© Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016 29
T. Sime-Ngando et al. (eds.), Lake Pavin, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-39961-4_2
Pavin, A Rich but Fragmented History
(200 AD–2016)Michel Meybeck
Abstract
“Pavin Stories”, told to the lake’s visitors seeking its wild beauty, were reported throughout
the nineteenth century by famous scholars such as Pierre Larousse, an encyclopedist, and
Elysée Reclus, a geographer: Pavin had no depth, no fi sh, could trigger furious storms and
no boat could sail on it. Pavin history before 1770 was not established. The Pavin history
puzzle, although still incomplete, is re-interpreted here through the grid of sensorial degas-
sing indicators (Table 1.2 ). It starts with a famous “treasure stone” retrieved from its waters
in 1909, actually a pompeian-type millstone probably carved at Pavin during tranquil peri-
ods of the lake, when Roman baths were constructed at the Mont-Dore, 6 km away. Literary
sources are lacking afterwards but a small early medieval Christian settlement existed at the
nearby mountain of Vassivière, some 1.5 km away from Pavin, possibly succeeding an ear-
lier cult (Chap. 3 ). In 1547 a miracle occurred there and an extra-ordinary explosion with
thunder and lightning is witnessed in 1551. Latent Pavin misbehavior is reported from the
mid-sixteenth to the mid-seventeenth century: a storm suddenly triggered by a stone thrown
into the lake (François de Belleforest, Cosmographie Universelle , 1575). These storms,
which caused damages to the surrounding valleys, were reported to the King of France dur-
ing its visit in Auvergne (1566). At the time, the lake, already termed since long ago lacus
pavens (The Terrible Lake), was avoided by the local people, who feared its permanent
summer fog and occasional storms (Jean Banc La Mémoire retrouvée des merveilles des
eaux naturelles 1605 ; Godivel II, late 1600s). Belleforest’s description will be copied by
other geographers for three hundred years, making Pavin very famous beyond the borders
of Auvergne. Another misbehavior event was also witnessed in 1783. However, the highest
Auvergne authorities of the time ignored this very clear sudden lake overturn, thereby
undermining the validity of the Pavin Stories. A similar event probably occurred in 1936.
The “normalization” of Pavin was achieved by the introduction by Lecoq of the fi rst boat
(1847) and the fi rst fi sh (1859), which facilitated its scientifi c exploration (Chap. 1 ). Pavin’s
fame has remained intact since the early 1900s, but its rich history and wealth of legends
(Chap. 3 ), as well as its unique scientifi c character, are largely ignored by guidebooks.
When Pavin historical descriptions are compared to other lake degassing events (Chap. 1 ),
there is no doubt that several degassing periods and/or events of various intensities were
witnessed there in the past.M. Meybeck (*)
METIS, CNRS-Unversité Paris 6, UMR 7619 ,
Place Jussieu , 75252 Paris Cedex 05 , France
e-mail: [email protected]