History of Brittany

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48°00′N 3°00′W / 48.000°N 3.000°W / 48.000; -3.000

Brittany Bretagne (French) Breizh (Breton) Bertaèyn (Gallo)
Historical province
Flag Coat of arms
Motto(s):  None (de jure) Historical: Kentoc'h mervel eget bezañ saotret Rather death than dishonour (de facto)
Anthem: None (de jure) "Bro Gozh ma Zadoù" Old Land of Our Fathers (de facto)
Country	France
Largest settlements	List Quimper Lorient Vannes Saint-Malo Saint-Brieuc Douarnenez
Area
• Total	34,023 km2 (13,136 sq mi)
Population  (2021)
• Total	4,829,968
UTC+2 (CEST)
ISO 3166 code	FR-E
Website	bretagne.com

The history of Brittany may refer to the entire history of the

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 the British Isles led to the foundation of British colonies linked initially to homelands in Cornwall, Devon, and Wales. The various independent petty Breton states later developed into a Kingdom and then a 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.

The history of Brittany begins with settlement beginning in prehistoric times. The

in 57 BCE, and progressively Romanized.

As part of Armorica since the Gallo-Roman period, Brittany developed an important maritime trade network near the ports of Nantes, Vannes, and Alet, as well as salting factories along its coasts. When Rome encountered crises in the third and fifth centuries, the first wave of island Bretons were asked by the imperial power to help secure their territory, beginning with a migratory movement that was carried out until the sixth century, and saw the beginnings of many kingdoms in the peninsula.

In order to prevent Breton incursion, the neighbouring

tried to integrate the region into the Frankish kingdom, with limited and ephemeral success.

The union of the country as Brittany occurred in 851 under King Erispoë, son of Nominoë, but was disrupted by disputes over succession and Norsemen incursions. Since 939, Brittany was re-established as a Sovereign Duchy with somewhat definite borders, administered by Dukes of Breton houses from 939 to 1166, before falling into the sphere of influence of the

. An autonomous power emerged in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, maintaining a policy of independence from France. The union of Brittany to France occurred in 1532.

The Breton province then maintained relative autonomy and benefited from its own institutions. After a period of strong economic and demographic growth in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, due to a period of newfound peace, Brittany experienced a troubled period from the end of the seventeenth century to the

.

After a long nineteenth century marked by a modernization of agriculture and by huge increases in population, an emigration to the rest of France began. Although a traditionally conservative region, Brittany saw the rise of workers' movements in cities such as Brest, Lorient and Saint-Nazaire.

The

was an important turning point for Bretons, who discovered new ways of life, which some would seek to integrate little by little. The question of the proper place for the Breton language and regional traditions became the central element of a political movement which began to emerge in the same era. A long process of modernization took place from the 1920s through the 1970s, in concert with a movement of cultural reaffirmation.

Prehistory of Brittany

Stone Age

Paleolithic

The Paleolithic period of Brittany ranges from 700 000 to 10 000 years BC. Traces of the oldest industries were found in the middle valley of the

From the Middle-Mousterian period, remain two outstanding sites in the region, in Mont-Dol where scrapers were found in a site dated to 70,000 BC., as well as at Goaréva on the island of Bréhat.^[2]

The Upper Paleolithic is characterized by refined tools like blades and lamellae found on the site of Beg-ar-C'Hastel in Kerlouan, or at Plasenn-al-Lomm on the island of Bréhat. No painted cave is identified in the area, probably because of rising sea levels during the next period. But the nearest cave of this type is known in Saulges. The end of the Palaeolithic period in the region is around 10,000 BC. J.-C.^[5]

Mesolithic

The Mesolithic period covers in the region a period from 10,000 BC. to 5000 BC., corresponding to the end of the last Ice Age and the resulting rise in water level. Steppe vegetation is replaced by a vegetation of birch and pine, and hazel, oak and elms; large mammals give way to animals of smaller size as deer or wild boar. For a time, hunting and gathering continue, as well as fishing and foraging. By the time of the Neolithic, however, animal domestication and cereal production replace hunting.^[5] The population is mainly coastal and larger on the south coast. The skeletons found from this period attest to an average size of 1.59 meters for men and 1.52 m for women.^[6]

