The abbaye Saint-Mathieu-de-Fine-Terre is a Breton abbey, whose ruins are to be found in the territory of what is now the commune of Plougonvelin

Plougonvelin

Plougonvelin is a commune in the Finistère department in Bretagne in northwestern France.-Population:Inhabitants of Plougonvelin are called Plougonvelinois.-Breton language:...

 on pointe Saint-Mathieu

Pointe Saint-Mathieu

The pointe Saint-Mathieu is a headland located near Le Conquet in the territory of the commune of Plougonvelin in France, flanked by 20m high cliffs.-Village:...

 (Beg Lokmazhe in Breton), in the département of Finistère

Finistère

Finistère is a département of France, in the extreme west of Brittany.-History:The name Finistère derives from the Latin Finis Terræ, meaning end of the earth, and may be compared with Land's End on the opposite side of the English Channel...

. It gives the cape its name. It was dedicated to Matthew the Evangelist

Matthew the Evangelist

Matthew the Evangelist was, according to the Bible, one of the twelve Apostles of Jesus and one of the four Evangelists.-Identity:...

, whose skull it contained.

History

According to legend the first abbey here was founded in the 6th century by saint Tanguy

Saint Tanguy

Saint Tanguy of Locmazhé, or Sant Tangi in Breton, was a Breton monk from Gerber . He founded the abbaye de Saint Matthieu at Le Conquet and is buried at Locmazhé...

, chosen as an isolated point on the lands he had inherited, extending from the river of Caprel (haven of Brest

Brest, France

Brest is a city in the Finistère department in Brittany in northwestern France. Located in a sheltered position not far from the western tip of the Breton peninsula, and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an important harbour and the second French military port after Toulon...

) to Penn ar Bed, cut off from the world but close to the sea.