List of rulers of Brittany

This is a list of rulers of Brittany. In different epochs the rulers of Brittany were kings, princes, and dukes. The Breton ruler was sometimes elected, sometimes attained the position by conquest or intrigue, or by hereditary right. Hereditary dukes were sometimes a female ruler, carrying the title duchesse of Brittany. Its principal cities and regions were ruled by counts who often found themselves in conflict with the Breton ruler, or who became the Breton ruler.

During the declining years of the Roman Empire, the earliest Breton rulers in Gaul were styled "kings" of the small realms of Cornouaille and Domnonée. Some such kings may have had a form of hegemony over all of the Brythonic populations in the Armorican peninsula, and Riothamus is called King of the Britons by the chronicler Jordanes. However, there are no certain rulers of the whole of Brittany, which was divided into the fiefdoms of local counts.

The Duchy of Brittany had its origins in the Battle of Trans-la-Forêt of 939, which established the river Couesnon as the boundary between Brittany and Normandy. In 942, Alan II paid homage to Louis IV of France; however, the duchy did not gain royal attention until 1123, when Louis VI of France confirmed the bishop of Nantes. No other Duke of Brittany repeated Alan II's homage until Arthur I recognised Philip II of France as his liege in 1202.

The area was often called a Duchy, and its monarchs were considered independent Sovereign Dukes. However, one historical view is that before the middle of the 12th century the Dukes of Brittany were often also called Counts by the Kings of France, as the kingdom of France then saw Brittany as no more than a county.[citation needed] In 1297, the peninsula was elevated into a Duchy in the peerage of France. This view is not consistent with the manner in which Charles VIII of France and then Louis XII of France approached the Duchy and the rights of Anne of Brittany who married each in succession.

Early Breton monarchs

• Conan Meriadoc (4th century) – by tradition, the founder of Brittany
• Gradlon the Great (early 5th century)
• Saloman I of Armorica[fr]
• Aldroen (5th century)
• Budic I (late 5th century)
• Budic II (early 6th century)
• Waroch I (a "count", unclear if he ruled all of Brittany)
• Waroch II (late 6th century)
• Saint Judicaël (early 7th century)
• Alain II Hir (c. 640?–690)
• Morman (r. 814–818)
• Wihomarc (r. 822–825)

Dukes of Brittany

Dukes under the Carolingians

• Nominoe (or Nevenoe) (r. 841–851), as a missus dominicus of the Emperor Louis the Pious, a count of Vannes (Gwened) and arguably a duke (dux) of Brittany
• Erispoe (r. 851–857), as a duke, then as a king
• Salomon (or Salaun) (r. 857–874), as a duke, then a king
• Pasquitan (or Paskweten) (r. 874–877), ruling Brittany (southern part) with Gurvand
• Gurvand (r. 874–877), ruling Brittany (northern part) with Pasquitan
• Judicael (r. 877–888), successor of Gurvand, ruled Brittany (north) with Alan the Great (south)
• Alan the Great (reigned from 877 to 888 with Judicaël, alone as a duke, then as a king up to 907)
• Gourmaëlon, Count of Cornouaille (reigned from 907 as a guardian of the kingdom)

The succession was interrupted by the Viking occupation (913–937)

House of Nantes

House of Rennes

House of Cornouaille

House of Penthièvre

House of Plantagenet

Eleanor, Fair Maid of Brittany, eldest daughter of Geoffrey and Constance and full elder sister of Arthur, also unmarried, was prevented from succession by her imprisonment in England which lasted till her death in 1241, thus was merely a titular duchess from 1208 to 1214 when John, King of England ceased to support her claim.

House of Thouars

House of Dreux

Breton War of Succession

House of Montfort

House of Valois

As courtesy title

Family tree

See also

• Brittany
• Château des ducs de Bretagne (Castle of the Dukes of Brittany)
• Duchy of Brittany
• List of Breton royal consorts
• Union of the Duchy of Brittany with the Crown of France

External links