next Pentecostal feast, when he is given a last chance to ride out and find his lady. Graelent returns empty-handed, and resigns himself to trial, but just then beautiful damsels arrive in court, with the message that the lady will soon be present to acquit Graelent of his veracity. Unlike Lanval ,

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1408-407: The king. Most versions of the legend present Gradlon as a pious man, and his daughter, Princess Dahut, as wayward. Dahut (sometimes called Ahez) is often presented as frivolous and an unrepentant sinner, or, sometimes, as a sorceress . However, in another version, that of an ancient ballad, Gradlon himself is blamed by his people for extravagances of every kind. In most variations, Dahut acquires

1452-500: The medieval Welsh poem about the legend of Cantre'r Gwaelod , a very similar Welsh legend about a land that disappeared beneath the ocean as a result of human error. The poem appears in the Black Book of Carmarthen , which Villemarqué had studied at Jesus College, Oxford , in 1839. Villemarqué wrongly considered that the Welsh spoken in the sixth century was the same as the Breton spoken in his days. In 1844, Emile Souvestre told

1496-720: The mythical city. The story of Ys also inspired a 1972 album of the same name by the Italian progressive rock band Il Balletto di Bronzo . Cornish composer William Lewarne Harris wrote his third and largest opera, The Sunken City , about "Ker-ys". The three-act, prologue and epilogue opera, completed in 1992, has not been publicly performed, but there are many private recordings of excerpts. American singer-songwriter, Joanna Newsom , released her second studio album, Ys through Drag City on November 14, 2006. Original French sources Caer Caer ( Welsh pronunciation: [kɑːɨr] ; Old Welsh : cair or kair )

1540-458: The narratives were taken largely from Marie , the two anonymous lays integrated into their stories, independently of Marie, material stemming from "a nucleus of genuine Celtic tradition". The protagonist robbing the bathing lady's garment is a common swan maiden folklore motif, and William Henry Schofield felt this was borrowed specifically from the story of Wayland the Smith , which survive in

1584-507: The novel The King of Ys in four volumes (1986–1988): Roma Mater, Gallicenae, Dahut , and The Dog and the Wolf . Their version portrays Gradlon as a Roman centurion , Gratillonius, sent to be the prefect of Ys. The Daughters of Ys (2020) by M. T. Anderson and Jo Rioux is based on the folktale. The graphic novel's adaptation follows Dahut's perspective of the events leading to the destruction of Ys. Émile Souvestre's telling differs from

1628-401: The relationship must be kept a strict secret, and the couple are to abide in the country for one year while avoiding detection from comrades. Graelent receives from the lady a magnificent war horse, and large sums of gold and silver. He repays his debt to the burgess's hostel where he stayed, and begins entertaining many knights, regaling them with food and harpers' music. He spends other hours of

1672-487: The second edition, the poem "Livaden Geris" ("The Submersion of Ker-Is") appeared. The same basic story elements are present and, in this version, Dahut steals the key at the incitement of a lover. Villemarqué studied several versions of the song and created his song using the best material from each. As a result, his song mentions several traditions. In the Stanza V, it mentions King Gradlon's horse that can only be heard once

1716-414: The sins being committed in the city, which is absorbed in luxury, debauchery and vanity. God has warned St. Gwénnolé that he is going to punish the city, and the Saint tells the king to flee since God's wrath is about to fall upon the city. The king flees the city on horseback. A storm falls upon the city and quickly inundates it. The main culprit is Princess Dahut, the king's indecent daughter, who has stolen

1760-473: The situation to steal the dike's keys from Dahut and, taking his true appearance as the demon, used them to open all the dikes, allowing the sea to flood the city. St. Corentin appeared in Gradlon's chambers and urged him to flee. He mounted his black horse and ran. When he passed Dahut's castle, she threw herself on her father's horse, but the horse stopped suddenly. St. Corentin told the King to push Dahut off

1804-496: The story of Ys appears to have developed between the end of the fifteenth century and the seventeenth century. An early mention of Ys appears in Pierre Le Baud 's Cronicques et ystoires des Bretons (1480) in which Gradlon is the king of the city, but Dahut is not mentioned. Bernard d'Argentre's La histoire de Bretagne and mystery plays on the life of St. Winwaloe , in the sixteenth century, also provide early references to

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1848-536: The story of Ys is Claude Debussy 's La cathédrale engloutie , found in his first book of Preludes (published 1910). This is a prelude intended to evoke the atmosphere of the legend by its sound. In 1929 M.C. Escher made a woodcut print inspired by Debussy's piece, also titled "La cathédrale engloutie". Alan Stivell 's album Renaissance of the Celtic Harp opens with a track entitled "Ys". Harpist Joanna Newsom titled her sophomore album Ys after

1892-402: The tale in several points. Ys was still protected by dikes, whose gates were opened for ships at certain moments, but it was Dahut herself who kept the silver keys of the dikes around her neck. Dahut was a sorceress and had embellished the city with the help of the korrigans , which built works men could not make. With her magic, Dahut also tamed the sea dragons, and gave one to each inhabitant of

1936-569: The term is not believed to be related to the Irish cathair ("city"), which is instead derived from Proto-Celtic * katrixs , * catarax ("fortification"). Gildas 's account of the Saxon invasions of Britain claimed that there were 28 fortified Roman cities ( Latin : civitas ) on the island, without listing them. The History of the Britons traditionally attributed to Nennius includes

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