The Cities & Dukedoms

Bretonnia is made up of sixteen dukedoms and not all of them have a city. Bretonnian cities are entirely enclosed by a great wall, but are much smaller than cities of the Empire since much of the population of the nation live in the countryside. There are few craftsmen and little industry in the realm as everything the armies need can be made in the castles.

Bretonnian cities tend to be poorly administered with money raised for their up-keep being frequently embezzled by corrupt officials, or squandered on frivolities. Whole quarters lie in unattended ruins, fetid offal and rotting corpses block the narrow streets, whilst long-neglected sewers overflow, spilling their foul contents onto the already treacherous pavements. Only in the areas where the rich dwell is anyone free from this squalor.

The Walled Towns

The waited towns of Bretonnia are much smaller than the great cities of the Empire, since most of the population of Bretonnia live in the countryside and there are few craftsmen and little industry in the realm. Everything the Knights need can be made in their own castles. The towns of Bretonnia are small and compact and well fortified with massive walls. They are in all respects just like huge castles.

Couronne

Couronne is a great spa city, a market place for agricultural produce from the fertile Sannez valley, and is the capital of Bretonnia. It is also a mighty fortress where its bastions and gatehouses almost form castles in their own right. Couronne's huge army occupies its many keeps ever watchful for enemies intent on causing harm to the King.

In Couronne, wine, wheat, and meat from the surrounding areas are traded for luxurious silks and spices bought by traders from Magritta in Estalia to the south. But Couronne is most famous for its numerous springs and natural baths, whose steaming waters are said to have magical powers. On one of these springs lies the greatest temple to Shallya, Goddess of Healing, to which pilgrims hobble, crawl or are carried from every corner of the Old World.

Despite being the capital of Bretonnia with its undoubted finery it also has places where not even the Watch will go. This area is known as 'the Cesspit', which lies on the west bank of the city; Couronne is actually built upon a series of sloping hills with the better parts on the east bank of the River Sannez. The Cesspit is a refuge of villainy, sheltering criminals, murderers, and thieves, within the crowded suburb. Possibly the most dangerous areas are the docklands.

Incredibly, by virtue of its natural springs, the city within the walls is surprisingly clean by Bretonnian standards. Most large houses have their own basement hot-spring and water supply, whose constant flowings disperse the foul air and filth normally associated with Bretonnian settlements. Subterranean culverts direct the waters down into the Sannez in an ever-tumbling cascade, raising the water temperatures so much that the surrounding waters steam, and in the water the docks remain permanently ice-free. In Couronne, even the poor have a certain wholesome appearance.

Parravon

Parravon is a frontier town set in the foothills of the Grey Mountains, surrounded on all sides by chasms and approached only by a narrow bridge built by the Elves. Parravon is probably the most picturesque city in Bretonnia, lying upon the north bank of the upper Grismarie against a background of steeply rising chalk cliffs. The houses follow the valley floor for some four miles, never attaining a width of more than three or four streets. Many of the houses are cut into the rock face, or have cellars sunk into the soft stone, whilst the towering cliffs are home to thousands of birds whose white droppings pepper the red-tile roofs. The river is narrow here, and the upper limit for large ships is at the city's northern edge, where small dockland warehouses are cut directly into the rock. The citizens like to think of themselves as simple country folk, and are fairly prosperous, thriving upon abundant harvests of fruit and grain from the surrounding countryside.

Isolated from the rest of Bretonnia, the nobles of Parravon indulge in their whim for gardening and actually care for the well-being of their citizens. Yet even within the picturesque walls of Parravon the worm of Chaos is at work. At night the city changes, doors are bolted and windows latched and shutters closed. After sunset the streets become strangely empty and uneasy quiet descends, while the citizens remain indoors, unwilling to acknowledge the stranger's knock and grudging in their hospitality. For Parravon is afflicted by some strange sinister evil. At certain times of the year people mysteriously go missing in the night, when they are sleeping, by, it is claimed, winged daemons. The nobles put this down to the wizards of the city but the citizens believe it is the myth called 'the Gardener of Parravon'. The Gardener of Parravon was a deceitful man when he was alive and is said to conjure daemons from the very gardens of Parravon's wealthy to smite the poor. Even though the nobles see that the streets are patrolled, the strange events of missing commoners still occur.

