26 July: Brittany

Today is the feast day of St Anne, the patron saint of Brittany, France. 10 things you might not know about Brittany.

1. If you’re thinking that “Brittany” sounds a bit like “Britain”, that’s not a coincidence. In the 5^th and 6^th centuries, Celtic tribes from Britain, Wales and Cornwall, to be exact, emigrated here to escape the Anglo Saxon invasion. Hence the area became known as “Little Britain”. This is reflected in the French word for the region, “Bretagne” and the word for Great Britain: “Grand Bretagne“.

2. In Roman times it was part of a region called “Armorica” which was derived from the Celtic word for “seaside.” Which was an apt name as Brittany is the largest peninsula in France and has more than 2,860 km (1,780 miles) of coastline, representing a third of the coastline of France as a whole. It borders the English Channel to the north and the Bay of Biscay to the south. This coastline includes The Pink Granite Coast (Côte de Granit Rose), which is famous for its distinctive pink-hued granite rocks.

3. Needless to say, the area has much maritime history. Pirates were active in the area back in the day, ambushing ships crossing the Channel. They would return to Brittany to spend their spoils, making the area rich. St Malo in particular is known for its pirate history. There’s also an annual yacht race here. Brest is a significant port city which is home to a naval base and an aquarium. Brest is the westernmost port of France on the English Channel, only 160 miles from Plymouth as the crow flies, but 375 miles from Paris. The Breton shirt, a striped top which has become a fashion staple and a symbol of France, was originally worn by the sailors here.

4. The capital city is Rennes, although Nantes is bigger in terms of population.

5. Brittany was an independent kingdom and a duchy. It became part of France when Anne de Bretagne died in 1514 without a male heir, so her cousin King Francois I, who was also her son in law, inherited the throne and in 1532 formally united the two kingdoms. He also banned the regional languages and insisted everyone spoke his language, “françoys” – French. To this day, though, there is a nationalist movement which would like it to be an independent kingdom again.

6. Brittany has its own flag and an unofficial national anthem. The flag is called The Gwenn-ha-du, meaning “Black and White” in Breton and was designed in 1923 by Morvan Marchal, an independence activist. The flag features eleven black-and-white stripes representing the traditional dioceses, and an ermine canton, ermine being a symbol of the old rulers. It was inspired by the American flag.

7. The anthem is called Bro Gozh ma Zadoù which translates as "Old Land of My Fathers". The lyrics were written in the 19^th century and the music is a combination of the Welsh anthem with a similar name, and Bro Goth agan Tasow, the national anthem of Cornwall.

8. There is a strong connection with Arthurian legend, especially around the Paimpont forest, which, it has been claimed, is the enchanted forest of Brocéliande. There is a ruined castle here, by a lake, giving rise to the possibility that this was where the Lady of the Lake hung out. There’s a dolmen said to be Merlin’s tomb and a path said to be Morgan le Fay's Val sans Retour.

9. The culture of the area continues to have strong Celtic influences. Breton is a Celtic language, still spoken by some residents, and some street signs appear in both Breton and French. There are festivals of Celtic music and dance held annually around the region.

10. Brittany is home to many megalithic monuments. In fact, the words menhir and dolmen come from the Breton language.

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