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Normandy
- Where is Normandy located in France?
- What is Normandy known for?
- Which major cities can be found in Normandy?
- What are some famous foods or products from Normandy?
- Why was Normandy important during World War II?
- How does Normandy’s history influence its culture today?
Normandy, historic and culturalregion of northernFranceencompassing thedépartements of Manche, Calvados, Orne, Eure, and Seine-Maritime and coextensive with the former province of Normandy. It was recreated as an administrative entity in 2016 with the union of therégions ofBasse-Normandie andHaute-Normandie.
(Read Sir John Keegan’s Britannica entry on the Normandy Invasion.)
Ancient history
TheSeine andEure valleys were inhabited from Paleolithic times. Their Celtic inhabitants were conquered byJulius Caesar in 56bce, and the region eventually became the Roman province of Gallia Lugdunensis Secunda. Its inhabitants were Christianized in the 3rd and 4th centuriesce and passed underMerovingian Frankish rule in the late 5th century, becoming part of the Frankish kingdom ofNeustria.
The Normandy coast was repeatedly devastated by raids of theVikings, or Northmen, from the 8th century on, and, as itsCarolingian rulers became weaker, the Vikings penetrated farther inland in the course of their depredations. Finally the French kingCharles III the Simpleceded the territory aroundRouen and the mouth of the Seine River toRollo, the chief of the largest band of Vikings, in the Treaty of St. Clair-sur-Epte (911). Rollo’s Scandinavian countrymen immigrated in large numbers to settle the country, and they adopted theFrench language, customs, and religion. These Vikings became known asNormans, and the region they settled became known as Normandy.
Rollo’sChristianized successors to the dukedom of Normandy acquired neighboring territories in a series of wars, becoming so powerful that the control they exercised over their domains was practically independent of the French crown.William, duke of Normandy and a distantsuccessor to Rollo, mounted an invasion ofEngland in 1066, becomingWilliam I of England (William the Conqueror) and thus uniting the rule of England and Normandy in himself. When William died in 1087, the personal union of Normandy and England was broken as his sons disputed the succession. Their fraternal quarrels ended in 1106, when one son,Henry I, king of England, defeated his brother,Robert, duke of Normandy, in the Battle of Tinchebrai, after which the succession in Normandy temporarily passed to the English kings. However, in 1144Geoffrey Plantagenet, count ofAnjou, conquered Normandy. In 1150 he ceded the duchy to his son Henry, who later became king of England asHenry II in 1154.
In this way Normandy became part of the so-calledAngevin (from Anjou) empire, which was a series of far-flung territories ruled by Henry II and succeeding English kings. But Normandy thus also became a primary objective for theCapetian kings of France in their struggle against thePlantagenet Angevins of England. The military anddiplomatic struggles of the French Capetian monarchsLouis VII andPhilip II Augustus to gain control of the region from its English Angevin rulers culminated in the complete conquest and annexation of Normandy by Philip in 1204. However, it was only with theTreaty of Paris (1259) that the English crown in the person ofHenry III formally surrendered its claim to Normandy, thus acknowledging the loss of the duchy to France. The English subsequently reconquered Normandy in the early 15th century during theHundred Years’ War, but the French again recovered it, achieving permanent control in 1450 after their victory in theBattle of Formigny.
The French province
Louis XI of France gave the duchy of Normandy to his brother Charles in 1465 but soon took it back and finally persuaded the FrenchEstates-General atTours in 1468 to declare Normandy inalienable from the French crown. Thereafter Normandy was governed as a province.
Louis XIV’s intendants worked toassimilate Normandy’s institutions to those of France and to promote its commerce and its maritime activity. The revocation of theEdict of Nantes (1685) led to a mass emigration of Huguenots, who had contributed greatly both to the economy and to the navy, but even so Normandy soon recovered its prosperity in the 18th century. In 1791 theFrench Revolutionary government divided the old province of Normandy into thedépartements of Manche, Calvados, Orne, Eure, and Seine-Inférieure (now Seine-Maritime). The name Normandy occurs in the history ofWorld War II as the site of theAllied invasion of German-occupied France in June of 1944. In 2016 the Basse-Normandie région was joined with the région of Haute-Normandie to form the new administrative entity of Normandy.
Much of Normandy still retains a rural character,comprising flat grasslands and farmlands interrupted by gentle hills and the hedges that commonly serve to demarcate fields. Agriculture now employs few people but is highly diversified, ranging from the large cereal farms of the Vexin to the dairying and horse-rearing activities of the Pays d’Auge. Population and economic activity are concentrated principally along the lower Seine valley (dominated by Rouen andLe Havre) or in the larger urban centres such asCaen,Cherbourg, andAlençon. The region was once famous for its textile and metallurgical industries, but now the dominant activities include oil refining and petrochemicals (lower Seine valley) and a range of mechanical and electrical engineering industries including automobile manufacture. Rouen and Caen are the principal administrative and commercial centres.
Roman Catholicism predominates, though there were manyconverts toProtestantism after 1528. Protestant enclaves remain in Rouen, Caen, and the village of Luneray in Seine-Maritime. The influence of the Roman Catholic Church is still highly visible in the traditional life of the region, particularly in the activities of the brotherhoods of charity sponsored by many country churches. Normandy has many historic fairs and festivals, including an international festival of music and folklore in the town ofGisors in early July.
The names ofNorman places and families show Nordic, Anglo-Saxon, and Frankish influences. The Norman patois, which incorporates a number of English expressions and words of Nordic derivation, is in decline.
- French:
- Normandie
Normancuisine relies heavily on cream, which is served with eggs, fish, poultry, and vegetables. Calvados produces superlative applecider, which is aged with nuts in small oaken barrels or distilled into the celebrated applebrandy that bears its name.