On a granite peninsula reaching into the Atlantic at the northwestern edge of France live the Bretons, a Celtic people unlike their Latin neighbors. Descended from Britons who crossed the sea in the early Middle Ages, speakers of a Celtic tongue kin to Welsh and Cornish, and famous for their music, costumes, and devotion, they are a nation that has kept a distinct identity on the ocean rim of France.
This is the story of who the Bretons are: where they came from, how they lived by land and sea, what they believe, and how they preserved a Celtic identity through the long centuries of union with France. It is a tale of migration and endurance, of a people whose language, festivals, and bond with the Atlantic have carried their heritage into the present day.
The Bretons on Film
Contents
- Origins
- The Name Lithuania
- The Lithuanian Language
- The Homeland
- The Old Way of Life
- Society and Community
- Religion and Belief
- Traditions
- Crafts and Amber
- Food
- Festivals
- History
- Lithuanians Today
Origins
The Bretons are a Celtic people of northwestern France, inhabiting the peninsula of Brittany that juts out into the Atlantic. Unusually among the peoples of France, they are of Celtic rather than Latin origin, and their story is bound up with the wider Celtic world of the British Isles, to which they are closely related in language and heritage.
The peninsula was inhabited from remote antiquity, as the great megalithic monuments of Carnac and elsewhere, older than the pyramids, powerfully attest. In Roman times the region, then called Armorica, was home to Gaulish Celtic tribes, part of the wider Celtic world of ancient Gaul and Britain.
The decisive event in the formation of the Breton people came in the early Middle Ages, when Celtic Britons crossed the sea from Britain to settle in Armorica, fleeing pressures in their homeland and giving the peninsula its new name of Brittany, the little Britain. These settlers brought their Brittonic Celtic language and culture, which fused with the existing population to form the Breton nation.
From this migration grew a people speaking a Celtic tongue closely related to Welsh and Cornish, distinct from the Latin-derived French around them. Establishing their own kingdoms and later a powerful duchy, the Bretons developed a strong identity as a Celtic people on the edge of France, an identity that has endured through the centuries down to the present day.
The Name Lithuania
The Bretons call themselves Breizhiz and their land Breizh, while in French they are Bretons and their country Bretagne. The name comes from the Britons who crossed from the island of Britain in the early Middle Ages, so that Brittany means, in effect, the land of the Britons, a little Britain across the sea from the greater one.
This shared name reflects the deep kinship between the Bretons and the Celtic peoples of Britain, above all the Welsh and Cornish, with whom they share a common Brittonic origin. The very name of Brittany proclaims this ancient bond and the migration that gave birth to the Breton nation.
The national symbol of the Bretons is the Gwenn-ha-du, the black and white flag whose name means simply white and black, designed in the twentieth century with black and white stripes for the historic countries of Brittany and a field of ermine spots drawn from the old arms of the duchy. It has become a beloved and widely flown emblem of Breton identity.
Though Brittany is today a region of France without a state of its own, the Breton name carries a strong sense of a distinct nation. Bretons speak of Breizh with pride and attachment, and the name stands for a Celtic people with their own language, history, and traditions, holding to their identity on the Atlantic edge of France.
The Lithuanian Language
The Breton language is a Celtic language, and one of the treasures of the Breton people, belonging to the Brittonic branch that also includes Welsh and Cornish. Brought across the sea by the Britons in the early Middle Ages, it is the only Celtic language spoken on the European mainland, a living link between Brittany and the wider Celtic world of the British Isles.
Breton is closely related to Cornish and, more distantly, to Welsh, and speakers can find much that is familiar in these sister tongues. It has several regional dialects across the peninsula, and a rich heritage of oral literature, song, and story, carried for centuries by the people even when the language had little place in official life.
For a long time Breton was the everyday speech of the western part of the peninsula, while French dominated in the east and in the towns and administration. In the modern era the language suffered a steep decline, actively discouraged in schools and public life, and the number of speakers fell sharply over the twentieth century.
