History of Brittany
Encyclopedia
The history of Brittany may refer to the entire history of the Armorican peninsula
or only to the creation and development of a specifically Brythonic
culture and state in the Early Middle Ages
and the subsequent history of that state.
Pre-Brythonic Armorica includes the ancient megalith
cultures in the area and the Celtic tribal territories that existed before Roman rule. After the collapse of the Roman empire, large scale migration from Great Britain
led to the foundation of British colonies linked initially to homelands in Cornwall and Wales. The independent Breton kingdom later developed into the Duchy of Brittany, before it was unified with France
to become a province
. After the French Revolution
Brittany was abolished as an administrative unit, but continued to retain its distinctive cultural identity. Its administrative existence was reconstituted, in reduced size, as the Region of Brittany in the mid-20th century.
, Armoricani
, Osismii
, Namnetes
and Coriosolites. Strabo
and Poseidonius describe the Armoricani as belonging to the Belgae
.
Armorican gold coins have been widely exported and are even found in the Rhineland
.
Saltern
s are widespread in Northern Armorica, for example at Trégor, Ebihens and Enez Vihan near Pleumeur-Bodou (Côtes-d'Armor) and the island of Yoc'h near Landuvez (Finistère) of late La Tène
date.
An estimated 40–55 kg of salt per oven were produced at Ebihens. Each oven was about 2 m long. The site dates to the end of the early La Tène
or the middle La Tène period. Numerous briquetage
remains have been found. At Tregor, boudins de Calage (hand-bricks) were the typical form of briquetage, between 2.5 and 15 cm long and with a diameter of 4–7 cm.
At the salterns at Landrellec and Enez Vihan at Pleumeur-Bodou the remains of rectangular ovens have been excavated that are 2.5–3 m long and about 1 m wide, constructed of stones and clay.
On the Gulf of Morbihan
about 50 salterns have been found so far, mainly dating to the final La Téne period.
under Julius Caesar
. The main resistance came from the Veneti
. After their defeat their leaders were killed and the tribe sold as slaves. The Romans called the district Armorica
(a Latin
isation of a Celtic word meaning "coastal region"), part of the Gallia Lugdunensis
province. The modern département of Côtes-d'Armor
has taken up the ancient name. After the reforms of Diocletian, it was part of the diocesis Galliarum
.
The uprising of the Bagaudae
in the 3rd century led to unrest and depopulation, numerous villages were destroyed. Thick layers of black earth in the towns point to urban depopulation as well. The rule of Constantine (307–350) led to a certain renaissance. Numerous coins were minted. At the tractus Armoricanus, new forts were built, for example at Brest
, Avranches
and Le Yaudet. The Notitia Dignitatum
(circa 400AD) mentions a number of local units manning the Tractus armoricanus et nervicanus, for example Mauritania
n troops in the territory of the Veneti and Osismii. Frankish laeti
were present in Rennes
. Christianisation
is commonly dated to the late fourth century, but material evidence is rare.
In the 380s a large number of British troops in the Roman army may have been stationed in Armorica. The 9th century Historia Brittonum states that the emperor Magnus Maximus
, who withdrew Roman forces from Britain, settled the troops there. Other British authors (Nennius
and Gildas
) mention a second wave of Britons settling in Armorica in the following century to escape the invading Anglo-Saxons
and Scoti
. Modern archaeology supports a two-wave migration.
These Britons gave the region its current name and contributed the Breton language
, Brezhoneg, a sister language to Welsh
and Cornish
. (Brittany used to be known in English as Little Britain to distinguish it from Great Britain – the street in London called Little Britain was the location of the embassy of the Duchy of Brittany).
Conan Meriadoc
, the mythic founder of the house of Rohan
is mentioned by medieval Welsh sources as having led the settlement of Brittany by mercenaries serving Maximus. The Welsh text The Dream of Maxen, which contains semi-factual information about the usurpation of Maximus, states that they married native women after cutting out their tongues to preserve the purity of their language. This can be interpreted as a legend formulated in order to explain the Welsh (Brythonic) name for Brittany, Llydaw, as originating from lled-taw or "half-silent". In fact, the term "Llydaw" or "Ledav" in early Breton probably derives from the Celtic root "Led" meaning here "Peninsula".
There are numerous records of missionaries migrating from Britain during the second wave, especially the Seven founder-saints of Brittany and Saint Gildas
. Many Breton towns are named for these early saints. The Irish Saint, Colombanus also evangelised Brittany, commemorated at Saint-Columban in Carnac
.
The earliest text known in the Breton language
, a botanical
treatise, dates from 590 (for comparison, the earliest text in French dates from 843). Most of the early Breton language medieval manuscripts were lost during the Viking invasions.
In the Early Middle Ages, Brittany was divided into three kingdoms – Domnonia
, Cornouaille
(Kernev), and Bro Waroc'h (Broërec) – which eventually were incorporated into the Duchy of Brittany. The first two kingdoms derive their names from the homelands of the migrating Britons (Devon and Cornwall). Bro Waroc'h ("land of Waroch
") derives from the name of one of the first known Breton rulers, who dominated the region of Vannes
(Gwened). The rulers of Domnonia, such as Conomor
sought to expand their territory, claiming overlordship over all Bretons, though there was constant tension between local lords.
During the 9th century the Bretons resisted incorporation into the Frankish Carolingian Empire
. The first unified Duchy of Brittany was founded by Nominoe. Following the successful example of the Cornish in 722 at the Battle of Hehil
(location uncertain), which helped stop for a time the Anglo-Saxon conquest of Cornwall, the Bretons made friendly overtures to the Danish Vikings to help contain Frankish
expansionist ideas. When the Carolingian empire was divided in 843, Nominoe took advantage of the confusion to consolidate his territory. In alliance with Lambert II of Nantes
and the Viking warlord Hastein
, Nominoe's son Erispoe defeated the Franks at the Battle of Messac. In 845 the Breton army under Nominoe defeated the forces of Charles the Bald
, King of West Francia (France), at the Battle of Ballon
, in the eastern part of Brittany near Redon and the Frankish border. Nominoe gained control over the major towns of Rennes
and Nantes
, which had previously formed part of the Frankish border zone known as the "Breton March".
Control over Rennes, Nantes and the Pays de Retz
was secured when the Frankish army was defeated once again in 851 at the Battle of Jengland
by the Bretons under Erispoe; consequently Charles the Bald
recognised the independence of Brittany and determined the borders that defined the historic duchy and later province. Under Erispoe's successor Salomon, Hastein's Vikings and the Bretons united as one in 865 to defeat a Frankish army at the Battle of Brissarthe
, near modern-day Le Mans
. Two Frankish kings, Robert the Strong
and Ranulf
, were killed by the Vikings. The Franks were forced to confirm Brittany's independence from the Frankish kingdoms
and expand Salomon's territory. As with Cornwall
in 722, the Vikings tactically helped their Breton allies by making devastating pillaging raids on the Frankish kingdoms.
. Henry's son Geoffroy II
, then heir apparent to the Duchy of Brittany, resisted his father's attempts to annex Brittany to the possessions of the English Crown. Geoffroy's son Arthur
did likewise during his reign (1186–1203) until his death, perhaps by assassination under King John
's orders.
In 1185, Geoffroy II signed "Count Geoffrey's Assise" which forbade the subdivision of fiefs, thereby reinforcing the Breton feudal system.
In 1213, with the aim of strengthening his power in Brittany, king Philip August
of France introduced the Capetian prince Peter Mauclerc of Dreux as administrator of the duchy and tutor of his son, duke Jehan of Brittany
. It was Peter Mauclerc who introduced the use of ermines in the Breton coat of arms and came to espouse the cause of his fief's independence with respect to France.
The 14th and 15th centuries saw the recognition of the distinction between a Gallo
-speaking Britannia gallicana (now called Upper Brittany
) and a Breton
-speaking Britannia britonizans (now Lower Brittany).
