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Gaël |
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Gaël
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Location within Brittany region
Gaël
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| Administration | |
|---|---|
| Country | France |
| Region | Brittany |
| Department | Ille-et-Vilaine |
| Arrondissement | Rennes |
| Canton | Saint-Méen-le-Grand |
| Intercommunality | Pays de Saint-Méen-le-Grand |
| Mayor | Claude Josse (2008–2014) |
| Statistics | |
| Elevation | 51–131 m (167–430 ft) (avg. 80 m/260 ft) |
| Land area1 | 52.1 km2 (20.1 sq mi) |
| Population2 | 1,546 (2006) |
| - Density | 30 /km2 (78 /sq mi) |
| INSEE/Postal code | 35117/ 35290 |
| 1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. | |
| 2 Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once. | |
Gaël (Breton: Gwazel, Gallo: Gaèu) is a commune in the Ille-et-Vilaine department of Brittany in north-western France.
It lies southwest of Rennes between Saint-Méen-le-Grand and Mauron. In the 18th century, a fair was held twice a year in August and October.
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Its 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.
During World War II, the German Luftwaffe established an airfield near Gaël in 1941. The Allied Air Forces based in England attacked the airfield on several occasions in 1943 and 1944 before it was seized by the United States Army in June 1944. Known as Advanced Landing Ground "A-31", the 354th Fighter Group based P-51 Mustang fighters at the airfield from 13 August through 17 September 1944 before moving east to Orconte in the Marne département along with the advancing Allied armies.[1][2]
After the war, the airfield was dismantled and the land returned to agricultural use.[3][4][5]
The village lies on the left bank of the Meu, which flows southeastward through the commune.
Inhabitants of Gaël are called Gaëlites.
| Year | Population |
|---|---|
| 1806 | 2,212 |
| 1846 | 2,295 |
| 1906 | 2,654 |
| 1954 | 2,038 |
| 1962 | 1,466 |
| 1968 | 1,673 |
| 1975 | 1,515 |
| 1982 | 1,484 |
| 1990 | 1,406 |
| 1999 | 1,351 |
| 2006 | 1,546 |