The Giant Serpent of Rennes
Location: 1 Pl. Saint-Germain, 35000 Rennes, France
Mythical Creatures
by @anton
According to local tradition, a giant serpent lived in a deep pit near Rennes during the ninth century. It regularly emerged to haunt the River Vilaine, capsizing boats and destroying houses built along its banks, until it was finally slain by an anonymous knight.
In later tradition, the knight's feat came to be associated with Saint George. To commemorate the city's deliverance, the nearby abbey overlooking the Vilaine was dedicated to Saint George, a site now known as the Palais Saint-Georges.
The serpent was likely a symbolic representation of the River Vilaine itself and the devastating floods it caused before the river was channelled.
Sources : Joly Julien, Histoires Extraordinaires Rennaises, Le Mensuel de Rennes, 2020
Part of the legend: Dragons
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