The Breton War of Succession
was fought 1341–1364. The parties were the half-brother of the last duke, John of Montfort
(supported by the English) and his niece, Joanna of Penthièvre, who was married to Charles of Blois
, nephew of the king of France. This protracted conflict, a component of the Hundred Years' War
, has passed into legend (see for example Combat of the Thirty
and Bertrand de Guesclin). Its outcome was decided at the Battle of Auray
in 1364, where the House of Montfort was victorious over the French party. After the first Treaty of Guérande, Joanna of Penthièvre abdicated her claims to the dukedom in favour of John the Conqueror
. A modified form of Salic law
was introduced in Brittany as a result.
In the midst of the conflict, in 1352, the États de Bretagne or Estates of Brittany were established. They would develop into the Duchy's parlement
.
Deserted by his nobles, duke John IV
left for exile in England in 1373. The higher nobility of that time, like the house of Coetmen-Penthièvre, or the house of Rougé
, descendants of the former kings of Brittany, strongly supported the Penthièvre side and nearly extinguished in the repeated fights between Montfort and Penthièvre's troops. The king of France Charles V
named as lieutenant-general of Brittany his brother, the duke of Anjou
(also a son-in-law of Joanna de Penthièvre). In 1378, the king of France sought to annex Brittany, which provoked the Bretons to recall John IV from exile. The second Treaty of Guérande
(1381) established Brittany's neutrality in the Anglo-French conflict, although John continued to swear homage to Charles VI
.
In 1420, duke John V
was kidnapped by the count of Penthièvre, son of Joanna of Penthièvre. John's wife, duchess Joanna de France besieged the rebels and set free her husband, who confiscated the Penthièvre's goods.
In 1464 the Catholicon
, a Breton-Latin-French dictionary by Jehan Lagadeuc, was published. This book was the world's first trilingual dictionary, the first Breton dictionary and also the first French dictionary.
The army of the Kingdom of France, with the help of 5,000 mercenaries from Switzerland and Italy, defeated the Breton
army in 1488, and the last Duke of independent Brittany
, Francis II, was forced to submit to a treaty giving the King of France the right to determine the marriage of the Duke's daughter, a 12-year-old girl, the heir to the Duchy. The Duchess Anne was the last independent ruler of the duchy as she was ultimately obliged to marry Louis XII of France
. The duchy passed on her death to her daughter Claude
, but Claude's husband Francis I of France
incorporated the duchy into the Kingdom of France in 1532 through the Edict of Union between Brittany and France
, which was registered with the Estates of Brittany.
despite the rising tide of royal absolutism. Brittany remained on the whole strongly Catholic during the period of the Huguenots and the Wars of Religion
, although Protestantism made some headway in Nantes and a few other areas. From 1590–98, during the War of the Catholic League
, Philippe-Emmanuel, Duke of Mercœur (governor of Brittany
and husband of the countess of Penthièvre) sought to have himself proclaimed Duke of Brittany and allied with Philip II of Spain
. The latter, on the other hand, considered establishing his daughter Isabella
at the head of a reconstituted Brittany. Henry IV
, however, brought Mercœur to an honourable surrender.
During the era of Colbert
, Brittany benefited from France's naval expansion. Major ports were built or renovated at Saint-Malo
, Brest
, and Lorient
, and Bretons came to constitute a leading component of the French navy. Bretons played an important role in the colonization of New France
and the West Indies (see French colonisation of the Americas).
In 1675, insurgents in the diocese of Cornouaille and elsewhere rose up in the Revolt of the Bonnets Rouges. The rebels, in contact with Holland, were expecting assistance that never came. Sébastian Ar Balp, the leader of the rebellion, was assassinated by the Marquis de Montgaillard whom Ar Balp was holding prisoner. The rebellion was repressed by the duc de Chaulnes
, and hundreds of Bretons were hanged or broken on the wheel
. Madame de Sévigné claimed that French soldiers garrisoned in Rennes had roasted a Breton infant on a spit. A whole street in Rennes, suspected of seditiousness, was demolished leaving the inhabitants homeless.
In the conspiracy of Pontcallec of 1720, members of the petty nobility
in contact with Spain led a tax revolt against the Régence
. The marquis de Pontcallec and three others were tried and executed in Nantes for the uprising.
During the 18th century, Nantes
rose to become one of the most important commercial centres of France. The backbone of Nantes's prosperity was the Atlantic slave trade
.
On 4 August 1789, the National Constituent Assembly
in Paris unanimously proclaimed the abolition of feudal privileges. These included the privileges of the provinces such as Brittany. Brittany thus lost the juridical existence, autonomy, Parlement, and administrative, fiscal and legal peculiarities guaranteed since the Edict of Union of 1532. Although the Breton Club
(better known as the Jacobins) in Paris had initiated the move to abolish feudal distinctions, the decision proved increasingly unpopular in Brittany, where the loss of local autonomy and the increasingly anti-clerical character of the Revolution were resented. Many Bretons took part in the Chouannerie
, the royalist insurgency assisted by Great Britain
and allied with the revolt in the Vendée
. Brittany thus became a hotbed of resistance to the French Revolution
.
The territory of Brittany was divided in 1789 into five départements, partially on the basis of earlier divisions called présidiaux which in turn had issued from mediaeval bailliages
.
.
However, the image of Brittany as anti-republican led French politicians to doubt the reliability of Breton soldiers during the military actions that followed the collapse of the Second French Empire
, as resulted from the disastrous French defeat in the Battle of Sedan
during the Franco-Prussian War
. Fearing Breton separatist sentiments, the soldiers were interned in a military camp, Camp Conlie
, outside Le Mans
. Because of bad conditions, worsened by mud and rain, several hundreds died from disease. The camp has been described as a "concentration camp" and became a significant atrocity story within Breton nationalism
. In 1871 the camp was closed and the French military decided to incorporate the remaining 19,000 Breton soldiers into the 2nd Army of the Loire. They participated in the Battle of Le Mans
, but poorly equipped, they were crushed by the Prussians and also blamed for the defeat by the French commanders.
Brittany has had its own regionalist and separatist movements which have experienced varying success at elections and other political contests. Modern Breton nationalism developed at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century. The main body of these movements situated themselves within the Catholic traditionalist current. After 1944, Breton nationalism was widely discredited thanks to the collaboration of a number of prominent nationalists (such as Roparz Hemon
) with the Nazis
, who occupied Brittany along with most of the rest of the French state during the Second World War. On the other hand, other Breton nationalists took part in the Resistance. Brittany played a particularly important role in the Resistance thanks to its proximity to Great Britain, the relatively rugged landscape, and the presence of important naval installations. However, it must be noted that during the second world war the Allies bombed Brittany along with the rest of Northern France with such ferocity that many towns such as Lorient nearly ceased to exist. The act involved the killing of many thousands of French citizens. In the case of Lorient, the town was not freed until the end of the war and the submarine pens were not destroyed unlike the civilian areas which had been wiped out.
When France was divided into administrative regions by the Vichy government, the official Brittany Region included only four of the five departments traditionally understood to comprise the Breton territory. This removal of Loire-Atlantique
, which contains Nantes
(one of the two traditional Breton capitals) from the Breton region has been a matter of much controversy.
An experimental nuclear power station was constructed at Brennilis
in the Monts d'Arrée
during the 1960s. This was in operation for about ten years, and since 1988 it has been in the process of being dismantled. This is the first time that a nuclear power station has been dismantled in France.
Since the 1960s in particular Breton nationalism has developed a strong leftist character, alongside the Catholic traditionalist strain. Certain groups such as the ARB, marginal even within nationalist circles, made headlines through sabotage against highly symbolic targets.
In March 1972, workers at the Joint Français, a factory in Saint-Brieuc
, went on strike to obtain a wage increase. The strike lasted eight weeks.
Since the 1940s, use of the Breton language
has declined precipitously. In most Breton-speaking communities, it has become uncommon for children born since 1945 to acquire much of the language as French
becomes universalized. On the other hand, Breton has enjoyed increasing support among intellectuals and professionals since the 1970s, and the relatively small, urban-based Diwan
movement has sought to stem the loss of young Breton speakers through bilingual immersion schools. Breton music has also become more widely known through the work of musicians such as Alan Stivell
.
