What is the symbolic meaning of the Ankou in Breton folklore? What is the role of the “soul-sucking reaper of Breton legends”? Is she a messenger of death?
Whether you’re Breton or not, you’re welcome to visit our online store! Death, its symbols and allegories are our favorite subjects. And the Breton reaper is no exception. Today, we’re going to take a look at her. 🤓
In this article, we’ll take a detailed look at who the Ankou is, what his role is in Breton tales and what his mission is. We’ll also talk about his appearance and his “powers”. After reading this article, you’ll be able to explain perfectly to anyone who is the Ankou in Brittany and what his mission is. 🔥THE MOST POPULAR PRODUCTS🔥
Let’s get started!
The Ankou: Cult of Death
The Ankou represents death in Breton mythology and folklore. He is recognized in the French region of Brittany, but his origins can be traced back to remnants of the ancient kingdom of the same name, or even to Celtic heritage. It is considered both a protector of the dead and a bad omen for the living. He has also inspired many modern works and stories.
In Brittany, he’s known as the “reaper of death”! If you love this character, you’ve got to get this t-shirt now. Click on the image to find out.
Soul Bearer of Breton Legends
Originally, the Ankou was described as a being charged with perpetuating the eternal cycle between life and death. To accomplish this task, he used a hammer, like Sucellus, the Gallic god of nature. His manner also resembles that of Dagda, the Irish god of druids and the land of the dead, as well as other Celtic deities with similar attributes.
Over the centuries, the Ankou became uniquely associated with death, and was gradually equated with the aforementioned grim reaper.
His name is the plural of “anken”, meaning “anguish” or “grief” in Breton. Indeed, some folk songs describe him as the father of these emotions. Yes, he can also be represented as a man. Another interpretation links him to “ankouaat” (“to forget”). He is known as Anghau in Wales and Ankow in Cornwall (a former division of Lower Britain).
The Ankou appears in many traditional tales, which means that his appearance varies from story to story. He travels upright in a creaking cart (similar to those used in the Middle Ages) to collect corpses. Indeed, this is how he looks after the souls of the dead. He is always described as a tall, thin figure dressed in black Breton garb, wearing a large hat that almost conceals his face. He brandishes a scythe whose blade is turned outwards to strike forward.
Sometimes he’s said to resemble a living shadow with the silhouette of a man, sometimes he’s a skeleton. His head constantly turns like a weather vane, so that no death can escape his scythe. Some describe him as having a hideous, nose-less face, with empty eye sockets illuminated by white candles. Although his most common depiction is of a tall, lean man with long white hair and a haggard, emaciated face, dressed in a black cape or cloak.
His cart is said to be pulled by two horses, one perfectly healthy and the other thin and sickly. Sometimes there are four horses, and sometimes just one, which seems rather thin. The Ankou is also said to be accompanied by two ghostly figures walking alongside his wagon, guiding his horses and helping him transport the souls of the departed.
Ankou, the Servant of Death
The Ankou moves only at night on the roads of Brittany, but is said to manifest himself through statues in his likeness in cemeteries. He has total control over the souls of the dead who are submitted to him. He guides them in sacred processions. He is said to reign over the Monts d’Arrée in the Armorican Massif, exerting his influence on the other side of the veil of death. ☠️
Despite this, he is considered more the servant of death than death itself. He is a kind of undead charged with protecting the souls of the departed. He guides them to the afterlife for a set period of time, before joining the afterlife himself. It is sometimes said that there is more than one Ankou, one for each parish.
Ankou, the Messenger of Death
Although the Ankou is always described as an adult male, this role is assigned to the last dead of the year (sometimes the first), who must watch over his parish until he is replaced. When he is described as the last dead of the year, the first dead are said to become his ghostly acolytes. Another less common source states that the Ankou was a tyrannical prince. He is said to have lost a challenge from Death and was condemned to an eternity of servitude. 🙏
People who go to the seaside refer to the “Bag Noz“, the boat of the night, steered by the last drowning man of the year. It sails the seas at night to collect the souls of the drowned and lead them to the afterlife, just as the Ankou does on land. It is said to appear wherever a sinister event is about to take place. The shape of the boat has never been described. Its crew emit heart-rending laments, but disappear as soon as anyone gets too close.
The Ankou never brings bad luck to anyone. He’s always polite, especially to the people he’s come for. And even when he’s angry, he’s content with mild reprimands. He is content to do his duty without regard to pleas or promises of reward. We can’t escape death, no matter how hard we try, and the Ankou never fails to remind everyone he meets of this.
