Gaël

Gaël (Breton: Gwazel, Gallo: Gaèu) is a small commune of France, in the Ille-et-Vilaine département, located southwest of Rennes. In the 18th century, a fair was held twice a year in August and October.

It is located between Saint-Méen-le-Grand and Mauron.

1 History
2 Population
3 See also
4 References
5 External links

[edit] History

Gaël - a town whose Breton name is Gwazel, formerly called GUADEL(T) or WADEL. It is best known to English historians as being the ancestral seat of Ralph de Guader the first earl of Norfolk and Suffolk in post-Conquest England circa 1070 A.D.

This is an ancient Breton parish to the west of Rennes, whose boundaries formerly stretched to include the territories of Bran, Muel, Saint-Onen, Crouais, Saint-Méen-le-Grand, Concoret and Loscouët-sur-Meu. The parish of Gaël (Guadel) was a dependency of the Archbishopric of Saint-Malo. In the 6th and 7th centuries, Gaël was a major town in the kingdom of Domnonia.

The name is alleged to derive from the word for a ford, river-crossing or river (see Guad- and Guadal-). In local myths there was a 6th century king Hoël (possible link to King Coel) known as the forest king or "Rex Arboretanus". It is a fact that the town is situated amidst the vast forests of Poutrecouët. A royal castle from this era was sited at Meu, not far from Gaël. This later became the seat of the De Montfort family. The emplacement was captured and dismantled by De Guesclin in 1372.