On 16 March 1978, the supertanker Amoco Cadiz
ran aground a few hundred metres from the shores of the small port of Portsall in Ploudalmézeau
. The result was the fifth-largest oil spill
in world history which severely affected the north and northwest coasts of Brittany.
In February and March 1980, the population of Plogoff
, the commune containing the Pointe du Raz
, demonstrated to prevent the construction of a nuclear power generator in their commune, despite the paratroopers and helicopters sent by the government. They received a wide support from the media. The power station project was abandoned after the presidential elections of 1981, which brought François Mitterrand
to power.
Armorica
Armorica or Aremorica is the name given in ancient times to the part of Gaul that includes the Brittany peninsula and the territory between the Seine and Loire rivers, extending inland to an indeterminate point and down the Atlantic coast...
or only to the creation and development of a specifically Brythonic
Britons (historical)
The Britons were the Celtic people culturally dominating Great Britain from the Iron Age through the Early Middle Ages. They spoke the Insular Celtic language known as British or Brythonic...
culture and state in the Early Middle Ages
Early Middle Ages
The Early Middle Ages was the period of European history lasting from the 5th century to approximately 1000. The Early Middle Ages followed the decline of the Western Roman Empire and preceded the High Middle Ages...
and the subsequent history of that state.
Pre-Brythonic Armorica includes the ancient megalith
Megalith
A megalith is a large stone that has been used to construct a structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones. Megalithic describes structures made of such large stones, utilizing an interlocking system without the use of mortar or cement.The word 'megalith' comes from the Ancient...
cultures in the area and the Celtic tribal territories that existed before Roman rule. After the collapse of the Roman empire, large scale migration from Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
led to the foundation of British colonies linked initially to homelands in Cornwall and Wales. The independent Breton kingdom later developed into the Duchy of Brittany, before it was unified with France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
to become a province
Province
A province is a territorial unit, almost always an administrative division, within a country or state.-Etymology:The English word "province" is attested since about 1330 and derives from the 13th-century Old French "province," which itself comes from the Latin word "provincia," which referred to...
. After the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
Brittany was abolished as an administrative unit, but continued to retain its distinctive cultural identity. Its administrative existence was reconstituted, in reduced size, as the Region of Brittany in the mid-20th century.
Iron Age
A variety of tribes are mentioned in Roman sources, like the VenetiVeneti (Gaul)
The Veneti were a seafaring Celtic people who lived in the Brittany peninsula , which in Roman times formed part of an area called Armorica...
, Armoricani
Armoricani
The Armoricani were a tribe living in the area now called Brittany and all along the coast up to Dieppe in Normandy. They inhabited the area in the Iron Age, though there is plenty of evidence of earlier settlement in that part of Gaul. Strabo and Poseidonius describe the Armoricani as belonging...
, Osismii
Osismii
The Osismii were a Gaulish tribe on the western Armorican peninsula. They were first described as the Ostimioi by the Greek geographer and traveller Pytheas in the fourth century BC. He situated them at the end of the peninsula of Kabaïon, which is not identifiable today. Their name means "the...
, Namnetes
Namnetes
The Namnetes were a tribe of ancient Gaul, living in the area of the modern city of Nantes near the river Liger .They were neighbours to the Veneti people , the Redones , the Andecavi and the Pictones ....
and Coriosolites. Strabo
Strabo
Strabo, also written Strabon was a Greek historian, geographer and philosopher.-Life:Strabo was born to an affluent family from Amaseia in Pontus , a city which he said was situated the approximate equivalent of 75 km from the Black Sea...
and Poseidonius describe the Armoricani as belonging to the Belgae
Belgae
The Belgae were a group of tribes living in northern Gaul, on the west bank of the Rhine, in the 3rd century BC, and later also in Britain, and possibly even Ireland...
.
Armorican gold coins have been widely exported and are even found in the Rhineland
Rhineland
Historically, the Rhinelands refers to a loosely-defined region embracing the land on either bank of the River Rhine in central Europe....
.
Saltern
Saltern
Saltern is a word with a number of differing meanings. In English archaeology, a saltern is an area used for salt making, especially in the East Anglian fenlands....
s are widespread in Northern Armorica, for example at Trégor, Ebihens and Enez Vihan near Pleumeur-Bodou (Côtes-d'Armor) and the island of Yoc'h near Landuvez (Finistère) of late La Tène
La Tène culture
The La Tène culture was a European Iron Age culture named after the archaeological site of La Tène on the north side of Lake Neuchâtel in Switzerland, where a rich cache of artifacts was discovered by Hansli Kopp in 1857....
date.
An estimated 40–55 kg of salt per oven were produced at Ebihens. Each oven was about 2 m long. The site dates to the end of the early La Tène
La Tène culture
The La Tène culture was a European Iron Age culture named after the archaeological site of La Tène on the north side of Lake Neuchâtel in Switzerland, where a rich cache of artifacts was discovered by Hansli Kopp in 1857....
or the middle La Tène period. Numerous briquetage
Briquetage
Briquetage is the name for a coarse ceramic material used to make evaporation vessels and supporting pillars used in extracting salt from seawater. Thick-walled saltpans were filled with saltwater and heated from below until the water had boiled away and salt was left behind...
remains have been found. At Tregor, boudins de Calage (hand-bricks) were the typical form of briquetage, between 2.5 and 15 cm long and with a diameter of 4–7 cm.
At the salterns at Landrellec and Enez Vihan at Pleumeur-Bodou the remains of rectangular ovens have been excavated that are 2.5–3 m long and about 1 m wide, constructed of stones and clay.
On the Gulf of Morbihan
Gulf of Morbihan
The Gulf of Morbihan is a natural harbour on the coast of the Département of Morbihan in the south of Brittany, France. This English name is taken from the French version: le golfe du Morbihan...
about 50 salterns have been found so far, mainly dating to the final La Téne period.
Roman rule
In 56 BC the area was conquered by the RomansRoman Republic
The Roman Republic was the period of the ancient Roman civilization where the government operated as a republic. It began with the overthrow of the Roman monarchy, traditionally dated around 508 BC, and its replacement by a government headed by two consuls, elected annually by the citizens and...
under Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
. The main resistance came from the Veneti
Veneti (Gaul)
The Veneti were a seafaring Celtic people who lived in the Brittany peninsula , which in Roman times formed part of an area called Armorica...
. After their defeat their leaders were killed and the tribe sold as slaves. The Romans called the district Armorica
Armorica
Armorica or Aremorica is the name given in ancient times to the part of Gaul that includes the Brittany peninsula and the territory between the Seine and Loire rivers, extending inland to an indeterminate point and down the Atlantic coast...
(a Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
isation of a Celtic word meaning "coastal region"), part of the Gallia Lugdunensis
Gallia Lugdunensis
Gallia Lugdunensis was a province of the Roman Empire in what is now the modern country of France, part of the Celtic territory of Gaul. It is named after its capital Lugdunum , possibly Roman Europe's major city west of Italy, and a major imperial mint...
province. The modern département of Côtes-d'Armor
Côtes-d'Armor
Côtes-d'Armor is a department in the north of Brittany, in northwestern France.-History:Côtes-du-Nord was one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790. It was created from part of the former province of Brittany. Its name was changed in 1990 to...
has taken up the ancient name. After the reforms of Diocletian, it was part of the diocesis Galliarum
Diocese of Gaul
The Diocese of Gaul was a diocese of the later Roman Empire, under the praetorian prefecture of Gaul...
.
The uprising of the Bagaudae
Bagaudae
In the time of the later Roman Empire bagaudae were groups of peasant insurgents who emerged during the "Crisis of the Third Century", and persisted particularly in the less-Romanised areas of Gallia and Hispania, where they were "exposed to the depredations of the late Roman state, and the great...
in the 3rd century led to unrest and depopulation, numerous villages were destroyed. Thick layers of black earth in the towns point to urban depopulation as well. The rule of Constantine (307–350) led to a certain renaissance. Numerous coins were minted. At the tractus Armoricanus, new forts were built, for example at 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...
