History Characters / WarhammerBretonnia

* {{Familiar}}: She possesses a toad that is said to be a wizard that displeased her was turned into this creature. It helps her by adding a dice to her power and dispel pool.

* DroppedABridgeOnHim: To the Bretonnians, his death at the hands of an ordinary ranged weapon came as such a shock that they forever came to despise them.

* FounderOfTheKingdom: United the tribes of Bretonnia into one under his leadership.

[[center: [-[[{{Characters/Warhammer}} Main characters index]] | [[Characters/WarhammerTheEmpire The Empire]] | '''Bretonnia''' | [[Characters/WarhammerDwarfs Dwarfs]] | [[Characters/WarhammerHighElves High Elves]] | [[Characters/WarhammerDarkElves Dark Elves]] | [[Characters/WarhammerWoodElves Wood Elves]] | [[Characters/WarhammerLizardmen Lizardmen]] | [[Characters/WarhammerVampireCounts Vampire Counts]] | [[Characters/WarhammerTombKings Tomb Kings]] | [[Characters/WarhammerChaosGodsAndDaemons Daemons of Chaos]] | [[Characters/WarhammerWarriorsOfChaos Warriors of Chaos]] | [[Characters/WarhammerBeastsOfChaos Beastmen]] | [[Characters/WarhammerChaosDwarfs Chaos Dwarfs]] | [[Characters/WarhammerSkaven Skaven]] | [[Characters/WarhammerGreenskins Greenskins]] | [[Characters/WarhammerOgreKingdoms Ogre Kingdoms]] | [[Characters/WarhammerOtherFactions Others]] ]]-]

* AristocratsAreEvil: The characterisation of Bretonnian aristocrats tends to {{Zigzag|gedTrope}} across editions. During the earliest editions of the game, the Bretonnians were based around France during the reign of Louis XVI to the point that Slaaneshi pleasure cults were widespread amongst the aristocrats. From around 6th Edition onward, the depiction of nobles became a bit more mixed, with many depicted in a ChivalricRomance style while others were shown to be obsessed with warfare or simply cared little for the lives of their subjects.

* {{BFS}}: It is Bretonnian tradition that, when a Knight of the Realm gives up his position and takes the vow of a Questing Knight, they discard their lance in favour of the time-honoured weapon of the Quest, a large two-handed greatsword that the knight wields with expert proficiency.
* BlueBlood: The knights of Bretonnia all belong to the nobility of the country. Going back to the companions of Gilles Le Breton, the ruling class is the only one allowed to become real warriors defending their kingdom and are expected to be very good at it. Of course, being nobles, they benefit from all the luxury they can grab though.

** From the 5th Edition of the game onwards, gunpowder weapons are said to be illegal with the Bretonnian knights themselves being banned from using other ranged weapons by their [[HonorBeforeReason rules of honour]].

* ImmuneToBullets: Bretonnia may be stuck in the Middle Ages but due to the blessings of the Lady of the Lake, many of their units have magical protection against guns, allowing them to hold their own against the Empire, Dwarves, and Skaven, all of whom use guns.
* InertialImpalement: The Bowmen of Bretonnia, being CombatPragmatist, have taken to defend themselves against incoming enemies by raising ''Defensive Stakes'' cut out of nearby trees and planted in sharp fences to dissuade charges. In game, any model charging the Bowmen and going through the ''Defensive Stakes'' basically counts as not having charged although they can fight at close range with Bowmen. Any bonus or rule associated with charging are rendered moot.

* KnightErrant: There are the actual Knights Errant, who are just young knights eager to prove themselves in battle, but the Questing Knights fit the trope better, who discard everything they own in search of the Grail. However, should they successfully drink from the Grail, take back the lands and titles they gave up before, but most choose not to.

* OurGryphonsAreDifferent: Hypogriffs are huge monsters with the body of a lion, wings, and a bird-like head. They are a favored mount for Lords and the difficulty of raising them actually attracts the attention of many knights.
* OutOfFocus: The Bretonnian faction has gone through the latest two editions without a new army book and they were among the least important factions depicted in the End Times, with all of Bretonnia being ruined offscreen with next to no named characters whose story is known.

* SiegeEngines: Bretonnian knights look down on siege engines but aren’t foolish enough to disdain such weapons entirely. Bretonnia exclusively use the Field Trebuchet to launch rocks at the enemy. In game, the Field Trebuchet is the only war machine available to Bretonnia. It has, thanks to its design made to lay siege to castles, a shooting attack of Strength 10 to 5 and a range going up to 60”. However, its size also means that the trebuchet cannot be displaced at all.

