Morman (also spelled Morvan, Morwan, or Moruuan) (died 818) was a

Breton Breton most often refers to: *anything associated with Brittany, and generally **Breton people **Breton language, a Southwestern Brittonic Celtic language of the Indo-European language family, spoken in Brittany ** Breton (horse), a breed **Gale ...

chieftain who was declared king (''rex'') after the death of the Bretons'

Frankish Frankish may refer to: * Franks, a Germanic tribe and their culture ** Frankish language or its modern descendants, Franconian languages, a group of Low Germanic languages also commonly referred to as "Frankish" varieties * Francia, a post-Roman ...

overlord

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( ; 2 April 748 – 28 January 814) was List of Frankish kings, King of the Franks from 768, List of kings of the Lombards, King of the Lombards from 774, and Holy Roman Emperor, Emperor of what is now known as the Carolingian ...

in 814. He is the first person known by name to be described as a Breton "king". He probably ruled a warband with members drawn from throughout Brittany. He had a stronghold defended by ditches, hedges and marshes. Morman had been a faithful follower of Charlemagne, having sworn oaths to him and performed the giving of hands, probably becoming his '' vassus'', although the Bretons rose up in rebellion in 811. Morman's rebellion against Frankish lordship in 814 threatened the integrity of Charlemagne's empire, recently inherited by

Louis the Pious Louis the Pious (; ; ; 16 April 778 – 20 June 840), also called the Fair and the Debonaire, was King of the Franks and Holy Roman Emperor, co-emperor with his father, Charlemagne, from 813. He was also King of Aquitaine from 781. As the only ...

. While the Bretons may have viewed the elevation of Morman as king on the death of Charlemagne as legitimate, the Frankish writers Astronomus and Ermold the Black saw it as a usurpation.Smith, 65. Louis sent Abbot Witchar to negotiate with Morman. According to Ermold, the abbot asked, "Do you not remember your sworn fealty, or your right hand to the Franks / often given, and to Charles the service you showed?" After failing to bring Morman to accept Frankish rule through diplomacy, Louis prepared to invade Brittany. In the spring of 818, Louis's army, composed of forces from all the Frankish ''regna'' (literally "kingdoms", but actually subkingdoms), assembled at

Vannes Vannes (; , , ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Departments of France, French department of Morbihan, Brittany (administrative region), Brittany, northwestern mainland France. It was founded over 2,000 years ago. History Celtic ...

, the westernmost point of actual Frankish control, and marched to Priziac in the far west of the county of the Vannetais on the bank of the river

Ellé The Ellé (; ) is a river in the region of Brittany, western France. Its source is south of the town Rostrenen, in the south-west of the department Côtes-d'Armor. The Ellé flows southwest through the following ''département in France, départe ...

. The Franks launched a series of attacks on various Breton fortresses. After Morman was killed in battle, resistance collapsed. According to the '' Chronicle of Moissac'', Louis returned with a "triumph of victory", although the Bretons revolted again in 822 under

Wihomarc Wihomarc or Wiomarc'h (; died 825) was a Bretons, Breton chieftain "who seemed to have greater authority than the other Breton leaders" and who revolted against Frankish Empire, Frankish overlordship in 822 and held on to his power until his death. ...

.Smith, 66.

Notes

References

*Smith, Julia M. H. ''Province and Empire: Brittany and the Carolingians''. Cambridge University Press, 1992. {{Breton monarchs 818 deaths 9th-century monarchs of Brittany Year of birth unknown Military personnel killed in action Monarchs of Brittany