Brittany

:This article is about the historical duchy and French province, as well as the cultural area of Brittany. For the current French administrative region of Bretagne, see Bretagne. For other meanings, see Brittany (disambiguation).

History

Human habitation in the area now called Brittany goes back to the late Paleolithic, or Epi-Palaeolithic, period. Megaliths erected in the 5th millennium BC are the best known Neolithic remains. Roman sources record the tribes of the Veneti, Armoricani, Osismii, Namnetes and Coriosolites as inhabiting the area in the iron age.

Related Topics:
Paleolithic - 5th millennium BC - Neolithic - Veneti - Armoricani - Osismii - Namnetes - Coriosolites - Iron age

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In 56 BC the area was conquered by the Romans under Julius Caesar. The Romans called the district Armorica (a Latinisation of a Celtic word meaning "coastal region"), or Gallia Lugdunensis. The modern département of Côtes-d'Armor has taken up the ancient name. The uprising of the Bagaudae in the 3rd century AD led to the destruction of villages and to depopulation.

Related Topics:
56 BC - Romans - Julius Caesar - Armorica - Latin - Département - Côtes-d'Armor - Bagaudae - 3rd century AD

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By the 4th century AD Romano-British tribes from across the English Channel started to settle. This flow of Britons increased when Roman troops and authority were withdrawn from Britain, and raiding and settling by Anglo-Saxons and Scotti into Britain increased. The immigrant Britons gave the region its current name and contributed to the Breton language, Brezhoneg, a sister language to Welsh and Cornish. The name Brittany (meaning Little Britain) derived to distinguish the region from Great Britain in this time.

Related Topics:
4th century AD - Romano-British - English Channel - Briton - Britain - Anglo-Saxons - Scotti - Breton - Brezhoneg - Welsh - Cornish - Great Britain

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In the early Middle Ages, Brittany was divided into three kingdoms - Domnonia, Cornouaille, and Bro Waroch - which eventually were incorporated into the Duchy of Brittany.

Related Topics:
Middle Ages - Domnonia - Cornouaille - Bro Waroch - Duchy of Brittany

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The first unified Kingdom of Brittany was founded by Nominoë in 845 when the Breton army defeated Charles the Bald, King of France, at the battle of Ballon, near Redon in the east of Brittany near the French border.

Related Topics:
Kingdom of Brittany - Nominoë - 845 - Battle of Ballon - Redon

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After the French army was defeated once again in 846 at the battle of Janlan by the army of King Nominoë, Charles the Bald recognised the independence of Brittany.

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The Kingdom of France defeated the Breton army in 1488 and the last Duke of independent Brittany was forced to submit to a treaty giving the King of France the right to determine the marriage of the Duke's daughter, 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 François I incorporated the duchy into the Kingdom of France in 1532. The duchy kept specific laws and taxes until 1790, when the French revolutionaries withdrew all the "privilèges" (specific rules for certain communities or regions).

Related Topics:
1488 - Duke of independent Brittany - Duchess Anne - Duchy - Louis XII of France - Claude - François I - 1532 - 1790

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