''La Blanche Hermine'' ( French for "The White Ermine") is a 1970 song by French singer Gilles Servat with lyrics affirming the Breton identity. It was first published on the eponymous album from 1971, which was certified gold. Calling for an armed uprising against the French, the song quickly became an anthem in

Brittany 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 in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...

and popular in all of

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Song

The song is a rhymed seven-syllable laisse. The ermine from the title was the heraldic animal of the

Duchy of Brittany The Duchy of Brittany (, ; ) was a medieval feudal state that existed between approximately 939 and 1547. Its territory covered the northwestern peninsula of France, bordered by the Bay of Biscay to the west, and the English Channel to the north. ...

, a sovereign feudal state. The lyrics are about a villager who meets "a band of sailors, workers and peasants" who are going to ambush the "

Franks file:Frankish arms.JPG, Aristocratic Frankish burial items from the Merovingian dynasty The Franks ( or ; ; ) were originally a group of Germanic peoples who lived near the Rhine river, Rhine-river military border of Germania Inferior, which wa ...

" and win their freedom. He joins them and sings about the plight of his wife, visiting her and children in secret during the war, and possibly dying for his homeland. The chorus mentions the fortresses of

Fougères Fougères (; ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Foujerr'') is a Communes of France, commune and a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of the Ille-et-Vilaine Departments of France, department, located in Brittany (administrative region), Brittany, no ...

and

Clisson ''For other uses, see Clisson (disambiguation)'' Clisson (; Gallo: ''Cliczon'', ), is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department, in the region of Pays de la Loire, western France. It is situated at the confluence of the rivers Sèvre Nan ...

, which seems to point to the feudal wars of the Bretons against the French at the border of the duchy. However, the rebels' "charged guns" indicate a more recent past; therefore, the only plausible period is believed to be the

Chouannerie The Chouannerie (; from the Chouan brothers, two of its leaders) was a House of Bourbon, royalist uprising or counter-revolutionary, counter-revolution in twelve of the western departments of France, ''départements'' of France, particularly in ...

war of the French Revolution, popularized by La Villemarqué in ''

Barzaz Breiz ''Barzaz Breiz'' (in modern spelling ''Barzhaz Breizh'', meaning "Ballads of Brittany": ''barzh'' is the equivalent of "bard" and ''Breizh'' means "Brittany") is a collection of Breton popular songs collected by Théodore Hersart de la Villemar ...

''. The song is often found in collections dedicated to the

Chouan Chouan (, "the silent one", or "owl") is a French nickname. It was used as a nom de guerre by the Chouan brothers, most notably Jean Cottereau, better known as Jean Chouan, who led a major revolt in Bas-Maine against the French Revolution. Part ...

s, the

War in the Vendée The War in the Vendée () was a counter-revolutionary insurrection that took place in the Vendée region of French First Republic, France from 1793 to 1796, during the French Revolution. The Vendée is a coastal region, located immediately so ...

, and the

Legitimists The Legitimists () are royalists who adhere to the rights of dynastic succession to the French crown of the descendants of the eldest branch of the House of Bourbon, Bourbon dynasty, which was overthrown in the 1830 July Revolution. They reject ...

, but also in general collections of military songs.

Background

Servat wrote the song in 1970, at the age of 25, while living in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. The day before, he had heard an Irish song about the departure of a

guerilla Guerrilla warfare is a form of unconventional warfare in which small groups of irregular military, such as rebels, partisans, paramilitary personnel or armed civilians, which may include recruited children, use ambushes, sabotage, terrorism ...

fighter with a bullet in his pocket.Stéphane Grammont
«À travers chants: 20 chansons avec de la Bretagne dedans»
France 3 Bretagne, 27 July 2015 That same evening, he sang it for the first time at ''Ti Jos'', a Breton restaurant at

Montparnasse Montparnasse () is an area in the south of Paris, France, on the left bank of the river Seine, centred at the crossroads of the Boulevard du Montparnasse and the Rue de Rennes, between the Rue de Rennes and boulevard Raspail. It is split betwee ...

, where he made a living by begging.Stéphane Guihéneuf
Brodeuses. Dans les pas de Gilles Servat
Le Télégramme, 10 July 2015 The words and the protest energy of the song made a big impression on the Bretons, which surprised the artist himself. After the protests of

May 68 May 68 () was a period of widespread protests, strikes, and civil unrest in France that began in May 1968 and became one of the most significant social uprisings in modern European history. Initially sparked by student demonstrations agains ...

, Brittany had gone through an identity crisis and an economic transition. Servat wrote the warrior song to make the Bretons aware of their plight and inspire an uprising:

Bibliography in French

* Daniel Chatelain and Pierre Tafini, ''Qu'est ce qui fait courir les autonomistes ?'', Stock, 1976 * Erwan Chartier, ''Gilles Servat. Portrait'', Blanc Silex, 2004 * Guy Millière, ''Gilles Servat, poésie et chansons'', Seghers, 1975

References

''The above information is taken from the

French Wikipedia The French Wikipedia () is the French-language edition of Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia. This edition was started on 23 March 2001, two months after the official creation of Wikipedia. It has :fr:Special:Statistics, encyclopedia artic ...

article on the subject.'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Blanche hermine Breton music Music of France 1971 songs