In recent decades a strong movement has arisen to save and revive the Breton language, through bilingual and immersion schools, media, music, and cultural activity, and it has become a powerful symbol of Breton identity and pride. Though still under threat, Breton endures as the cherished Celtic tongue of Brittany and a central mark of the nation.
The Homeland
The homeland of the Bretons is Brittany, a large peninsula in the far northwest of France that reaches out into the Atlantic Ocean, nearly surrounded by the sea. This maritime position, with its long and deeply indented coastline of cliffs, coves, beaches, and islands, has shaped every aspect of Breton life and given the region its powerful bond with the ocean.
The coast is the glory of Brittany, from the rose-tinted rocks of the pink granite coast and the dramatic headlands of the west to the sheltered bays and busy fishing ports, battered by Atlantic storms and washed by strong tides. The very name of the western tip, Finistère, means the end of the earth, capturing the sense of a land facing the open ocean.
Inland lies a country of low hills, moors, woods, and farmland, dotted with villages, ancient stones, and the distinctive parish churches and calvaries of the region. The interior, known as the Argoat or land of the woods, contrasts with the coastal Armor, the land of the sea, the two together making up the Breton homeland.
Brittany is a land of stone and sea, of granite churches and Atlantic light, with a character quite distinct from the rest of France. Its cities, from the historic capital of Rennes to the ports of Brest and the old towns of the coast, carry the story of the nation, while the sea and the ancient landscape lie at the heart of the Breton sense of home.
The Old Way of Life
For most of their history the Bretons were a people of farms, fishing villages, and small market towns, living in a close bond with both the land and the sea. In the interior, families worked small fields and kept livestock in a countryside of hedged plots, growing grain, vegetables, and buckwheat, the humble grain that became the basis of the Breton galette.
The sea was the other great provider, and fishing has been central to Breton life for centuries, from the coastal ports whose fleets went out for sardines, tuna, and shellfish to the hardy men who sailed far to the fishing grounds of the north Atlantic. Seafaring, shipbuilding, and the gathering of the shore were woven into the life of the coast.
Village life centered on the parish and its church, and on the family and community of neighbors, in a deeply Catholic and traditional society. The distinctive stone houses, the ancient churches with their sculpted calvaries and enclosed parish grounds, and the great religious festivals gave the Breton countryside its particular character.
This world of field, fishing boat, and stone village, centered on faith, family, and the sea, though much changed by modern times, is remembered warmly and remains close to the heart of Breton identity. Its traditions endure in the festivals, costumes, music, and crafts that Bretons cherish and celebrate today.
Society and Community
Traditional Breton society was built around the family, the parish, and the village, in a strongly Catholic and rural world. Close family bonds, attachment to the local community and its patron saint, and the ordering rhythms of the church year were central to Breton life, whether in the farming interior or the fishing towns of the coast.
The parish was the heart of local identity, and the great religious festivals, above all the pardons, brought communities together in devotion and celebration. Each district had its own customs, dialect, and above all its own distinctive traditional dress, so that costume varied strikingly from one part of Brittany to another.
The elaborate traditional costumes of the Breton regions, and especially the tall and intricate lace headdresses, the coiffes, worn by the women, are among the most famous expressions of Breton identity. The magnificent coiffe of the Bigouden region, rising high above the head, became an emblem of Brittany, and costume marked at a glance the district and status of the wearer.
Shaped by centuries on the Celtic edge of France, the Bretons developed a strong sense of themselves as a distinct people, attached to their language, their faith, and their traditions. The modern era brought a cultural revival that reawakened pride in Breton identity, and the bonds of family, community, and regional custom remain important in Breton life today.
Religion and Belief
The Bretons are traditionally a deeply Catholic people, and religion has been central to their identity and culture for many centuries. Brittany is famous for the intensity of its faith and for the rich religious heritage written across its landscape, in thousands of churches, chapels, wayside crosses, and holy fountains.
