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BRITTANY

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Originally appearing in Volume V04, Page 618 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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BRITTANY , or BRITANNl (Fr. Bretagne), known as See also:

Armorica (q.v.) until the influx of Celts from See also:Britain, an See also:ancient See also:province and duchy of See also:France, consisting of the See also:north-See also:west See also:peninsula, and nearly corresponding to the departments of See also:Finistere, See also:Cotes-du-See also:Nord, See also:Morbihan, Ille-et-Vilaine and See also:Lower See also:Loire. It is popularly divided into Upper or Western, and Lower or Eastern Brittany. Its greatest length between the See also:English Channel and the See also:Atlantic Ocean is 250 kilometres (about 155 English See also:miles), and its superficial extent is 30,000 sq. kilometres (about 18,630 English sq. m.). It comprises two distinct zones, a maritime See also:zone and an inland zone. In the centre there are two plateaus, partly covered with See also:landes, unproductive moorland: the See also:southern See also:plateau is continued by the Montagnes Noires, and the See also:northern is dominated by the Monts d'Arree. These ranges nowhere exceed 1r 5o ft. in height, but from their See also:wild nature they recall the aspect of high mountains. The waterways of Brittany are for the most See also:part of little value owing to their torrent-like See also:character. The only See also:river See also:basin of any importance is that of the Vilaine, which flows through See also:Rennes. The See also:coast is very much indented, especially along the English Channel, and is rocky and lined with reefs and islets. The mouths of the See also:rivers See also:form deep estuaries. Thus nature itself condemned Brittany to remain for a See also:long See also:time shut out from See also:civilization.

But in the 19th See also:

century the development of See also:railways and other means of communication See also:drew Brittany from its See also:isolation. In the 19th century also See also:agriculture See also:developed in a remarkable manner. Many of the landes were cleared and converted into excellent pasturage, and on the coast See also:market-gardening made See also:great progress. In the fertile districts cereals too are cultivated. See also:Industrial pursuits, except in a few seaport towns, which are rather See also:French than See also:Breton, have hitherto received but little See also:attention. The Bretons are by nature conservative. They cling with almost equal See also:attachment to their See also:local customs and their religious superstitions. It was not till the 17th century that paganism was even nominally abolished in some parts, and there is probably no See also:district in See also:Europe where the popular See also:Christianity has assimilated more from earlier See also:creeds. See also:Witchcraft and the See also:influence of fairies are still often believed in. The See also:costume of both sexes is very See also:peculiar both in cut and See also:colour, but varies considerably in different districts. See also:Bright red, See also:violet and See also:blue are much used, not only by the See also:women, but in the coats and waistcoats of the men. The reader will find full illustrations of the different styles in Bouet's Breiz-izel, ou See also:vie See also:des Breions de l'Armorique (1844).of See also:late years.

The whole duchy was formerly divided into nine bishoprics:—Rennes, Doi, See also:

Nantes, St Maio and St Brieuc, in Upper Brittany and See also:Treguier, See also:Vannes, See also:Quimper and St Pol de See also:Leon in Lower. See also:History.—Of Brittany before the coming of the See also:Romans we have no exact knowledge. The only traces See also:left by the See also:primitive populations are the megalithic monuments (dolmens, menhirs and cromlechs), which remain to this See also:day in great See also:numbers (see See also:STONE MONUMENTS). In 56 B.C. the Romans destroyed the See also:fleet of the See also:Veneti, and in 52 the inhabitants of Armorica took part in the great insurrection of the Gauls against See also:Caesar, but were subdued finally by him in 51. See also:Roman civilization was then established for several centuries in Brittany. In the 5th century numbers of the See also:Celtic inhabitants of Britain, flying from the Angles and See also:Saxons, emigrated to Armorica, See also:ana populated a great part of the peninsula. Converted to Christianity, the new-comers founded' monasteries which helped to clear the See also:land, the greater part of which was barren and wild. The Celtic immigrants formed the counties of Vannes, Cornouaille, Leon and Domnonee. A powerful See also:aristocracy was constituted, which owned estates and had them cultivated by See also:serfs or villeins. The Celts sustained a long struggle against the Frankish See also:kings, who only nominally occupied Brittany. See also:Louis the Pious placed a native See also:chief Nomenoe at the See also:head of Brittany. There was then a fairly long See also:period of See also:peace; but Nomenoe rebelled against See also:Charles the Bald, defeated him, and forced him, in 846, to recognize the See also:independence of Brittany.

The end of the 9th century and the beginning of the loth were remarkable for the invasions of the Northmen. On several occasions they were driven back—by Salomon (d. 874) and afterwards by Alain, See also:

count of Vannes (d. 909)—but it was Alain Barbetorte (d. 952) who gained the decisive victory over them. In the second See also:half of the loth century and in the 11th century the See also:counts of Rennes were predominant in Brittany. See also:Geoffrey, son of Conan, took the See also:title of See also:duke of Brittany in 992. Conan II., Geoffrey's See also:grandson, threatened by the revolts of the nobles, was attacked also by the duke of See also:Normandy (afterwards See also:William I. of See also:England). Alain Fergent, one of his successors, defeated William in 1085, and forced him to make peace. But in the following century the Plantagenets succeeded in establishing themselves in Brittany. Conan IV., defeated by the revolted Breton nobles, appealed to See also:Henry II. of England, who, in See also:reward for his help, forced Conan to give his daughter in See also:marriage to his son Geoffrey. Thus Henry II. became See also:master of Brittany, and Geoffrey was recognized as duke of Brittany.

