Brittany: a cultural history

Brittany's richly layered landscape has contributed depth and character to the region's traditional oral culture, from stories of the sea and shore to tales of misty moors, sacred hill-tops and secretive forests. Evangelizing Dark Age saints from Britain laid the foundation of Breton language and society, imposing Christianity on the landscape and in the minds of the people. Their legacy rests visually in the prolific spread of chapels, churches and cathedrals, and the Celtic language still preserved with pride.

LANDSCAPE AND LEGENDS: Marches of Brittany: Druids and megaliths: St-Malo and sea adventures: mysteries of the Monts d'Arrée: Merlin in the Forêt de Brocéliande.

COMPLEXITY AND AMBIGUITY: part of France yet a separate world: nationalism, regionalism, resistance, unity and division of language: four departments or five?

WRITERS AND ARTISTS: Chaucer, Balzac, Hugo, Flaubert, Ernest Renan, Thomas Adolphus Trollope, Arthur de la Borderie, Mathurin Méheut, Max Jacob, Yves Tanguy.