* VestigialEmpire: While Bretonnia isn't actually Vestigial, it's one of the most primitive cultures in the Warhammer world, barring the "savage" races like Orcs, Goblins and Beastmen. As a result, Bretonnia's presence in the global stage is pretty much non-existent. They have very little considered worth trading by the Empire, barring wine[[note]]Bretonnia beer, on the other hand, is universally considered undrinkable swill; "Is your brewer Bretonnian?" is fighting words in every tavern in the world[[/note]], spices and chefs, their social structure is considered absurdly backwards and archaic[[note]]by Imperial standards, Bretonnian peasants are about the same level as the residents of [[{{Uberwald}} Sylvania]]; a bunch of superstitious, inbred yokels barely two steps above the ghouls that infest that land[[/note]], and about the only reason they haven't been conquered by more technologically advanced forces is because they literally have a goddess protecting Bretonnian forces by interfering with incoming gunfire and arrows. In typical BlackComedy fashion, the Bretonnians are completely oblivious to their reputation as a joke beyond their own lands and tell themselves that every other nation in the world envies them for their clearly superior culture. The only thing that CAN be said for Bretonnia is that they have the best Knights and Calvary in the world, even surpassing the Empire's Calvary.

* WhiteMagicianGirl: Prophetesses and Damsels are women born with magical talents who, after being taken by the Lady and taught magic with her, return to Bretonnia and act as counselors and support in the battlefield. The Damsels exclusively wield lores related to nature such as the ''Lore of Life'' or the ''Lore of Beast'' or the ''Lore of Heavens''. Their ''Aura of the Lady'' rule also grants them the ''Magic Resistance'' rule.

[[folder:The Green Knight]]
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/green_knight_art.jpg]]

A mysterious knight that appears to challenge Questing Knights on their quest.

* {{Retcon}}: She was explicitly stated to be an Elf in early editions -- the RPG's 2nd edition Bretonnia sourcebook, for instance, states that Elven characters instantly recognize her as a member of their species -- but by 8th edition she's instead firmly described as a magically enhanced human.

* {{Retcon}}: She was explicitly stated to be an Elf in early editions -- the RPG's 2nd edition Bretonnia sourcebook, for instance, states that Elven characters instantly recognize her as a member of her species -- but by 8th edition she's instead firmly described as a magically enhanced human.

* {{Retcon}}: She was explicitly stated to be an Elf in older editions, but recent lore instead has her as a magically enhanced human.

* BalefulPolymorph: Said to turn wizards she dislikes into toads. She even carries a toad familiar around which she draws additional power from.

* CourtMage: Serves Bretonnia in this capacity, along with being [[HighPriest their highest religious authority.]]

* LegacyCharacter: Possibly. There has been a Fay Enchantress since the earliest history of Bretonnia, however it is unknown whether the position is an inherited one, or if it is filled by a single, immortal being.

* ArmyOfThievesAndWhores: The Herrimaults outlaw bands are made up of the criminals and assorted undesirables of Bretonnian society -- runaway serfs, levy dodgers, poachers, {{Sweet Polly Oliver}}s who were found out, disgraced nobles, failed rebels, and everyone else who got on the nobility's bad side, united in a quest to strike back against Bretonnia's stifling social order.

* EnemyMine:
** Bretonnia often joins forces with the Empire against the Greenskins, the Skaven, Chaos and other mutual threats, despite the two nations otherwise being rivals.
** Within Bretonnia itself, the nobles are often at odds with the Herrimaults, forest-dwelling bandits who fight the nobility to help the peasants. The nobles and Herrimaults, however, will still join forces or at least cease hostilities to deal with the worshippers of Chaos -- the Code of the Herrimaults has a special proviso allowing them to ally with tyrants in order to oppose the Ruinous Powers.

* JustLikeRobinHood: The Herrimaults play this very straight, unusually for the setting. They're a loose-knit group of outlaws and runaway peasants forced to flee Bretonnian society for a variety of crimes and misdeeds (poaching, levy dodging, [[DisproportionateRetribution getting too close to a noble's horse]], etcetera), with some disgraced nobles and {{Sweet Polly Oliver}}s thrown in. They fight against Bretonnia's stifling caste system and oppressive nobility, live in hiding in the woods, and protect the peasantry from both the Beastmen and Orcs in the forests and the worst of the nobles' punishments; unsurprisingly, they're quite popular among the poor. The live by a very strict code requiring them to uphold chivalry and protect the helpless, and are very protective of their reputation -- groups claiming their name do turn up with less than scrupulous intentions, but are very quickly targeted by the more genuine Herrimaults. Their name outright comes from a variety of hooded cloak they wear -- like the real-life legend did -- and they're also called Hoods, Hoodies, and Wood Hoods.

* ArmyScout: Yeomen are peasant scouts doing the very dishonorable work of simply trying to watch for the enemy army and gather information. Despite their important work, they cannot ride on a proper Bretonnian warhorse and must make do with the peasantry’s horses, and it takes years of unappreciated service plus an exceptional feat to be elected to this relatively privileged position in the first place. In game, they form a unit of fast cavalry made for harassing.

