Quintin

Quintin, like Moncontour, was part of the Penthievre lands and became a feudal estate in the 13th c. The description of the two villages is nearly identical. They shared histories: wars, destruction of their chateaux, prosperity from the cloth trade, and picturesque granite and half-timbered houses around a church.
Only a part of the old ramparts remain from the medieval village. They were partly restored in the 17th c., and in the 18th c. the commons and the stables were transformed and enlarged to form a residence. This is the actual Chateau of Quintin, where descendants of the original owners now live.


Their private apartments are open to visitors and include the kitchen with a very large stone oven, and a very unusual collection of chamber pots and urinals – true and mercifully clean, no doubt from the finest porcelain factories in Europe. I must admit, some were really beautiful; but, I also admit, it was hard to banish the thought of their purpose!


Quintin suffered from the wars in the 15th and 16th centuries over who would succeed as Duke of Brittany and whether the protestant inhabitants of the village would survive to worship as they chose. But they did and the town began to prosper. An old document describes peasants and day workers weaving at home during the winter. For them weaving provided needed revenue because they were very poor. In fact, whole families were involved in linen cloth, from those who grew it to those who wove it. Commerce began to flourish as cloth used to make bonnets and collars, and as other items were exported to England and even to America. The linen was so fine it was eventually used to make luxury items.

The historic center of Quintin is very small, but the buildings in the area, in addition to the chateau, span the last five centuries. There are a few half-timbered houses, along the main Grande Rue and elsewhere, between later stone houses dating from the 16th and 17th centuries. Some public buildings, such as the Town Hall and the Treasury on the large Place du Martray date from the 18th c. The present church dates from the 19th century. Notre-Dame de la Delivrance was rebuilt in 1887 on the site of the old ruined church. The remains of a nobleman of Quintin, Jean II, who died in 1352, were found among the ruins and reburied in a chapel of the church. Tourist brochures explain that pregnant women would pray in this church for a safe delivery; if there are such supplicants in the 21st century, their prayers are probably supplemented by visits to their obstetricians.