Brittany

By Deane Barker • • tags: french, geography •
Updates
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This is the extreme western region of France. It’s mostly a peninsula that extends into the Atlantic.

The largest city in the region is Rennes, with about 750,000 in its metro area. (Interestingly, the two other large cities are named Vannes and Nantes, which points to some common etymology.)

Brittany is not an official subdivision of France. It has no federal government or legislative representation. It’s simply a region, like “the Midwest” in the United States.

Why I Looked It Up

It came up when I was looking into the Breton Cap. “Breton” is the geographic metonym for Brittany.

Oddly, I had breakfast with someone from France a couple of weeks before writing this, and he had mentioned he was from Brittany.

Update

Added on

I asked a friend about the political status of Brittany.

it’s just like a region – it’s part of France since 1532… but there’s a strong identity including a regional language that was spoken (and not French) until WW1

The language called Breton is actually a Celtic language, the only one spoken on the European mainland.

Links both to and from this – Breton Cap November 2, 2024
This is a old-style cap with a flat top, a band around the bottom, and a visor. They might also be called a “fisherman’s cap,” a “mariner’s cap,” and they might remind some people of a train conductor’s cap. I even saw a reference to a “John Lennon cap,” since he famously wore one. Vladimir Lenin...
Links from this – Midwest April 30, 2022
Technically, this is an official census region of the United States. It stretches from the Dakotas in the west to Ohio in the east, and from the northern border down to Missouri’s southern tip. It’s these 12 states: Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Michigan Minnesota Missouri Nebraska North Dakota Ohio...
Links from this – Geographic Metonym December 28, 2021
For example, if often takes the form of a place name being used to refer to (1) a significant event that happened at that place; or (2) an organization, institution, industry, or concept associated with that place. Examples: “The White House” to refer to a presidential administration “Wall Street”...