, Avranches
Avranches
Avranches is a commune in the Manche department in the Basse-Normandie region in north-western France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. The inhabitants are called Avranchinais.-History:...
and Le Yaudet. The Notitia Dignitatum
Notitia Dignitatum
The Notitia Dignitatum is a unique document of the Roman imperial chanceries. One of the very few surviving documents of Roman government, it details the administrative organisation of the eastern and western empires, listing several thousand offices from the imperial court down to the provincial...
(circa 400AD) mentions a number of local units manning the Tractus armoricanus et nervicanus, for example Mauritania
Mauritania
Mauritania is a country in the Maghreb and West Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean in the west, by Western Sahara in the north, by Algeria in the northeast, by Mali in the east and southeast, and by Senegal in the southwest...
n troops in the territory of the Veneti and Osismii. Frankish laeti
Laeti
Laeti, the plural form of laetus, was a term used in the late Roman Empire to denote communities of barbari permitted to, and granted land to, settle on imperial territory on condition that they provide recruits for the Roman military...
were present in Rennes
Rennes
Rennes is a city in the east of Brittany in northwestern France. Rennes is the capital of the region of Brittany, as well as the Ille-et-Vilaine department.-History:...
. Christianisation
Christianization
The historical phenomenon of Christianization is the conversion of individuals to Christianity or the conversion of entire peoples at once...
is commonly dated to the late fourth century, but material evidence is rare.
Early Middle Ages
Magnus Maximus
Magnus Maximus , also known as Maximianus and Macsen Wledig in Welsh, was Western Roman Emperor from 383 to 388. As commander of Britain, he usurped the throne against Emperor Gratian in 383...
, who withdrew Roman forces from Britain, settled the troops there. Other British authors (Nennius
Nennius
Nennius was a Welsh monk of the 9th century.He has traditionally been attributed with the authorship of the Historia Brittonum, based on the prologue affixed to that work, This attribution is widely considered a secondary tradition....
and Gildas
Gildas
Gildas was a 6th-century British cleric. He is one of the best-documented figures of the Christian church in the British Isles during this period. His renowned learning and literary style earned him the designation Gildas Sapiens...
) mention a second wave of Britons settling in Armorica in the following century to escape the invading Anglo-Saxons
Anglo-Saxons
Anglo-Saxon is a term used by historians to designate the Germanic tribes who invaded and settled the south and east of Great Britain beginning in the early 5th century AD, and the period from their creation of the English nation to the Norman conquest. The Anglo-Saxon Era denotes the period of...
and Scoti
Scoti
Scoti or Scotti was the generic name used by the Romans to describe those who sailed from Ireland to conduct raids on Roman Britain. It was thus synonymous with the modern term Gaels...
. Modern archaeology supports a two-wave migration.
These Britons gave the region its current name and contributed the Breton language
Breton language
Breton is a Celtic language spoken in Brittany , France. Breton is a Brythonic language, descended from the Celtic British language brought from Great Britain to Armorica by migrating Britons during the Early Middle Ages. Like the other Brythonic languages, Welsh and Cornish, it is classified as...
, Brezhoneg, a sister language to Welsh
Welsh language
Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...
and Cornish
Cornish language
Cornish is a Brythonic Celtic language and a recognised minority language of the United Kingdom. Along with Welsh and Breton, it is directly descended from the ancient British language spoken throughout much of Britain before the English language came to dominate...
. (Brittany used to be known in English as Little Britain to distinguish it from Great Britain – the street in London called Little Britain was the location of the embassy of the Duchy of Brittany).
Conan Meriadoc
Conan Meriadoc
Conan Meriadoc is a legendary British leader credited with founding Brittany. Versions of his story circulated in both Brittany and Great Britain from at least the early 12th century, and supplanted earlier legends of Brittany's foundation...
, the mythic founder of the house of Rohan
Rohan (family)
The House of Rohan is a family of viscounts, later dukes and princes, coming from the locality of Rohan in Brittany. Their line descends from the viscounts of Porhoët and said to trace back to the legendary Conan Meriadoc. Through the Porhoët, the Rohan are related to the Dukes of Brittany, with...
is mentioned by medieval Welsh sources as having led the settlement of Brittany by mercenaries serving Maximus. The Welsh text The Dream of Maxen, which contains semi-factual information about the usurpation of Maximus, states that they married native women after cutting out their tongues to preserve the purity of their language. This can be interpreted as a legend formulated in order to explain the Welsh (Brythonic) name for Brittany, Llydaw, as originating from lled-taw or "half-silent". In fact, the term "Llydaw" or "Ledav" in early Breton probably derives from the Celtic root "Led" meaning here "Peninsula".
There are numerous records of missionaries migrating from Britain during the second wave, especially the Seven founder-saints of Brittany and Saint Gildas
Gildas
Gildas was a 6th-century British cleric. He is one of the best-documented figures of the Christian church in the British Isles during this period. His renowned learning and literary style earned him the designation Gildas Sapiens...
. Many Breton towns are named for these early saints. The Irish Saint, Colombanus also evangelised Brittany, commemorated at Saint-Columban in Carnac
Carnac
Carnac is a commune beside the Gulf of Morbihan on the south coast of Brittany in the Morbihan department in north-western France.Its inhabitants are called Carnacois...
.
The earliest text known in the Breton language
Breton language
Breton is a Celtic language spoken in Brittany , France. Breton is a Brythonic language, descended from the Celtic British language brought from Great Britain to Armorica by migrating Britons during the Early Middle Ages. Like the other Brythonic languages, Welsh and Cornish, it is classified as...
, a botanical
Botany
Botany, plant science, or plant biology is a branch of biology that involves the scientific study of plant life. Traditionally, botany also included the study of fungi, algae and viruses...
treatise, dates from 590 (for comparison, the earliest text in French dates from 843). Most of the early Breton language medieval manuscripts were lost during the Viking invasions.
In the Early Middle Ages, Brittany was divided into three kingdoms – Domnonia
Domnonia
Domnonée is the modern French version of the Latin name Dumnonia , which denoted a kingdom in northern Brittany founded by migrants from Dumnonia in Great Britain...
, Cornouaille
Cornouaille
Cornouaille is a historic region in Brittany, in northwest France. The name is identical to the French name for the Duchy of Cornwall, since the area was settled by migrant princes from Cornwall...
(Kernev), and Bro Waroc'h (Broërec) – which eventually were incorporated into the Duchy of Brittany. The first two kingdoms derive their names from the homelands of the migrating Britons (Devon and Cornwall). Bro Waroc'h ("land of Waroch
Waroch
Waroch was an early Breton ruler of the Vannetais. Waroch gave his name to the traditional Breton province of Broërec . However, it is possible that there were several successive local leaders with this name....
") derives from the name of one of the first known Breton rulers, who dominated the region of Vannes
Vannes
Vannes is a commune in the Morbihan department in Brittany in north-western France. It was founded over 2000 years ago.-Geography:Vannes is located on the Gulf of Morbihan at the mouth of two rivers, the Marle and the Vincin. It is around 100 km northwest of Nantes and 450 km south west...
(Gwened). The rulers of Domnonia, such as Conomor
Conomor
Conomor , also known as Conomerus or Conomor the Cursed, was an early medieval ruler of Brittany. His name, which has the Welsh cognate Cynfawr, means "Great Dog", but could also indicate "Sea Dog" in early Brythonic. Conomor was notorious for his cruelty, becoming a legendary villain in Breton...
sought to expand their territory, claiming overlordship over all Bretons, though there was constant tension between local lords.
Resistance to Frankish rule
Carolingian Empire
Carolingian Empire is a historiographical term which has been used to refer to the realm of the Franks under the Carolingian dynasty in the Early Middle Ages. This dynasty is seen as the founders of France and Germany, and its beginning date is based on the crowning of Charlemagne, or Charles the...
