Jump to content

Black Horse (legend)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A black horse; protagonist of the story of the demon that builds churches in Quebec.

The black horse builder is a traditional oral story of Quebec and the other regions of French Canada, as well as places French Canadians emigrated.[1] It has many variants, but most often it is about a magnificent black horse, or more rarely a white horse, which helps to build a chapel, church, or cathedral.

Description

[edit]

Impressed by the courage of the animal, a worker removes its bridle. The construction of the building is interrupted when it is almost complete and the horse flees, suggesting that it is the devil. A stone is still missing at the top of the religious building.[2]

This story is to be found on both sides of the Saint Lawrence River, and especially at Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaures, Saint-Michel-de-Bellechasse, Saint-Laurent-de-l'Île-d'Orléans, Trois-Pistoles, Quebec, L'Islet, Quebec and in the other regions of Quebec. It also exists in a French quarter of Saint Boniface in Manitoba. The association of the devil and a black horse is frequently found in Québécois imagery. This may be connected with the morals of the Catholic Church and the fear of a meeting with the devil.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Muise, Peter (2015-01-25). "NEW ENGLAND FOLKLORE: The Black Horse and the Devil's Hole: A Story from Rhode Island". NEW ENGLAND FOLKLORE. Retrieved 2024-01-20.
  2. ^ "The Black Horse". domestic-church.com. Retrieved 2024-01-20.