Editing Nantes (section)

===Middle Ages===
[[File:Cathédrale Saint-Pierre de Nantes - façade.jpg|thumb|alt=Photo of Nantes Cathedral|[[Nantes Cathedral]], rebuilt in the [[Gothic style]] beginning in the 15th century]]
Like much of the region, Nantes was part of the [[Roman Empire]] during the early Middle Ages. Although many parts of [[Brittany]] experienced significant Breton immigration (loosening ties to Rome), Nantes remained allied with the empire until its collapse in the fifth century.{{sfn|Bois|1977|p=47}} Around 490, the [[Franks]] under [[Clovis I]] captured the city (alongside eastern Brittany) from the [[Visigothic Kingdom|Visigoths]] after a sixty-day siege;<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Mathisen |first=Ralph W. |url=https://www.academia.edu/3624016 |title=The First Franco-Visigothic War and the Prelude to the Battle of Vouillé |journal=The Battle of Vouillé, 507 Ce |year=2012 |page=5 |language=en}}</ref> it was used as a stronghold against the [[Bretons]]. 

Under [[Charlemagne]] in the eighth century the town was the capital of the [[Marches of Neustria|Breton March]], a buffer zone protecting the [[Carolingian Empire]] from Breton invasion. The first governor of the Breton March was [[Roland]], whose feats were mythologized in the body of literature known as the [[Matter of France]].{{sfn|Pétré-Grenouilleau|2008|p=25}} 

After Charlemagne's death in 814, Breton armies invaded the March and fought the Franks. [[Nominoe]] (a Breton) became the first duke of Brittany, seizing Nantes in 850. Discord marked the first decades of Breton rule in Nantes as Breton lords fought among themselves, making the city vulnerable to [[Viking]] incursions. The most spectacular Viking attack in Nantes occurred in 843, when Viking warriors killed the bishop but did not settle in the city at that time.{{sfn|Pétré-Grenouilleau|2008|p=25}} Nantes became part of the Viking realm in 919, but the Norse were expelled from the town in 937 by [[Alan II, Duke of Brittany]].{{sfn|Pétré-Grenouilleau|2008|p=26}}

[[Feudalism]] took hold in France during the 10th and 11th centuries, and Nantes was the seat of a [[county of Nantes|county]] founded in the ninth century. Until the beginning of the 13th century, it was the subject of succession crises which saw the town pass several times from the [[Duchy of Brittany|Dukes of Brittany]] to the counts of [[County of Anjou|Anjou]] (of the [[House of Plantagenet]]).{{sfn|Pétré-Grenouilleau|2008|p=27}} During the 14th century, Brittany experienced a [[War of the Breton Succession|war of succession]] which ended with the accession of the [[Montfort of Brittany|House of Montfort]] to the ducal throne. The Montforts, seeking emancipation from the [[suzerainty]] of the French kings, reinforced Breton institutions. They chose Nantes, the largest town in Brittany (with a population of over 10,000), as their main residence and made it the home of their council, their [[treasury]] and their [[chancery (medieval office)|chancery]].{{sfn|Pétré-Grenouilleau|2008|pp=48–49}}{{sfn|Le Page|2014|pp=22–23}} Port traffic, insignificant during the [[Middle Ages]], became the city's main activity.{{sfn|Decours|2006|p=26}} Nantes began to trade with foreign countries, exporting [[salt]] from [[Bourgneuf-en-Retz|Bourgneuf]],{{sfn|Decours|2006|p=26}} wine, fabrics and hemp (usually to the [[British Isles]]).{{sfn|Histoire du Port}} 

The 15th century is considered Nantes's first golden age.{{sfn|Pétré-Grenouilleau|2008|p=32}}{{sfn|Bois|1977|p=90}} The reign of [[Francis II, Duke of Brittany|Francis II]] saw many improvements to a city in dire need of repair after the wars of succession and a series of storms and fires between 1387 and 1415. Many buildings were built or rebuilt (including the cathedral and the castle), and the [[University of Nantes]], the first in Brittany, was founded in 1460.{{sfn|Pétré-Grenouilleau|2008|p=31}}