History & Civilisation
Today’s region of Bretagne comprises 80% of the old duchy of Brittany, which has long been disputed between the French and the English. Although England has had possession of the duchy at one time, in the end Brittany became part of the French crown.
- A variety of tribes are mentioned in Roman sources, like the Veneti, Armoricani, Osismii, Namnetes and Coriosolites. Strabo and Poseidonius describe the Armoricani as belonging to the Belgae.
- In 56 BC the area was conquered by the Romans under Julius Caesar. The Venetian notables were killed or sold off as slaves. The Romans called the district Armorica, part of the Gallia Lugdunensis province.
- After the Roman withdrawal, some British authors (Nennius, Gildas) mention Britons fleeing to Armorica to escape the invading Anglo-Saxons and Scoti. However, modern archaeology would place the beginnings of the British migration to Armorica in the Roman period, perhaps from the end of the 3rd century, most likely as part of Magnus Maximus’ forces.
- Conan Meriadoc, the mythic founder of the house of Rohan is mentioned by medieval Welsh sources as having led the settlement of Brittany by Welsh mercenaries, who married native women after cutting out their tongues to preserve the purity of their language.
- The first unified Kingdom of Brittany was founded by Nominoë in 845 when the Breton army defeated the forces of Charles the Bald, King of France, at the Battle of Ballon, in the eastern part of Brittany near Redon and the French border.
- The Breton War of Succession was fought 1341-1364. This protracted conflict, a component of the Hundred Years’ War, has passed into legend. Its outcome was decided at the Battle of Auray in 1364, where the House of Montfort was victorious over the French party.
- Anne of Brittany 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.