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The Bretons (ˈbrɛtɒnz,-ənz,-ɒ̃z; Bretoned or Vretoned, breˈtɔ̃nɛt) are a Celtic ethnic group native to Brittany, north-western France. They trace their heritage to groups of Brittonic speakers who emigrated from southwestern Great Britain, particularly Cornwall and Devon, mostly during the Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain. They migrated in waves from the 3rd to 9th century (most heavily from 450 to 600) into Armorica, which was subsequently named Brittany after them. The main traditional language of Brittany is Breton (Brezhoneg), spoken in Lower Brittany (i.e., the western part of the peninsula). Breton is spoken by around 206,000 people as of 2013. The other principal minority language of Brittany is Gallo; Gallo is spoken only in Upper Brittany, where Breton used to be spoken as well but it has seen a decline and has been less dominant in Upper Brittany since around the year 900. As one of the Brittonic languages, Breton is related closely to Cornish and more distantly to Welsh, while the Gallo language is one of the Romance langues d'oïl. Currently, most Bretons' native language is standard French. Brittany and its people are counted as one of the six Celtic nations. Ethnically, along with the Cornish and Welsh, the Bretons are Celtic Britons. The actual number of Bretons in Brittany and France as a whole is difficult to assess as the government of France does not collect statistics on ethnicity. The population of Brittany, based on a January 2007 estimate, was 4,365,500. There is reason to believe that this number includes the department of Loire-Atlantique, which the Vichy government separated from historical Brittany in 1941. It is said that, in 1914, over 1 million people spoke Breton west of the boundary between the Breton and Gallo-speaking region -- roughly 90% of the population of the western half of Brittany. In 1945, Breton speakers consisted about 75% of the population. Today, in all of Brittany, at most 20% of the population can speak Breton.

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History of Brittany

The history of Brittany may refer to the entire history of the Armorican peninsula or only to the creation and development of a specifically Brythonic culture and state in the Early Middle Ages and the subsequent history of that state. Pre-Brythonic Armorica includes the ancient megalith cultures in the area and the Celtic tribal territories that existed before Roman rule. After the collapse of the Roman Empire, large scale migration from the British Isles led to the foundation of British colonies linked initially to homelands in Cornwall, Devon, and Wales.

Fest noz

A fest noz (sometimes hyphenated as fest-noz; Breton for 'night festival') is a Breton traditional festival, with dancing in groups and live musicians playing acoustic instruments. Although it is all too easy to write off the fest nozou and fêtes folkloriques as modern inventions, most of the traditional dances of the fest noz are ancient, some dating back to the Middle Ages, providing a way for the community to grasp hold of its past and relish a deep sense of being with ancestors and with place.

Domnonée

Domnonée is the modern French form of Domnonia or Dumnonia (Latin for "Devon"; Domnonea), a historic kingdom in northern Armorica (Brittany) founded by British immigrants from Dumnonia (Sub-Roman Devon) fleeing the Saxon invasions of Britain in the early Middle Ages. Headed by the same ruling family, it was variously separated from or united with its motherland, and its Latin name was used for both indiscriminately. The mainland territory of Domnonée included Trégor, Dol-de-Bretagne through to Goélo, and Penthièvre.

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