Louis Mélennec’s Livre bleu de la Bretagne presented by Bretaigne DAO

An abridged history of Brittany and a document in the contemporary Breton historiographical debate.

Bretaigne DAO is making available to the public an important work in the recent history of reflection on Brittany: Le Livre bleu de la Bretagne – Histoire abrégée de la Bretagne – Charte pour une Bretagne souveraine, coordinated by Louis Mélennec.

Initially conceived as a memorandum for representatives of European peoples and minorities meeting in Brussels for the sixtieth anniversary of the Federal Union of European Nationalities – FUEN in 2009, the work was reissued in 2013 by the Association Bretonne de Culture. FUEN’s own history states that its sixtieth anniversary was celebrated in 2009 at the European Parliament and on the premises of the Committee of the Regions. See FUEN’s history.

The second edition runs to 98 pages and offers a synthesis covering a particularly broad period: from the origins of the Breton people and relations between Bretons and Franks, through the formation of ducal institutions and the crises of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, to 1532, the Revolution and the contemporary period.

Several chapters deal in particular with the formation of the ducal state, its institutions and diplomacy, the wars of the late fifteenth century, the marriages of Anne of Brittany and the events of 1532.

A document that also calls for a return to the sources

In his introduction to the 2013 reissue, Louis Mélennec explains that the first version was deliberately designed to be read quickly by the delegates in Brussels. A large part of the references and documentary cross-references was therefore removed, with the stated intention of restoring them in a later version.

This observation directly echoes the work currently being carried out by Bretaigne DAO.

For several months, our archival research has sought to locate the records themselves: originals, early copies, vidimus, treaties, diplomatic correspondence, accounts, seals and inventories held in Brittany, France, the United Kingdom, Austria, Spain and other European repositories.

Several issues discussed by Louis Mélennec can therefore now be compared with primary material that is gradually being located.

Our aim is not to ask readers to accept a particular interpretation of history without examination, but rather to facilitate access to texts and archives and to encourage comparison between sources.

A work to be read in context

The Livre bleu should be read both as a historical synthesis, as a work of legal reflection, and as an expression of the personal and intellectual positions of Louis Mélennec and the group that took part in drafting it.

Some of the historical or legal characterisations used in the book are the subject of historiographical debate. Bretaigne DAO will therefore continue its documentary verification work in parallel, systematically distinguishing between original acts; copies and vidimus; early editions; academic research; and contemporary interpretations.

This approach should gradually make it possible to supplement parts of the Livre bleu with additional archival references.

Bibliographical details

Louis Mélennec, Le Livre bleu de la Bretagne – Histoire abrégée de la Bretagne – Charte pour une Bretagne souveraine
Association Bretonne de Culture
2nd edition, 2013
98 pages
ISBN: 978-2-9506923-2-0

The work has also circulated in digital form. A public 98-page copy has been available online since September 2014. View the public copy.

Read the original document

The document below is the original French-language PDF of the 2013 edition. It is published without translation or alteration.

Document published under the responsibility of its author.
Text and conclusions: Louis Mélennec and the editorial committee.
Documentary access provided by Bretaigne DAO.