Normandy: the story on HearLore

Viking Settlements And The Norman State

From the late eighth century Scandinavian raiders targeted the coasts of northern Gaul. Monastic centers such as Jumièges Abbey and Saint-Wandrille were plundered repeatedly. Rouen itself was attacked and temporarily abandoned in 841. Viking fleets exploited the navigability of the Seine and its tributaries sailing upriver to raid Paris in 845 under a leader recorded as Ragnar. Annals such as the Annales Bertiniani describe the devastation of monasteries and towns. Frankish rulers paid tribute to secure temporary peace. Over time groups of Scandinavians began to overwinter in the lower Seine valley. They constructed fortified encampments and established trading outposts. Archaeological finds of weapon deposits silver hoards and Scandinavian-style burials indicate semi-permanent settlement before 911. Vikings started to raid along the river Seine during the middle of the 9th century. As early as 841 a Viking fleet appeared at the mouth of the Seine. This was the principal route by which they entered the kingdom. After attacking and destroying monasteries including one at Jumièges they took advantage of the power vacuum created by the disintegration of Charlemagne's empire. They took Northern France. The fiefdom of Normandy was created for the Viking leader Hrólfr known in Medieval Latin as Rollo. Rollo had besieged Paris but in 911 entered vassalage to the king of the West Franks Charles the Simple through the Treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte. In exchange for his homage and fealty Rollo legally gained the territory that he and his Viking allies had previously conquered. The name Normandy reflects Rollo's Viking Norseman origins. The turning point came in 911 when a major Viking host under the leadership of Rollo clashed with West Frankish forces near Chartres. Following negotiations King Charles the Simple and Rollo concluded an agreement known as the Treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte. According to later tradition the treaty granted Rollo and his followers land around the lower Seine centered on Rouen. In return for conversion to Christianity homage to the king and an obligation to defend the coast against further Viking attacks. While the exact extent of the original grant is debated it likely encompassed the Rouen region and surrounding territory. Over subsequent decades Rollo's successors expanded this domain westward to include the Cotentin and eastward into the Pays de Caux. They laid the foundations of the Duchy of Normandy. The descendants of Rollo and his followers created an aristocracy that step by step adopted the local Gallo-Romance language. They intermarried with the area's native Gallo-Frankish inhabitants and adopted Christianity. Nevertheless the first generations of Scandinavian and Anglo-Scandinavian settlers brought slaves mainly from the British Isles. They often turned the women into frilla a Scandinavian tradition which became known as more Danico medieval Latin meaning Danish marriage. The first counts of Rouen and the dukes of Normandy had concubines too. While very little archeological excavations about the Vikings were done in Normandy the Norman toponymy retains a large Scandinavian and Anglo-Scandinavian heritage. This was due to a constant use of Old Norse during four or five generations in certain parts of Normandy. They then became the Normans a Norman French-speaking mixture of Norsemen and indigenous Gallo-Franks.

Integration Into France And Colonial Ventures

In 1204 during the reign of John King of England mainland Normandy was captured from the English by the forces of Philip II of France. This ended some 293 years of relative Norman independence from the French crown. Insular Normandy the Channel Islands remained under control of the English though still attached to the ecclesiastical province of Rouen. In the 1259 Treaty of Paris Henry III of England recognized the legitimacy of the French possession of mainland Normandy. His successors however often fought to regain control of their ancient fiefdom. The Charte aux Normands granted by Louis X of France in 1315 guaranteed the liberties and privileges of the province of Normandy. It was later re-confirmed in 1339 like the analogous Magna Carta granted in England in the aftermath of 1204. Normandy was devastated by various civil wars and the Hundred Years' War. Between 1419 and 1450 the English controlled all of Normandy apart from Mont-Saint-Michel. They made Rouen the seat of their power in France. Normandy ultimately saw its population decline by three quarters as a result of the various conflicts which took place in the region during the late Middle Ages. Afterwards prosperity returned to Normandy until the Wars of Religion. When many Norman towns Alençon Rouen Caen Coutances Bayeux joined the Protestant Reformation battles ensued throughout the province. Samuel de Champlain left the port of Honfleur in 1604 and founded Acadia. Four years later he founded the City of Québec. From then onwards Normans engaged in a policy of expansion in North America. They continued the exploration of the New World. René-Robert Cavelier de La Salle traveled in the area of the Great Lakes then on the Mississippi River. Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville and his brother Lemoyne de Bienville founded Louisiana Biloxi Mobile and New Orleans. Territories located between Québec and the Mississippi Delta were opened up to establish Canada and Louisiana. Colonists from Normandy were among the most active in New France comprising Acadia Canada and Louisiana. Honfleur and Le Havre were two of the principal slave trade ports of France.

