The Divina Comedia in breton language

"The Dante's Divina Comedia, translated in Breton by Pêr Bourdellez, a Breton priest, is more than a translation. Of the 15,000 verses that make up this great work of the late Middle Ages, about 5,000 have been composed in breton language, in an attempt to preserve the spirit of the language in the unfolding of a poetic journey through Hell, Purgatory and Paradise.

This book is much better than the translations of the novels in french language, emphatic and tedious, with fuzzed words and phrases which are foreign to us. Rather than that, we have a brilliant, easy-to-read adaptation of a work that founded Italian literature 800 years ago, full of imagination and motivated by a deep and living faith.

There are no new words in this Breton text. Unlike the french publications, no attempt was made to translate words that come from greek language, for example, « Empireo » : the words « Le Trône » had been chosen.

It seems to us that Breton is spiritually very close to the theme of the Journey (see also the Journey of St. Brendan and the foundation of Little Brittany by our ancestors, fifteen centuries ago). Is there really another people in the world who would be closer to the spirit of our thousand old songs which are known for not so long ago, and that have been influenced, of course, by Dante? There are mentions, for example, of « The cold Hell », of the countless angels flying like bees, of details similar to « St. Patrick purgatory » compiled in 4.000 verses by Louis Eunius at the end of the 18th century in breton, « The girl who married Satan » in the 'Barzhaz' of Brittany...

It is also clear that this kind of literature suits us very well, as we have got 'Gwerzioù', based on Breton for at least four centuries: dramatic tales that were told in the corner of the fireplace during the winter holidays. In order to sing them, however, it would have been necessary to be able to rhyme and find rhymes of equal length. Pêr Bourdellez preferred to work on finding a harmonious rhythm for the verses, and he succeeded, as he thought.

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