Brittany. In the fifth and sixth centuries A.D., refugees from Britain, escaping the invasion and westward movement of the Anglo-Saxons, fled to the Armorica peninsula and joined their Gaulish cousins. The peninsula was renamed "Little Britain." They quickly merged with these native Celts into a strong kingdom. But for the next few centuries, the Bretons had to contend with the westward expansion of the Franks, seeking to exert their dominion through-out Gaul and renaming it "land of the Franks"-France.
The Bretons held their own and on November 22, A.D. 845, the Breton King Nominoe defeated the Franks at Ballon, forcing Chatles le Chauve to sign a treaty recognising Breton independence. Brittany lost its complete independence six centuries later when the armies of Francis II were defeated on July 28, 1488, at Saint Aubin-du-Cormier by the French of Charles VIII. There followed a "Union of Crowns" by the enforced marriage of Anne of Brittany with Charles VIII in 1491. ater the death of Charles in 1498, Anne was forced into marriage with Louis XII. On September 18, 1532, a Treaty of Union between France and Brittany was signed at the Chateau du Plesis-Mace, Angers. This agreed that Brittany should remain a self-governing entity within the broader French state, retaining its ancient Parliament (Etats). Brittany settled down to its new position with a sullen acceptance, sometimes bursting into insurrection against French centralisation. Breton sympathies were with the Americans during the American War of Independence, and many Bretons, such as Lafayette, Count Guichen, and Colonel Armand (Armand Tuffin de la Rouerie) played leading roles in the American revolutionary forces. In fact, 333 Breton officers are listed fighting for the Americans and 16 warships were fitted out in Brittany in 1778 to help them.  Many of these Bretons returned home with the new creed of republicanism and "Rights of Man" and laid the foundation in Nantes and Rennes for the wider French Revolution. However, the result of the French Revolution was the abolishment of the Breton Parliament in 1790 when "everyone in France was declared equal." The inequality of this lay in fact that the Bretons were not French. The "abolition of the Breton nation" created a reaction. On January 18, 1790, de la Houssaye, president of the Breton Parliament, protested to the National Assembly. " Les Corps out des privileges. Les nations out des droits!" (Parliament has privileges. Nations have rights!) There was a general uprising against the French in 1793 led by George Cadoudal and Armand de la Rouerie. French republicans found themselves fighting Breton. republicans and Breton royalists (as many were pushed back into the royalist camp by the centralist attitude of the French republic). The war went on for years, mainly after 1804 as a guerrilla war or the war of the chouans. The return of the monarchy and the later republics did nothing to return any form of autonomy to Brittany. Brittany survived the nineteenth century as a predominantly Celtic-speaking country. In 1914 some 1.5 million of its 2.5 million population spoke Breton. In spite of the decline to 800,000 speakers today, Brittany remains essentially Celtic in attitude, and many have not lost the desire to see it self-governing once more.

Bruigh na Boinne. [I] Palace of the Boyne, identified with New Grange, which was first the fortress of Nechtan and later the home of the love god Aonghus Og.

Brunanburh. A historical battle of A.D. 937 that is variously placed on the east coast of Britain, usually in Northumbria. It is of immense importance as the Celtic defeat that caused the Celts to accept the kingdom of England, to cease calling themselves "Britons," and to give up their dream of eventually driving the English invaders into the sea and reestablishing a Celtic Britain.  A Celtic confederation was formed to attempt to curb the aggressive expansionist policies of Athelstan of England. In the tenth century, a poem entitled Armes Pyrdein Vawr (The Prophecy of Great Britain) was written in support of this confederation. It survives in the Book of Taliesin. The poet urges the Cymry of Wales, Cumbria, and Strathclyde, the Cornish, the Scots, the Manx, and the Irish, including the Norse-Irish of Dublin, to join together.  " And this vast confederacy of peoples shall rout the Saxon foe and banish him from the land." Both Cynan and Cadwaladr are invoked to help in the struggle. Constantine II (A.D. 900-942), High King of Alba, is mentioned as the leading force behind this alliance; Owain of Cumbria, Olaf of Dublin, Aralt of Man and the Isles, Hywel Dda of Wales, Donnchadh of Ireland, and Cynan of Cornwall must all have played their part. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle says Athelstan made his way north to face this formidable alliance. The skirmishing took several days. A defector from the Celtic alliance saved Athelstan's life by revealing the plans for a night attack on Athelstan's tent. A Saxon bishop was killed in this foray. Both Anglo-Saxon and Icelandic sources say it was fought over a two-day period. The English army suffered severely, two of Athelstan's cousins, Alfric and Athelwin, were slain. But the Celts and their allies were finally defeated. No longer would the supremacy of the isle of Britain between Celt and Saxon be in contention.

Brut y Tywysogion. [W] A thirteenth century text, "The Chronicle of the Princes" (of Wales), from A.D. 664. It ends in 1164.

Buile Suibhne. [I] "The Frenzy of Sweeney." Suibhne was a warrior of the Dal Riada who was driven insane by the injuries he sustained at the battle of Moira. He took off on a mad flight through the wild places of Ireland in search of peace of mind. The tale is a powerful image of a frenzied mind. And Suibhne returns to a oneness with nature. It became a common motif for poets to compose nature poetry in the name of Suibhne for several centuries. The Suibhne here is obviously cognate with the story of Suibhne Geilt, a king cursed by St. Ronan who assumed the characteristics of a bird, leaping from tree to tree. Suibhne Geilt (or Mad Suibhne) had his counterpart in the Welsh Myrddin Wyllt.

Bull. The bull is a symbol of strength and virility and also wealth in many cultures. This is also so in the Celtic cultures and especially in Irish myth, where the epic of the Tain Bo Cuailgne, the war fought over the Brown Bull of Cuailgne, is one of the most famous and prominent expressions of this. The Book of the Dun Cow describes a tabhfheis, or bull feast, in ancient Ireland associated with the election of a High King. A druid would eat the flesh of a bull and drink its blood. He was then put to sleep by four other druids, and the person that he dreamed about would be the future High King. If he lied about his vision, then the gods would destroy him. In respect of the Brown Bull of Cuailgne of the Tain, it is interest- ing to note the existence of a Gaulish name, Donnotauros, "Brown or Kingly Bull." The cult of the bull was widespread in the Celtic world, and images of Tarvos Trigaranus, the three-horned bull, are found both in Gaul and Britain.

Bwbachod. Welsh household sprites, like brownies or pixies. In modern Welsh a bwbach is a bogey or scarecrow.

Bwlch. [W] One of Arthur's three warriors who possess the brightest and sharpest weapons in Britain. The others are Cyfwlch and Syfwlch.