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Name: brittany

Type: Cluster

Start: 754 AD

End: 1547 AD

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Icon brittany

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The cluster includes all the forms of the country.

The cluster includes the following incarnations of the same nation:

  • Kingdom of Brittany (Frankish)
  • Kingdom of Brittany
  • Norman State in Brittany
  • Duchy of Brittany (West Francia)
  • Duchy of Brittany (France)
  • Kingdom of Brittany (Angevin Empire)
  • Duchy of Brittany (English Vassal)
  • Establishment


  • January 754: Frankish king Pepin the Short takes Vannes from the Bretons and organizes the first Marche de Bretagne.
  • January 754: Establishment of the Frankish protectorate over Brittany.
  • Chronology


    Interactive Chronologies with maps are available in the section Changes Navigation

    1. Revolt of the Bretons against West Francia


    Was a war between the Bretons and the Frankish Empire where Brittany became effectively independent of the Frankish Empire.

  • August 851: As the Bretons decisively defeated the Franks in the Battle of Jengland (851), Brittany became effectively independent of the Frankish Empire.
  • January 852: By this agreement of Angers, Charles the Bald recognized Erispoë as king of Brittany and undertook never again to dispute that the countries of Rennes, Nantes and Retz are Breton land.

  • 2. China-Tibet Wars


    Were the many wars fought by the Chinese Tang Empire and the Tibetan Empire.

    2.1.27th war with Tibet

    Was the twenty-seventh war between the Tang Dynasty of China and the Tibetan Empire.

  • January 864: Charles the Bald bought peace with the Bretons by giving away the provinces of Cotentin (863).

  • 3. Hungarian invasions of Europe


    The Magyars (or Hungarians) successfully conquered the Carpathian Basin (corresponding to the later Kingdom of Hungary) by the end of the ninth century, and launched a number of plundering raids thoughout Europe.

  • January 920: In 919, after the death of Conrad I of Germany, the Magyars raided Saxony, Lotharingia and West France.
  • February 920: End of the 919 Magyar raid in Saxony, Lotharingia and West France.
  • January 927: In 926, the Hungarians ravaged Swabia and Alsace, campaigned through present-day Luxembourg and reached as far as the Atlantic Ocean.
  • February 927: In 926, the Hungarians ravaged Swabia and Alsace, campaigned through present-day Luxembourg and reached as far as the Atlantic Ocean. After the raid, the Magyars left the occupied territories.
  • January 938: In 937, the Hungarians raided France as far west as Reims, Lotharingia, Swabia, Franconia, the Duchy of Burgundy and Italy as far as Otranto in the south.
  • February 938: In 937, the Hungarians raided France as far west as Reims, Lotharingia, Swabia, Franconia, the Duchy of Burgundy and Italy as far as Otranto in the south. After the ride they left these territories.

  • 4. Frankish Partitions


    The Frankish Kingdom was partitioned and reuinited several times as the Frankish rulers used to divide their territories equally among their heirs. This lead also to a number of wars and revolts.

    4.1.Incoronation of Otto I

    East Frankish King Otto I was crowned first Holy Roman Emperor.

  • February 962: The Duchy of Brittany (Breton: Dugelezh Breizh, French: Duché de Bretagne) was a medieval feudal state that existed between approximately 939.

  • 5. Hundred Years´ War


    Were a series of conflicts between the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of France that spanned more than a century (with interruptions) from 1337 to 1453. The immediate causes of the conflicts were the English possessions in France which were at the same time vassals of the French Kingdom, as well as disputed claims to the French throne between the English House of Plantagenet and the French royal House of Valois. At the end of the war Englans lost all its possessions in France with the exception of the city of Calais.

    5.1.War of the Breton Succession

    Was a conflict between the Counts of Blois and the Montforts of Brittany for control of the Sovereign Duchy of Brittany, then a fief of the Kingdom of France. The conflict became also a proxy war between England and France.

  • June 1341: John de Montfort settled in Nantes, the capital of the Duchy of Brittany, and seized the ducal treasury at Limoges.
  • August 1341: Jean de Montfort carried out a great ride in his duchy to secure control of the strongholds (Rennes, Malestroit, Vannes, Pontivy, Hennebont, Quimperlé, La Roche-Piriou, Quimper, Brest, Saint-Brieuc, Dinan and Mauron).
  • October 1341: Battle of Champtoceaux: John of Montfort, the leader of one faction, was made prisoner.
  • May 1342: Battle of Quimperlé.
  • May 1342: Meanwhile the French took Rennes.
  • June 1342: Battle of Quimperlé.
  • June 1342: The Siege of Hennebont in 1342 was part of the Breton War of Succession. The town was defended by Jeanne de Clisson and her husband Olivier de Clisson against the forces of Charles of Blois, who claimed the Duchy of Brittany. The siege was ultimately unsuccessful, with the town holding out until the arrival of reinforcements.
  • July 1342: The Siege of Hennebont in 1342 was part of the Breton War of Succession. The town was defended by Jeanne de Clisson and her husband Olivier de Clisson against the forces of Charles of Blois, who was supported by the French crown. The siege ended with the town successfully holding out and the territory going to Montfort County.
  • September 1342: Battle of Morlaix.
  • October 1342: Battle of Morlaix.
  • January 1343: Siege of Vannes.
  • January 1345: Victorious siege of the city of Quimper by Charles of Blois in 1344.
  • June 1345: Battle of Cadoret.
  • June 1346: Battle of Saint-Pol-de-Léon.
  • July 1346: Battle of Saint-Pol-de-Léon.
  • August 1352: Battle of Mauron.
  • April 1354: Battle of Montmuran.
  • May 1354: Battle of Montmuran.
  • July 1357: Siege of Rennes.
  • September 1364: Battle of Auray.
  • April 1365: In 1365, under the first Treaty of Guérande, the king of France recognized John IV, the son of John of Montfort, as duke of Brittany.