History in Breton Folklore
The Ankou is said to roam the cemeteries, watching over the dead souls who reside there. When his cart is empty, he loads it with heavy stones, then removes a few each time he welcomes a soul. So it’s thought that when you hear the sound of a stone falling at a wake, you know that the Ankou is preparing his wagon for the soul of the deceased. Some also say that he sharpens his scythe on a human bone. 🦴
He is the protective guardian of the dead, but also an omen of death and a symbol of the fear of dying for the living. It is said to knock on the door of houses in which someone is about to die. He sometimes utters a warning or a threatening wail similar to that of a banshee. He rarely uses his scythe to take life, as his mere presence is often fatal.
In most tales, when the Ankou meets people, he simply reminds them (albeit ominously) that death is inevitable for everyone, regardless of age, wealth or political power. In darker tales, seeing him, talking to him or simply crossing his path condemns people to imminent death. Those who hear the creaking of his carriage are supposed to die or lose a loved one very soon. The closer the creak, the closer the time of death. 👀
Legend has it that the Ankou waits in every house to claim the life of the first living creature to enter, be it an animal or an egg about to hatch. That’s why, in the Breton commune of Quimperlé, it’s traditional to sacrifice a rooster and spill its blood on the foundations of every house under construction.
On Christmas Eve, which the Bretons call the “Night of Wonders”, the Ankou wanders anonymously through the crowd attending midnight mass. Then, he brushes against all those who will die before the New Year. However, death inflicted by the Ankou is not always a bad omen. In most tales, those who have met him have enough time to arrange their final affairs and estates before he comes to claim their lives. Some even say that the Ankou only shows himself to those who are about to die, and that seeing him is a warning rather than a fate.
Ankou and Norse Mythology
Some tales feature Brittany’s reaper. Let’s take a look at some of them together.
1) The Blocked Road
In this tale, three brothers return home in the evening after a party and, being quite drunk, decide to play a prank on a car using the nearby road by blocking it with a dead tree. Later that night, they are awakened by someone knocking violently on their door, forcing them to go and remove the tree blocking the road. This person knows that it was they who placed it there. When the three brothers open the door, they find no one there. However, they can’t close it, no matter how hard they try. They ask who’s there and what he wants, and hear a threatening voice ordering them back to the road they’ve blocked.
Frightened, the brothers obey without question. They then discover that the stranger is none other than the Ankou himself. He tells them that, since he’s lost an hour of his time because of their prank, they’ll all die an hour earlier. He adds that they’re lucky they obeyed immediately, because otherwise they’d have lost a year of their lives for every minute they’d have made the Ankou lose with their prank. 😵
There’s a variant of this tale in which three drunken brothers (or friends) come home at night and come across the Ankou, whom they don’t recognize. Two of them begin to insult the stranger and throw stones at him, until one of them breaks a spoke off a wheel of his cart. As the two flee, the third, ashamed of his comrades’ actions (and his own), cuts off a tree branch and gives it to the stranger to repair his cart. He also gives him his shoelaces to tie. In the morning, the first two are found dead, while the third’s hair has turned white.
2) The Cart of Death
This tale tells of a young man who, one night, recognizes the creaking of the Ankou’s cart. But instead of running away, he decides to hide and see the harbinger of death with his own eyes, unnoticed. As the cart passes by, a spoke on its wheel breaks, and the Ankou orders one of his ghostly assistants to fetch a branch from the bush where the young man is hiding to repair it. The Ankou doesn’t notice the young man, but the latter pays the price for his audacious curiosity anyway, as he catches a fever and dies the next day.
3) The Ankou and the Blacksmith
This story is about Fanch ar Floc’h, a skilled blacksmith who works constantly, as he always takes on more tasks than he can handle. On Christmas Eve, he decides to skip midnight mass to finish his most important task. He asks his wife and children to pray for him, and they warn him that he must at all costs have stopped working before the bells strike the midnight hour, lest he be cursed. 😈
Unfortunately, Fanch is so engrossed in his task that he doesn’t hear the bell and carries on working. Then, a stranger dressed in black, whose hat hides his face, knocks on his door and informs him that the bell has already rung. The stranger asks Fanch to repair his scythe. Fanch complies, although he wonders why the blade is facing outwards, without getting an answer from the distant stranger.
When this is done, the stranger reveals himself to be the Ankou, come to claim the life of the one who neglected the Night of Wonders. As Fanch has repaired his scythe, the Ankou allows him to wait until his family returns to say goodbye and request the presence of a priest before returning to take his soul.
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