Origins of the Celts by Cryfris Llydaweg - HTML preview

A Young Breton Woman (1903)
Artist: Roderic O’Conor (1860–1940). Source: Wikipedia

Brittany

We will skip over the centuries of Roman occupation in Britain. Like all colonial periods, this is of little interest (sic). After the Romans withdrew, the islanders faced a new challenge: the incursions of the Germans. The war lasted for two centuries.

The Cymri will split into two groups. The first will consolidate its historic territory (present-day Wales) and continue the Cymric tradition. The second would cross the Channel and start afresh. In short, the Cymraeg were those who stayed and the Brezhoneg (Bretons) were those who left. That was over fifteen centuries ago. Despite this, today a Breton speaker can easily communicate with a Welsh speaker.

During the two centuries of conflict, Christianity made a remarkable breakthrough on the island. The prestige of the monks had even surpassed that of the Merlin-like ‘enchanters’. Note that the inability of the druids to find a solution against the Romans had tainted their reputation. It was therefore monks who guided the Brezhoneg in their new environment: Gallo-Roman Armorica. Several waves of immigration followed, the first of which took place when the Romans left Armorica in 410 AD.

The first settlers founded Domnonea, in the north-east of the future Britannia Minor (Brittany). ‘Domnonea’ is a clear reference to the Domnans. In 491, they faced a Frankish army in Blois and the final result (a ‘draw’) put an end to the ambitions of both protagonists.

The Brezhoneg formed a second wave of immigration in 496. They avoided the territory of the Domnans and settled in southern Armorica. They founded two states: that of Cornouaille (southern Finistère) and that of Broërec (Bro Gwened, Morbihan).

Four years later, on the island of Britain, the islanders won the famous battle of Mount Badon against the Germans. This battle seems to be the event that inspired the island’s bards and led to the legend of King Arthur and the Arthurian cycle.

At least a third wave settled in the lands of the present Poher (north-west of the future Brittany). In 540, the name of the Poher ruler was Conomor. The Breton etymology of this name is not convincing. This name refers to Irish names: Conn, Connact, Conairé. In 554, the Poher and the Domnonea conflicted. Finally, the Domnan ruler, Judual, calmed the ardour of Conomor.

A few decades later, the ruler of Broërec, Waroc II, conquered the present-day regions of Nantes (587) and Rennes (594). From this period onwards, Armorica was renamed ‘Britannia’.

In 635, the Frankish ruler, Dagobert, established a ‘march of Britannia’ which delimited the border between Bretons and Franks. He included Nantes and Rennes in the Frankish borders. At that time, Brittany would have been home to only the three original states: Domnonea, Cornouaille and Broërec.

In  753,  the  Frankish  ruler  Pepin  the  Short  invaded  Britannia.  His  son, Charlemagne, invaded Britannia three times (786, 799 and 811). The Bretons did not submit. The third invasion was unbelievably cruel. The Bretons sheltered their families in monasteries and practised guerrilla warfare. Tired of chasing the elusive Bretons, Charlemagne and his two sons looted the monasteries and exterminated monks, women and children.

In 818, Louis the Debonair invaded and occupied Britannia. From 822 to 825, the Bretons rose. In 831, to ease tensions, the Frankish sovereign delegated power to an ‘emperor’s envoy’, the Breton Nominoë (originally from Poher?). Nominoë took up residence in Vannes. In 843, a Frankish incursion was organised in the Vannes region, which seemed to target Nominoë’s residence.

In 844, Vikings travelled up the Loire and made an incursion into Nantes. In the same year, Nominoë broke with the Frankish power, brought Nantes back into the Breton fold and secured the city. The following year, it was the battle of Ballon and the Breton victory over the Franks. Three years later, in 848, the Pope of the time, Leo IV, recognised Nominoë’s sovereignty over Brittany (which excluded Rennes). In 850, Nominoë conquered the city of Rennes and the following year repelled two Frankish attempts to retake it.

Thirty-fifth heads of State succeeded Nominoë and we present them briefly.

Frañsez II (François II) struggles for keeping the independence of Brittany and will never recover from wounds received during battles. Not fewer than twelve nationalities took part in battles (included Frenchmen in the Breton ranks). His 12 year-old daughter, Anna inherits the throne and she marries two (successive) French sovereigns to avoid any new conflict.

Conclusion

Our foray into the Bretons leads to the conclusion that their involvement in Celtic culture is almost non-existent in antiquity. On the other hand, the Scythians, whom we describe in the next chapter, could lay claim to this culture and to the Druidic religion that frames it.