. The first unified Duchy of Brittany was founded by Nominoe. Following the successful example of the Cornish in 722 at the Battle of Hehil
Battle of Hehil
The Battle of Hehil was a battle won by a British force, probably against the Anglo-Saxons of Wessex in the year 721 or 722. The location is unknown, except that it was apud Cornuenses ....
(location uncertain), which helped stop for a time the Anglo-Saxon conquest of Cornwall, the Bretons made friendly overtures to the Danish Vikings to help contain Frankish
Franks
The Franks were a confederation of Germanic tribes first attested in the third century AD as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul. Only the Salian Franks formed a...
expansionist ideas. When the Carolingian empire was divided in 843, Nominoe took advantage of the confusion to consolidate his territory. In alliance with Lambert II of Nantes
Lambert II of Nantes
Lambert II was the Count of Nantes and Prefect of the Breton March between 843 and 851. Lambert ruled the county in opposition to Amaury, the puppet count installed by Charles the Bald, King of West Francia. At his death, the county was effectively in Breton control...
and the Viking warlord Hastein
Hastein
Hastein was a notable Viking chieftain of the late 9th century who made several raiding voyages.- Early life :...
, Nominoe's son Erispoe defeated the Franks at the Battle of Messac. In 845 the Breton army under Nominoe defeated the forces of Charles the Bald
Charles the Bald
Charles the Bald , Holy Roman Emperor and King of West Francia , was the youngest son of the Emperor Louis the Pious by his second wife Judith.-Struggle against his brothers:He was born on 13 June 823 in Frankfurt, when his elder...
, King of West Francia (France), at the Battle of Ballon
Battle of Ballon
The Battle of Ballon took place on 22 November 845 between the forces of Charles the Bald, king of West Francia, and Nominoë Duke of Brittany. Nominoë was appropriating border territory and opposing Charles' attempt to impose Frankish authority...
, in the eastern part of Brittany near Redon and the Frankish border. Nominoe gained control over the major towns of Rennes
Rennes
Rennes is a city in the east of Brittany in northwestern France. Rennes is the capital of the region of Brittany, as well as the Ille-et-Vilaine department.-History:...
and Nantes
Nantes
Nantes is a city in western France, located on the Loire River, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the 6th largest in France, while its metropolitan area ranks 8th with over 800,000 inhabitants....
, which had previously formed part of the Frankish border zone known as the "Breton March".
Control over Rennes, Nantes and the Pays de Retz
Pays de Retz
The Pays de Retz is a historical region of France that currently forms part of the Loire-Atlantique department, but which previously formed part of the Duchy of Brittany....
was secured when the Frankish army was defeated once again in 851 at the Battle of Jengland
Battle of Jengland
The Battle of Jengland took place on 22 August 851, between the Frankish army of Charles the Bald and the Breton army of Erispoe, Duke of Brittany...
by the Bretons under Erispoe; consequently Charles the Bald
Charles the Bald
Charles the Bald , Holy Roman Emperor and King of West Francia , was the youngest son of the Emperor Louis the Pious by his second wife Judith.-Struggle against his brothers:He was born on 13 June 823 in Frankfurt, when his elder...
recognised the independence of Brittany and determined the borders that defined the historic duchy and later province. Under Erispoe's successor Salomon, Hastein's Vikings and the Bretons united as one in 865 to defeat a Frankish army at the Battle of Brissarthe
Battle of Brissarthe
The Battle of Brissarthe was fought on 2 July 866), between the Franks and a joint Breton-Viking army near Brissarthe, Neustria. It was marked by the death of Robert the Strong, the Neustrian margrave, and Ranulf I, the duke of Aquitaine....
, near modern-day Le Mans
Le Mans
Le Mans is a city in France, located on the Sarthe River. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department and the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Le Mans. Le Mans is a part of the Pays de la Loire region.Its inhabitants are called Manceaux...
. Two Frankish kings, Robert the Strong
Robert the Strong
Robert IV the Strong , also known as Rutpert, was Margrave in Neustria. His family is named after him and called Robertians. He was first nominated by Charles the Bald missus dominicus in 853. Robert was the father of the kings Odo and Robert I of France. Robert was the great-grandfather of Hugh...
and Ranulf
Ranulf I of Aquitaine
Ranulf I was a Count of Poitiers and Duke of Aquitaine . He is considered a possible son of Gerard, Count of Auvergne, and Hildegard , daughter of Louis the Pious and Ermengard...
, were killed by the Vikings. The Franks were forced to confirm Brittany's independence from the Frankish kingdoms
Franks
The Franks were a confederation of Germanic tribes first attested in the third century AD as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul. Only the Salian Franks formed a...
and expand Salomon's territory. As with Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
in 722, the Vikings tactically helped their Breton allies by making devastating pillaging raids on the Frankish kingdoms.
High Middle Ages
Bretons took part in the Revolt of 1173–1174, siding with the rebels against Henry II of EnglandHenry II of England
Henry II ruled as King of England , Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Count of Nantes, Lord of Ireland and, at various times, controlled parts of Wales, Scotland and western France. Henry, the great-grandson of William the Conqueror, was the...
. Henry's son Geoffroy II
Geoffrey II, Duke of Brittany
Geoffrey II, Duke of Brittany and Earl of Richmond was Duke of Brittany between 1181 and 1186, through his marriage with the heiress Constance. Geoffrey was the fourth son of King Henry II of England and Eleanor, Duchess of Aquitaine.-Family:He was a younger maternal half-brother of Marie de...
, then heir apparent to the Duchy of Brittany, resisted his father's attempts to annex Brittany to the possessions of the English Crown. Geoffroy's son Arthur
Arthur I, Duke of Brittany
Arthur I was Duke of Brittany between 1194 and 1202. He was the posthumous son of Geoffrey II, Duke of Brittany and Constance, Duchess of Brittany...
did likewise during his reign (1186–1203) until his death, perhaps by assassination under King John
John of England
John , also known as John Lackland , was King of England from 6 April 1199 until his death...
's orders.
In 1185, Geoffroy II signed "Count Geoffrey's Assise" which forbade the subdivision of fiefs, thereby reinforcing the Breton feudal system.
In 1213, with the aim of strengthening his power in Brittany, king Philip August
Philip II of France
Philip II Augustus was the King of France from 1180 until his death. A member of the House of Capet, Philip Augustus was born at Gonesse in the Val-d'Oise, the son of Louis VII and his third wife, Adela of Champagne...
of France introduced the Capetian prince Peter Mauclerc of Dreux as administrator of the duchy and tutor of his son, duke Jehan of Brittany
John I, Duke of Brittany
John I the Red , known as John the Red due to the colour of his beard, was Duke of Brittany, from 1237 to his death...
. It was Peter Mauclerc who introduced the use of ermines in the Breton coat of arms and came to espouse the cause of his fief's independence with respect to France.
The 14th and 15th centuries saw the recognition of the distinction between a Gallo
Gallo language
Gallo is a regional language of France. Gallo is a Romance language, one of the Oïl languages. It is the historic language of the region of Upper Brittany and some neighboring portions of Normandy, but today is spoken by only a small minority of the population, having been largely superseded by...
-speaking Britannia gallicana (now called Upper Brittany
Upper Brittany
Upper Brittany is a term used to describe the eastern part of Brittany which is predominantly of a Romance culture and is associated with the Gallo language. The name is in counterpoint to Lower Brittany, the western part of the ancient province and present-day region, where the Breton language...
) and a Breton
Breton language
Breton is a Celtic language spoken in Brittany , France. Breton is a Brythonic language, descended from the Celtic British language brought from Great Britain to Armorica by migrating Britons during the Early Middle Ages. Like the other Brythonic languages, Welsh and Cornish, it is classified as...
-speaking Britannia britonizans (now Lower Brittany).
