Last modified: 2026-10-10 by olivier touzeau
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![[Flag]](../images/f/fr-35-sa.gif)
Flag of Saint-Aubin-du-Cormier - Image by Olivier Touzeau, 24 September 2026
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Saint-Aubin-du-Cormier (Breton: Sant-Albin-an-Hiliber - 4,203
inhabitants on 2,741 ha) is a commune in the Ille-et-Vilaine
department.
It is part of the Marches of Brittany, the former border zone between
Brittany and France where large and small fortresses were built
between the 5th and 15th centuries to form a defensive line stretching
from Dol-de-Bretagne to Clisson.
Founded in 1223 at the behest of the Duke of Brittany himself, Pierre
de Mauclerc, the Château de Saint-Aubin-du-Cormier was intended to
keep watch over the barons of Fougères and Vitré, who were stationed
along the duchy's border. A strategic stronghold,
Saint-Aubin-du-Cormier holds a significant place in history due to the
act of resistance that took place there on July 28, 1488; marking the
Bretons' defeat by the French, it represented the first symbolic step
toward the incorporation of Brittany into France from the 15th century
onwards.
Saint-Aubin-du-Cormier has become a symbolic site for Bretons, particularly those who advocate for Breton independence; a monument honoring all Bretons who died for France was inaugurated there on November 11, 2018, at the initiative of the MAB association (Musée Archipel Breton). Additionally, a monumental sculpture depicting an English archer from 1488 - paying tribute to the approximately 440 English archers who came from the Isle of Wight under the command of Sir Edward Woodville ("Lord Scales") and died at Saint-Aubin-du-Cormier defending Brittany's sovereignty and independence - was unveiled on September 25, 2018, on the private grounds of the Château de la Giraudais, located north of the Saint-Aubin-du-Cormier battlefield.
Saint-Aubin-du-Cormier was founded by Pierre de Dreux, a Capetian prince born around 1187, the son of Robert
II of Dreux and Yolande de Coucy. He was knighted in 1209 by King
Philip Augustus of France.
At the King's request, he married Alix de Thouars in 1213; she was the
daughter of Guy de Thouars and Constance of Brittany, who held the
titles of Duchess of Brittany and Countess of Richmond (England). Alix
de Thouars was only twelve years old at the time, yet she had been the
heiress to the Duchy of Brittany since the death of her half-brother
Arthur, who was born of her mother's first marriage to Geoffrey
Plantagenet, son of King Henry II of England. Through this marriage,
the King, while not daring to annex Brittany outright, sought to bind
it to the Kingdom of France by installing a Capetian prince as its
ruler. Pierre de Dreux thus became regent of the Duchy of Brittany and
the County of Richmond, reigning as Pierre I.
Following Alix's death in 1221, before she had reached the age of
majority, her husband continued to serve as regent until 1237, when
their son, the future John I of Brittany, came of age. Thereafter, he
adopted the name Pierre de Braine, derived from his family estate in
Dreux, and took part in several Crusades. He died in 1250 while
returning from Saint Louis's Egyptian Crusade.
One theory suggests that Pierre de Dreux had originally been destined
for a clerical career but abandoned it after extensive studies at the
Schools of Paris; this background is said to have inspired the
nickname "Mauclerc" (meaning "bad cleric") which was attributed to him
after his death. It was in memory of this ecclesiastical episode that
he reportedly differenced his paternal coat of arms (chequy or and
azure, a bordure gules) by adding an ermine canton, a mark often
reserved for the clergy, as ermine symbolized moral purity. This
heraldic practice appears to have been initiated by his cousin
Alexandre of Burgundy and was fairly common among the younger sons of
noble families in the early 13th century.
His nickname "Mauclerc" may also allude to the contentious
relationship he maintained with the Breton high clergy in general, and
the Bishop of Nantes in particular.
In any case, this coat of arms introduced the ermine motif into Breton
symbolism, and it became the arms of Brittany itself when he married
Alix of Brittany.
Olivier Touzeau, 24 September 2026
Saint-Aubin du Cormier has inherited its coat of arms from Pierre de Dreux:
Chequy or and azure of six, a canton of ermine.
A banner of arms was reported for the commune by Michel Bolloré and
Divi Kervella in the article "Le drapeau des Dreux", in Ar Banniel n°
9, summer 1999, p.29 (see: emblemes.free.fr).
Olivier Touzeau, 24 September 2026
![[Flag]](../images/f/fr_bzmab.gif)
Flag of Musée Archipel Breton - Image by Olivier Touzeau, 24 September 2026
In 2000 and 2001, a collective named Mémoire et Dignité (Memory and Dignity) opposed a departmental plan to create a household waste landfill on the northern/northeastern section of the field where the 1488 battle took place. This campaign led to the founding of the MAB (Musée Archipel Breton) in 2001. Its goal is to build a museum dedicated to the battle, presenting it within its historical context, at the gateway to Brittany, near the historic site of Saint-Aubin-du-Cormier and the A84 "Estuaries Motorway," in a spirit of international cultural, economic, and tourism development. In 2003, through the Real Estate Investment Company (SCI) Koad Sav Pell, the association acquired a portion of the battle's epicenter (4.25 hectares), where Breton and allied troops were positioned prior to the engagement, and began constructing a memorial sculpture park.
Annual events are held on-site, where the MAB flag can notably be seen: photo (2014), photo (2025), photo (2026), photo (2026), photos (2026).
Olivier Touzeau, 24 September 2026