Human technology continues to progress with a reduction in size of stone tools to form microliths.^[5] Human societies are more structured, with a degree of specialization of activities in a given community (as indicated by studies of the Téviec burial site)^[6] and the beginning of an artistic expression.^[7] Traces of deaths caused by tools like arrows are also visible on some skeletons, attesting to sometimes violent conflicts between different communities.^[8]

Neolithic

The Neolithic period (stretching from 5000 BC to 2000 BC.) saw the arrival of an agriculture based on slash-and-burn: land is reclaimed from the forest after having fired and is then used for breeding before sprinkling grass.^[9] This evolution was made possible by the development of methods of extracting stones and their shaping. In a quarry in Plussulien, about 5000 dolerite axes were extracted per year, representing 40% of the axes of the Breton peninsula. The dissemination of these tools stretched to Paris basin, and 10 copies of these axes were found to Belgium and southern England. The region also imported yellow blond flint blades from Touraine.^[10]

This period is also notable for the development of megalithic monuments, helped by a significant economic growth. Two of the most ancient sites, the mound of Barnenez and the Petit-Mont, whose buildings date back to 5000 BC., evidenced by their similarities to a unity of culture in the peninsula.^[8] This type of construction will eventually evolve and provide more regional variants.^[11] In these burial sites were found engravings similar to those observed in Irish sites like Newgrange.^[12]

Besides these barrows are also present menhirs, the highest known being in the Leon region where the largest, that of Kerloas, rises to 9.50 m. The largest ever erected is located in South Brittany in Locmariaquer: the Locmariaquer megaliths amounting to 18.5 m. Engravings can also be found there and their functions are multiple: Indicator of burials, astronomical and topographic features, or reflecting a water worship. The last menhirs were raised around 1800-1500 BC. They can be combined in single or multiple rows, or in semicircles or circles.^[13]

Protohistory

Iron Age

A variety of tribes are mentioned in Roman sources, like the

.

Armorican gold coins have been widely exported and are even found in the Rhineland.

Salterns 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.

Roman rule

In 56 BC the area was conquered by the

.

The uprising of the

is commonly dated to the late fourth century, but material evidence is rare.

Middle Ages

Early Middle Ages

Arrival of the Bretons

In the 380s, a large number of Britons in the Roman army may have been stationed in Armorica. The 9th century

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.)

.

There are numerous records of missionaries migrating from Britania during the second wave, especially the

.

The earliest text known in the Breton language, a botanical treatise, dates from 590 (for comparison, the earliest text in French dates from 843).^[16] Most of the early Breton language medieval manuscripts were lost during the Viking invasions.

The petty kingdoms

In the Early Middle Ages, Brittany was divided into three kingdoms –

sought to expand their territory (including holdings in British Devon and Cornwall), claiming overlordship over all Bretons, though there was constant tension between local lords.

Resistance to outside rule

During the 9th century the Bretons resisted incorporation into the Frankish Carolingian Empire. The first unified Duchy of Brittany was founded by Nominoe. 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

".

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 866 to defeat a Frankish army at the Battle of Brissarthe, near modern-day Le Mans. Two Frankish leaders, 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. The Vikings tactically helped their Breton allies by making devastating pillaging raids on the Frankish kingdoms. This unfortunately became a double edged sword over the next few decades as the Vikings turned on the Bretons and pillaged Brittany, eventually occupying it. This situation was only overturned with the return of exiled Bretons and an alliance with the Franks. From this point Brittany became a duchy with various levels of fealty to West Francia and eventually France.

High Middle Ages

Bretons took part in the

's orders.

In 1185, Geoffroy II signed "Count Geoffrey's Assise" which forbade the subdivision of fiefs, thereby reinforcing the Breton feudal system.

After the presumed death of Duke Arthur I, with Arthur's full elder sister

, establishing Peter as regent of Alix.

In 1213, with the aim of strengthening his power in Brittany, Philip August introduced Peter 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. While John attempted to regain Brittany in the name of Eleanor, he was defeated in 1214 and finally recognized Alix and Peter. Eleanor ended up in English prison without issue, with her claim never raised ever since.