The Breton War of Succession
Breton War of Succession
The Breton War of Succession was a conflict between the Houses of Blois and Montfort for control of the Duchy of Brittany. It was fought between 1341 and 1364. It formed an integral part of the early Hundred Years War due to the involvement of the French and English governments in the conflict; the...
was fought 1341–1364. The parties were the half-brother of the last duke, John of Montfort
John IV, Duke of Brittany
John IV of Montfort , was duke of Brittany, from 1341 to his death. He was son of Duke Arthur II and Yolande de Dreux, countess of Montfort, his second wife.In 1322 he succeeded his mother as count of Montfort, and in 1329, he married Joanna of Flanders at Chartres...
(supported by the English) and his niece, Joanna of Penthièvre, who was married to Charles of Blois
Charles, Duke of Brittany
Charles of Blois , claimed the title Duke of Brittany, from 1341 to his death.Charles is the son of Guy I of Blois-Châtillon, count of Blois, by Margaret of Valois, a sister of king Philip VI of France. He was a devout man, who took piety to the extreme of mortifying his own flesh...
, nephew of the king of France. This protracted conflict, a component of the Hundred Years' War
Hundred Years' War
The Hundred Years' War was a series of separate wars waged from 1337 to 1453 by the House of Valois and the House of Plantagenet, also known as the House of Anjou, for the French throne, which had become vacant upon the extinction of the senior Capetian line of French kings...
, has passed into legend (see for example Combat of the Thirty
Combat of the Thirty
The Combat of the Thirty [known as Combat des Trente in French] was an episode in the struggle for the succession to the Duchy of Brittany...
and Bertrand de Guesclin). Its outcome was decided at the Battle of Auray
Battle of Auray
The Battle of Auray took place on 29 September 1364 at the French town of Auray. This battle was the decisive confrontation of the Breton War of Succession, a part of the Hundred Years' War....
in 1364, where the House of Montfort was victorious over the French party. After the first Treaty of Guérande, Joanna of Penthièvre abdicated her claims to the dukedom in favour of John the Conqueror
John V, Duke of Brittany
John V the Conqueror KG was Duke of Brittany and Count of Montfort, from 1345 until his death.-Numbering:...
. A modified form of Salic law
Salic law
Salic law was a body of traditional law codified for governing the Salian Franks in the early Middle Ages during the reign of King Clovis I in the 6th century...
was introduced in Brittany as a result.
In the midst of the conflict, in 1352, the États de Bretagne or Estates of Brittany were established. They would develop into the Duchy's parlement
Parlement
Parlements were regional legislative bodies in Ancien Régime France.The political institutions of the Parlement in Ancien Régime France developed out of the previous council of the king, the Conseil du roi or curia regis, and consequently had ancient and customary rights of consultation and...
.
John V, Duke of Brittany
John V the Conqueror KG was Duke of Brittany and Count of Montfort, from 1345 until his death.-Numbering:...
left for exile in England in 1373. The higher nobility of that time, like the house of Coetmen-Penthièvre, or the house of Rougé
Rougé
Rougé is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France.It lies near Rennes.The name "Rougé" comes from the Latin "Rubiacus", means the red place...
, descendants of the former kings of Brittany, strongly supported the Penthièvre side and nearly extinguished in the repeated fights between Montfort and Penthièvre's troops. The king of France Charles V
Charles V of France
Charles V , called the Wise, was King of France from 1364 to his death in 1380 and a member of the House of Valois...
named as lieutenant-general of Brittany his brother, the duke of Anjou
Louis I of Naples
Louis I of Anjou , or Louis I of Naples, was the second son of King John II of France and Bonne of Luxembourg...
(also a son-in-law of Joanna de Penthièvre). In 1378, the king of France sought to annex Brittany, which provoked the Bretons to recall John IV from exile. The second Treaty of Guérande
Guérande
The medieval town of Guérande is located in the département of Loire-Atlantique in western France.The inhabitants are so called Guérandais, for men, and Guérandaise, for women....
(1381) established Brittany's neutrality in the Anglo-French conflict, although John continued to swear homage to Charles VI
Charles VI of France
Charles VI , called the Beloved and the Mad , was the King of France from 1380 to 1422, as a member of the House of Valois. His bouts with madness, which seem to have begun in 1392, led to quarrels among the French royal family, which were exploited by the neighbouring powers of England and Burgundy...
.
In 1420, duke John V
John VI, Duke of Brittany
John VI the Wise , was duke of Brittany, count of Montfort, and titular earl of Richmond, from 1399 to his death...
was kidnapped by the count of Penthièvre, son of Joanna of Penthièvre. John's wife, duchess Joanna de France besieged the rebels and set free her husband, who confiscated the Penthièvre's goods.
In 1464 the Catholicon
Catholicon (religious dictionary)
The Summa grammaticalis quae vocatur Catholicon, or Catholicon , was a Latin encyclopedia / dictionary which found wide use throughout Christendom...
, a Breton-Latin-French dictionary by Jehan Lagadeuc, was published. This book was the world's first trilingual dictionary, the first Breton dictionary and also the first French dictionary.
The army of the Kingdom of France, with the help of 5,000 mercenaries from Switzerland and Italy, defeated the Breton
Breton people
The Bretons are an ethnic group located in the region of Brittany in France. They trace much of their heritage to groups of Brythonic speakers who emigrated from southwestern Great Britain in waves from the 3rd to 6th century into the Armorican peninsula, subsequently named Brittany after them.The...
army in 1488, and the last Duke of independent Brittany
Duke of Brittany
The Duchy of Brittany was a medieval tribal and feudal state covering the northwestern peninsula of Europe,bordered by the Alantic Ocean on the west and the English Channel to the north with less definitive borders of the Loire River to the south and Normandy to the east...
, Francis II, was forced to submit to a treaty giving the King of France the right to determine the marriage of the Duke's daughter, a 12-year-old girl, the heir to the Duchy. The Duchess Anne was the last independent ruler of the duchy as she was ultimately obliged to marry Louis XII of France
Louis XII of France
Louis proved to be a popular king. At the end of his reign the crown deficit was no greater than it had been when he succeeded Charles VIII in 1498, despite several expensive military campaigns in Italy. His fiscal reforms of 1504 and 1508 tightened and improved procedures for the collection of taxes...
. The duchy passed on her death to her daughter Claude
Claude of France
Claude of France was a princess and queen consort of France and ruling Duchess of Brittany. She was the eldest daughter of Louis XII of France and Anne, Duchess of Brittany....
, but Claude's husband Francis I of France
Francis I of France
Francis I was King of France from 1515 until his death. During his reign, huge cultural changes took place in France and he has been called France's original Renaissance monarch...
incorporated the duchy into the Kingdom of France in 1532 through the Edict of Union between Brittany and France
Union between Brittany and France
In August 1532, King Francis I of France absorbed the independent Duchy of Brittany into the Kingdom of France. The union of Brittany and France was a step toward the unification of modern-day France.-Context:...
, which was registered with the Estates of Brittany.
Early modern period
After 1532, Brittany retained a certain fiscal and regulatory autonomy, which was defended by the Estates of BrittanyEstates of Brittany
The Estates of Brittany was the States Provincial for the province of Brittany in ancien regime France. It gathered members of the high clergy, a large number of nobles and delegates from the 42 towns and cities of Brittany...
despite the rising tide of royal absolutism. Brittany remained on the whole strongly Catholic during the period of the Huguenots and the Wars of Religion
French Wars of Religion
The French Wars of Religion is the name given to a period of civil infighting and military operations, primarily fought between French Catholics and Protestants . The conflict involved the factional disputes between the aristocratic houses of France, such as the House of Bourbon and House of Guise...
, although Protestantism made some headway in Nantes and a few other areas. From 1590–98, during the War of the Catholic League
Catholic League (French)
The Catholic League of France, sometimes referred to by contemporary Roman Catholics as the Holy League, a major player in the French Wars of Religion, was formed by Duke Henry of Guise in 1576...
