Bretonnia

The Kingdom of Bretonnia is a highly chivalrous feudal kingdom that lies between the lands of the Grey Mountains and the Great Ocean.[1a] Bretonnia is second only in size to that of the Empire of Man, both their chief rival and closest ally, having a culture and society that revolves around the ideals of nobility, social birthright, and the upholding of a strictly enforced code of chivalry.
Ruled by a Royarch, the nation of Bretonnia has been known throughout the kingdoms of man for having the greatest Knights in the entire Old World, even surpassing that of the Knightly Orders of the Empire. A proud and honourable kingdom, the armies of Bretonnia are comprised mostly of knights and noblemen, who ride into battle with lance, horse, and sword, seeking glory and rooting out injustice wherever they go. The Knights of Bretonnia are trained to fight from childhood, and even the lowliest Knights Errant are considered superior to ordinary warriors. Their skills are further enhanced through constant training, battles and tournaments. It is not only Bretonnia's knights who are famed however, for the kingdom also boasts the finest human sailors in the World. With their great sails billowing in the wind, Bretonnia's mighty fleets are a majestic sight on the high seas. Due to this regime, the combined military might of Bretonnia has surpassed that of even the greatest armies in history.
The religion that currently dominates this mighty feudal kingdom is the worship of a local elemental deity known only as the Lady of the Lake. This mysterious Goddess of Purity, Light and Order is believed to have aided Gilles le Breton in unifying Bretonnia into a single unified nation, during a Greenskin invasion from the Southern Mountains in 978 IC. The Bretonnian calendar is offset from the Sigmarian Empire's by about 977 years, as the people of the Bretonni weren't fully united until King Gilles' reign as the first Bretonnian monarch.
Bretonnia is widely considered to be the fairest and most beautiful land in all the Old World. It is a green land of fertile farms, rolling hills, starkly beautiful mountains, and airy forests. Bretonnian chefs are famous for their culinary skills, and the wine produced in the vineyards of the country is renowned throughout the world. It is seen as a land of honour and virtue, where noble knights keep the domain safe as peasants till the fields, where chivalrous heroes slay monsters and rescue fair damsels. This is the image Bretonnians want to project, and it is not entirely false.
However, though these honourable warriors are meant to uphold chivalry and justice above all other traits, they are nonetheless afflicted with a much darker side than the shining knights they believe themselves to be. Within the feudal social structure of Bretonnia, many knights consider their lowly subjects as sub-human, as if they are nothing more than property in their eyes. Indeed, the life of a Bretonnian peasant is a life often fraught with endless injustice and cruelty by a nobility whose sole duty was meant to protect them and to uphold their duties as beacons of justice.
Though such cruelty and injustices have since darkened their reputation, it is still believed that there are no mortal men whose martial prowess can equal the Knights of Bretonnia. Dedicated as they are, body and soul, to the pursuit of excellence in honour of the Lady of the Lake. These brave warriors form a bulwark against the growing evils of Chaos and the power of the Orcs, Goblins, Skaven and other monstrous creatures that threaten mankind's survival. They are protected by their honour and by their strength of arms, and whilst they endure the lands of men remain safe from destruction. If the Knights of Bretonnia were ever to fail in their sacred duties, then the whole of the human race would surely be doomed...

Related Ethnicities

• Bretonnian
• Wood Elf