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).^[17]

The

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 was 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

was kidnapped by the count of Penthièvre, grandson 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

, which was registered with the Estates of Brittany.

Modern era

Early modern period

After 1532, Brittany retained a certain fiscal and regulatory autonomy, which was defended by the

, however, brought Mercœur to an honourable surrender.

During the era of

French colonisation of the Americas

).

In 1675, insurgents in the

In the

. 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

.

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 medieval bailliages.

Revolutionary period

Many Bretons, especially members of the merchant class, remained sympathetic to the monarchy during the French Revolution. In 1791, Bretons began to plan a re-establishment of the Estates General of the province, and a return to the estates of the realm system. Charles Armand Tuffin, marquis de la Rouërie was a significant figure in this plot but ultimately ended up in hiding after a secret agent divulged his participation to Georges Danton.^[19]

Despite the obstacle posed by one of the plot's major architects going into hiding, the insurrection continued on, aided by the Kingdom of Great Britain, as the British desired continued access to the ports on Brittany's coast. Brittany was especially open to British landings since the French Navy presence in the region was weakened by September 1793 due to previous mutinies and the restructuring of the navy.^[20] Brittany, with its weak infrastructure, was poorly connected to the rest of France.^[21] Normally, cities in Brittany were used for their naval importance, but they eventually became industrialized because of the Republic, which prepared them for war. The Committee of Public Safety was preparing to attack Britain as Britain had significant influence in the towns of Saint-Malo and Brest, and some revolutionaries feared that these towns would place themselves under British control as Toulon had done.^[19][22]

In light of these mounting foreign threats, the

.

The peasants in Brittany were royalist and opposed the new government. Pierre Louis Prieur sought to implement the authority of the convention by arresting suspected counter-revolutionaries, removing the local authorities of Brittany, and making speeches. In Vannes, there was an unfavorable attitude towards the Revolution with only 200 of the city's population of 12,000 accepting the new constitution. Prieur declared Brittany's countryside overcome by fanaticism in order to justify terror as the new order. Prieur then infiltrated cities with troops and conducted house searches to locate and silence rebellious aristocrats and peasants.^[26] While arrests were the first defense of the newly established government against counter-revolutionaries, fear quickly mounted concerning the power of this group. Quickly, leaders such as Carrier had moved from ordering arrests to ordering executions of anyone found guilty of treason against the state.^[25]

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 Republic.

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

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, 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

(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

, 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

in world history which severely affected the north and northwest coasts of Brittany.

In February and March 1980, the population of

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.

In 2014, the Bonnets Rouges destroyed hundreds of highway speed cameras, tax portals, and tax bureau offices in their successful direct action campaign to have the "ecotaxe" abolished.

Bibliography

Surveys and reference books

• Cornette, Joël (2008a). Histoire de la Bretagne et des Bretons : Des âges obscurs au règne de Louis XIV (tome 1) (in French).
  ISBN 978-2757809952
  .
• Cornette, Joël (2008b). Histoire de la Bretagne et des Bretons : Des Lumières au XXIe (tome 2) (in French).
  ISBN 978-2757809969
  .
• Monnier, Jean-Jacques; Cassard, Jean-Christophe (2012). Toute l'Histoire de Bretagne : Des origines à nos jours (in French).
  ISBN 978-2-915623-79-6
  .
• Croix, Alain (1996). Bretagne, images et histoire (in French).
  ISBN 2-909275-74-4
  .
• Cassard, Jean-Christophe; Croix, Alain; Le Quéau, Jean-René; Veillard, Jean-Yves (2008). Dictionnaire d'histoire de Bretagne (in French). Skol Vreizh.
  ISBN 978-2915623451
  .
• Delumeau, Jean (2000). Histoire de la Bretagne (in French). Privat.
  ISBN 2708917048
  .

Prehistory and protohistory

• Fleuriot, Léon (1980). Les origines de la Bretagne. Éd. Payot.
  ISBN 2-228-12710-8
  .
• Tonnerre, Noël-Yves (1994). Naissance de la Bretagne. Presse de l' Université d' Angers.
  OCLC 1170517706
  .
• Dillon, Myles; Chadwick, Nora (1967). The Celtic Realms. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson.