, Philippe-Emmanuel, Duke of Mercœur (governor of Brittany
Governor of Brittany
This page is a list of royal governors of Brittany during the Ancien Regime.*Nominoe, 9th century*Enguerrand VII, Lord of Coucy from 1380*Jean de Laval, husband of Françoise de Foix, 16th century*Louis III de Bourbon, Duke of Montpensier 1569-1582...
and husband of the countess of Penthièvre) sought to have himself proclaimed Duke of Brittany and allied with Philip II of Spain
Philip II of Spain
Philip II was King of Spain, Portugal, Naples, Sicily, and, while married to Mary I, King of England and Ireland. He was lord of the Seventeen Provinces from 1556 until 1581, holding various titles for the individual territories such as duke or count....
. The latter, on the other hand, considered establishing his daughter Isabella
Infanta Isabella Clara Eugenia of Spain
Isabella Clara Eugenia of Austria was sovereign of the Spanish Netherlands in the Low Countries and the north of modern France, together with her husband Albert. In some sources, she is referred to as Clara Isabella Eugenia...
at the head of a reconstituted Brittany. Henry IV
Henry IV of France
Henry IV , Henri-Quatre, was King of France from 1589 to 1610 and King of Navarre from 1572 to 1610. He was the first monarch of the Bourbon branch of the Capetian dynasty in France....
, however, brought Mercœur to an honourable surrender.
During the era of Colbert
Jean-Baptiste Colbert
Jean-Baptiste Colbert was a French politician who served as the Minister of Finances of France from 1665 to 1683 under the rule of King Louis XIV. His relentless hard work and thrift made him an esteemed minister. He achieved a reputation for his work of improving the state of French manufacturing...
, Brittany benefited from France's naval expansion. Major ports were built or renovated at Saint-Malo
Saint-Malo
Saint-Malo is a walled port city in Brittany in northwestern France on the English Channel. It is a sub-prefecture of the Ille-et-Vilaine.-Demographics:The population can increase to up to 200,000 in the summer tourist season...
, 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...
, and Lorient
Lorient
Lorient, or L'Orient, is a commune and a seaport in the Morbihan department in Brittany in north-western France.-History:At the beginning of the 17th century, merchants who were trading with India had established warehouses in Port-Louis...
, and Bretons came to constitute a leading component of the French navy. Bretons played an important role in the colonization of New France
New France
New France was the area colonized by France in North America during a period beginning with the exploration of the Saint Lawrence River by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Spain and Great Britain in 1763...
and the West Indies (see French colonisation of the Americas).
In 1675, insurgents in the diocese of Cornouaille and elsewhere rose up in the Revolt of the Bonnets Rouges. The rebels, in contact with Holland, were expecting assistance that never came. Sébastian Ar Balp, the leader of the rebellion, was assassinated by the Marquis de Montgaillard whom Ar Balp was holding prisoner. The rebellion was repressed by the duc de Chaulnes
Charles d'Albert d'Ailly
Charles d'Albert d'Ailly , third son of Honoré d'Albert, was a French general and diplomat. He was made lieutenant général des armées in 1655, and chevalier des ordres du roi from 1661...
, and hundreds of Bretons were hanged or broken on the wheel
Breaking wheel
The breaking wheel, also known as the Catherine wheel or simply the wheel, was a torture device used for capital punishment in the Middle Ages and early modern times for public execution by bludgeoning to death...
. Madame de Sévigné claimed that French soldiers garrisoned in Rennes had roasted a Breton infant on a spit. A whole street in Rennes, suspected of seditiousness, was demolished leaving the inhabitants homeless.
In the conspiracy of Pontcallec of 1720, members of the petty nobility
Petty nobility
Petty nobility is dated at least back to 13th century and was formed by Nobles/Knights around their strategic interests. The idea was more capable peasants with leader roles in local community that were given tax exemption for taking care of services like for example guard duties of local primitive...
in contact with Spain led a tax revolt against the Régence
Régence
The Régence is the period in French history between 1715 and 1723, when King Louis XV was a minor and the land was governed by a Regent, Philippe d'Orléans, the nephew of Louis XIV of France....
. The marquis de Pontcallec and three others were tried and executed in Nantes for the uprising.
During the 18th century, Nantes
Nantes
Nantes is a city in western France, located on the Loire River, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the 6th largest in France, while its metropolitan area ranks 8th with over 800,000 inhabitants....
rose to become one of the most important commercial centres of France. The backbone of Nantes's prosperity was the Atlantic slave trade
Atlantic slave trade
The Atlantic slave trade, also known as the trans-atlantic slave trade, refers to the trade in slaves that took place across the Atlantic ocean from the sixteenth through to the nineteenth centuries...
.
On 4 August 1789, the National Constituent Assembly
National Constituent Assembly
The National Constituent Assembly was formed from the National Assembly on 9 July 1789, during the first stages of the French Revolution. It dissolved on 30 September 1791 and was succeeded by the Legislative Assembly.-Background:...
in Paris unanimously proclaimed the abolition of feudal privileges. These included the privileges of the provinces such as Brittany. Brittany thus lost the juridical existence, autonomy, Parlement, and administrative, fiscal and legal peculiarities guaranteed since the Edict of Union of 1532. Although the Breton Club
Jacobin Club
The Jacobin Club was the most famous and influential political club in the development of the French Revolution, so-named because of the Dominican convent where they met, located in the Rue St. Jacques , Paris. The club originated as the Club Benthorn, formed at Versailles from a group of Breton...
(better known as the Jacobins) in Paris had initiated the move to abolish feudal distinctions, the decision proved increasingly unpopular in Brittany, where the loss of local autonomy and the increasingly anti-clerical character of the Revolution were resented. Many Bretons took part in the Chouannerie
Chouannerie
The Chouannerie was a royalist uprising in twelve of the western departements of France, particularly in the provinces of Brittany and Maine, against the French Revolution, the First French Republic, and even, with its headquarters in London rather than France, for a time, under the Empire...
, the royalist insurgency assisted by Great Britain
Kingdom of Great Britain
The former Kingdom of Great Britain, sometimes described as the 'United Kingdom of Great Britain', That the Two Kingdoms of Scotland and England, shall upon the 1st May next ensuing the date hereof, and forever after, be United into One Kingdom by the Name of GREAT BRITAIN. was a sovereign...
and allied with the revolt in the Vendée
Revolt in the Vendée
The War in the Vendée was a Royalist rebellion and counterrevolution in the Vendée region of France during the French Revolution. The Vendée is a coastal region, located immediately south of the Loire River in western France. The uprising was closely tied to the Chouannerie, which took place in...
. Brittany thus became a hotbed of resistance to the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
.
The territory of Brittany was divided in 1789 into five départements, partially on the basis of earlier divisions called présidiaux which in turn had issued from mediaeval bailliages
Bailiwick
A bailiwick is usually the area of jurisdiction of a bailiff, and may also apply to a territory in which the sheriff's functions were exercised by a privately appointed bailiff under a royal or imperial writ. The word is now more generally used in a metaphorical sense, to indicate a sphere of...
.
Post-Revolutionary period
In the 19th-century Brittany acquired a reputation for timeless autarky, as Romantics developed an image of the province as a bastion of peasant traditionalism, religious festivals, and wild landscapes. At the same time, Breton life became increasingly integrated with that of the rest of France, particularly under the Third RepublicFrench Third Republic
The French Third Republic was the republican government of France from 1870, when the Second French Empire collapsed due to the French defeat in the Franco-Prussian War, to 1940, when France was overrun by Nazi Germany during World War II, resulting in the German and Italian occupations of France...
.
However, the image of Brittany as anti-republican led French politicians to doubt the reliability of Breton soldiers during the military actions that followed the collapse of the Second French Empire
Second French Empire
The Second French Empire or French Empire was the Imperial Bonapartist regime of Napoleon III from 1852 to 1870, between the Second Republic and the Third Republic, in France.-Rule of Napoleon III:...
, as resulted from the disastrous French defeat in the Battle of Sedan
Battle of Sedan
The Battle of Sedan was fought during the Franco-Prussian War on 1 September 1870. It resulted in the capture of Emperor Napoleon III and large numbers of his troops and for all intents and purposes decided the war in favour of Prussia and its allies, though fighting continued under a new French...
during the Franco-Prussian War
Franco-Prussian War
The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the 1870 War was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia. Prussia was aided by the North German Confederation, of which it was a member, and the South German states of Baden, Württemberg and...