-->''"... That which is sacrosanct I shall preserve.''
-->''That which is sublime, I will protect.''
-->''That which threatens, I will destroy.''
-->''For my holy wrath will know no bound..."''

* DecadeDissonance: Despite living right next to the Renaissance/Holy Roman Empire with added SteamPunk themed Empire, Bretonnia is perpetually stuck in a medieval Arthurian setting, a state of affairs that is perpetuated by the Bretonnian nobility and, it is implied, the manipulation of their Wood Elf neighbours. While the Empire is considered the more powerful nation of the two, the technological and cultural dissonance isn’t too much of a disadvantage for the Bretonnian due to their magic and their close relation with their deity.

* TheDungAges: Most definitely, at least for the commoners.

* KingInTheMountain: Mortally wounded, he was taken away by the Lady of the Lake on a ghost ship, but is said to return in Bretonnia's darkest hour. Meanwhile, the mysterious Green Knight is popularly speculated to be him... which is [[spoiler:confirmed]] in the End Times.

* KingInTheMountain: Mortally wounded, he was taken away by the Lady of the Lake on a ghost ship, but is said to return in Bretonnia's darkest hour. Meanwhile, the mysterious Green Knight is popularly speculated to be him.

!!The Righteous Champions of The Lady

[[folder:Gilles le Breton]]
!!Gilles le Breton

Also called the Uniter, Gilles was the first king of Bretonnia, having united the country and pushed out the rampaging greenskins.

* AnimalMotifs: Gilles carried the red dragon of Bastonne as his heraldry, having earned it from slaying a dragon.
* TheDragonslayer: Among his many deeds, he was also renowned for slaying a mighty dragon named Smearghus.
* DroppedABridgeOnHim: To the Bretonnians, his death at the hands of an ordinary ranged weapon came as such a shock that they forever came to despise them.
* {{Expy}}: Of King Arthur himself. Louen Leoncouer handled the bastard siring, though.
* FounderOfTheKingdom: United the tribes of Bretonnia into one under his leadership.
* KingInTheMountain: Mortally wounded, he was taken away by the Lady of the Lake on a ghost ship, but is said to return in Bretonnia's darkest hour. Meanwhile, the mysterious Green Knight is popularly speculated to be him.
* PosthumousCharacter: Died many years before the present timeline of the setting.
* RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething: He earned his crown battling hordes of greenskins and remained an active fighter after being crowned.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Louen Leoncoeur]]
!!King Louen Leoncoeur
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/louen_leoncoeur.gif]]


The ruling king of Bretonnia.
----

!!The Green Knight

!!Morgiana, the Fay Enchantress

Earthly representative of the Lady of the Lake and the cult's highest authority in Bretonnia.

* {{Stripperific}}: Some of the artwork for Morgiana[[note]]such as the picture of her blessing a knight from the 6th Edition Warhammer Armies: Bretonnia[[/note]] depict her wearing an incredibly skimpy outfit that would be more appropriate for a [[TheFairFolk Dark Elf]] Sorceress than a noble Bretonnian lady.
* {{Unicorn}}: Rides the unicorn Silvaron into battle.
[[/folder]]

* AristocratsAreEvil: Zigzagged across editions. In the earliest editions of the setting, the Bretonnians were based around France during the reign of Louis XVI to the point that Slaanesh's cult was practically universal amongst the aristocrats (whilst Nurgle's cult was spreading with equal fervor amongst the benighted peasants). From around 6th edition onwards, the nobles were depicted in much more the Chivalric Romance model and that bit about Slaanesh's cults was quietly wiped from canon.

* DecadeDissonance: Despite living right next to the Empire, Bretonnia is perpetually stuck in an Arthurian early middle ages setting and the ruling class prefer this state of affairs.

* JoustingLance: While lances are the WeaponOfChoice for the heavy cavalry of many factions, the Knights of Bretonnia take their use to even greater lengths, having developed a special formation to enhance the effectiveness of the weapon. Jousting tournaments are also one of the favourite pastimes of the Bretonnian nobility, and the is also the primary method used to settle disputes between Knights. In-game, the special Lance Formation allows a far greater number of Knights to attack in close combat to maximise the [[DashAttack Strength bonus lance armed cavalry gain when they charge]].

* BladeOnAStick: The knights of Bretonnia favour cavalry lances to make full use of the speed that their steeds give them and have becomes experts in cavalry charges and in jousting too. The lance, a basic weapon for knights, adds +2 Strength to their attacks on the charge.

* OneHundredPercentAdorationRating: Louen Leoncoeur is the greatest king since Gilles Le Breton, and all of Bretonnia admires and loves him for his prowess and honor. His rule ''Beloved Son of Bretonnia'' makes it so if he is slain, the entire army must pass a Panic test, but also becomes ''Stubborn'' as they now want to reclaim his body.