The walls of city are high and support many tall towers giving the defenders a view across the mountain passes into the Empire to the east. The town is held by the Duc de Parravon who has his work cut out in defending the frontier of Bretonnia from marauding Orcs, Goblins and the ambitions of the warlike counts of the Empire

Quenelles

Quenelles is situated on the upper reaches of the River Brienne, almost on the edge of the Forest of Loren. Quenelles lies 50 miles to the west of the Loren Forest on the banks of the river Brienne. The city itself is accessible by sea-going vessels although further up this would not be possible as the river gradually becomes shallower. 

This is a truly splendid town in which much of the old Elf stonework remains intact. The region is renowned for its vast vineyards and splendid court held by the Duc de Quenelles. Feasting and tournaments are held here throughout the summer. In the outlying glades of the Forest of Loren which can be seen from the towers of Quenelles are many chapels of the grail each one built where the grail is reported to have appeared. Some of these are already so ancient as to be overgrown and forgotten.

Quenelles is a dark and dirty place. Its fortified wall, so often the feature of Bretonnian cities, has largely crumbled in many places due to poor maintenance. The crumbled masonry has, in turn, fallen onto the houses below, which are already in poor condition. Dilapidated shanty towns now grow out from these once proud walls and these are almost as vile as the slums within the city itself.

The nobles of Quenelles are as bad as they come. They delight in cruelty that is as notorious even by this city's appalling standards. Mutilation and torture are seen as adequate punishments for most crimes though it seems that anyone of wealth can commit a crime and get away with it. Because of this disfigured citizens are common place in the slums.

Gisoreux

Gisoreux is one of the largest cities in Bretonnia. It is located beside the River Ois, guarding the pass between the Pale Sisters and the Grey Mountains into the Empire. The fortress town is very strongly defended, having three circuits of walls with the towers and gatehouses becoming taller and stronger on the inner circuit. Facing the frontier with the Empire is the great keep of the Duc de Gisoreux. He has a vast retinue of Knights with which to hold back invading hordes who may attempt to come through the pass. Many battles have been fought here over the centuries and there art-many castles which have been ruined by siege to the east of the town.

The vast majority are poor, disabled, diseased, and politically volatile. This has given birth to one of the most feared groups in the city known as 'the Gisoreux Mob'. They like to think they are a civilised political party but in truth they take any opportunity to cause trouble and strife, hopefully causing a great punch-up at the end of it. The Gisoreux Mob is the most feared thuggish element in the city.

The difference between the rich and poor is always great in Bretonnia but in Gisoreux it is even more pronounced. The rich keep themselves to themselves and as long as they can live in hedonistic pleasure that is fine by them. This has left the poorer parts of the city to act as hives for evil. In disused tunnels and crumbling passages lie Chaos cultists practicing their filthy rituals in relative security. Even in Gisoreux their opposition to such practices but any opposition is often sluggish and languid. Gisoreux nobles have been known to pursue this different path as a way of satisfying their dark desires.

The city of Gisoreux is an important river crossing, controlling the 75 mile gap between the northern edge of the Grey Mountains and the Pale Sisters. It was from here that Gilles le Breton set out to conquer the surrounding states and thus lay the foundations of contemporary Bretonnia. A huge statue of this mighty warrior towers above the heaving throngs of the central market square.

The land in this direction is wild heath settled by shepherds and herdsmen. To the west is the vast and perilous Forest of Arden. In dark limes in the past, when Orcs, Chaos hordes, Skaven or Undead have stalked the land, Gisoreux has been completely cut off from the rest of Bretonnia by enemies on all sides. In those days, Knights would seek honour by hacking their way through the enemy to reinforce the defenders inside the town.