Gwened, Bro-Gwened (Breton : Bro-Wened) or Vannetais (French : Pays Vannetais) is a historic realm and county of Brittany in France. It is considered part of Lower Brittany. [1]
Bro-Gwened was an early medieval principality or kingdom around Vannes in Armorica (Brittany), lasting from around AD 490 to around 635. It was peopled by Christianized Britons fleeing the Saxon invasions of Britain, who displaced or assimilated the remaining pagan Veneti Gauls. Its bishop and (usually) court was at Gwened, the site of the former Roman settlement of Darioritum and the present French city of Vannes.
The territories are included within the modern French department of Morbihan.
The Breton placename-element plou (Latin : plebs) initially meant a tribe, [2] but came to signify its territory as well. The standard Breton form of the name mutates Gwened, the Breton name for Vannes, while the local dialect leaves it unchanged as "Bro-Gwened". The modern French name derives from adjectival form of Vannes. Both Gwened [4] and Vannes [1] reflect separate developments of the Latin Veneti , the Romans' name for the Gaulish tribe in the area. (It is unrelated to the Welsh realm and county of Gwynedd, which developed from Latin Venedotia. [1] )
The historic realm was also known as Bro Erec (Breton : Bro-Ereg, "land of Gwereg") or Bro Waroch (from the gallicisation of the same name) or by numerous variant spellings, [6] although it is unclear whether the namesake Gwereg was Waroch I or II.
The land was allegedly founded by Caradog Strongarm. [7] In the early 6th century, Macliau served as one of the earliest bishops of Vannes prior to usurping his nephew's inheritance in neighboring Cornouaille. [8] He may have also been king of Broerec [9] or simply the refugee guest of Conmor. [8] Major settlements at this time included Gwened (Vannes) and Lokmaria (Locmaria). In the mid-7th century, Bro Gwened was united with Domnonia under its king Saint Judicaël, who was descended from a daughter of Budic II. Domnonia's rulers thenceforth reigned as the high kings of Brittany, with Bro Gwened forming part of their lands.
The dialect of Gwened's present inhabitants is known in Breton as Gwenedeg and in French as Vannetais. It is distinct from that of the other regions of Brittany to the point of near unintelligibility. [10] A primary distinction is that the Gwened dialect has paralleled Gaelic in developing earlier θ into h rather than z; [1] ð, meanwhile, has disappeared completely rather than merge with z as in Leon [10] although there are certain parts of Gwened (e.g. the city Baud) where it is still used as an initial mutation of d and t [11] and sometimes in the middle and end of a word as a retainment of Middle Breton ð or θ where the other dialects substituted d or z (e.g. in hiddiù [hiːðiw] ("today") which would be hiziv [hiːziw] or hidiv [hiːdiv] in the other dialects (cf. Welsh heddiw [hɛðɪu̯])). The dialect also has a tendency to close vowels, [10] places stress on the final syllables of words (as in French and Middle Breton), rather than on the penultimate syllable (as in other Breton dialects and Welsh), [1] and (like English) has completely lost its original 2nd person singular pronoun. [10]
As a historic Breton county, Bro-Wened is registered as an official tartan with the British government. [12]
Breton is a Southwestern Brittonic language of the Celtic language group spoken in Brittany, part of modern-day France. It is the only Celtic language still widely in use on the European mainland, albeit as a member of the insular branch instead of the continental grouping.
Brittany is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period of Roman occupation. It became an independent kingdom and then a duchy before being united with the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province governed as a separate nation under the crown.
In ancient times, Armorica or Aremorica was a region of Gaul between the Seine and the Loire that includes the Brittany Peninsula, and much of historical Normandy.
Dumnonia is the Latinised name for a Brythonic kingdom that existed in Sub-Roman Britain between the late 4th and late 8th centuries CE in the more westerly parts of present-day South West England. It was centred in the area of modern Devon, but also included modern Cornwall and part of Somerset, with its eastern boundary changing over time as the gradual westward expansion of the neighbouring Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Wessex encroached on its territory. The spelling Damnonia is sometimes encountered, but that spelling is also used for the land of the Damnonii, later part of the Kingdom of Strathclyde, in present-day southern Scotland. The form Domnonia also occurs. The name of the kingdom shares a linguistic relationship with the Breton region of Domnonée.
Alan I, called the Great, was the Count of Vannes and Duke of Brittany from 876 until his death. He was probably also the only King of Brittany to hold that title by a grant of the Emperor.
Gallo is a regional language of eastern Brittany. It is one of the langues d'oïl, a Romance sub-family that includes French. Today it is spoken only by a minority of the population, as the standard form of French now predominates in this area.
Vannes is a commune in the French department of Morbihan, Brittany, northwestern mainland France. It was founded over 2,000 years ago.
The history of Brittany may refer to the entire history of the Armorican peninsula or only to the creation and development of a specifically Brythonic culture and state in the Early Middle Ages and the subsequent history of that state.
Cornouaille is a historical region on the west coast of Brittany in West France. The name is cognate with Cornwall in neighbouring Great Britain. This can be explained by the settlement of Cornouaille by migrant princes from Cornwall who created an independent principality founded by Rivelen Mor Marthou, and the founding of the Bishopric of Cornouaille by ancient saints from Cornwall. Celtic Britons and the settlers in Brittany spoke a common language, which later evolved into Breton, Welsh and Cornish.
Trégorrois Breton is the dialect of Breton spoken in Trégor.
The Venetī were a Gallic tribe dwelling in Armorica, in the southern part of the Brittany Peninsula, during the Iron Age and the Roman period.
The Bretons are an ethnic group native to Brittany, north-western France. They trace their heritage to groups of Brittonic speakers who emigrated from southwestern Great Britain, particularly Cornwall and Devon, mostly during the Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain. They migrated in waves from the 3rd to 9th century into Armorica, which was subsequently named Brittany after them.
Judicael or Judicaël (Welsh:Ithel), also spelled Judhael, was the King of Domnonée, part of Brittany, in the mid-7th century and later revered as a Roman Catholic saint.
Waroch was an early Breton ruler of the Vannetais.
Mewan was a Celtic saint active in Wales, Cornwall and Brittany. Most documentation of his life can be found in the Breton Vita Meveni, perhaps written in 1084 by Ingamar.
Count of Vannes was the title held by the rulers of the County of Vannes.
Budic II, formerly known as Budick, was a king of Cornouaille in Brittany in the late 5th and early 6th centuries. He was father of Hoel as well as several Celtic saints.
Waroch I was an early ruler of the Bro Wened (Vannetais) in southern Brittany. It is unclear whether he or his grandson Waroch II is the namesake of the region.
Tewdwr Mawr was an early medieval king in Armorica and Cornwall.