The most distinctive expression of Breton religious art is the parish close, the enclosed churchyard with its church, its ornate calvary carved with scenes of the life and passion of Christ, and its charnel house, found above all in the villages of Finistère. The great sculpted calvaries, such as those of Guimiliau and Plougastel, are masterpieces of popular religious art unique to Brittany.
Breton Catholicism is bound up with a host of local saints, many of them from the age of the Celtic migration and unrecognized elsewhere, and with the veneration of holy places and fountains. The pardon, a religious festival and pilgrimage in honor of a local saint, marked by processions in traditional costume, is the characteristic expression of Breton devotion.
Beneath the surface of this fervent Catholicism, older Celtic beliefs and a rich world of legend long survived, peopling the land with fairies, spirits, and tales of the otherworld, and giving Breton religion a distinctive coloring. Though modern times have brought secularization as elsewhere, the Catholic heritage and its festivals remain an important part of Breton identity and culture.
Traditions
Breton traditions are among the richest and most vibrant of any people in France, centered on a living heritage of music, dance, costume, and festival that has enjoyed a powerful revival in modern times. Music and dance in particular lie at the very heart of Breton culture and identity.
The characteristic Breton celebration is the fest-noz, the night festival, a communal gathering for traditional dancing that has been recognized as a treasure of world heritage. To the music of instruments such as the bombard and the biniou, the Breton bagpipe, and of the pipe bands known as bagadoù, people join hands in circle and chain dances that go on late into the night.
The traditional costumes of Brittany, with their rich embroidery and, above all, the tall lace coiffes of the women, are displayed with pride at festivals and gatherings, each region keeping its own distinctive dress. These costumes, once everyday wear, are now cherished emblems of Breton identity brought out for celebration.
Alongside music and costume, Brittany preserves a rich heritage of legend and story, of Arthurian romance and Celtic myth, and the customs of the pardons and the festivals of the year. This living culture, revived and celebrated with great energy in modern times, makes the Breton traditions a proud and beloved expression of the nation.
Crafts and Amber
The crafts of the Bretons grew from a land of stone, sea, and forest, and from a strong popular artistic tradition. Working the hard granite of the peninsula into houses, churches, and above all the sculpted calvaries and crosses of the parish closes was a great Breton art, and the region is famous for the skill of its stone carvers.
The most celebrated Breton craft is the faience, or tin-glazed earthenware, of Quimper, made in the town since the seventeenth century and decorated with charming hand-painted scenes of Breton life, figures in traditional costume, and bold floral and folk motifs. Quimper faience became known far beyond Brittany and remains a signature craft of the region.
Textile crafts held an important place, above all the making of the fine lace and elaborate embroidery of the traditional costumes and the tall coiffes, work of great delicacy handed down among the women of each region. Weaving, and the making of the distinctive Breton dress, reflected the skill and identity of the local communities.
The maritime life of Brittany fostered its own crafts of boatbuilding, ropework, and the making of gear for the fishing fleets, while woodworking, furniture-making, and other trades served the villages. These crafts, from Quimper faience and lace to granite carving, are kept alive today by artisans and remain a valued part of Breton culture and heritage.
Food
Breton cuisine is the hearty food of a maritime and rural people, built on the produce of the sea, the dairy and grain of the farms, and above all on the humble buckwheat that became the basis of the region’s most famous dishes. Simple, generous, and closely tied to the land and the ocean, it is one of the beloved regional cuisines of France.
The great emblem of Breton food is the crêpe and its savory cousin the galette, thin pancakes cooked on a flat griddle. The galette, made of buckwheat flour and filled with cheese, egg, ham, or other savory fillings, is the traditional staple, while the sweeter wheat-flour crêpe is enjoyed as a dessert, both washed down with the local cider.
The sea provides a magnificent bounty of fish and shellfish, from oysters, mussels, and scallops to lobster and crab, and the coastal towns are famous for their seafood. Salted butter, a Breton specialty, enriches the cooking and the celebrated pastries, above all the dense, buttery kouign-amann and the far breton, a custard flan studded with prunes.
