Lérins Islands

The Lérins Islands are a group of five Mediterranean islands off the French Riviera, in Cannes. The two largest islands in this group are Île Sainte-Marguerite and Île Saint-Honorat. The smaller Îlot Saint-Ferréol, Îlot de la Tradelière and Îlot de l'Ilon (also called l'Îlot) are uninhabited. Administratively, the islands belong to the commune of Cannes. The islands are first known to have been inhabited during Roman times. The Île de Saint-Honorat bears the name of the founder of the monastery of Lérins, Saint Honoratus. It was founded around the year 410. According to tradition, Saint Patrick, patron of Ireland, studied there in the fifth century. Around 500, the community was led by Porcarius I. Around 732, the Abbot Porcarius II was killed during a Saracen raid. In 1047 the islands were raided by pirates from Andalusia. Thereafter, a fortified monastery was built between the eleventh and fourteenth centuries. The monastic community today lives in a monastery built during the nineteenth century. The Île Sainte-Marguerite held a fortress where the Man in the Iron Mask was held captive for a time. During the Thirty Years' War, Spain was in possession of the islands between September 1635 and May 1637, and built or rebuilt four fortresses on Santa Margarita. In 1707 the Lérins were occupied by the English navy, under the command of Sir Cloudesley Shovell. This was done in order to block the military port of Toulon to help the army of Victor Amadeus II Duke of Savoy and his cousin Eugene besiege that city. Under the French Revolution, the Île Sainte-Marguerite and the Île Saint-Honorat were renamed the Île Marat and the Île Lepeletier, after secular martyrs.

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