Middle ages

• E.G.Bowen Saints seaways and settlements University of Wales Press, 1977.
  ISBN 0-900768-30-4
  .
• Christian Y.M. Kerboul Les royaumes brittoniques au Très Haut Moyen Age Editions du Pontig-Coop Breizh, 1997.
  ISBN 2-84346-030-1
  .
• Jean Kerhervé, L'État Breton aux 14e et 15e siècles, 2 vol., Maloine, 1987.
  ISBN 2-224-01704-9
  .
• Myles Dillon, Nora Chadwick, Christian-J. Guyonvarc'h Les royaumes celtiques Librairie Arthème Fayard, 1974.
  ISBN 2-213-00077-8
  .

Brittany as a French province

• Michel de Mauny, 1532-1790 Les dessous de l' Union de la Bretagne à la France, Editions France-Empire, Rennes, 1986.
• Marcel Planiol, Histoire des Institutions de la Bretagne (Droit Public et Droit Privé), Ouvrage couronné par l' Institut, publié avec le concours du Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, 3 vol., Editions du cercle de Brocéliande, Rennes 1953–1955.

Revolutionary history

• Carrier, Jean-Baptiste; Carrier, E. H. (1920). Correspondence of Jean-Baptiste Carrier (people's Representative to the Convention) during His Mission in Brittany, 1793–1794. London; New York: John Lane.
• William Doyle. The Oxford History of the French Revolution. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1989.
• Kropotkin, Petr (1927). The Great French Revolution. Translated by
  N.F. Dryhurst
  . New York: Vanguard Printings.
• Palmer, Robert Roswell (1941). Twelve Who Ruled: The Committee of Public Safety during the Terror. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
• Popkin, Jeremy D. (2015). A Short History of the French Revolution (6th ed.). London: Routledge.
  ISBN 9781315508924
  .

Further reading

• Armand Du Chatellier. Histoire De La Révolution En Bretagne. Berrien: Morvan, 1977.
• G. Lenotre. Tragic Episodes of the French Revolution in Brittany: with Unpublished Documents. D. Nutt, 1912.
• Donald Sutherland. The Chouans: the Social Origins of Popular Counter-Revolution in Upper Brittany, 1770–1796. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1982.

See also

• Breton literature
• List of Breton historians
• Viking Brittany

References

1. ^ Monnier & Cassard 2012, p. 9.
2. ^ ^{a b} Monnier & Cassard 2012, p. 11.
3. ^ Monnier & Cassard 2012, p. 13.
4. ^ Cornette 2008a, p. 34.
5. ^ ^{a b c} Monnier & Cassard 2012, p. 12.
6. ^ ^{a b} Cornette 2008a, p. 35.
7. ^ Cornette 2008a, p. 36.
8. ^ ^{a b} Monnier & Cassard 2012, p. 15.
9. ^ Monnier & Cassard 2012, p. 24.
10. ^ Monnier & Cassard 2012, p. 25.
11. ^ Monnier & Cassard 2012, p. 19.
12. ^ Monnier & Cassard 2012, p. 21.
13. ^ Monnier & Cassard 2012, p. 23.
14. ^ Fleuriot 1980, p. ^{[page needed]}.
15. ^ The Mabinogion. Translated by Lady Charlotte Guest. Project Gutenberg. Archived from the original on 24 May 2009.
16. ^ Source:Leiden University, the Netherlands.^{[full citation needed]}
17. ^ John T. Koch, ed. (2006). Celtic Culture: a historical encyclopedia. Volumes 1-5. p. 244.
18. ^ Arthur de La Borderie (1884). La Révolte du Papier Timbré advenu en Bretagne en 1675. Saint-Brieuc.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
19. ^ ^{a b} Kropotkin 1927, p. ^{[page needed]}.
20. ^ Popkin 2015, p. 78.
21. ^ Palmer 1941, p. 206.
22. ^ Palmer 1941, p. 209.
23. ^ ^{a b} Carrier & Carrier 1920, p. 1.
24. ^ Carrier & Carrier 1920, p. 7.
25. ^ ^{a b} Carrier & Carrier 1920, p. 18.
26. ^ Palmer 1941, p. 210.

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)
• Breton and European Digital Library