HISTORY. In ancient times Brittany, under the name of Aremoriea (Armorica), was the seat of the confederated Armorican tribes, who were of Celtic and Kymrie origin. Traces of them remain in the old Kymric dialect of the three most westerly departments, and in the nu merous so-called Druidical monuments already mentioned. Under the Romans, the country was made the Provineirz Lulplunensis Tertia: and for two centuries was prosperous under the 'Roman peace.' But in the disorders of the Third Cen tury A.D. it suffered severely, and was reduced almost to a wilderness. It was rcpeopled by nu merous immigrations from Great Britain caused by the Anglo-Saxon invasions of the Fifth and Sixth centuries, and then its name was changed from Armorica to Brittany —Britannia Minor. Monasteries. were built and settlements arose about them. Soon the Franks came into colli sion with the Bretons. From the time of Clovis to the death of Charlemagne there were frequent wars in which the Bretons were usually defeated, but never subdued. They paid tribute only when compelled by an armed force. Louis the Pious placed a native chief', Nomenoe, over the country in 818, and under his rule it prospered. After the battle of Fontenay, 841, Nomenoe took advan tage of the weakness of the Carolingian monarchs to establish his independence, which was recog nized in 846. From this time the rulers claimed the title of 'Duke by the grace of God.' Brittany suffered severely from the invasion of the North men, but won a temporary respite by a brilliant victory in 891, when of 15,000 Northmen only 400 escaped. After 907, however, the Northmen renewed their attacks and reduced the country to the same desperate condition in which it had been in the Fourth Century, 'Brittany destroyed,' in the words of the contemporaries. Alain of the Twisted Beard (died 952) drove out many of the Northmen, but the country remained a prey to civil strife. In 992 Geoffrey, Count of
Rennes, an ally of the Normans, took the title of Duke. though the French King refused to ac knowledge the legitimacy of the title till 1213. After the Tenth Century Brittany was closely associated with Normandy, and many Britons took part in the conquest of England. Under Henry II. of England, the Duke had to flee to England, and Henry took advantage of the op portunity to make his son Geoffrey Duke of Brittany in 1169. Geoffrey soon became the ally of the King of France against his own father. His posthumous son, Arthur, was the unhappy prince whom Richard the Lion-Hearted declared his heir, and King John was suspected of mur dering, in 1203. After that Brittany became a vassal State of France, and in spite of frequent revolts, remained so until about 1338. Then when war broke out between England and France, the French King was glad to secure the Duke's aid 'as an ally, not as a subject.' Dur ing the Hundred Years' War Brittany was the ally alternately of each party and suffered ex ceedingly. The question whether Brittany was a vassal State of France remained undecided hnd caused many wars. In 1491 the Duchess Anne, heiress of Brittany, married Charles VIII. of France and the duchy was united to France. In 1499, however, when Anne married Louis XII., the successor of Charles VIIL, the independence of Brittany was again fully recognized. After long discussion and many treaties, the duchy was declared incorporated with France in 1532 by Francis T. Brittany retained a local parliament until the outbreak of the Revolution. During the Revolution, Brittany, which was intensely loyal to the Bourbons, was the arena of sanguinary conflicts, and especially of the uprising of the Chouans (q.v.), who reappeared as recently as 1832.