Renouard, Yves. “Les Cahorsins, hommes d’affaires français du XIIIe siècle.” Transactions of the
Royal Historical Society 5th ser. 2 (1961):43–67.
QUIMPER
. Capital of Cornouaille. Founded, according to tradition, in the 5th century by King
Gradlon, who brought with him from England the name “Cornwall,” the city was made a
bishopric in the 6th century. Walled in the 13th, it suffered during the Breton civil war,
being sacked by Charles de Blois in 1344 and besieged the following year by Jean de
Montfort.
Quimper’s cathedral of Saint-Corentin, named for the city’s first bishop, is the most
representative Gothic church in Brittany, in spite of unfortunate 19th-century additions
and “restorations.” The choir and ambulatory are 13th-century; the nave, side aisles, and
transept—all on an axis different from that of the choir—are 15th-century, as is the
Flamboyant façade with towers. Between the towers is an equestrian statue of King
Gradlon. Some 15th-century glass is preserved.
The nearby Romanesque church of Sainte-Croix (12th c.) at Quimperlé is notable for
its trefoil plan with central rotunda, which is reminiscent of the church of the Holy
Sepulcher in Jerusalem.
William W.Kibler
[See also: BRITTANY]
Masseron, Alexandre. Quimper, Quimperlé, Locronan, Penmarc’h. Paris: Renouard, 1928.
Waquet, Henri. “Quimper.” Congrèsarchéologique(Comouaille) 115 (1953):9–14.
QUINZE JOIES DE MARIAGE.
Nominally inspired by the genre of devotional poetry praising the “joys” of the Virgin—
her attributes or celebrated episodes in her life—the Quinze joies de mariage portrays the
miseries of married life through satirical vignettes. Four complete manuscripts of the
work survive, all from the late 15th century: R (Rouen, Bibl. mun. 1052), C (Chantilly,
Musée Condé 686), L (Leningrad, Saltykov-Chtchedrin State Lib. f. fr. p. XV. 4), and P
(London, Phillipps 8338). The author and date remain uncertain. References to costume
and events in the Hundred Years’ War situate composition in the early 15th century. The
author confesses in the prologue that he has never been married but that he has entered
another type of servitude, presumably holy orders. Language and textual allusions
suggest that the Quinze joies was composed in west-central France, and most of the
vignettes are set in a small-town, bourgeois milieu.
Framed by prologue and epilogue, each of the fifteen “joys” recounts a stage of
married life. The vantage throughout is that of the afflicted husband; the advantage is
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