Geography And Subregional Diversity

The historical Duchy of Normandy was a formerly independent duchy occupying the lower Seine area the Pays de Caux and the region to the west through the Pays d'Auge as far as the Cotentin Peninsula and Channel Islands. Western Normandy belongs to the Armorican Massif while most of the region lies in the Paris Basin. France's oldest rocks are exposed in Jobourg on the Cotentin peninsula. The region is bounded to the north and west by the English Channel. There are granite cliffs in the west and limestone cliffs in the east. There are also long stretches of beach in the centre of the region. The bocage typical of the western areas caused problems for the invading forces in the Battle of Normandy. A notable feature of the landscape is created by the meanders of the Seine as it approaches its estuary. The highest point is the Signal d'Écouves at 417 meters in the Armorican Massif. Normandy is sparsely forested with only 12.8% of the territory being wooded compared to a French average of 23.6%. Although the proportion varies between the departments Eure has the most cover at 21% while Manche has the least at 4%. This characteristic is shared with the Channel Islands. Sub-regions include Avranchin Bessin Bauptois Bocage virois Campagne d'Alençon Campagne d'Argentan Campagne de Caen Campagne de Falaise Campagne du Neubourg Campagne de Saint-André or d'Évreux Cotentin Perche Domfrontais or Passais Hiémois Lieuvin Mortainais Pays d'Auge central Normandy which is characterized by excellent agricultural land. Other sub-regions include Pays de Bray Pays de Caux Pays d'Houlme Pays de Madrie area between the Seine and the Eure Pays d'Ouche Roumois et Marais-Vernier Suisse Normande Norman Switzerland in the south which presents hillier terrain Val de Saire and Vexin normand. Insular Normandy includes the bailiwick of Jersey and the bailiwick of Guernsey. The Channel Islands are considered culturally and historically a part of Normandy. However they are British Crown Dependencies and are not part of the modern French administrative region of Normandy.

Cultural Identity And Artistic Movements

The traditional provincial flag of Normandy gules two leopards passant or is used in the region and its predecessors. The three-leopard version known in the Norman language as les treis cats the three cats is used by some associations and individuals especially those who support cultural links with the Channel Islands and England. Jersey and Guernsey use three leopards in their national symbols. The leopards represent the strength and courage Normandy has towards the neighbouring provinces. The unofficial anthem of the region is the song Ma Normandie. The Norman language including its insular variations Jèrriais and Guernésiais is a regional language spoken by a minority of the population on the continent and the islands. It has a concentration in the Cotentin Peninsula in the far west the Cotentinais dialect and in the Pays de Caux in the East the Cauchois dialect. Many words and place names demonstrate the Old English and Norse Anglo-Scandinavian influence in this Oïl language. Examples include mauve seagull fifotte starfish hâ catshark mucre humid wet égriller slide slip fale throat -bec stream -fleur river -hou island -tot homestead -dal or -dalle valley Hogue or Hougue hill mound -lon or -londe grove wood -vy or -vic bay cove -mare pond -beuf booth cabin. French is the only official language in continental Normandy and English is also an official language in the Channel Islands. In the 17th century some major French painters were Normans like Nicolas Poussin born in Les Andelys and Jean Jouvenet. Romanticism drew painters to the Channel coasts of Normandy. Richard Parkes Bonington and J. M. W. Turner crossed the Channel from Great Britain attracted by the light and landscapes. Théodore Géricault a native of Rouen was a notable figure in the Romantic movement. His famous Radeau de la Méduse being considered come the breakthrough of pictorial romanticism in France when it was officially presented at the Salon of 1819. The competing Realist tendency was represented by Jean-François Millet a native of La Hague. The landscape painter Eugène Boudin born in Honfleur was a determining influence on the impressionists and was highly considered by Monet. Leader of the movement and father of modern painting Claude Monet is one of the best known Impressionists and a major character in Normandy's artistic heritage. His house and gardens at Giverny are one of the region's major tourist sites much visited for their beauty and their water lilies as well as for their importance to Monet's artistic inspiration. Normandy was at the heart of his creation from the paintings of Rouen's cathedral to the famous depictions of the cliffs at Étretat the beach and port at Fécamp and the sunrise at Le Havre. It was Impression Sunrise Monet's painting of Le Havre that led to the movement being dubbed Impressionism. After Monet all the main avant-garde painters of the 1870s and 1880s came to Normandy to paint its landscapes and its changing lights concentrating along the Seine valley and the Norman coast.

When was the region of Normandy first inhabited by humans?

Human presence in Normandy dates back to the end of the Lower Paleolithic period. Archaeological finds confirm habitation during the Middle Paleolithic and Upper Paleolithic eras.

Who founded the fiefdom of Normandy and when did it happen?

The Viking leader Hrólfr known as Rollo founded the fiefdom of Normandy through the Treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte on the 2nd of May 911. This agreement granted him land around the lower Seine centered on Rouen in exchange for his vassalage to King Charles the Simple.

What happened to mainland Normandy in 1204 under Philip II of France?

Mainland Normandy was captured from English forces by Philip II of France in 1204 ending 293 years of relative independence. The Channel Islands remained under English control while the mainland became part of the French kingdom.

Which battle took place in Normandy on the 6th of June 1944?

The D-Day landings occurred in Normandy on the 6th of June 1944 under Operation Overlord. Allied forces invaded German fortified positions at beaches including Caen Cherbourg Carentan Falaise and others.

Where is the highest point located within the region of Normandy?

The highest point in Normandy is the Signal d'Écouves standing at 417 meters in the Armorican Massif. Western Normandy belongs to this massif while most of the region lies in the Paris Basin.

Normandy.

Viking Settlements And The Norman State

Medieval Expansion And English Conquest

Integration Into France And Colonial Ventures

Modern Conflicts And D-Day Landings