BRITTANY or BRITANNY, an ancient province and duchy of France (Fr. Bretagne), known as Armorica (q.v.) until the influx of Celts from Britain. It consists of the northwest penin sula, nearly corresponding to the departments of Finistere, Cotes du-Nord, Morbihan, Ille-et-Vilaine and Lower Loire. It is popu larly divided into Upper or Western, and Lower or Eastern Brit tany. Its greatest length between the English channel and the Atlantic ocean is 250 km. (about 155 English miles), and its superficial extent is 30,00o sq. km. (about 18,63o English sq. m.). It comprises two distinct zones, a maritime zone and an inland zone. In the centre there are two plateaus, partly covered with landes, unproductive moorland; the southern plateau is continued by the Montagnes Noires, and the northern is dominated by the Monts d'Arree. The waterways of Brittany are for the most part of little value owing to their tor rent-like character. The only river basin of any importance is that of the Vilaine, which flows through Rennes. The coast is very much indented, especially along the English channel, and is rocky and lined with reefs and islets. The mouths of the rivers form deep estuaries. In the 19th century the development of new means of communications drew Brittany from its isolation, and agriculture developed in a remark able manner. Many of the landes were cleared and converted into excellent pasturage, and on the coast market-gardening made great progress. In the fertile districts cereals are cultivated. Industrial pursuits, except in a few seaport towns, which are rather French than Breton, have hitherto received but little attention. The Celtic language is still spoken in Lower Brittany. Four dialects are clearly marked (see CELTIC LANGUAGES). (X.) The earliest inhabitants of whom we have a record were Celtic tribes, probably mixed with remnants of the earlier race whose monuments are the cromlechs and stone circles. The Roman name of the country—Armorica—is Celtic. Caesar invaded it in 56 B.C., and the Bretons took part in the unsuccessful rising against him in 52-51 B.C. Roman rule then lasted till the 5th century A.D.
After the withdrawal of the Romans, there came, in the 5th and 6th centuries, a considerable immigration of the Celts of Britain, taking refuge among their continental kinsmen from the Saxon invasion. Till then, the rural population had still been mostly pagan, but now for 30o years Breton history and tradition are largely occupied with records and legends of the Celtic mis sionaries from Britain and Ireland, who gradually converted the whole country and gave their names to towns and villages (such as St. Malo, St. Brieuc, St. Tugdual, and St. Pol). Until a national hero, Nominoe, united its people against the Norse raiders of the 9th century, Brittany was divided into a number of petty lord ships. Nominoe accepted the suzerainty of the French king, Louis the Pious, but revolted in 846 against Charles the Bald, and re stored Breton independence.
The raids of the Norsemen continued into the i oth century. In its second half, Conan of Rennes became paramount in Brit tany. His son Geoffrey took the title of duke. Breton adventurers fought under William of Normandy at Hastings, but the Breton dukes successfully opposed his attempts to add their country to his conquests. The line of Conan ended in the 12th century. Duke Conan IV., hard pressed by rebellious nobles, sought the help of Henry II. of England and gave his daughter Constance in mar riage to Henry's son, Geoffrey Plantagenet, who succeeded to the dukedom. His heir, Arthur, was murdered by John Lackland, but Arthur's sister married a French noble, Pierre de Dreux, who became duke of Brittany in 1212. A line of French dukes ruled at Rennes until, on the death of the childless Jean III. in 1341, civil war began between the partisans of two indirect heirs, Jean de Montfort and Charles de Blois. The defeat and death of Charles at Auray (1364) secured the Dukedom for the house of Montfort. The Breton hero, Bertrand Duguesclin, won his first honours in this "war of succession." Later, as constable of France, he fought against the English invaders. Tales of his prowess in battle and tourney are traditional in Brittany.
Brittany's independence practically ended in 1491, when Duke Francis I. died without a son, and his daughter, the duchess Anne, married Charles VIII. of France. Her daughter, Claude, became the queen of Francis I., under whom the treaty of 1532 was con cluded, annexing Brittany to France, with guarantees for its local liberties. Until the revolution this provincial autonomy survived, local patriotism opposing the attempts at centralization made by Bourbon absolutism. The mass of the people had remained unaf fected by the reformation. During the war of the league there were conflicts with the Huguenots. The peace of 1593 was fol lowed by local troubles arising from the duke de Mercoeur's attempt to make himself duke of Brittany. The province then had a long period of peace interrupted only by an unsuccessful rising in 1675 against new taxation—the "revolt of the stamped paper." Many Bretons distinguished themselves in seafaring enterprise— men like Cartier, the maker of French Canada, and the naval heroes, Surcouf and Duguay Trouin.
The revolution at its outset found support in Brittany, but the abolition of the monarchy and the new church laws led to risings, which began in the winter of 1792. The last shots were fired in 1799. The disembarkation of an emigre force at Quiberon in ended in tragic disaster, i,000 disarmed royalists being massacred by the republicans. The last stage of the resistance was the guerilla warfare of the "Chouans." Brittany was long after royalist, republicanism being associated with memories of these tragic years and of the anti-religious cam paign of the Jacobins. Later there has been a notable movement towards conservative republicanism. In the World War Breton regiments were among the best soldiers of France, and the Breton Admiral Ronarc'h, in the critical autumn battles of 1914, held a position on the Yser hardly less vital than Ypres itself.