Elvire de Cerny explained

Elvire-Louise-Léonarde de Preissac, comtesse de Cerny, known as Elvire de Cerny (1818-1899) was a French writer and folklorist.^{[1] [2]}

She lived near Dinan for many years and wrote about Breton folklore in local newspapers. Her book Contes et légendes de Bretagne (1856-1898) was published in 1899 (helped by) and reprinted several times, including in 1995.^[3] Her 1861 work Saint-Suliac et ses traditions : contes et légendes d'Ille-et-Vilaine was reprinted in 1987.^[4] The Breton folklorist Paul Sébillot is said to have called her "la doyenne du folklore français".

She was a proponent of the theory that Napoleon was not born in Corsica but in Brittany, where he was allegedly baptised in the church of Sainte-Sève.^[5]

Selected publications

• Book: Cerny, Elvire de . Contes et légendes de Bretagne (1856-1898). 1899 . Paris . Émile Lechevalier. (reprinted 1995, Rennes: La Tourniole)
• Book: Cerny, Elvire de . Saint-Suliac et ses traditions : contes et légendes d'Ille-et-Vilaine. 1861 . (reprinted 1987, Rennes:Rue des Scribes)

Notes and References

1. Web site: Le conte en Bretagne . www.bcd.bzh . 1 February 2021.
2. Book: Koch . John T. . Celtic Culture: A historical encyclopedia: Volume 1 . 2006 . ABC-CLIO . 978-1-85109-440-0 . 760 . https://books.google.com/books?id=f899xH_quaMC&q=Elvire+de+Cerny&pg=PA760 . 1 February 2021 . en . Folktales and legends: Breton .
3. Web site: Catalogue records for "Contes et legendes..." . JISC Library Hub . 1 February 2021.
4. Book: Catalogue record for "Saint-Suliac ..." . Worldcat . 21044966 . 1 February 2021.
5. News: Marlowe . Lara . The mystery around Napoleon Bonaparte's father . 1 February 2021 . The Irish Times . 20 January 2020 . en.