* {{BFS}}: Questing Knights discard their lances in favour of a greatsword.

* CoolHelmet: Virtually all Bretonnian knights wear great helmets adorned with amazingly colorful crests.

Bretonnia is a feudal kingdom situated to the west of The Empire and separated from the latter by the Grey Mountains. The country was founded nearly a thousand years after the Empire when [[FounderOfTheKingdom Gilles le Breton]] united the people of the land and drove the orcs away, and since then they have never abandoned their chivalric ways and the worship of their goddess, the Lady of the Lake. [[note]]Thematically, it's essentially high medieval France meets the [[Myth/KingArthur Arthurian mythos]].[[/note]] It is implied however, that Bretonnia may have been created by the Wood Elves to create a buffer state against their enemies, and it was eventually revealed that the Lady is the Elven goddess Lileath. Their current leader is Louen Leoncoeur of Couronne.

The pride of Bretonnia are its knights, noblemen donning armor and lance, and riding their steeds to battle. All knights from the young and eager Knights Errant to the blessed [[ThePaladin Grail Knights]] who found the Grail and drank from it, form fast and hard-hitting cavalry units with devastating charge. Those knights riding in battle are moreover supported by Damsels, the only magic-wielders of the realm, and poor units of low-born serving as Men-at-Arms or bowmen, or manning the trebuchet. Indeed, the honor-bound knights of Bretonnia look down on shooting weapons of any kind, and hate all magic that doesn't come from the Lady.

* AristocratsAreEvil: Zigzagged across editions. In the earliest editions of the setting, the Bretonnians were based around France during the reign of Louis XVI, to the point that Slaanesh's cult was practically universal amongst the aristocrats (whilst Nurgle's cult was spreading with equal fervor amongst the benighted peasants). From around 6th edition onwards, the nobles were depicted in much more the Chivalric Romance model, and that bit about Slaanesh's cults was quietly wiped from canon.
* ArmyScout: Yeomen are peasant scouts, doing the very dishonorable work of simply trying to watch for the enemy army and gather information. Despite their important work, they cannot ride on a proper Bretonnian warhorse and must make do with the peasantry’s horses, and it takes years of unappreciated service plus an exceptional feat to be elected to this relatively privileged position in the first place. In game, they form a unit of fast cavalry made for harassing.

* BadassNormal: Even more so than the Empire, as they make no use of firearms and only use magic in limited amounts. Bretonnia is effectively medieval France dropped into a horrific DarkFantasy, and they make do with only steel, faith, and courage.

* BladeOnAStick: The knights of Bretonnia favour cavalry lances to make full use of the speed that their steeds give them and have becomes experts in the charge and in jousting too. The lance, a basic weapon for knights, adds +2 Strength to their attacks on the charge.

* DecadeDissonance: Despite living right next to the Empire, Bretonnia is perpetually stuck in an Arthurian early middle ages setting, and the ruling class prefer this state of affairs.

* DoesntLikeGuns: The knights of Bretonnian all have a cultural hatred of bows, guns and such. Their founder and greatest hero Gilles Le Breton was after all, killed by an anonymous arrow and the undignified death of such a man made his surviving companions hate all shooting weapons. As a result, guns are nonexistent to the Bretonnian armies and bows are restricted to units of poor-quality bowmen, as while knights do know the utility of the weapon without wanting to approach the damned bows.

* FantasyCounterpartCulture: Largely medieval France, with a bit of medieval Britain to it, what with the faction name coming from [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Britannia#Medieval_use Britannia]] along with many KingArthur references and {{Expies}} in their fluff.

** From the 5th Edition of the game onwards, gunpowder weapons are said to be illegal, with the Bretonnian knights themselves being banned from using other ranged weapons by their [[HonorBeforeReason rules of honour]].

* FoeTossingCharge: The knights of Bretonnia have access to one special cavalry formation named the ''Lance'', a three model wide formation representing a column of knights charging at high speed and their tipped formation allowing greater penetration into the enemy ranks. If a ''Lance'' of Bretonnian Knights charges someone, all the units at the front and sides of the Lance can attack.