  • 5.2.Caroline War

    Was the second phase of the Hundred Years' War between France and England. .

  • January 1381: Siege of Nantes.

  • 5.3.Lancastrian War

    Was the third and final phase of the Hundred Years' War between France and England. At the end of the war England lost all its continental possessions in France with the exception of the city of Calais.

    5.3.1.Second English Campaign (Lancastrian War)

    Was an English military campaign in France during the Lancastrian War, the last phase of the Hundred Years' War.

  • March 1426: Dol conquered by england.
  • March 1426: Battle of St. James.
  • April 1426: The English military occupation of Brittany ended. Brittany became an ally-vassal of England.

  • 5.3.2.French Reconquest (final phase of the Hundred Years' War)

    Was a French military campaign in the territories occupied by England. The campaign was succesful and led to the expulsion of the the English from France (with the exception of the city of Calais).

  • November 1449: French forces besiege Fougères.
  • October 1453: Bordeaux was ceded to the Duchy of Brittany.
  • October 1453: By the end of the War of the Roses, the English influence in Brittany had ended.

  • 6. Mad War


    Was a late medieval conflict between a coalition of feudal lords and the French monarchy.

  • May 1487: At the end of May 1487, the French troops, nearly 15,000 men entered Brittany and quickly seized Ancenis, Châteaubriant, La Guerche and Redon.
  • June 1487: In 1487, during the Breton War of Succession, Plöermel, a town in Brittany, tried to resist the French military occupation led by King Charles VIII. Despite a valiant effort, the town fell after three days of relentless cannon fire and was ultimately taken by the French forces.
  • September 1487: Without a fight, on September 1, 1487, the gates of his castle of Vitré and Vitré, to the royal troops.
  • September 1487: The French army takes Saint-Aubin-du-Cormier.
  • October 1487: Dol-de-Bretagne conquered by france.
  • March 1488: The Duke of Orléans took over for his ally Vannes, Auray and Ploërmel. The Viscount of Rohan is forced to capitulate.
  • March 1488: The war resumed at the end of March 1488. Gathered at Pouancé, La Trémoille and the royal army, 15,000 strong, easily took Marcillé-Robert on 28 March.
  • April 1488: At the beginning of 1488, most of Brittany was reconquered by the ducal army. Only Clisson, La Guerche, Dol, Saint-Aubin-du-Cormier and Vitré remained in French hands.
  • April 1488: On April 15, the royal army laid siege to Châteaubriant, which fell 8 days later.
  • May 1488: La Trémoille then moved towards Ancenis where it laid siege on the night of the 12th to the 13th. The city fell on May 19 to the French artillery.
  • June 1488: As negotiations begin with the Duke of Brittany seeking a truce, La Trémoille goes to Loroux-Bottereau, which falls easily.
  • July 1488: Fougère is occupied by French forces.
  • August 1488: French conquest of Dinan.
  • August 1488: Saint-Malo preferred to capitulate to French forces on August 14.
  • August 1488: The Treaty of Sablé, known as the "Treaty of the Orchard", was signed by Charles VIII, King of France, and François II, Duke of Brittany on August 19, 1488.

  • 7. Further events (Unrelated to Any War)


  • January 868: Maine conquered by the Kingdom of Brittany.

  • June 919: From 919, Brittany was completely occupied by the Norseman, monasteries and cities were looted and many Bretons fled to neighbouring countries.

  • January 934: The Channel Islands remained politically linked to Brittany until 933, when William Longsword, Duke of Normandy seized the Cotentin and the islands and added them to his domain.

  • August 939: In 939, a combined army of Frankish and Breton soldiers attacked the fortress and eliminated the Norseman threat in Brittany.

  • January 943: With his domain ruined by decades of occupation and war, Alan Twistedbeard was not in a position to restore the kingship of Brittany and paid tribute as duke of Brittany to king Louis IV of France in 942.

  • July 987: Establishment of the Capetian dynasty of France in 987.

  • January 1167: With the marriage of the daughter of Conan IV of Brittany, to Geoffrey Plantagenet, son of Henry of England, the Kingdom of Brittany becamede facto a vassal of the Angevin Empire.

  • January 1213: The Angevins remained in control of Brittany until the collapse of their empire in northern France in 1204.

  • August 1547: Union of Bretagne with France (13 August 1547).

  • Disestablishment


  • August 1547: Union of Bretagne with France (13 August 1547).
  • Selected Sources


  • Leyser, K. (1982): Medieval Germany and its neighbours, 900-1250, London (UK), p. 50
  • Reuter, T. (1995): The New Cambridge Medieval History: c. 900-c. 1024, Cambridge (UK), p. 543
  • Reuter, T. (1995): The New Cambridge Medieval History: c. 900-c. 1024, Cambridge University Press, p. 543
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