between myths and legends, the history of Lake Annecy told differently in a book
The book “Lake Annecy, in the footsteps of its legends”, available mid-December, brings together eleven extraordinary stories around Lake Annecy. Meeting with its author, Nicole Gilloz-Mathis.
Lake Annecy, with its unspoiled nature, blue water and even its rock of Chère, is a haven for myths and legends. One of his great admirers, Nicole Gilloz-Mathis, dedicated a book to him, Lake Annecy, in the footsteps of its legends, which tells, with full of poetry, the history of this place.
After a long research effort, this resident of Talloires, by the lake, has managed to collect eleven legends: “I searched the 19th century bibliographies, archives, etc … And so I found eleven. But there are certainly others. Perhaps, they were not written and were lost. But, my idea was also to save this memory. “
One of the stories she tells concerns the origin of the lake. Nicole Gilloz-Mathis says: “In time immemorial, God entrusted to three angels, the mission to watch over one of the wonders of his creation: the Northern Alps. One day, however, God decided to entrust to his celestial guardians, the supervision of others. countries less peacefully. The angels, who never tired of admiring, every day, so beautiful nature were heartbroken to abandon so much beauty. “
“Each of them shed a single tear which, falling to the ground, soon turned into a waterspout, swelling torrents and streams until inundating the deep lock. Thus were born the three largest alpine lakes of the future. country of Savoy, Lake Annecy, that of Bourget and Lake Geneva “, she continues.
“This lake inspires me a lot of legends and emotions”, confides this Haut-Savoyarde. Accustomed to the landscape since her birth, she also tells the legendary stories of local personalities, such as that of Saint-Germain, a monk Benedictine founder in the 11th century of the Abbey of Talloires:
“Saint-Germain is a monk born in Flanders. He was sent by the Queen of Burgundy to Talloires to found a priory there. He would be the first prior of Talloires. He became a hermit and went to a cave around the lake to meditate. He would have lived there 40 years while continuing to practice services at the abbey “, says the author.
She keeps : “Every day he would have to take fairly steep paths down.” But, at an advanced age, he could no longer take these paths: “He received help from the angels, who sent him to the abbey every day. He was leaping into the void, just outside the cave, to reach the abbey, carried by the angels.”
Supported by her companion, Nicole Gilloz-Mathis has edited her own book. Illustrated by a painter from Chambéry, it should be available mid-December.