* TheGoodKingdom: Being an actual Kingdom, Bretonnia technically DOES count as this trope, though it subverts many aspects of the trope. Peasants are treated poorly, and they refuse to evolve technologically.
* HeroicVow: Knights usually mark their entry to knighthood with vows of virtue and duty, and the vows only become more restrictive as a knight advances in the ranks. The Bretonnian army represents this with the Special ''Vow'' rules, granting knights different bonus depending on the ''Vow'' in question. For instance the ''Knight’s Vow'' allows Knights of the Realm to ignore ''Panic'' caused by peasants while the ''Grail Vow'' makes Grail Knights ''Immune to Psychology'' and automatically grants them the ''Blessing of the Lady''.
* HeroWorshipper: Grail Pilgrims, who worship the Grail Knights and follow them around so as to share in the Lady of the Lake's blessing. It's also deconstructed as the pilgrims loot the corpses of Grail Knights for any idols of the Lady, but sometimes they even end up accidentally killing wounded, but still alive, Grail Knights by running them over. Sometimes they even loot an entire Grail Knight's body and load him up on a Grail Reliquae.
* HonorBeforeReason: An enforced trope. Bretonnian nobility has a huge emphasis on honor and so its knights tend to do the most honorable thing to them according to the rules of chivalry and honor, at the detriment of the sensible things. The Lady also enforces this mindset. In game, this way of life is representing in knights being practically obliged to issue and accept challenges or otherwise lose the ''Blessing of the Lady''.
* ImmuneToBullets: Bretonnia may be stuck in the Middle Ages, but due to the blessings of the Lady of the Lake, many of their units have magical protection against guns, allowing them to hold their own against the Empire, Dwarves, and Skaven, all of whom use guns.

** The knights of Bretonnia live and breathe for the ideal, with quite a few exceptions. Their disregard and treatment of the peasantry tarnishes it however. As the Grail Knights are supposed to be all paragons of virtue (which is presumed to include the Virtue of Empathy that the vast majority of knights fail to exhibit) to become one, but Bretonnian nobles' sense of morals is a bit different from the usual person's, so it tends to come down to a player's own interpretation whether the Grail Knights are genuine examples of this trope.

* MedievalStasis: Although perhaps justified, because it's suggested that the Wood Elves are deliberately keeping them there to act as an easily manipulated human shield.
* OurGryphonsAreDifferent: Hypogriffs are huge monsters with the body of a lion, wings, and a bird-like head. They are a favored mount for Lords, and the difficulty of raising them actually attracts the attention of many knights.
* OutOfFocus: The Bretonnian faction has gone through the latest two editions without a new army book, and they were among the least important factions depicted in the End Times, with all of Bretonnia being ruined offscreen with next to no named characters whose story is known.

* TheQuest: Questing Knights are knight who vow to seek the Lady and the Grail, abandoning all possessions save their weapons and horse to start WalkingTheEarth (a Questing Knight cannot, among other requirements, sleep two nights in the same place) to perform heroic deeds and attract the attention of the Lady. A model with the Questing Vow may ignore Panic caused by other units, reroll failed psychology tests and cannot be joined by characters with the Knight’s Vow. In addition, they cannot wield lances. Those who manage to complete that quest are blessed forever by the Lady.

* VestigialEmpire: While Bretonnia isn't actually Vestigial, It's one of the most primitive cultures in the Warhammer world, barring the "savage" races like Orcs, Goblins and Beastmen. As a result, Bretonnia's presence in the global stage is pretty much non-existent. They have very little considered worth trading by the Empire, barring wine[[note]]Bretonnia beer, on the other hand, is universally considered undrinkable swill; "Is your brewer Bretonnian?" is fighting words in every tavern in the world[[/note]], spices and chefs, their social structure is considered absurdly backwards and archaic[[note]]by Imperial standards, Bretonnian peasants are about the same level as the residents of [[{{Uberwald}} Sylvania]]; a bunch of superstitious, inbred yokels barely two steps above the ghouls that infest that land[[/note]], and about the only reason they haven't been conquered by more technologically advanced forces is because they literally have a goddess protecting Bretonnian forces by interfering with incoming gunfire and arrows. In typical BlackComedy fashion, the Bretonnians are completely oblivious to their reputation as a joke beyond their own lands and tell themselves that every other nation in the world envies them for their clearly superior culture. The only thing that CAN be said for Bretonnia is that they have the best Knights and Calvary in the world, even surpassing the Empire's Calvary.
* WeHaveReserves: Knights don't really care about commoners fleeing, though unusually for this trope this is more a case of ProudWarriorRaceGuy disdain than simple evilness: the arrogant and elitist nobles ''expect'' peasantry to break in the face of a real fight, considering them on the same level as sheep.

* CoolCrown: Adorned with fleurs-de-lys and blessed with a kiss from the Lady of the Lake, the crown has passed from king to king since the coronation of Gilles' son. In game, the ''Crown of Bretonnia'' gives him a range of 18" for his ''Inspiring Presence'' bubble and makes units in range immune to ''Panic''.

* BattleAura: The Fey Enchantress exudes a powerful supernatural aura. In game, she causes ''Fear'' and to the Forces of Destruction (excluding daemons and undead) she causes ''Terror''.

