From Dol to Guérande, from the Channel to the Atlantic, the road which follows the old frontier between France and Brittany is a succession of towns and villages which date from medieval times and are mainly fortified. It’s like going back in a time machine, crossing several eventful centuries. Certain stages of the route cross really pretty towns, usually quite animated and steeped in heritage. Elsewhere, you’ll find proud solitary castles, looking out over the wild land, with only a few eagles and falcons as sentries. Further on, you may see a few decaying stones at the edge of the forest, just a hint of the past. You’ll have to ask the locals about those artefacts, no guidebook or website can help. In the cool silence of a ruined castle you may sense the presence of ancient battles fought and won.
From the moors which seem to penetrate the rock, squeezing forth wisps of mysterious mist, emerge ghosts and knights, fairies and dragons. The Steps of Brittany bring forth this mystic and mysterious past.
The Steps route in Brittany is a voyage into the heart of emotion, into the history of legends. It’s a treasure which you will never forget, of people you meet and landscapes you cross.
Just before the beginning of our era, the Armoric Celts did not manage to avoid the Roman Empire’s expansion. In the 3rd century, the clash of Germanic swords rang throughout the Empire. The Francs invaded occidental Europe. The Anglo-Saxons invaded the British Isles. The Bretons of Wales and Cornwall crossed the Channel in various waves, to seek shelter with their cousins in Armorique, who, as they were part of a linguistic and cultural entity, integrated and welcomed them easily. The Roman Empire fell. The population movements stabilised. The Former Brittany became England, L’Armorique became Brittany, and Gaul became France.
A sort of vague zone existed (rather than a fixed frontier) between the Bretons and the Francs, and it was the impregnable forest that marked it. The two populations had little to do with one another, even if there were one or two commercial agreements.
In the end, there were conflicts, and the Francs decided to establish a proper border, hoping to contain the rebellious Bretons. That’s how the Franco-Breton border came about, in the Vilaine basin. This fortified line became known as the “Marche” and was governed by a “Marquis”. It was divided into smaller units called “Comptés”.
At the end of the 8th century, Charlemagne, the Emperor of the Francs, found it impossible to make the Bretons submit. He named his own nephew Roland the premier, the first Marquis de la Marche de Bretagne.
The Saint Roman Empire Germanique, the master of Europe at the time, was beside himself with fury at the time: Brittany would never be part of Europe. When Charlemagne was succeeded by Louis, Nominoe proclaimed himself king of Brittany. At the death of Louis, his sons divided up the old Carolingian Empire. Charles le Chauve became king of France when he thus acquired “Francia Occidentalis”.
Nominoe, then his sons, held back the Norman invasions, and even gained ground on France. By the year 1000, Brittany had taken control of the Marche defensive area. It became a fortified line, held by Brittany. As the centuries went by, these fortifications became towns. Once Duchess Anne signed the Union Treaty between Brittany and France, these enormous fortifications became residential castles, more decorative and less defensive.
Today, the formidable architectural heritage of these tumultuous times is still present, and ruins and fortresses are still easy to find. Within their walls listen out for the echoes of the past, the clash of swords and the smell of fire, as blood was spilled in the defence of Brittany.
