[12] "Antique geneologies, diligently kept by the bards, seemed to designate those who could pretend to the dignity of chiefs of a canton or family; for these words were synonymous in the tongue of the Gallic Breton, and the lines of descent were the basis of their social status."--Augustin Thierry, _Social State of the Bretons, History of the Conquest of Britany_, pp. 10, 11.