* BadassArmy: Downplayed. However, when the King of Bretonnia goes to war, he does so accompanied with the finest knights of the country. In game, if he is present in an army, then this one, to represent how it is mostly composed of the creme of Bretonnia, doesn't have the restriction on Grail Knights and Men-at-arms and Bowmen become special choice.
* TheChampion: Louen is The Lady of the Lake's appointed champion in the world. To represent it, he possesses the ''The Lady's Champion'' rule giving him an automatic ''Blessing of the Lady'' and ''Regeneration'' to indicate how much She protects him. However, if he flees or refuses a challenge, then he takes an immediate wound that cannot be saved.

* TheParagon: As King of Bretonnia, Louen Leoncoeur has become the gold standard by which knights judge themselves. In game, his ''Puissant Virtue'' allows him to reroll failet hits and wounds rolls during a challenge and he also counts as having the ''Virtue of Purity'' (making his ''Blessing of the Lady'' a permanent 5+ ward save).
* RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething: The kings of Bretonnia are ''required'' to be great knights before they can take the throne. Louen's earning of Grail Knight powers came from trying to fight off a necromancer with a large undead army along with [[WithThisHerring sixteen other knights]] (his father didn't like that he had returned from his Questing Vow empty-handed).

* TheDreaded: Inspires ''Terror'' in his foes, though the Beastmen in particular speak of him with dread, having slain untold thousands of their kind over the centuries.

* HeroicVow: Knights usually mark their entry to knighthood with vows of virtue and duty, and the vows only become more restricted as a knight advances in the ranks. The Bretonnian army represents this with the Special ''Vow'' rules, granting knights different bonus depending on the ''Vow''. For instance the ''Knight’s Vow'' allows Knights of the Realm to ignore ''Panic'' caused by peasants while the ''Grail Vow'' makes Grail Knights ''Immune to Psychology'' and automatically grants them the ''Blessing of the Lady''.

* KnightErrant: Surprisingly not the Knights Errant, who are just young knights eager to prove themselves in battle, but actually the Questing Knights, who discard everything in search of the Grail. They can, however, should they drink from the Grail, take back the lands and titles they gave up before, but most choose not to.

** The knights of Bretonnia live and breathe for the ideal, with quite a few exceptions. Their disregard and treatment of the peasantry tarnishes it however. As the Grail Knights are supposed to be all paragons of virtue (which is presumed to include the Virtue of Empathy that the vast majority of knights fail to exhibit) to become one, but Bretonnia's nobles' sense of morals is a bit different from the usual person's, it tends to come down to a player's own interpretation whether the Grail Knights are genuinely of this trope.

* LoonyLaws: Since nobles have effectively unlimited authority in their dominions, the power can go straight to their heads, and result in some... interesting laws unless directly countermanded by order of the king (with another law-one book relates the tale of how this means that, legally speaking, every male of a certain age must shout "griffon fingers!" to the sky while saluting it on the evening of a full moon, though the nobility is sane enough to pretend the law doesn't exist).

* OutOfFocus: The Bretonnian faction has gone through the latest two editions without a new army book, and they were among the least important factions depicted in the End Times, all of Bretonnia’s being ruined offscreen with next to no named characters whose story is known.
* ThePaladin: The Grail Knights, knights who have finished the quest and drunk from the Grail. The Paladin is also a hero choice unit, but is used more in the meaning of a particularly mighty knight, than this trope.
* {{Pegasus}}: In the city of Parravon near the Grey Mountains, Bretonnia raises a large number of pegasi: winged horses whose strength but also intelligence and loyalty to their masters is very high. Bretonnia’s Pegasus Knights act as a rare flying cavalry that can bypass unimportant enemy units charge vulnerable key units.

* TheQuest: Questing Knights are knight who vow to seek the Lady and the Grail, abandoning all possessions save their weapons and horse and WalkingTheEarth (a Questing Knight cannot among others sleep two nights in the same place) to perform heroic deeds and attract the attention of the Lady. A model with the Questing Vow may ignore Panic caused by other units, reroll failed psychology tests and cannot be joined by characters with the Knight’s Vow. In addition, they cannot wield lances. Those who manage to complete that quest are blessed forever by the Lady.
* UnwittingPawn: For years, fans have theorized from hints in the fluff that Bretonnia's entire culture is the result of manipulation by the Wood Elves to control them[[note]]keeping them from industrializing to protect Athel Loren, for example[[/note]] and to exploit them as CannonFodder. [[spoiler:It turns out that this is exactly right, and the Lady was an Elven goddess' disguise all along.]]
* RedshirtArmy: Alongside or rather under the knights of Bretonnia fight the Men-at-arms, peasants selected by the local nobles to act as a much needed if expendable infantry unit. These men having the barest of training and equipment are quite mediocre, and only their cheapness may make them attractive.
* ReligiousBruiser: Bretonnia worships its gods a lot and none as fervously as the Lady and to a lesser defree Shallya. In game, the entire army can pray at the very beginning of the game, to gain the ''Blessing of the Lady'', they thus relinquish initiative a ward save for all knights.

