The Pays de la Mée (; ; Gallo: ''Paeyi de la Mée'') is a historical region of

Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...

(now

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

) which was part of the

Duchy of Brittany The Duchy of Brittany (, ; ) was a medieval feudal state that existed between approximately 939 and 1547. Its territory covered the northwestern peninsula of France, bordered by the Bay of Biscay to the west, and the English Channel to the north. ...

before the French Revolution. It was then split between

Loire-Atlantique Loire-Atlantique (; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Louére-Atantique''; ; before 1957: ''Loire-Inférieure'', ) is a departments of France, department in Pays de la Loire on the west coast of France, named after the river Loire and the Atlantic Ocean. ...

and

Ille-et-Vilaine Ille-et-Vilaine (; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Ill-e-Vilaenn'', ) is a departments of France, department of France, located in the regions of France, region of Brittany (administrative region), Brittany in the northwest of the country. It is named a ...

department. Its capital is

Châteaubriant Châteaubriant (; ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Châtiaoberiant'') is a town in western France, about southwest of Paris, and one of the three Subprefectures in France, sous-préfectures of the Loire-Atlantique departments of France, department. C ...

. The dialect traditionally spoken in the Pays de la Mée is Gallo, which is a Romance language, as opposed to the Celtic language of

Breton Breton most often refers to: *anything associated with Brittany, and generally **Breton people **Breton language, a Southwestern Brittonic Celtic language of the Indo-European language family, spoken in Brittany ** Breton (horse), a breed **Gale ...

Geography

The area lies on the eastern border of Brittany, facing

Anjou Anjou may refer to: Geography and titles France *County of Anjou, a historical county in France and predecessor of the Duchy of Anjou **Count of Anjou, title of nobility *Duchy of Anjou, a historical duchy and later a province of France ** Du ...

(now

Maine-et-Loire Maine-et-Loire () is a department in the Loire Valley in the Pays de la Loire region in Western France. It is named after the two rivers, Maine and the Loire. It borders Mayenne and Sarthe to the north, Loire-Atlantique to the west, Indr ...

). Most of the territory is part of

, but several villages in

are usually included in the Pays de la Mée. Moreover, its limits are not very clear; for example, Candé, a small town in

, was named ''Candé-en-la-Mée'' during the Middle Ages. The landscape of the Pays de la Mée is hilly because it is on the eastern side of the

Armorican Massif The Armorican Massif (, ) is a geologic massif that covers a large area in the northwest of France, including Brittany, the western part of Normandy and the Pays de la Loire. It is important because it is connected to Dover on the British side o ...

. The ground is mostly made of

schist Schist ( ) is a medium-grained metamorphic rock generally derived from fine-grained sedimentary rock, like shale. It shows pronounced ''schistosity'' (named for the rock). This means that the rock is composed of mineral grains easily seen with a l ...

and contains small amounts of iron ore, which was particularly exploited during the 19th century. The area is also crossed by several small rivers, such as the Don, and watermills used to be numerous. The area is mainly devoted to agriculture, especially cattle breeding.

History

''Pays de la Mée'', literally translated to ''Land of la Mée,'' means "''pays du milieu''" ("middle-country") in French. The area is located between

Angers Angers (, , ;) is a city in western France, about southwest of Paris. It is the Prefectures of France, prefecture of the Maine-et-Loire department and was the capital of the province of Duchy of Anjou, Anjou until the French Revolution. The i ...

Nantes Nantes (, ; ; or ; ) is a city in the Loire-Atlantique department of France on the Loire, from the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. The city is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, sixth largest in France, with a pop ...

, and

Rennes Rennes (; ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in Northwestern France at the confluence of the rivers Ille and Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the Brittany (administrative region), Brittany Regions of F ...

. Around the 10th century, it was a

buffer zone A buffer zone, also historically known as a march, is a neutral area that lies between two or more bodies of land; usually, between countries. Depending on the type of buffer zone, it may serve to separate regions or conjoin them. Common types o ...

when the counts of each city were fighting. It also has an old mercantile tradition—the fair at

was founded in 1049. The Pays de la Mée is first mentioned in 1055. It disappeared as an administrative unit around 1270, when the counties of Nantes and Rennes merged into one single state. The name "Pays de la Mée" saw a revival during the 1970s, and several institutions bear this name, such as a theatre. Its limits also corresponds to the Pays de Châteaubriant, a group of 33

communes A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

. File:Abbaye Notre-Dame de Melleray (3) - La Meilleraye-de-Bretagne.jpg, The Abbaye de Melleray. File:Chateaubriant - Maison Ange (2).jpg, Half-timbered house,

. File:Halle neuve (2) - Moisdon-la-Rivière.jpg, Old forge in

Moisdon-la-Rivière Moisdon-la-Rivière (; Gallo: ''Maèdon'', ) is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France. Population See also *Communes of the Loire-Atlantique department The following is a list of the 207 communes of the Loire-A ...

. File:Forges de la Jahotière (logis façade) - Abbaretz.jpg, A manor in

Abbaretz Abbaretz (; Gallo: ''Abarèt'', ) is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in the Pays de la Loire region of western France. Geography Abbaretz is located 20 km south-west of Châteaubriant and 20 km north-east of Blain. Acc ...

. File:Forges de la Jahotière (usine ext) - Abbaretz.jpg, Ruins of a forge in

References

Geography of Brittany History of Brittany Loire-Atlantique {{LoireAtlantique-geo-stub