Flag of Brittany
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The flag of Brittany is called the Gwenn-ha-du, which means white and black in Breton. It is also used in the département of Loire-Atlantique, although this belongs to the région Pays de la Loire not the région Bretagne, because the territory of Loire-Atlantique is historically part of the province of Brittany. Nantes (Naoned), its préfecture, was once one of the two capital cities of Brittany.
The dimensions are not really fixed. They vary from 9:14 cm to 8:12 m. The flag is not only used by cultural associations or autonomists but by everybody in general. For years, the authorities considered the flag as a separatist symbol, but the attitude has now changed and the flag, no longer having any political connotations, can appear everywhere, even on public buildings along with the other official flags. It is widely used throughout Brittany and can even be seen on town halls in the region. Because of the absence of legislation concerning regional flags in France the flag is also flown on sail and fishing boats. The design of the ermine spots can vary but the version most frequently seen is shown above.
Some Bretons say that it is the only flag in the world which does not have any colours, which is wrong (see Canton of Fribourg, Ceuta, Cornwall, etc.), but surely it is the only flag in the world which in a parade is carried at arm's length over head.
The flag was created in 1923 by Morvan Marchal (1900-1963, member of different political and cultural organizations). He used as his inspiration the arms of Rennes and the flags of the United States and Greece.
The 9 horizontal stripes represent the traditional dioceses of Brittany into which the duchy was divided historically. The black stripes represent the French or Gallo speaking dioceses of Dol, Nantes, Rennes, Saint-Malo and Saint-Brieuc—and the 4 white stripes represent the Breton speaking dioceses of Trégor, Léon, Cornouaille and Vannes. The ermine canton recalls the ducal arms of Brittany.
The flag first came to notice by a wider public at the Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes in Paris in 1925. It was adopted by various cultural and nationalist groups through the 1920s and 1930s. However, its association with nationalist and separatist groups during the Second World War brought suspicions of collaboration on the flag. A revival of interest in the flag took place in the 1960s, since when it has lost an association with seperatism in the mind of the public and become a widely accepted symbol for all Brittany and Bretons. The older ermine field flag and black cross continue to be used, though, by some individuals and groups.
In blazons, the flag is Sable, four bars Argent; the canton ermine.
Historically, Bretons had used a black cross on a white ground, the inverse of Saint Piran's Flag of Cornwall. Little information is available about this flag before the 14th century.
Image:BlasonBRETAGNE.PNG|Flag from 1316 onwards (semé d'hermine)
Image:Blason Rennes.png|Blazon of Rennes
External link
Site of Bannieloù Breizh, the vexillological and heraldical association of Brittany (in English) [link]
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