* VestigialEmpire: While Bretonnia isn't actually Vestigial, It's one of the most primitive cultures in the Warhammer world, barring the "savage" races like Orcs, Goblins and Beastmen. As a result, Bretonnia's presence in the global stage is pretty much non-existent. They have very little considered worth trading by the Empire, barring wine[[note]]Bretonnia beer, on the other hand, is universally considered undrinkable swill; "Is your brewer Bretonnian?" is fighting words in every tavern in the world[[/note]], spices and chefs, their social structure is considered absurdly backwards and archaic[[note]]by Imperial standards, Bretonnian peasants are about the same level as the residents of [[{{Uberwald}} Sylvania]], a bunch of superstitious, inbred yokels barely two steps above the ghouls that infest that land[[/note]], and about the only reason they haven't been conquered by more technologically advanced forces is because they literally have a goddess protecting them by interfering with gunfire. In typical BlackComedy fashion, the Bretonnians are completely obliviousness to their reputation as a joke beyond their own lands and tell themselves that every other nation in the world envies them for their clearly superior culture. The only thing that CAN be said for Bretonnia is that they have the best Knights and Calvary in the world, even surpassing the Empires Calvary.

Bretonnia is a feudal kingdom situated to the west of The Empire and separated from the latter by the Grey Mountains. The country was founded nearly a thousand years after the Empire when [[FounderOfTheKingdom Gilles le Breton]] united the people of the land and drove the orcs away, and since then they have never abandoned their chivalric ways and the worship of their goddess, the Lady of the Lake. [[note]]Thematically, it's essentially high medieval France meets the [[Myth/KingArthur Arthurian mythos]].[[/note]] It is implied however, that Bretonnia may have been created by the Wood Elves to create a buffer state against their enemies, and it is revealed that the Lady is the Elven goddess Lileath. Their current leader is Louen Leoncoeur of Couronne.

The pride of Bretonnia are its knights, noblemen donning armor and lance, and riding their steeds to battle. All knights from the young and eager Knights Errant to the blessed [[ThePaladin Grail Knights]] who found the Grail and drank from it, form fast and hard-hitting cavalry units with devastating charge. Those knights riding in battle are moreover supported by Damsel, the only magic-wielders of the realm, and poor units of low-born serving as Men-at-Arms or bowmen, or manning the trebuchet. Indeed, the honor-bound knights of Bretonnia look down on shooting weapons of any kind, and hate all magic that doesn't come from the Lady.

The country's populace is split in two. First the powerful high-born knights and ladies rule the lands and fight to protect their territories, sometimes going on quests to prove themselves or find the famed Grail to honor their goddess. In contrast to the knights, the peasantry of Bretonnia are downtrodden and mistreated, with heavy taxes levied upon them.

* ArmyScout: Yeomen are peasant scouts doing the much dishonorable work of simply trying to watch for the enemy army and gather information. Despite their important work they cannot ride on a Bretonnian warhorse and must make do with the peasantry’s horses, and it takes years of ungrateful service plus an exceptional feat to be elected in that relatively privileged position. In game, they form a unit of fast cavalry made for harassing.

* BladeOnAStick: The knights of Bretonnia favour cavalry lances to make full use of the speed their steeds give them and have becomes experts in the charge and in jousting too. The lance, a basic weapon for knights, adds +2 Strength to their attacks on the charge.
* BlueBlood: The knights of all Bretonnia all belong to the nobility of the country. Going back to the companions of Gilles Le Breton, the ruling class is the only one allowed to become real warriors defending their kingdom and are expected to be very good at it. Of course, being nobles, they benefit from all the luxury they can grab though.

* DecadeDissonance: Despite living right next to the Empire, Bretonnia is perpetually stuck in an Arthurian early middle ages setting.

* DoesntLikeGuns: The knights of Bretonnian all have a cultural hatred of bows, guns and such. Their founder and greatest hero Gilles Le Breton was after all, killed by an anonymous arrow and the undignified death of such a man made his companions hate all shooting weapons. As a result, guns are nonexistent to the Bretonnian armies and bows are restricted to units of poor-quality bowmen as knights know the utility of the weapon without wanting to approach the damned bows.

** From the 5th Edition of the game onwards, gunpowder weapons are said to be illegal with the Bretonnian knights themselves being banned from using other ranged weapons by their [[HonorBeforeReason rules of honour]].
** Some older background material and GaidenGames {{ZigZag|gingTrope}} the ban on ranged weapons. In these sources Bretonnia outlaws crossbows on Bretonnian soil and while firearms aren't mentioned, extending the ban to also include black-powder weapons is generally considered to be within the spirit of the law. There are, however, some powerful mercantile groups who want the law either interpreted more literally or amended outright so the major ports can use cannon in their defense works. The Bretonnian Navy uses cannon with impunity, since their cannon are [[ExactWords never brought onto Bretonnian soil but stay on the ships]].

