Prehistory

Armorica was first populated in Paleolithic times (8000 BC) when stags and mammoths were hunted by small groups of hunter-gatherers.Gradually, between 3000 and 1800 BC a Megalithic civilisation developed, based on farming and agriculture. Scattered tribes lived in fortified camps, and it was they who developed the skill of raising huge stones to stand vertically. They also had a quite sophisticated system of burial rites. Menhirs up to a hundred tons in weight can still be seen, with cairns up to 80 yards long.

Gradually this way of life changed under the influence of communication and seafaring along and from the Loire valley.

The Bronze Age

This was a prosperous period for Armorica, which developed a highly sophisticated civilisation, trading with Scandinavia and Germany to the north, and with the Iberian peninsula to the south. Double-headed axes and fine swords attest to the skills of the bronze age craftsmen.

Conquest

The Celts arrived in Armorica and built the first cities. They had a highly organised society, were skilled in metalworking and produced beautiful artifacts in gold and silver.

The Romans came to Armorica in the course of their conquest of Gaul, but were fiercely resisted by the Veneti, who were skilful sailors. However, after a decisive Roman maritime victory, the two peoples settled down together quite amicably, and farming and trade flourished. As usual, the Romans built a complex system of roads, marked out with milestones.

The Britons

As Roman influence rapidly declined around 350 AD, hordes of barbarians swept into and across Gaul. Soon Armorica's economy lay in ruins. A wave of Celts from Britain, seeking refuge from invading Saxons, sought shelter in Armorica. They brought with them the Christian religion and built churches and monasteries.

Brittany

The Breton nobleman, Nominoë, was given charge of the province by the Frankish king Louis the Pious. However, after Louis' death Nominoë fought for independence, and soundly defeated the Frankish forces of Charles the Bold in 845. He extended the boundaries of Brittany by seizing Nantes and Rennes. His successors maintained their inheritance and even extended it, despite jealousy and treachery among the ruling families.

The Middle Ages

Despite continued rivalry, the Dukes of Brittany managed to maintain their independence from the French crown. In 1364, after a long struggle known as the War of Succession between Jean de Montfort and Charles de Blois (eventually killed at Auray) the French king Charles V recognised Jean de Montfort as Duke Jean IV of Brittany, and the years that followed, until 1442, are reckoned as something of a golden age in Breton history.

Anne of Brittany

One of the most famous figures in Breton history, Anne succeeded to the Dukedom as an eleven year old child. She was married by proxy to the Hapsburg Archduke, Maximilian, but with her city of Rennes under siege from the young French king, Charles VIII, she agreed to abandon her former marriage and become Charles' wife. When he died seven years later, she married his successor, Louis XII, in 1499 at Nantes.

All her life she worked tirelessly for the sake of her duchy of Brittany. She was a patron of the arts and a deeply religious woman. Her daughter, Claude, married the future king of France, François I, and thus brought the Duchy to the French crown. However, Brittany retained many local privileges and had its own parliament.

Rennes, nearer to Paris than Nantes, eventually became the regional capital, and a long period of Breton prosperity began.

The French Revolution and after

At first the townsfolk of Rennes enbraced the ideas of the Revolution, and there was open conflict when the Breton Parliament assembled in 1789. However, 90% of the population were peasants, and they feared the new power of the bourgeois and reacted strongly against the oaths of allegiance to the Revolution that the clergy were obliged to swear. In 1793, after the first obligatory conscription by lottery, the Vendée rose up against the new republic and were soon joined by all the provinces of Brittany.

The Revolution, and then the Empire, soon drained what was left of Brittany's prosperity, and the peasants and working classes were reduced to penury. As the nineteenth century progressed, a strong move for independence arose and there were strikes and violent clashes across the province in 1884. Until quite recently there have been serious moves for independence from France (and judging by the political graffiti we have seen in Pontivy, there are still prisoners in jail who committed violent acts for the sake of independence) though the French government has made important concessions (eg all roads in Brittany are toll-free) and the strength of feeling seems to have waned.

Gastronomy

FROM relative prosperity at the end of the 17th century, the Brittany countryside fell gradually into poverty. Porridge and buckwheat pancakes became the staple diet, together with clear soup poured over a thick slice of bread, and chestnuts wherever they grew.

But once or twice a year, at "pig-sticking" time or threshing, the whole village would gather together for a big cooking session – pork and cabbage hot-pot, or fricassees. These kig ha farz, as they were called, were made by filling a cauldron with mixed vegetables and pork, other meats being added in the course of time as stock-rearing became established. The same frugality was found along the coast, though here the harvest of the sea made up for a lack of meat.

The basic dish was often a stew of limpets which the women would gather along the shore while waiting for their fishermen-husbands to bring home a share of the catch to cook into a cotriade, or mixed fish soup. The establishment of the potato soon led to its inclusion in many favourite dishes.

Local cuisine today is a blend of all these influences, drawing inspiration from the rural flavours of the old basic Breton produce: buckwheat and oats, butter, cider and pork. Some forgotten ingredients such as chestnuts are being reinstated and traditional recipes rediscovered, often enriched with early vegetables and new farmhouse specialities.

Pancakes and crêpes are universally recognised and head the list of Breton specialities, and there are thousands of crêperies throughout the region.