The Marquis of Pont-Calleck... hero or brigand?
For film fans, the Marquis de Pont-Calleck has the face of Jean-Pierre Marielle in the film "Que la fête commence". But who was he really?
The Pont-Calleck conspiracy
Brittany had been attached to France since 1532, but was still trying to retain a degree of autonomy that was being contested by the royal authorities.
In 1717, two years after the death of Louis XIV, these same powers were still very demanding when it came to taxes. Brittany refused to vote in a new tax to replenish the kingdom's coffers. Anger roared and the conflict hardened. In 1718, around sixty Breton gentlemen, mainly from the lower nobility, banded together to try and maintain their privileges.
At the same time, a plot was being hatched in Paris to overthrow the Regent and replace him with Philip V, King of Spain and grandson of Louis XIV. The Bretons made themistake of allying themselves with the rebellious aristocracy and Spain, thinking that this would help them. This was known as the Cellamare or Pont-Calleck conspiracy. Unfortunately, the conspiracy failed and, when it came to sentencing, only the Bretons were punished.
The sad end of the conspirators
Among the conspirators in Brittany, history has mainly remembered the names of the main leaders: du Couëdic, Montlouis, de Talhouët and Clément Chrysogone de Guer-Malestroit, Marquis de Pont-Calleck.
At Berné, his estate had become an entrenched camp and his castle a well-defended fortress. But when a company of Royal Marines arrived, all hell broke loose. The Marquis de Pont-Calleck and his friends go into hiding in the woods. Although the conspiracy is off to a bad start, Pont-Calleck finds himself the leader of this revolt, which he is unable to organise.
Finally, his companions, confident of justice, surrender themselves to the authorities. Pont-Calleck, denounced by one of his friends, the seneschal of Faouët, was arrested in the presbytery of Lignol where he had been hiding for two months. He was locked up in the château at Guémené-sur-Scorff before being transferred to Nantes.
The sentence was the same for all. Sentenced to death, the four plotters were beheaded in the spring of 1720. The event left a lasting impression, as the people believed that these men had died for a just cause.
A song in tribute to the Marquis
The Marquis de Pont-Calleck is certainly a good example of the small Breton nobility of the time. He is described as being close to his peasants but tough, often angry and even cruel, smuggling tobacco to pay off his debts. Was he really this true leader of the resistance or was he more of a bandit? Nobody really knows, not everyone agrees.
What is certain is that his story was so moving that it was turned into a lament, a "gwerz" as they say in Brittany. He is portrayed as handsome, cheerful and full of heart. In the course of the song, the brutal forty-something marquis is portrayed as a twenty-year-old martyr who helps the unfortunate!
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