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Why were the Celts of Armorica only partly Romanized?

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The old walled city of Saint-Malo, Brittany région, France. — Brittany The old walled city of Saint-Malo, Brittany *région*, France.

The Celts of Armorica (modern-day Brittany) were never more than superficially Romanized following their conquest by Julius Caesar in 56 BCE.1

While much of Gaul experienced rapid assimilation into the Greco-Roman world during the first centuries of Roman rule—characterized by the adoption of Latin, the development of urban centers, and the construction of Roman-style infrastructure—Armorica remained distinct. The limited depth of this Romanization is attributed to the region's peripheral nature and its strong, enduring Celtic cultural identity.231

Following the withdrawal of the Romans, the region's character was further reinforced in the 5th and 6th centuries by significant waves of migration from the British Isles, as people fled the Anglo-Saxon invasions. These migrants introduced the Breton language, which became firmly established in the western part of the peninsula, further distinguishing the area from the Romanized, Romance-speaking regions of eastern Gaul.415