The Early Days

The name Bretonnia derives from the name of the greatest human tribes who settled the woods west of the Grey mountains after the High Elves abandoned the Old World. Soon after their departure, the land was settled again by human and greenskin tribes. Among the human tribes were the warlike Bretonni. In constant struggle with rivaling tribes and living under constant fear of the Orc and Goblin hordes, the Bretonni learned how to forge metal to make swords and building strongholds made of wood and stone.

While Sigmar Heldenhammer was uniting the human tribes of the Empire under his command and fighting back the Greenskin Hordes into the Worlds Edge Mountains, the Bretonni clans were divided into several independent countries. Instead of uniting against the Orc treat, they often fought each other for land or the control of a ford or a mountain pass. The Bretonni chieftains controlled the plains and the fertile valleys while the greenskins infested the forests, hills, mountains and other wilderness regions. At those times it was almost impossible to travel from one country to another without going through land controlled by the Orcs.

The Rise of Bretonnia

Around the year 977 the Greenskin tribes hatched a conspracy to conquer and enslave the lands of Bretonnia. Their plan was simple. By striking all the dukedoms of the Bretonni at once, no chieftain would be able to come to the assistance of the others. Indeed, the chieftains hardly had time to rally their warriors and knights around them to defend their own countries. They were unable to turn back the Orc hordes and soon found themselves defending their castles and domains in small hastily gathered armies. The dukedoms of the north were overrun one by one. But not enough, at the same time Chaos raiders crossed the Sea of Claws and began ravaging the northern coasts while a fleet with armies of Undead warriors appeared on the western shores. The horrible destruction, which began with the attack of the Greenskins was completed by the armies from the land of the Dead.

In those dreadful days, a young Bretonni duke called Gilles de Bastonne, who had been quicker than the other dukes to gather his Knights together into an army prepared his men for the final fight against their green skinned enemies. They had bravely fought for weeks but their enemies forces were superior. Gilles' army camped beside a small lake in the margins of the Forest of Chalons. Although during the last days Gilles' men were joined with the remains of the armies of several other dukes they all knew that the upcoming battle would be their last. To great was the Orcish army they had to face. The next day would decide the fate of the lands of the Bretonni. When dawn came and they saw in the first sunlight that the lake was enshrouded in a swirling mist. Suddenly, the vapours rising from the water condensed into the form of a maiden of unearthly beauty. Gilles and his Knights were awestruck by this vision. The Maiden held a gleaming chalice overflowing with light which cascaded down like liquid into the water of the lake. It was Gilles who had the courage to step to the shore of the lake and to drink from the water of the lake. As he drank, new courage filled his heart and he took a look at his tattered banner and then held it towards the vision and asked it to bless it. He dipped the blood-drenched rag into the lake and when he raised it again, the entire host of Knights gasped. They looked at a new, gleaming banner bearing the image of this Lady of the Lake. The other dukes came to Gilles and asked him to command them into their final battle. As the rays of the sun lit the waters of the lake, the vision began to fade.

With new courage filling their hearts, the knights under the Command of Gilles prepared for the final battle. The horizon ahead of the knight was darkened by the orcish hordes. Holding the Banner of the Lady before him, Gilles led his men into the battle and drove the Greenskins back. After fighting back the Orcs, the remaining dukes proclaimed Gilles "Leader of the Battle" at the lake where the Lady appeared the first time, which marked the origin of the Grail Knights and also the Kingdom of Bretonnia.

In the years that followed, Gilles led his Grail Knights from victory to victory and fred the dukedoms of Bretonnia from the hordes of Orcs and Goblins and also managed to fight back the armies of the Undead and Chaos. He led the Bretonnians into twelve great Battles and became known as "Le Breton" amongst his people, acknowledging his uncrowned authority throughout Bretonnia. It is said that Gilles le Breton struck an alliance with the Wood Elves from the Forest of Loren, who also fought against the Greenskins and that they swore everlasting friendship.

For many years, Gilles reigned the lands of Bretonnia as uncrowned king until he was mortally wounded in an ambush laid by orcs near the lake where the Lady appeared the first time. According to the legends, the dying Gilles le Breton was laid into a boat which mysteriously appeared on the lake. On the boat there was a Maiden, the Fay Enchantress, who took care of the Gilles and they vanished into the mists over the lake. It is said that Gilles le Breton was cured by the Fay Enchantress and now waits on a mysterious place outside of time for the day, when the lands of Bretonnia are in great need to reunite them again.

After the death of Giles le Breton, his son, Louis de Bastonne was crowned as king over all Bretonnians in the year 1001. It is said that the Lady itself had chosen Louis to be the king. One of his first acts as Kind was to turn the age-old knightly traditions into a true code of chivalry. Devotion of the Lady of the Lake became a fundamental part of this code. He also confirmed the dukes in their various dukedomes as his loyal and trusted deputies. Each of the dukes was given charge of protecting the borders of the realm or to conquering the remaining Orc Enclaves in the Pale sisters, the Grey mountains and the great forests of Bretonnia. During the next centuries, the land of Bretonnia established as a leading human nation of the old world. In the year 1110 the Great Plague broke out in the Lands of the Empire and in the following years it spread through the whole old World and Bretonnia was not spared. Around the year 1142 a large invasion of Greenskins was defeated by King Guillaume. During this time the Lands of Bretonnia began to flourish as never before.