by J.N. PAQUET

Created on: May 19, 2009   Last Updated: May 20, 2009

On 19th May, all the Bretons in the world will celebrate "Gouel Erwan" (or St-Yew's day, i.e. Brittany's Day!), the equivalent to the Irish St Patrick's Day! Time to look back at what Brittany was in the past, what it is nowadays, and what it could become in the next decades...

Brittany is a beautiful piece of land located in the North-West of France. Well known to Britons for being their favourite second home choice in France, but who actually knows much about the actual place? Did you know for example that Brittany is a former independent Celtic kingdom and duchy that was incorporated into France in 1532?

ROOTS IN BRITAIN

Two successive waves of Britons (or Brythons) settled in Armorica around the fourth and fifth centuries to escape from the Anglo-Saxons and the Scots in Britain, and they actually gave the country the name of Little Britain which later became the modern Brittany (in London, Little Britain was also the street where Embassy of the Duchy of Brittany was later located).

The newcomers also contributed to create the Breton language, Brezhoneg, which is a Celtic language descending from the Brythonic of Insular Celtic languages brought by Romano-British and other Britons to Armorica. It is a sister language to Welsh and Cornish. Breton is actually far older than French. The earliest text in the Breton language dates from 590 while the earliest text in French dates from 843, more than 250 years later!

AN INDEPENDENT KINGDOM

Statue of Nominoe in Bains-sur-Oust

Since their settlement in Armorica, the Bretons were divided into tribes, but with a common enemy that they were fighting against for generations: the French. Nomino (or Nevenoe in Breton), Earl of Vannes and first Duke of Brittany, founded the first unified and independent Kingdom of Brittany in 845, when the Breton defeated the King of France's army at the Battle of Ballon. He is ever since known as the father of the country (Tad ar Vro).

After defeating the French army a second time in 851 under King Erispo (Nomino's son), the Bretons' control over Rennes, Nantes and the Pays de Retz was secured, and consequently French King Charles the Bald recognised the independence of Brittany and determined the borders that defined the historic duchy.

WHEN THE FRENCH "EVENTUALLY" INVADED BRITTANY

Were the French afraid of the Bretons? Probably because it wasn't before 1488 (more than 600 years later) that the French army, with the very precious help of 5,000 mercenaries from Switzerland and

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