one of the ancient provinces of France, bounded on the north by the English Channel and Normandy; west and south by the Atlantic, S.E. by Poitou, and east by Maine and Anjou. Its greatest length was 60 leagues, its greatest breadth 35; and its area nearly 1000 square leagues. It had a sea-board of nearly 150 leagues. It is now represented by the five departments of Côtes-du-Nord, Finistère, Ille-et-Vilaine, Loire Inférieure, and Morbihan. It was formerly divided into Haute-Bretagne, of which the capital was Rennes, and Basse-Bretagne, of which the capital was Vannes. The language of the inhabitants is the ancient Armoric, which bears so strong an affinity to Welsh, that the natives of the one country understand the dialect of the other.