THE TURN OF THE ERMINE

An anthology of Breton Literature

(Selected and translated by Jacqueline Gibson and Gwyn Griffiths)

The Invasion From Britain

According to the following extracts, the first settlements in Brittany - Armorica - by the Brythonic Celts took place between 383 and 388 AD. French - Breton - historians tend to dismiss the Maximus (or Maximianus or Macsen Wledig) tradition that Brythonic Celts under Conan Meriadec had settled in Brittany at such an early date. Arthur de la Borderie traces the growth of the legend through Nennius, Geoffrey of Monmouth, Le Baud, Albert de Morlaix, Toussaint de Saint-Luc to de Roujoux's Histoire des Roi et Ducs de Bretagne (1828) - each, suggests la Borderie, adding his own embellishments. Also, there is a tendency toignore Breton kings before Nominoé. But it is accepted that troops from Britain were used in defence of the Roman Empire on the continent and were reputed to be fierce warriors. The most detailed account is in Geoffrey of Monmouth's History ofthe Kings of Britain. Geoffrey's work is not reliable history, but there are references in other sources supporting this tradition - Nennius, The dream of Macsen Wledig, The Welsh triads. William of Malmesbury suggests an even earlier settlement under Constantine and we have included extracts from historians who support this claim.

GERALD OF WALES

The Journey through Wales (Extract)

c. 1190. Translation by Lewis Thorpe, Penguin Classics, 1978

There is a third group of Britons left unconquered, and these occupied Brittany, in Southern Gaul. They were moved there by the tyrant Maximus, long before the fall of Britain. Their young soldiers supported Maximus in many hard battles, and in gratitude the imperial authorities gave them these lands, which protrude from Gaul.

GEOFFREY OF MONMOUTH

History of the Kings of Britain (Extract)

Translation by Lewis Thorpe, Penguin Classics, 1966

[Caradocus] gave the kingship of Britain to Maximianus, and his daughter with it. When Conanus Meridiadocus saw this, he was angrier than anyone could think possible. He went to Albany and busied himself raising an army, in order to trouble Maxiimianus. Once he had gathered together a force, he crossed the Humber and ravaged the lands on both sides of the river. As soon as Maximianus was informed of this, he assembled his entire army and hurried to meet Conanus. He fought with him and left the field having won the day. But Conanus was not so reduced that he could not begin destroying the countryside again, as soon as he had re-organised his army. Maximianus returned to the fray, they fought again, and the King withdrew only after he had been defeated. Finally, after each had done as much harm as he could to the other, they made their peace, with the blessingof their friends.

   Five years passed, Maximianus developed an obsession with power, because of the vast amounts of gold and silver that flowed into him daily. He prepared a fleet and conscripted every armed soldier in Britain. The kingship of Britain was not enough for him; he wanted to conquer the Gauls too. He crossed the Channel and went first to the kingdom of the Armorici, which is now called Brittany. He began to attack the Frankish race, which lived there. The Franks came to meet him,  under their leader Himbaldus. They fought against him, But finding themselves in dire straits, the Franks turned in flight. Duke Himbaldus himself had fallen, together with 15,000 men gathered from the entire kingdom. Maximianus was delighted that he had slaughtered so many men, for he knew that after such immense casualties the country could easily be taken. He summoned Conanus to him, some way from the soldiers, and said to him with a quiet smile:

   "We have siezed one of the finest kingdoms of Gaul? We have every reason to hope that we shall capture the rest. We must occupy

their towns and strongholds as quickly as we can, before the news of their danger penetrates into the Gallic hinterland and the ntire nation is called to arms. If only we can hold this kingdom, then I have no doubt that we can subjugate the whole of Gaul. You must not let it depress you that you have permitted the kingship of the island of Britain to pass into my hands, when you had hopes of possessing it yourself. Whatever you have lost in Britain I will make good to you in this country. I will raise you to the kingship of this realm. This will be a second Britain, and once we have killed off all the natives we will people it with our own race. The land produces heavy crops of corn and the rivers are full of fish. The forests are attractive and the pastures most pleasant. In my opinion no country is more agreeable."

   Conanus bowed his head and thanked Maximianus, promising that, as long as he lived he would be faithful in doing homage.

   Without more ado they drew up their lines of battle and marched to Rennes, taking it that same day. The savagery of the Britons was already well known, as was the number of men they killed. The townsfolk fled, leaving behind their wives and children. Everyone else in the cities and castles followed their example, so the Britons marched inmeeting no resistance. Wherever they came they massacred the men, sparing only the women. Finally, when they had killed every single male in the land, they garrisoned the cities and castles with British soldiers and fortified the high hills. The inhumanityMaximianus became known throughout the other territories of Gaul. [...] When he realized what a source of terror he was, Maxi)mianus became even bolder. He quickly increased the size of his army by offering lavish bribes. [...] Maximianus assembled what he considered to be a force large enough to conquer the whole of Gaul.

   At the same time he put off acting in his ownsavage way until the kingdom, which he had captured, could settle down and he would re-stock it with people from Britain. He issued an edict that 100,000 ordinary men and women be gathered together in the island of Britain and come out to him; and with them 30,000 soldiers, to protect them from enemy attack. As soon as he achieved all this, he distributed these people among all the tribes of the Armorican kingdom. In this way he created a second kingdom, which he gave to Conanus Meridiadocus. Maximianus, with his soldiers went off to the remoter parts of Gaul. [...]

