French Bretagne
Peninsula that forms a historical and governmental region, northwestern France.
Known in ancient times as Armorica, it comprised the coastal area between the Loire rivers. Inhabited by Cymric Celts, it was conquered by Julius Caesar and organized as the Roman province of Lugdunensis. Invaded in the 5th century AD by Britons (Celtic people from Britain), the extreme northwestern part was thereafter called Brittany. Subdued by Clovis I , it was never effectively part of the Merovingian or Carolingian kingdom. Claimed by France in the 13th century, it remained a separate state until the 15th century. It was incorporated into France in 1532 and had province status until the {{link=French Revolution">French Revolution . Roughly coextensive with but smaller than the historical region, the current administrative région of Brittany (pop. 1999: 2,906,200) covers 10,505 sq mi (27,209 sq km). Its capital is Rennes.