But this new See also:

dynasty was not destined to last long. Geoffrey's See also:posthumous son, See also:Arthur, was assassinated by See also:John of England in 1203, and Arthur's See also:sister Alix, who succeeded to his rights, was married in 1212 to See also:Pierre de See also:Dreux, who became duke. This was the beginning of a ducal dynasty of French origin, which lasted till the end of the 15th century. From that moment the ducal See also:power gained strength in Brittany and succeeded in curbing the feudal nobles. Under French influence civilization made notable progress. For more than a century peace reigned undisturbed in Brittany. But in 1341 the See also:death of John III., without See also:direct See also:heir, provoked a See also:war of See also:succession between the houses of See also:Blois and See also:Montfort, which lasted till 1364. This war of succession was, in reality, an incident of the See also:Hundred Years' War, the partisans of Blois and Montfort supporting respectively the kings of France and England. In 1364 John of Montfort (d. 1399) was recognized as duke of Brittany under the See also:style of John IV.,' but his reign ' Certain authorities count the See also:father of this duke, another John of Montfort (d. 1345), among the See also:dukes of Brittany, and according to this enumeration the younger John becomes John V., not John IV.. and his successor John VI. and not John V. was constantly troubled, notably by his struggle with See also:Olivier de See also:Clisson (1336-1407).

John V. (d. 1442), on the other See also:

hand, distinguished himself by his able and pacific policy. During his reign and the reigns of his successors, See also:Francis I., See also:Peter II. and Arthur III., the ducal authority developed in a remarkable manner. The dukes formed a See also:standing See also:army, and succeeded in levying See also:hearth taxes (fouages) throughout Brittany. Francis II. (1435–1488) fought against Louis XI., notably during the War of the Public Weal, and afterwards engaged in the struggle against Charles VIII., known as " The Mad War " (La Guerre See also:Falk). After the death of Francis II. the See also:king of France invaded Brittany, and forced Francis's daughter, See also:Anne of Brittany, to marry him in 1491. Thus the See also:reunion of Brittany and France was prepared. After the death of Charles VIII. Anne married Louis XII. Francis I., who married See also:Claude, the daughter of Louis XII. and Anne, settled the definitive See also:annexation of the duchy by the See also:contract of 1532, by which the See also:maintenance of the privileges and liberties of Brittany was guaranteed.

Until the Revolution Brittany retained its own estates. The royal power, however, was exerted to reduce the privileges of the province as much as possible. It often met with vigorous resistance, notably in the 18th century. The struggle was particularly keen between 176o and 1769, when E. A. de V. du Plessis See also:

Richelieu, duc d'See also:Aiguillon, had to fight simultaneously the estates and the See also:parliament, and had a formidable adversary in L. R. de C. de la Chalotais. But under the See also:monarchy the only See also:civil war in Brittany in which See also:blood was See also:shed was the revolt of the duc de Mercceur (d. 1602) against the See also:crown at the time of the troubles of the See also:League, a revolt which lasted from 1589 to 1598. Mention, however, must also be made of a serious popular revolt which See also:broke out in 1675—" the revolt of the stamped See also:paper." See See also:Bertrand d'Argentre, Histoire de Bretagne (See also:Paris, 1586) ; Dom Lobineau, Histoire de Bretagne (Paris, 1702) ; Dom Morice, Histoire de Bretagne (1742—1756) ; T. A. See also:Trollope, A Summer in Brittany (184o) ; A. du Chatellier, L'Agriculture et See also:les classes agricoles de la Bretagne (1862) ; F. M.

Luzel, Legendes chretiennes de la Basse-Bretagne (Paris, 1881), and Veillees bretonnes (Paris, 1879) ; A. See also:

Dupuy, La Reunion de la Bretagne a la France (Paris, 188o), and Etudes sur l'See also:administration municipale en Bretagne au XVIII' siecle (1891); J. Loth, L'See also:Emigration bretonne en Armorique du V° au VII' siecle (Rennes, 1883) ; H. du Cleuziou, Bretagne artistique et pittoresque (Paris, 1886) ; Arthur de la Borderie, Histoire de Bretagne (Rennes, 1896 seq.) ; J. Lemoine, La Revolte du See also:papier timbre ou des bonnets rouges en Bretagne en 1675 (1898) ; M. See also:Marion, La Bretagne et le duc d'Aiguillon (Paris, 1898) ; B. Pocquet, Le Duc d'Aiguillon et la Chalotais (Paris, 1900—1902) ; Anatole le Braz, Vieilles Histoires du pays breton (1897), and La Legende de la mort (Paris, 1902) ; Ernest avisse, Histoire de France, vol. i. (Paris, 1903) ; See also:Henri See, Etude sur les classes rurales en Bretagne an moyen See also:age (1896), and Les Classes rurales en Bretagne du XVI' siecle a la Revolution (1906).

End of Article: BRITTANY

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