Cider, made from the apples of the orchards, is the traditional drink of Brittany, poured to accompany the galettes and crêpes, and the region also produces a heritage of other local specialties. Rooted in the land and the sea and centered on the beloved crêpe and galette, Breton cuisine is a warm and cherished expression of the culture of the people.
Festivals
The festivals of the Bretons are a vibrant expression of their Celtic identity, blending the religious traditions of a devoutly Catholic land with a joyous celebration of Breton music, dance, and culture. The festival calendar is rich, and these gatherings have been central to the powerful revival of Breton identity in modern times.
The traditional religious festival of Brittany is the pardon, a pilgrimage in honor of a local saint, marked by processions of banners and relics, participants in traditional costume, and devotions at a chapel or holy place, followed often by more festive celebration. The great pardons draw crowds and are among the most characteristic events of Breton life.
The fest-noz, the communal night of traditional dancing to Breton music, is celebrated across the region and has become a symbol of the living culture of Brittany, recognized as a treasure of world heritage. These joyful gatherings bring people of all ages together to dance the traditional dances late into the night.
Modern Brittany is also famous for its great cultural festivals, above all the Festival Interceltique de Lorient, which each summer gathers musicians, dancers, and performers from all the Celtic nations in a huge celebration of shared Celtic heritage, and the Festival de Cornouaille, a grand display of Breton costume, music, and tradition. These festivals express the pride and vitality of the Breton people.
History
The history of the Bretons begins with the migration of Celtic Britons from across the sea in the early Middle Ages, who settled the peninsula of Armorica and gave it the name of Brittany. These settlers established small kingdoms, and in time a united Breton realm emerged, which fiercely defended its independence against the Franks and other neighbors.
Through the medieval centuries Brittany became a powerful and largely independent duchy, with its own rulers, institutions, and strong sense of identity, prospering through its farms, its ports, and its maritime trade. The duchy long maintained its autonomy between the great powers of France and England, a proud and distinct Celtic land on the Atlantic edge.
The independence of Brittany came to an end around the turn of the sixteenth century. Through the marriage of the Duchess Anne of Brittany, a beloved figure in Breton memory, to two successive kings of France, and the subsequent union, the duchy was joined to the French crown, though it kept certain rights and institutions of its own for a time.
Over the following centuries Brittany was steadily integrated into France, and its distinct institutions were swept away after the French Revolution, while the Breton language was increasingly discouraged. Yet Breton identity survived, and the nineteenth and twentieth centuries saw a cultural revival, the rise of movements to defend the language and heritage, and a renewed pride in Brittany as a distinct Celtic nation within France.
Lithuanians Today
Today the Bretons are a people of some millions in the northwest of France, forming the great majority in the region of Brittany, one of the most distinctive and strongly identified regions of the country. Rennes, the historic capital, and the ports of Brest, Lorient, and Saint-Malo are among the lively cities that carry the economic and cultural life of the region forward.
Modern Brittany combines a dynamic economy, strong in agriculture, food production, fishing, and increasingly in technology and services, with a powerful attachment to its heritage. The region is also a major destination for visitors drawn by its dramatic coasts, its historic towns, its ancient monuments, and its vibrant living culture.
The decades since the mid twentieth century have seen a remarkable revival of Breton identity and culture, with a flourishing of Breton music that has won audiences far beyond the region, growing efforts to save and teach the Breton language, and pride in the flag, the festivals, and the traditions of the land. Questions of greater autonomy and the status of the language remain live issues.
Through all the centuries since the Britons first crossed the sea, the Bretons have preserved a distinct Celtic identity on the Atlantic edge of France, holding to their language, their faith, their music, and their bond with the sea. A Celtic people in a Latin land, proud of their heritage and their homeland of Breizh, the Bretons remain one of the most distinctive of the peoples of Europe.
Related Peoples of the Region
- The Croats
- The Bosniaks
- The Macedonians
- The Albanians
- The Catalans
- The Roma
- The Maltese
- The Galicians
