Breton Literature between the 16th and 17th Centuries: The Work of Artisans

Abstract

While sources remaining from the early days of the Middle Breton period are extremely rare, texts from the 16th and 17th centuries were rediscovered and republished in the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, and these have been the main focus of philological analyses. The few scholars and academics who studied these works highlighted their complex verse form. There was hardly any interest in the content of other texts. In recent years however, approaches to comprehending these texts have changed completely and the knowledge we have about them has been renewed considerably. To appreciate this literature, we first need to understand its nature and consider the form it takes. We then need to examine the context in which it was produced. In other words, we must try to understand why these works were written as they were.