* FoeTossingCharge: The knights of Bretonnia have access to one special cavalry formation named the ''Lance'', a three models wide formation representing a column of knights charging at high speed and their tipped formation allowing greater penetration into the enemy ranks. If a ''Lance'' of Bretonnian Knights charges someone, all the units at the front and sides of the Lance can attack.

* FantasyGunControl: Played with a fair bit: Bretonnia outlaws crossbows on Bretonnian soil. Firearms aren't mentioned, but extending the ban to also include black-powder weapons is generally considered to be within the spirit of the law. There are however some powerful mercantile groups who want the law either interpreted more literally or amended outright so the major ports can use cannon in their defense works. The Bretonnian Navy uses cannon with impunity, since their cannon are [[ExactWords never brought onto Bretonnian soil but stay on the ships.]]

* FantasyGunControl: [[HonorBeforeReason Gunpowder weapons are illegal]], other ranged weapons are spurned by knights.

* Familiar: She possesses a toad that is said to be a wizard that displeased her was turned into this creature. It helps her by adding a dice to her power and dispel pool.

* Stripperific: The Fay Enchantress is in one picture shown with barely anything covering her top.

[[center: [-[[{{Characters/Warhammer}} Main characters index]] | [[Characters/WarhammerTheEmpire The Empire]] | '''Bretonnia''' | [[Characters/WarhammerDwarfs Dwarfs]] | [[Characters/WarhammerHighElves High Elves]] | [[Characters/WarhammerDarkElves Dark Elves]] | [[Characters/WarhammerWoodElves Wood Elves]] | [[Characters/WarhammerLizardmen Lizardmen]] | [[Characters/WarhammerVampireCounts Vampire Counts]] | [[Characters/WarhammerTombKings Tomb Kings]] | [[Characters/WarhammerChaosGodsAndDaemons Daemons of Chaos]] | [[Characters/WarhammerWarriorsOfChaos Warrios of Chaos]] | [[Characters/WarhammerBeastsOfChaos Beastmen]] | [[Characters/WarhammerChaosDwarfs Chaos Dwarfs]] | [[Characters/WarhammerSkaven Skaven]] | [[Characters/WarhammerGreenskins Greenskins]] | [[Characters/WarhammerOgreKingdoms Ogre Kingdoms]] | [[Characters/WarhammerOtherFactions Others]] ]]-]

[[center: [-[[{{Characters/Warhammer}} Main characters index]] | [[Characters/WarhammerTheEmpire The Empire]] | '''Bretonnia''' | [[Characters/WarhammerDwarfs Dwarfs]] | [[Characters/WarhammerHighElves High Elves]] | [[Characters/WarhammerDarkElves Dark Elves]] | [[Characters/WarhammerWoodElves Wood Elves]] | [[Characters/WarhammerLizardmen Lizardmen]] | [[Characters/WarhammerVampireCounts Vampire Counts]] | [[Characters/WarhammerTombKings Tomb Kings]] | [[Characters/WarhammerChaosGodsAndDaemons Daemons of Chaos]] | [[Characters/WarhammerWarriorsOfChaos Warrios of Chaos]]| [[Characters/WarhammerBeastsOfChaos Beastmen]]| [[Characters/WarhammerChaosDwarfs Chaos Dwarfs]]| [[Characters/WarhammerSkaven Skaven]]| [[Characters/WarhammerGreenskins Greenskins]]| [[Characters/WarhammerOgreKingdoms Ogre Kingdoms]]| [[Characters/WarhammerOtherFactions Others]]]]-]

[[center: [-[[{{Characters/Warhammer}} Main characters index]] | [[Characters/WarhammerTheEmpire The Empire]] | '''Bretonnia''' | [[Characters/WarhammerDwarfs Dwarfs]] | [[Characters/WarhammerHighElves High Elves]] | [[Characters/WarhammerDarkElves Dark Elves]] | [[Characters/WarhammerWoodElves Wood Elves]] | [[Characters/WarhammerLizardmen Lizardmen]] | [[Characters/WarhammerVampireCounts Vampire Counts]] | [[Characters/WarhammerTombKings Tomb Kings]] | [[Characters/WarhammerChaosGodsAndDaemons Daemons of Chaos]] | [[Characters/WarhammerWarriorsOfChaos Warrios of Chaos]]| [[Characters/WarhammerBeastsOfChaos Beastmen]]| [[Characters/WarhammerChaosDwarfs Chaos Dwarfs]]| [[Characters/WarhammerSkaven Skavens]]| [[Characters/WarhammerGreenskins Greenskins]]| [[Characters/WarhammerOgreKingdoms Ogre Kingdoms]]| [[Characters/WarhammerOtherFactions Others]]]]-]