. Fearing Breton separatist sentiments, the soldiers were interned in a military camp, Camp Conlie
Camp Conlie
Camp Conlie was one of eleven military camps established by the Republican Government of National Defense under Léon Gambetta during the Franco-Prussian war. It became notable because of events which have led to it being described as a "concentration camp", in which troops from Brittany were...
, outside Le Mans
Le Mans
Le Mans is a city in France, located on the Sarthe River. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department and the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Le Mans. Le Mans is a part of the Pays de la Loire region.Its inhabitants are called Manceaux...
. Because of bad conditions, worsened by mud and rain, several hundreds died from disease. The camp has been described as a "concentration camp" and became a significant atrocity story within Breton nationalism
Breton nationalism
Breton nationalism is the nationalism of the traditional province of Brittany in France. Brittany is considered to be one of the six Celtic nations...
. In 1871 the camp was closed and the French military decided to incorporate the remaining 19,000 Breton soldiers into the 2nd Army of the Loire. They participated in the Battle of Le Mans
Battle of Le Mans
The Battle of Le Mans was a Prussian victory during the Franco-Prussian War which ended French resistance in western France.-Background:After the victory at the Battle of Orleans , Prince Friedrich Karl of Prussia marched his army further to the west towards Le Mans. Antoine Chanzy had under his...
, but poorly equipped, they were crushed by the Prussians and also blamed for the defeat by the French commanders.
Brittany has had its own regionalist and separatist movements which have experienced varying success at elections and other political contests. Modern Breton nationalism developed at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century. The main body of these movements situated themselves within the Catholic traditionalist current. After 1944, Breton nationalism was widely discredited thanks to the collaboration of a number of prominent nationalists (such as Roparz Hemon
Roparz Hemon
Roparz Hemon , officially named Louis-Paul Némo, was a Breton author and scholar of Breton expression.He was the author of numerous dictionaries, grammars, poems and short stories...
) with the Nazis
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
, who occupied Brittany along with most of the rest of the French state during the Second World War. On the other hand, other Breton nationalists took part in the Resistance. Brittany played a particularly important role in the Resistance thanks to its proximity to Great Britain, the relatively rugged landscape, and the presence of important naval installations. However, it must be noted that during the second world war the Allies bombed Brittany along with the rest of Northern France with such ferocity that many towns such as Lorient nearly ceased to exist. The act involved the killing of many thousands of French citizens. In the case of Lorient, the town was not freed until the end of the war and the submarine pens were not destroyed unlike the civilian areas which had been wiped out.
When France was divided into administrative regions by the Vichy government, the official Brittany Region included only four of the five departments traditionally understood to comprise the Breton territory. This removal of Loire-Atlantique
Loire-Atlantique
Loire-Atlantique is a department on the west coast of France named after the Loire River and the Atlantic Ocean.-History:...
, which contains Nantes
Nantes
Nantes is a city in western France, located on the Loire River, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the 6th largest in France, while its metropolitan area ranks 8th with over 800,000 inhabitants....
(one of the two traditional Breton capitals) from the Breton region has been a matter of much controversy.
An experimental nuclear power station was constructed at Brennilis
Brennilis
Brennilis is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in northwestern France.-Population:Inhabitants of Brennilis are called in French Brennilisiens.-See also:*Communes of the Finistère department*Brennilis Nuclear Power Plant...
in the Monts d'Arrée
Monts d'Arrée
The Monts d'Arrée are an ancient mountain range in western Brittany which forms part of the Armorican massif. Historically it marked the border of the regions of Cornouaille and Léon....
during the 1960s. This was in operation for about ten years, and since 1988 it has been in the process of being dismantled. This is the first time that a nuclear power station has been dismantled in France.
Since the 1960s in particular Breton nationalism has developed a strong leftist character, alongside the Catholic traditionalist strain. Certain groups such as the ARB, marginal even within nationalist circles, made headlines through sabotage against highly symbolic targets.
In March 1972, workers at the Joint Français, a factory in Saint-Brieuc
Saint-Brieuc
Saint-Brieuc is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department in Brittany in northwestern France.-History:Saint-Brieuc is named after a Welsh monk Brioc, who evangelized the region in the 6th century and established an oratory there...
, went on strike to obtain a wage increase. The strike lasted eight weeks.
Since the 1940s, use of the Breton language
Breton language
Breton is a Celtic language spoken in Brittany , France. Breton is a Brythonic language, descended from the Celtic British language brought from Great Britain to Armorica by migrating Britons during the Early Middle Ages. Like the other Brythonic languages, Welsh and Cornish, it is classified as...
has declined precipitously. In most Breton-speaking communities, it has become uncommon for children born since 1945 to acquire much of the language as French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
becomes universalized. On the other hand, Breton has enjoyed increasing support among intellectuals and professionals since the 1970s, and the relatively small, urban-based Diwan
Diwan (school)
Diwan is a federation of Breton language-medium schools in Brittany .-Concept:The Diwan concept, which allows children to learn French and Breton through immersion was inspired by the Gaelscoileanna movement in Ireland, Ikastolak movement in the Basque Country and the Mudiad Ysgolion Meithrin...
movement has sought to stem the loss of young Breton speakers through bilingual immersion schools. Breton music has also become more widely known through the work of musicians such as Alan Stivell
Alan Stivell
Alan Stivell is a Breton musician and singer, recording artist and master of the celtic harp who from the early 1970s revived global interest in the Celtic harp and Celtic music as part of world music.- Background: learning Breton music and culture :Alan was born in the Auvergnat town of Riom...
.
On 16 March 1978, the supertanker Amoco Cadiz
Amoco Cadiz
Amoco Cadiz was a very large crude carrier , owned by Amoco, that ran aground on Portsall Rocks, from the coast of Brittany, France, on 16 March 1978, and ultimately split in three and sank, all together resulting in the largest oil spill of its kind in history to that date.-Oil spill:Amoco Cadiz...
ran aground a few hundred metres from the shores of the small port of Portsall in Ploudalmézeau
Ploudalmézeau
Ploudalmézeau is a commune in the Finistère department in Bretagne in northwestern France.The village and the small port of Portsall is part of the commune...
. The result was the fifth-largest oil spill
Oil spill
An oil spill is the release of a liquid petroleum hydrocarbon into the environment, especially marine areas, due to human activity, and is a form of pollution. The term is mostly used to describe marine oil spills, where oil is released into the ocean or coastal waters...
in world history which severely affected the north and northwest coasts of Brittany.
In February and March 1980, the population of Plogoff
Plogoff
Plogoff is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in north-western France.It contains three small ports suitable for very small vessels: Pors-Loubous, Feunten-Aod and Bestrée...
, the commune containing the Pointe du Raz
Pointe du Raz
The Pointe du Raz is a promontory that extends into the Atlantic from western Brittany, in France. The local Breton name is Beg ar Raz. It is the western point of the commune of Plogoff, Finistère....
, demonstrated to prevent the construction of a nuclear power generator in their commune, despite the paratroopers and helicopters sent by the government. They received a wide support from the media. The power station project was abandoned after the presidential elections of 1981, which brought François Mitterrand
François Mitterrand
François Maurice Adrien Marie Mitterrand was the 21st President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra, serving from 1981 until 1995. He is the longest-serving President of France and, as leader of the Socialist Party, the only figure from the left so far elected President...
to power.
External links
- Skol uhel ar vro – High Institute of Brittany - Ti Istor Breizh – The house for the History of Brittany
- Istor Breizh e saozneg - History of Brittany in English
- Douaroniezh Breizh – Geography of Brittany
- Personelezh Breizh e saozneg - Breton identity in English
- Seals of Brittany from Dom Morice's Mémoires pour servir de preuves à l'histoire ecclésiastique et civile de Bretagne (1742-1744)