Lower Brittany ( br, Breizh-Izel; french: Basse-Bretagne) denotes the parts of

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period o ...

west of

Ploërmel Church Saint-Armel Ploërmel (; ; Gallo language: ''Pieurmè'') is a commune in the Morbihan department in Brittany in north-western France. On 1 January 2019, the former commune Monterrein was merged into Ploërmel. Character of the town The ...

, where the

Breton language Breton (, ; or in Morbihan) is a Southwestern Brittonic language, Southwestern Brittonic languages, Brittonic language of the Celtic languages, Celtic language family spoken in Brittany, part of modern-day France. It is the only Celtic languag ...

has been traditionally spoken, and where the culture associated with this language is most prolific. The name is in distinction to

Upper Brittany Upper Brittany (french: Haute-Bretagne; br, Breizh-Uhel; Gallo: ''Haùtt-Bertaèyn'') is the eastern part of Brittany, France, which is predominantly of a Romance culture and is associated with the Gallo language. The name is in counterpoint to ...

, the eastern part of Brittany, which is of a predominantly

Romance Romance (from Vulgar Latin , "in the Roman language", i.e., "Latin") may refer to: Common meanings * Romance (love), emotional attraction towards another person and the courtship behaviors undertaken to express the feelings * Romance languages, ...

culture.

History

Naming

The words "upper" and "lower" in the names of Upper and Lower Brittany refer to the relative positions of the capital. In the case of Brittany,

Nantes Nantes (, , ; Gallo: or ; ) is a city in Loire-Atlantique on the Loire, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the sixth largest in France, with a population of 314,138 in Nantes proper and a metropolitan area of nearly 1 million inhabita ...

and Rennes have both been the capital of the ancient province called

. Other French regions are also divided into Lower (''Bas'' or ''Basse'') and Upper (''Haut'' or ''Haute'') parts - for example Lower Normandy, Basse-

Lorraine Lorraine , also , , ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; german: Lothringen ; lb, Loutrengen; nl, Lotharingen is a cultural and historical region in Northeastern France, now located in the administrative region of G ...

, and Bas- Poitou. However, the French word "bas" is often understood as carrying negative connotations, implying "inferior in status". The Breton name of Lower Brittany, "Breizh Izel", is used in many Breton songs sung in French of the 19th and 20th centuries, perhaps because the Breton word "Izel" has no such negative connotations.

Line between Upper and Lower Brittany

Having been based on linguistic areas, the dividing line corresponds very roughly to administrative borders. It had already been established by the 14th century and has changed only slightly since, hand in hand with the pushing back of the Breton language. In 1588, the historian

Bertrand d'Argentré Bertrand d'Argentré (or Argentraeus) (19 May 1519 in Vitré, Ille-et-Vilaine – 13 February 1590) was a Breton jurist and historian. Argentraeus was born the son of Pierre d'Argentré, seneschal of Rennes, and the nephew of historian Pierre ...

defined the border as running from the outskirts of Binic southwards down to

Guérande Guérande (; br, Gwenrann, ; french: label= Gallo, Geraundd) is a medieval town located in the department of Loire-Atlantique, and the region of Pays de la Loire, Western France. The inhabitants are referred to as ''Guérandais'' (masculine), a ...

, leaving the communes of

Loudéac Loudéac (; ; Gallo: ''Loudia'') is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department, Brittany, northwestern France. Geography Climate Loudéac has a oceanic climate ( Köppen climate classification ''Cfb''). The average annual temperature in Loudé ...

Josselin Josselin (; ) is a commune in the Morbihan department in Brittany in north-western France. History St Meriadek is said to have founded a chapel there during the 4th century. Much later Josselin became a stronghold of the House of Rohan. An ...

, and

Malestroit Malestroit (; ) is a commune in the Morbihan department of Brittany in north-western Francebr>INSEE commune fileThe town is on the river Oust and part of the Nantes-Brest canal. It has several half-timbered houses. Twinning Malestroit, whos ...

in Upper Brittany. In 1886, Paul Sébillot moved the frontier deeper into what had been Breton speaking territory, the line then running from

Plouha Plouha (; ; Gallo: ''Plóha'') is a town and commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department of Brittany in northwestern France. Population Inhabitants of Plouha are called ''plouhatins'' in French. Twin towns Plouha is twinned with: * Killorglin ...

Batz-sur-Mer Batz-sur-Mer (, literally ''Batz on Sea''; br, Bourc'h-Baz) is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France. The commune is situated on a former island that, until around the 9th century, was separate from the mainland at ...

. Maps in the 17th century favour the latter.

References

External links

''In French''
Carte de 1695, présentant la limite
Présentation du livre de Fañch Broudic {{Authority control Geography of Brittany Breton culture History of Brittany Breton language Brittany region articles needing translation from French Wikipedia

History

Naming

Line between Upper and Lower Brittany

See also

References

External links