The Kroaz Du (Black Cross, French : Croix Noire) is a flag of Brittany, used as an emblem of the independent duchy in the late Middle Ages. In the Breton language, kroaz means cross and du means black.
The Kroaz Du (Black Cross, French : Croix Noire) is a flag of Brittany, used as an emblem of the independent duchy in the late Middle Ages. In the Breton language, kroaz means cross and du means black.
There is uncertainty about the chronology of its origins. It clearly evolved from the flags of the Crusaders and some evidence shows that the black and white colors were taken from the ermine spots that formed the coat of arms of the dukes of Brittany (adopted early in the 14th century and also used as a standard called the plain ermine flag).
It is widely known that the warriors of the First Crusade used the emblem of the red cross (later known as the St George's Cross). Banners with crosses of distinct colors by nation were first used by Crusaders from about 1188. However, very few Breton barons joined that Third Crusade, so it is more probable that the earliest Kroaz Du was given to Peter I, Duke of Brittany by Pope Gregory IX in 1236 or 1237.
The black cross standard became widely used as the emblem of the Breton soldiers and as the flag for the ships from the end of the Hundred Years' War in the 15th century. Belligerent armies then identified themselves with flags inherited from the Crusades: red cross on white for the English, white cross on blue or red for the French, black cross on white for the Bretons.
It was often combined with the ducal coat of arms, hence a flag with ermine spots in each quarter.
Some miniatures of the 15th century depict events of the previous century (at the beginning of the Hundred Years' War) by representing Breton knights with the black cross, but it is not really known if the Bretons fought under this emblem during that century.
The Kroaz du was the flag representing Brittany on nautical charts of the 16th century. After annexation of 1532, there was never any treaty of union, [1] the admiralty of Brittany kept using the black cross flag for Breton ships (with a modified design).
It also remained the basis for the flags of Nantes and temporarily for those of Saint-Malo and Brest.
The black cross was largely forgotten after the French Revolution, but some Catholic groups and scouts used it again at the end of the 19th century.
This flag has been largely replaced by the Gwenn ha du during the 20th century. The latter is used by moderate nationalists and the general public, including the regional administration.
The Kroaz du has been revived since the late 1990s and was briefly regarded as an emblem of right-wing Breton nationalists (like Adsav), but it is now more and more popular. On the basis of medieval miniatures, a version of the flag was adopted as the emblem of the town of Guérande in 1999. It was also used to create the new flag of Saint-Nazaire in 2008. [2]
This flag is an exact negative of the flag of Cornwall, sometimes known as Saint Piran's Flag. The connections between Cornwall and Brittany are well documented but the historical links between the two flags, if any exist, are unknown.
The United Baltic Duchy flag is similar in appearance but is a Nordic Cross, rather than an equilateral cross.
Piran or Pyran, died c. 480, was a 5th-century Cornish abbot and saint, possibly of Irish origin. He is the patron saint of tin-miners, and is also generally regarded as the patron saint of Cornwall, although Michael and Petroc also have some claim to this title.
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.
Saint Piran's Flag is the flag of Cornwall. The earliest known description of the flag, referred to as the Standard of Cornwall, was written in 1838. It is used by all Cornish people as a symbol of their identity.
Bertrand du Guesclin, nicknamed "The Eagle of Brittany" or "The Black Dog of Brocéliande", was a Breton knight and an important military commander on the French side during the Hundred Years' War. From 1370 to his death, he was Constable of France for King Charles V. Well known for his Fabian strategy, he took part in seven pitched battles and won the five in which he held command.
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.
The flag of Brittany, a region in the northwest of France, is called the Gwenn-ha-du, which means white and black, in Breton. The flag was designed in 1923 by Morvan Marchal. It is also unofficially used in the department of Loire-Atlantique, although this now belongs to the Pays de la Loire and not to the region of Brittany, as the territory of Loire-Atlantique is historically part of the province of Brittany. Nantes, its prefecture, was once one of the two capital cities of Brittany.
Yann Fouéré, also known as Seàn Mauger was a Breton nationalist and a European federalist. His French birth certificate names him as Jean Adolphe Fouéré, a French name, as the French Third Republic did not allow Breton names.
Breton nationalism is the nationalism of the historical province of Brittany, France. Brittany is considered to be one of the six Celtic nations.
The culture of Brittany is the patterns of human activity and symbolism associated with the historical region of Brittany in northwestern France and the Breton people. Breton culture has been influenced by various local and nearby traditions over the centuries, including the Celtic culture of the Britons and Gauls and French culture to a lesser extent, particularly in Upper Brittany.
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.
Long before World War II, the various Breton nationalist organizations were often anti-French and anti-colonialist, opposed to the Central Government's policy of linguistic imperialism, and critical to varying degrees of post-French Revolution-style Republicanism. Some Breton nationalists were openly pro-fascist. The extent to which this led Breton nationalists into collaboration with the Axis Powers and their motivations, remains a matter of often bitter historical controversy and debate.
Morvan Marchal was an architect and a prominent member of the Breton national movement. He is best known for having designed the national flag of Brittany.
The Battle of Saint-Aubin-du-Cormier took place on 28 July 1488, between the forces of King Charles VIII of France, and those of Francis II, Duke of Brittany, and his allies. The defeat of the latter signalled the end to the "guerre folle", a feudal conflict in which French aristocrats revolted against royal power during the regency of Anne de Beaujeu. It also effectively precipitated the end of the independence of Brittany from France.
René-Yves Creston, born René Pierre Joseph Creston, was a Breton artist, designer and ethnographer who founded the Breton nationalist art movement Seiz Breur. During World War II he was active in the French Resistance.
The Order of the Ermine was a chivalric order of the 14th and 15th centuries in the Duchy of Brittany. The ermine is the emblem of Brittany. In the 20th century, it was revived by the Cultural Institute of Brittany as an honor for those contributing to Breton culture.
A number of cross symbols were developed for the purpose of the emerging system of heraldry, which appeared in Western Europe in about 1200. This tradition is partly in the use of the Christian cross an emblem from the 11th century, and increasingly during the age of the Crusades. Many cross variants were developed in the classical tradition of heraldry during the late medieval and early modern periods. Heraldic crosses are inherited in modern iconographic traditions and are used in numerous national flags.
Mikael Bodlore-Penlaez is a Breton author and cartographer. He co-edited, with Divi Kervella, the first bilingual Atlas of Brittany who has received several awards, including the "Brittany's Prize of the Book".
The Flag of Gascony represents the region of Gascony, located in France. The legend says that this flag appeared in the time of Pope Clement III to gather the Gascons during the Third Crusade, but no proof of this allegation has yet been found. The Chronica of Rogeri de Houedene, often taken as a proof for the creation of this flag, only mentions the crosses taken by the crusaders of three nations: the French, the English and the Flemish . That flag contains the St Andrew's cross, the patron saint of Bordeaux and the red color of the Kingdom of England, which reigned over Gascony from the 12th to the mid-15th century. After the end of the Hundred Years' War (1337–1453), the flag went out of use and was never replaced.