   Meanwhile the Gauls and Aquitanians were causing great trouble to Conanus and his Armorican Britons. They harassed the newcomers by attacking them time and time again. Conanus resisted these attacks, returning bloodshed for bloodshed and defending with great manliness the country commited to his charge.

   Once he was victorious, he decided to find wives for his troops, so that heirs might be born from them who should hold the land forever. To prevent any mixture of blood with the Gauls, he ordered women to come from the island of Britain and to be married to his men. [...] The fleet was made ready, the women went on board the ships, and they put to sea down the river Thames. On the last part of the journey, just as they were turning the sails towards the men of Armorica, contrary winds sprang up against the fleet, and this scattered the whole company in a very short time. The ships ran the hazard of the seas and most foundered. Those who escaped this terrible danger were driven ashore on islands inhabited by barbarians. The women were either slaughtered or by the uncivilized islanders or sold into slavery.

NENNIUS

Selected Documents of Early British History, c. 800 (Extract)

Translated by John Morris, Phillimore, Chichester, 1980

The seventh emperor to reign in Britain was Maximus. He went forth from Britain with all the troops of the British and killed Gratian, the king of the Normans, and held the empire of all Europe. He refused to send the soldiers who had gone forth with him back to Britain, to their wives and children and lands, but gave them many districts from the lake on top of Mount Jove to the city called Quentovic, as far as the Western Mass, that is the Western Ridge. [For the Armorican British, who are overseas, went forth there with the tyrant Maximus on his campaign, and since they were unwilling to return, they destroyed the western parts of Gaul to the ground, and did not leave alive those who piss against the wall. They married their wives and daughters and cut out their tongues, lest their descendants should learn their mothers' tongue. That is why we call them in our language 'Letewicion,' that is, half-dumb, because their speech is muddled.] They are the Armorican British, and they never come back, even to the present day.

ANONYMOUS

The dream of Macsen Wledig (From The Mabinogion)

Translation by Gwyn Jones and Thomas Jones, Everyman Library, 1948.

And then the emperor [Macsen, Maximus or Maximianus] said to Cynan [Conanus] and Gadeon, "Good sirs," said he, "I have gained possession of all my empire. And this host I give you to conquer what region of the world you will." And then they set out and conquered lands and castles and cities, and they slew all their men, but the women they left alive. And in this wise they continued until  the youths who had come with them were hoary-headed men with the length of time they had been about that conquest. And then Cynan said to Gadeon his brother,

"What will thou," said he, "remain in this land or go to the land whence you were sprung?" So he determined to go to his land, and many along with him; but Cynan and another company stayed on to live there. And they determined to cut out the tongues of the women, lest their language be corrupted. And because the women were silenced of their speech, and the men spoke on, the men of Llydaw were called Brytanieid. And thence there often came, and still come from the Island of Britain, men of that tongue.

HUGH WILLIAMS

Footnote to The Life Of Gildas

[From a footnote by Hugh Williams in his translation of Vita Gildae (Life of Gildae (Life of Gildas) written by a monk of the monastery of Ruys in Brittany (London 1889)].

Letavia. The writer expressly informs us that this was a name employed by the Britanni i.e., the Bretons themselves. Generally speaking, the only time we find in Latin writers, from Gregory of Tours down to the middle ages, is Britannia, sometimes with the adjective minor added, to imply the smaller Britain as distinguished from the island Britannia. Gregory has both the singular Britannia and the plural Britanniae, while the people in his pages are everywhere called Britanni, though once, seemingly, we read of a quidam Britto. Other writers employ the form Brittones, as for instance, Samson is made to say to King Hilbertus:"I have come into the country of the Brittones" - in Brittonum patriam deveni. These names whatever date be given to the emigration or emigrations to Armorica, must have been carried out by the people themselves, and many other old names found new places to designate,such as Dumnonia (Devon), Cornubia (Cornwall), Léon, etc. Of such names of places or peoples conveyed to Armorica, Letavia is an instance.

   In the Vita S. Iltuti the form is also Letavia; but the Vita Cadoci twice gives us the name as Lettau. Nennius (Historia Brittonum) is probably the earliest writer to mention Brittany under this name; or, to speak more correctly, two MSS of his work, which insert an interpolation of considerable length. After the record that the Britons who had left Britain with Maximianus (Maximus, more correctly)

for the continent, never returned, but became the "Britons of Armorica" (Brittones Armorici), the interpolation proceeds to say that having married Gallic wives,  they cut the tongues of all, lest the children should learn their mother's language. "For which reason those are called in our tongue Letewicion, that is half-mutes, because they speak confusedly (id est, semi-tacentes quonium confuse loquuntur)." The derivation so given to Letewicion is from let (=

modern Welsh lled) in the sense of "partly"; and tewicion (tewi,tewigion, tawel), "silent ones": Letewic, however, is Letevicus, meaning an inhabitant of Letau or Letaw which in modern Welsh is Llydaw. Henry of Huntingdon repeats the assertion of Nennius as to the settlement of Britons in Armorica in the time of Maximus: "Brittones vero quos Maximus secum adduxerat in Gallia Armorica usque hodie remanserunt?"

EDWARD STILLINGFLEET

The antiquities of the British Church, 1685 (Extract)

(The author makes the following point about the name Brittany)

The first time we find the name of Brittania given to the country is in the subscription of Mansuetus to the Council of Tours, where he is named Episcopus Brittanorum, after which it was frequently called Britannia Cismarina, Minor, Celtica &c.