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ARCHAELOGICAL ANTECEDENTS See Also: Prehistory of Brittany IRON AGE 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 . Armorican gold coins have been widely exported and are even found in the Rhineland. Salterns are widespread in Northern Armorica, for example at Trégor, Ebihens and Enez Vihan near Pleumeur-Bodou (Côtes-d'Armor) and the island of Yoc'h near Landuvez (Finistère) of late La Tène date. An estimated 40-55 kg of salt per oven were produced at Ebihens . Each oven was about 2 m long. The site dates to the end of the early La Tène or the middle La Tène period. Numerous Briquetage -remains have been found. At Tregor, boudins de Calage (hand-bricks) were the typical form of briquetage, between 2,5 and 15 cm long and with a diameter between 4-7 cm. At the salterns at Landrellec and Enez Vihan at Pleumeur-Bodou the remains of rectangular ovens have been excavated that are 2,5-3 m long and ca. 1 m wide and constructed of stones and clay. On the Gulf Of Morbihan about 50 salterns have been found so far, mainly dating to the final La Téne period. ROMAN RULE Main article Armorica 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 '' (a Latin isation of a Celtic word meaning "coastal region"), part of the '' Gallia Lugdunensis '' province. The modern '' Département '' of Côtes-d'Armor has taken up the ancient name. After the reforms of Diocletian, it was part of the dioceses Galliarum. The uprising of the Bagaudae in the 3rd century led to unrest and depopulation, numerous villages were destroyed. Thick layers of black earth in the towns point to urban depopulation as well. The rule of Constantine (307-350) led to a certain renaissance, Numerous coins were minted. At the ''tractus Armoricanus'', new forts were built, for example at Brest , Avranches and Le Yaudet . The Notitia Dignitatum (circa 400AD) mentions a number of local units manning the ''Tractus armoricanus et nervicanus'', for example Mauritania n troops in the territory of the Veneti and Osismii. Frankish Laeti were present in Rennes . Christianisation is commonly dated to the late fourth century, but material evidence is rare. EARLY MIDDLE AGES After the Roman withdrawal, Some British authors (Nennius, Gildas) mention Briton s 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 . These Britons gave the region its current name and contributed to the Breton Language , ''Brezhoneg'', a sister language to Welsh and Cornish . (Brittany used to be known in English as ''Little Britain'' to distinguish it from Great Britain - the street in London called ''Little Britain'' was the location of the embassy of the Duchy of Brittany). The earliest text in the Breton Language , a Botanical treatise, dates from 590 (for comparison, the earliest text in French dates from 843 ) . 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. Geoffrey Of Monmouth presents this legend to explain the Welsh name for Brittany, ''Llydaw'', as originating from ''lled-taw'' or half-silent. In the Early Middle Ages , Brittany was divided into three kingdoms – Domnonia , Cornouaille , and Bro Waroc'h – which eventually were incorporated into the Duchy Of Brittany . 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 French army was defeated once again in 851 at the Battle Of Jengland by the Breton army of King Erispoë and consequently King Charles of France recognised the independence of Brittany. MIDDLE AGES Bretons took part in the Revolt Of 1173-1174 , siding with the rebels against Henry II Of England . Henry's son Geoffroy II , then heir apparent to the Duchy of Brittany, resisted his father's attempts to annex Brittany to the possessions of the English Crown. Geoffroy's son Arthur did likewise during his reign ( 1186 - 1203 ) until his death, perhaps by assassination under John Lackland 's orders. In 1185 , Geoffroy II signed "Count Geoffrey's Assise" which forbade the subdivision of fiefs, thereby reinforcing the Breton feudal system. In 1213 , with the aim of strengthening his power in Brittany, king Philip August of France introduced the Capetian prince Peter Mauclerc Of Dreux as administrator of the duchy and tutor of his son, duke Jehan Of Brittany . It was Peter Mauclerc who introduced the use of ermines in the Breton coat of arms and came to espouse the cause of his fief's independence with respect to France. The Breton War Of Succession was fought 1341 - 1364 . The parties were the half-brother of the last duke, John Of Montfort (supported by the English) and his niece, Joanna Of Penthièvre , who was married to Charles Of Blois , nephew of the king of France. This protracted conflict, a component of the Hundred Years' War , has passed into legend (see for example Combat Of The Thirty and Bertrand De Guesclin ). Its outcome was decided at the Battle Of Auray in 1364, where the House of Montfort was victorious over the French party. After the first Treaty of Guérande, Joanna of Penthièvre abdicated her claims to the dukedom in favour of John The Conqueror . A modified form of Salic Law was introduced in Brittany as a result. In the midst of the conflict, in 1352 , the ''États de Bretagne'' or Estates of Brittany were established. They would develop into the Duchy's Parlement . Deserted by his nobles, duke John IV left for exile in England in 1373 . The king of France Charles V named as lieutenant-general of Brittany his brother, the Duke Of Anjou (also a son-in-law of Joanna de Penthièvre). In 1378 , the king of France sought to annex Brittany, which provoked the Bretons to recall John IV from exile. The second Treaty of Guérande ( 1381 ) established Brittany's neutrality in the Anglo-French conflict, although John continued to swear homage to Charles VI . In 1420, duke John V was kidnapped by the count of Penthièvre, son of Joanna of Penthièvre. John's wife, duchess Joanna de France besieged the rebels and set free her husband, who confiscated the Penthièvre's goods. In 1464 the Catholicon , a Breton-Latin-French dictionary by Jehan Lagadeuc , was published. This book was the world's first trilingual dictionary, the first Breton dictionary and also the first French dictionary. The army of the Kingdom of France with the help of 5000 Mercenaries came from Switzerland and Italy defeated the Breton army in 1488 and the last and old Duke Of Independent Brittany Francis II was forced to submit to a treaty giving the King of France the right to determine the marriage of the Duke's daughter, a young girl 12 years old, 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 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. EARLY MODERN BRITTANY After 1532, Brittany retained a certain fiscal and regulatory autonomy, which was defended by the ''États de Bretagne'' despite the rising tide of royal absolutism. Brittany remained on the whole strongly Catholic during the period of the Huguenots and the Wars Of Religion , although Protestantism made some headway in Nantes and a few other areas. From 1590-98, during the War Of The Catholic League , the Duc De Mercoeur (governor of Brittany and husband of the countess of Penthièvre) sought to have himself proclaimed Duke of Britanny and allied with Philip II Of Spain . The latter, on the other hand, considered establishing his daughter Isabella at the head of a reconstituted Brittany. Henri IV , however, brought Mercoeur to an honourable surrender. During the era of Colbert , Brittany benefited from France's naval expansion. Major ports were built or renovated at Saint-Malo , Brest , and Lorient , and Bretons came to consitute a leading component of the French navy. Bretons played an important role in the colonization of New France and the West Indies (''see'' French Colonisation Of The Americas ). |
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