The gate of the year

Staue of Saint Guénolé, inside the Chapel of Prigny, Moutiers en Retz, Loire-Atlantique, France. The building has been built in the XI century and is dedicated to one of the “phallic Saints”, diffused in the medieval countryside, to which women affected by sterility addressed themselves. In order to obtain the gift of having children, they rubbed themselves against the Saint’s statue and went devoutly in pilgrimage to the miraculous springs which gushed out beside the chapels devoted to him. The reputation attributed to the Saint is due probably to an assonance of his name with the Latin word gignere, “to generate, to give birth”. To these qualities, the folk beliefs added generally healing powers. It was belived that the Saint could intervene not only on the fertility of women, but he could also aid children in learning to walk, heal warts and neuralgia, as well as turn away the storms menacing the crops. Even today, girls wishing to find their soul mate leave pins on the statue’s foot (a phallic symbol?) hoping to see fulfilled their desire (see detail).
There are analogous cases elsewhere. Near Ménerbes, in Provence, there is a locality called Pied de Moustier (podium monasterium) where was located an ancient monastery dedicated to Saint Faustin. According to Jacques-Antoine Dulaure, the local people pronounced the Saint’s name as Saint Foutin, “and since people often judge things on the base of their names, considered Saint Foutin being able to replace Saint Priapus and conferred to him all the latter’s prerogatives” (Dulaure 1885, p. 235).
At Varages, in Var, was similarly celebrated Saint Photin or Saint Foutin. On the evening before May 1st, a “May tree” was cut and erected near the Church plaza, and it was left in this place until the feast of the Saint, the first Sunday of June. On this occasion, the tree was brought to the Saint Foutin’s chapel, on the hill overlying the village. The tree was at last burned at the feast of Saint John. The association between human and plant fertility, represented by the tree, is in this case particularly conspicuous.

[Image: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Saint_Gu%C3%A9nol%C3%A9_-_Chapelle_Prigny_-_Les_Moutiers_en_Retz.jpg]




Male Symbols

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Staue of Saint Guénolé, inside the Chapel of Prigny, Moutiers en Retz, Loire-Atlantique, France. The building has been built in the XI century and is dedicated to one of the “phallic Saints”, diffused in the medieval countryside, to which women affected by sterility addressed themselves. In order to obtain the gift of having children, they rubbed themselves against the Saint’s statue and went devoutly in pilgrimage to the miraculous springs which gushed out beside the chapels devoted to him. The reputation attributed to the Saint is due probably to an assonance of his name with the Latin word gignere, “to generate, to give birth”. To these qualities, the folk beliefs added generally healing powers. It was belived that the Saint could intervene not only on the fertility of women, but he could also aid children in learning to walk, heal warts and neuralgia, as well as turn away the storms menacing the crops. Even today, girls wishing to find their soul mate leave pins on the statue’s foot (a phallic symbol?) hoping to see fulfilled their desire (see detail). There are analogous cases elsewhere. Near Ménerbes, in Provence, there is a locality called Pied de Moustier (podium monasterium) where was located an ancient monastery dedicated to Saint Faustin. According to Jacques-Antoine Dulaure, the local people pronounced the Saint’s name as Saint Foutin, “and since people often judge things on the base of their names, considered Saint Foutin being able to replace Saint Priapus and conferred to him all the latter’s prerogatives” (Dulaure 1885, p. 235). At Varages, in Var, was similarly celebrated Saint Photin or Saint Foutin. On the evening before May 1st, a “May tree” was cut and erected near the Church plaza, and it was left in this place until the feast of the Saint, the first Sunday of June. On this occasion, the tree was brought to the Saint Foutin’s chapel, on the hill overlying the village. The tree was at last burned at the feast of Saint John. The association between human and plant fertility, represented by the tree, is in this case particularly conspicuous. [Image: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Saint_Gu%C3%A9nol%C3%A9_-_Chapelle_Prigny_-_Les_Moutiers_en_Retz.jpg]