Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 4.djvu/402

354 of Britain, in which he told them that they must henceforth be their own defenders. Britain first became a Eoman province in the reign of the emperor Claudius, 43 A.D. It was governed by a single prefect until the reign of Severus, who divided the province into two parts, called Britannia Superior and Britannia Inferior, each governed by a prefect. In the division of the empire into four prefectures in the reign of Diocletian, Britain formed part of the prefecture of Gaul, and was governed by an officer called the vicariiis, residing at York. The country was subdivided into four provinces, each governed by a prefect:—

1em 1em 1em 1em

To these was added as a fifth province the district of Valentia, conquered by Theodosius in 368, but it appears to have remained but a short time in the possession of the Romans. Our knowledge of the events of the two centuries succeeding the close of the Eoman occupation of Britain is rendered most uncertain by the absence of contemporary records. The accounts given by later writers, British and Saxon, cannot be relied upon for more than the barest outline, which may be accepted in so far as it is found to be consistent with the visible results of the events of this period. The paternal character of the Roman rule had left the Britons at its withdrawal enervated and helpless, and utterly unable to cope with the Picts, who now began to press heavily on them. Having in vain appealed for help to the Eomans, the Britons applied to the Teutonic rovers who had since the later years of the Eoman period been in the habit of plundering the eastern coast. Accordingly, the three tribes of Angles, Jutes, and Saxons came over, and with their assistance the Picts were driven back into their own territories. The Saxons, however, still continued to arrive in large numbers, and soon finding the occasion of a quarrel, they combined with the Picts against the Britons, and proceeded to overrun the country, driving the Britons before them into the west. The first Teutonic kingdom in Britain was that of Kent, foiinded in 449 ; and at the end of two centuries we find the Saxons in firm possession of the greater part of the country, and the Celtic tribes occupying only the extreme west. Of Arthur, the hero of the Welsh account of this period, it is impossible to speak with any certainty Although he is unknown to the Saxon chronicle, it seems unnecessary to deny his existence, and it is certain that no part of the south-western district of England, which is generally supposed to have been the scene of his exploits, was conquered by the Saxons until after the time of his alleged victories. An attempt has lately been made (see ) to show that the scene of Arthur s victories is to be laid in the south of Scotland, and not in the west of England. The question is one which hardly seems capable of a satisfactory settlement. For the subsequent history see.

1em  BRITANNICUS, son of the emperor Claudius, and of his third wife Messalina, was born probably 42 A.D., though th &amp;gt; exact date cannot be determined. He was originally called Claudius Tiberius Germanicus, and received the name Britannicus on account of the conquests made in Britain about the time of his birth. Till 48 A.D., the date of his mother s execution, he was looked upon as the heir to the imperial dignity, but Agrippina, the new wife of Claudius, soon persuaded the feeble emperor to pass him over and adopt her son by a previous marriage, Lucius Domitius, known later as Nero. After the accession of Nero, Agrippina, whose lover, Pallas, had been banished, threatened to stir up revolt against the new emperor, and excited his fears against Britannicus. Poison was admin istered to the young prince, at first without effect, but a stronger dose given at the banquet table was instantaneously fatal. The murdered boy, for he had barely completed his fourteenth year, was buried on the evening of the day in which he died. The pile was erected on the Campus Martius amidst a deluge of rain, which washed the plaster and paint from the livid and distorted face of the corpse.  BRITTANY,, or, in French, , an ancient province and duchy of France, con sisting of the great north-western peninsula of the country, and corresponding very nearly to the present departments of Finistere, C6tes-du-Nord, Morbihan, Hie et Vilaine, and Lower Loire. It is popularly divided into Upper or Western, and Lower or Eastern Brittany. While it is not a mountainous country, none of the elevations much exceeding 1200 feet, it is remarkable for the extreme ruggedness of its physical features, especially along the coast and towards its seaward extremity. There are vast tracts of desolate moorland broken only by the melancholy monuments of a forgotten time, and gloomy water-courses worn deep into the stony strata. Elsewhere, however, beautiful valleys and romantic glens are traversed by full- flowing rivers. Agriculture is in general in a rather back ward condition, though here and there there are signs of enterprise. Flax and hemp are largely grown ; and in the more fertile districts excellent crops of the cereals are obtained. Bees are almost universally kept, and are often objects of a kind of affection. Pasture is abundant throughout the country, and the dairy produce forms a very important item in the food of the people. Industrial pursuits, except in a few seaport towns, which are rather French than Breton, have hitherto received but little atten tion. The Bretons are by nature conservative. They cling with almost equal attachment to their local customs and their religious superstitions. It was not till the 17th century that paganism was even nominally abolished in some parts, and there is probably no district in Europe where the popular Christianity has assimilated more from earlier creeds. Witchcraft and the influence of fairies are generally believed in, and charms and antidotes are trust fully resorted to. Part of this superstitious tendency may, no doubt, be attributed to the influence exerted on the minds of the people, not only by the strangeness of their natural environment, but also by the frequency of megalithic monuments, whose origin they cannot explain, for nowhere are these monuments so numerous and varied. The costume of both sexes is very peculiar both in cut and colour, but varies considerably in different districts. Bright red, violet, and blue are much used, not only by the women, but in the coats and waistcoats of the men. The reader will find full illustrations of the different styles in Bcuet s Breiz-izel ou Vie des Bretons de I Armorique, 3vols., 1844. The Celtic language is still generally spoken, especially in lower Brittany, and a considerable body of traditional story and song is current among the people. Four dialects are pretty clearly marked. The whole duchy was formerly divided into nine bishoprics, Eennes, Dol, Nantes, St Malo, and St Brieuc, in Upper Brittany ; and Treguier, Vannes, Quimper, and St Pol de Leon in Lower ; and several of the larger towns were the seats of separate counts.

