With its fairy tale spire and cathedral, the tidal island of Mont-Saint-Michel resembles a castle floating on the sea. It has played numerous important roles in history. Originally a refuge for religious hermits in the Middle Ages, it has been a monastery, a defensive fortification and a prison, and is now an important tourist destination. Gazing upon it from the shoreline as a melancholy evening lit by a languid setting sun faded to night, it reflected the "Fading Epoch" of this once grand and important place.