Côtes-d'Armor (Department, France): Cultural flags

Last modified: 2004-12-22 by ivan sache
Keywords: bagad | bourbriac | cross (black) | ermine: 11 (black) | societe d'emulation des cotes-du-nord | griffin (yellow) |
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• Bagad du Pays de Bourbriac
• Société d'Emulation des Côtes-du-Nord

See also:

• France
• Côtes-d'Armor (Department, France)

Bagad du Pays de Bourbriac

by Ivan Sache

Bourbriac is a small city (c. 3,000 inhabitants) located south of Guingamp.

According to Philippe Rault (Ar Banniel [arb] #3, Summer 1997), the Bagad du Pays de Bourbriac (Breton band) has a flag made of a traditional Breton black cross on a white field, charged in the middle with a white rectangle bordered red with 11 black ermine spots (4 + 3 + 4). The charge might refer to the ancient arms of Penthièvre.

Ivan Sache, 25 July 2003

Société d'Emulation des Côtes-du-Nord

    by Olivier Touzeau

Reverse and obverse of the flag, respectively.

The Société d'Emulation des Côtes-du-Nord (today the Société d'Emulation des Côtes-d'Armor) was founded on 31 January 1861, by Jules-Henri Geslin de Bourgogne, Joachim Gaultier du Mottay and Jules Lamare. Its aim was 'to cause, support and coordinate in Côtes-du-Nord, the efforts of all the men of goodwill, cultivating sciences, the letters and arts'. At the time, the activities of the society included:

• monthly meetings opened to all the members and during which the most various subjects related to the department were exposed through conferences or communications;
• the annual publication of a volume of memories, containing in particuliar the main works of the society;
• an annual excursion;
• the provision to the members of a significant library.

The flag of the Société d'Emulation des Côtes-du-Nord can be seen in the book Saint-Brieuc, principal centre touristique des Côtes-Du-Nord en dix excursions (Saint-Brieuc, the main touristic centre in Côtes-du-Nord, in ten excursions), printed by the Presses bretonnes de Saint-Brieuc for the Society in 1932. The author of the book was Viscount Henri Frotier de la Messelère, then secretary-general of the Societe d'Emulation of Côtes-du-Nord .
Born in the manor of Premorel in Plesder (Ille-et-Vilaine) on 2 November 1876, Henri Frotier de la Messelière lived long years in Saint-Brieuc, where he died there on 6 December 1965. He was a