Brittany
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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"The ancient duchy of Bretagne or Brittany, 'pays de granit, recouvert de chenes' forming the extreme N.W. corner of France, still differs in many important respects from the rest of the country. The inhabitants are of pure Celtic race and their native tongue is akin to Welsh. In upper or E. Brittany this language has to a great extent given place to French, but upwards of a million inhabitants in the W. provinces (Finistère, Cotes du Nord, Morbihan) still speak it, and in many places in the interior French is not understood. The peasants still retain their ancient picturesque dress, which is seen to greatest advantages on Sundays and at 'Pardons' and other fetes. Many of their manners and customs are also quaint and primitive, and curious old legend and superstitions are met at every turn. In addition to its wild scenery, Brittany offers the traveller a special attraction in the stupendous monuments of the ancient Celts at Carnac and Locmariaquer."--Northern France, from Belgium and the English channel to the Loire, excluding Paris and its environs : handbook for travellers (1889) by Baedeker |
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Brittany is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period of Roman occupation. It became an independent kingdom and then a duchy before being united with the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province governed as a separate nation under the crown.
Brittany has also been referred to as Little Britain (as opposed to Great Britain, with which it shares an etymology). It is bordered by the English Channel to the north, Normandy to the northeast, eastern Pays de la Loire to the southeast, the Bay of Biscay to the south, and the Celtic Sea and the Atlantic Ocean to the west.
Brittany is the site of some of the world's oldest standing architecture, home to the Cairn of Barnenez, the Tumulus Saint-Michel and others, which date to the early 5th millennium BC. Today, the historical province of Brittany is split among five French departments: Finistère in the west, Côtes-d'Armor in the north, Ille-et-Vilaine in the northeast, Morbihan in the south and Loire-Atlantique in the southeast. Loire-Atlantique now belongs to the Pays de la Loire region while the other four departments make up the Brittany region.
At the 2010 census, the population of historic Brittany was estimated to be 4,475,295. In 2017, the largest metropolitan areas were Nantes (934,165 inhabitants), Rennes (733,320 inhabitants), and Brest (321,364 inhabitants). Brittany is the traditional homeland of the Breton people and is one of the six Celtic nations, retaining a distinct cultural identity that reflects its history. A nationalist movement seeks greater autonomy within the French Republic, or independence from it.
See also
- Brigantes, Breton Celtic tribe associated with Northern England
- Politics of Brittany
- Great Britain in French as Grande-Bretagne
