Bleus de Bretagne
Encyclopedia
Age of Enlightenment
The Age of Enlightenment was an elite cultural movement of intellectuals in 18th century Europe that sought to mobilize the power of reason in order to reform society and advance knowledge. It promoted intellectual interchange and opposed intolerance and abuses in church and state...
and the French Revolution in Brittany, and combating the influence of the aristocracy and clergy. The colour blue was chosen to contrast with the conservative "whites" and to emphasise their distinction from the Communist "reds". The term dates back to the Revolt in the Vendée
Revolt in the Vendée
The War in the Vendée was a Royalist rebellion and counterrevolution in the Vendée region of France during the French Revolution. The Vendée is a coastal region, located immediately south of the Loire River in western France. The uprising was closely tied to the Chouannerie, which took place in...
when the counter-revolutionary Whites called the troops of the revolutionary government "the blues" (because of their uniforms).
The organisation arose from the Bretons de Paris, established by Armand Dayot
Armand Dayot
Armand Dayot, , was a French art critic, art historian and leftist politician. He was born in Paimpol, Côtes-d'Armor, Brittany. He founded the journal L'Art et les artistes and the Breton liberal organisation les Bleus de Bretagne....
and Ary Renan
Ary Renan
Cornelius Ary Renan was a French Symbolist painter and anti-clerical social activist.-Career:Renan was the son of the Breton scholar Ernest Renan, who pioneered modern secular study of the life of Jesus. His mother was the niece of the famous painter Ary Scheffer after whom he was named...
(son of Ernest Renan
Ernest Renan
Ernest Renan was a French expert of Middle East ancient languages and civilizations, philosopher and writer, devoted to his native province of Brittany...
). It grew in Brittany from dissatisfaction with the conservative and clerical bias of the existing Breton Regionalist Union
Breton Regionalist Union
The Breton regionalist union , was a Breton cultural and political organisation created August 16 1898. It was a broadly conservative grouping dedicated to preserving Breton cultural identity and regional independence...
, founded a few months earlier. It was centred in the French-speaking east of Brittany and was strongest among the urban middle-class of the larger east-Breton towns. However it established branches throughout Brittany.
It included a number of influential writers, artists and politicians. Notable members were Yves Le Febvre
Yves Le Febvre
Yves Le Febvre, , was a leftist and anticlerical Breton writer and politician.-Life and work:Born in a middle-class family in Morlaix, Finistère, he studied law in Rennes then in Paris, becoming a Doctor of Law in 1901...
, Jean Boucher
Jean Boucher (artist)
Jean Boucher was a French sculptor based in Brittany. He is best known for his public memorial sculptures which communicated his liberal politics and patriotic dedication to France and Brittany.-Early years:Boucher was born in Cesson-Sévigné near Rennes, Brittany...
, Armel Beaufils
Armel Beaufils
Émile Jean Armel Beaufils was a French sculptor who created numerous commemorative works in his native Brittany. Beaufils was born in Rennes and died in Saint-Briac-sur-Mer. He always signed his work "Armel Beaufils". He also collaborated with his partner Suzanne Duvivier, who used the name Zannic...
, Anatole Le Braz
Anatole Le Braz
Anatole le Braz, the "Bard of Brittany" was a Breton folklore collector and translator. He was highly regarded amongst both European and American scholars, and known for his warmth and charm....
, Pierre-Paul Guieysse
Pierre-Paul Guieysse
Pierre-Paul Guieysse, was a French Socialist politician. He was Minister of the Colonies in the French Cabinet headed by Léon Bourgeois between 1895 and 1896.-Life:He was born in Lorient, Brittany, of a Protestant family...
and Jean-Bertrand Pégot-Ogier. The organisation worked to emphasise modernity and French identity, in contrast to the emphasis being placed by some Breton nationalists
Breton nationalism
Breton nationalism is the nationalism of the traditional province of Brittany in France. Brittany is considered to be one of the six Celtic nations...
on the traditional Breton peasant Catholic culture and the preservation of the Breton language
Breton language
Breton is a Celtic language spoken in Brittany , France. Breton is a Brythonic language, descended from the Celtic British language brought from Great Britain to Armorica by migrating Britons during the Early Middle Ages. Like the other Brythonic languages, Welsh and Cornish, it is classified as...
. The group promoted the commemoration of liberal and revolutionary heroes, organizing the creation of statues of Lazare Hoche
Lazare Hoche
Louis Lazare Hoche was a French soldier who rose to be general of the Revolutionary army.Born of poor parents near Versailles, he enlisted at sixteen as a private soldier in the Gardes Françaises...
in Quiberon
Quiberon
Quiberon is a commune in the Morbihan department in Brittany in north-western France.It is situated on the southern part of the Quiberon peninsula, the northern part being the commune of Saint-Pierre-Quiberon...
and Ernest Renan in Tréguier
Tréguier
Tréguier is a port town in the Côtes-d'Armor department in Brittany in northwestern France. It is the capital of the province of Trégor.-Geography:Tréguier is located 36 m. N.W. of Saint-Brieuc by road. The port is situated about 5½ m...
.
After 1905 its activity shifted to annual congresses, held across the major Breton towns. It also published the journal Araok!: La Bretagne Nouvelle (Forward!: the New Brittany).