Normandy

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Normandy (French: Normandie, Norman: Normaundie) is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is situated along the English Channel coast of Northern France between Brittany (to the west) and Picardy (to the east) and comprises territory in northern France and the Channel Islands.

Normandy is divided between French and British sovereignty. The continental territory under French sovereignty covers 30,627 km²[1] and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions: Basse-Normandie and Haute-Normandie. The Channel Islands (referred to as Îles Anglo-Normandes in French) covers 194 km²[2] and comprise two bailiwicks: Guernsey and Jersey, which are British Crown dependencies.

Upper Normandy (Haute-Normandie) consists of the French départements of Seine-Maritime and Eure, and Lower Normandy (Basse-Normandie) of the départements of Orne, Calvados, and Manche. The former province of Normandy comprised present-day Upper and Lower Normandy, as well as small areas now part of the départements of Eure-et-Loir, Mayenne, and Sarthe.

The name of Normandy is derived from the settlement and conquest of the territory by Vikings ("Northmen") from the 9th century, and confirmed by treaty in the 10th century. For a century and a half following the Norman Conquest of England in 1066, Normandy and England were linked by Norman rulers, but following 1204 the continental territory was ultimately held by France.

During the Battle of Normandy in World War II, Normandy became the landing site for the invasion and liberation of Europe from Nazi Germany. This is recognised as the start for the war in Western Europe.

The population of Normandy is around 3.45 million. The continental population of 3.26 million accounts for 5.5% of the population of France (in 2005).

Basse-Normandie is predominantly agricultural in character, with cattle breeding the most important sector (although in decline from the peak levels of the 1970s and 1980s). The bocage is a patchwork of small fields with high hedges, typical of western areas. Haute-Normandie contains a higher concentration of industry. Normandy is a significant cider-producing region, and also produces calvados, a distilled cider or apple brandy. Other activities of economic importance are dairy produce, flax (60% of production in France), horse breeding (including two French national stud farms), fishing, seafood, and tourism. The region contains three French nuclear power stations.

History

Archaeological finds, such as cave paintings, prove that humans were present in the region in prehistoric times.

Belgian and Celts, known as Gauls, invaded Normandy in successive waves from the 4th century BC to the 3rd century BC.

When Julius Caesar invaded Gaul, there were nine different Gallic tribes in Normandy.[3]

The Romanisation of Normandy was achieved by the usual methods: Roman roads and a policy of urbanisation. Classicists have knowledge of many Gallo-Roman villas in Normandy.

In the late 3rd century, barbarian raids devastated Normandy. Coastal settlements were raided by Saxon pirates. Christianity also began to enter the area during this period. In 406, Germanic tribes began invading from the east, while the Saxons subjugated the Norman coast. The Roman Emperor withdrew from most of Normandy.

As early as 486, the area between the River Somme and the River Loire came under the control of the Frankish lord Clovis.

The fiefdom of Normandy was created for the Viking leader Rollo (also known as Robert of Normandy). 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 which he and his Viking allies had previously conquered. The name "Normandy" reflects Rollo's Viking (i.e. "Northman") origins.

The descendants of Rollo and his followers adopted the local Gallo-Romantic language and intermarried with the area's original inhabitants. They became the Normans – a Norman-speaking mixture of Scandinavians, Hiberno-Norse, Orcadians, Anglo-Danish, and indigenous Franks and Gauls.

Rollo's descendant William, Duke of Normandy became king of England in 1066 in the Norman Conquest culminating at the Battle of Hastings while retaining the fiefdom of Normandy for himself and his descendants.

Norman expansion

Besides the Norman conquest of England and the subsequent conquests of Wales and Ireland, the Normans expanded into other areas.

Tancred's sons William Iron Arm, Drogo of Hauteville, Humphrey of Hauteville, Robert Guiscard and Roger the Great Count conquered the Emirate of Sicily and additional territories in Southern Italy. They also carved out a place for themselves and their descendants in the Crusader States of Asia Minor and the Holy Land.

The 14th century Norman explorer Jean de Béthencourt established a kingdom in the Canary Islands. Béthencourt received the title King of the Canary Islands but recognised as his overlord Henry III of Castile, who had provided aid during the conquest.

Norman families, such as that of Tancred of Hauteville, played important parts in the Crusades.

13th century to 17th century

In 1204, during the reign of England's King John, mainland Normandy was taken from England by France under Philip II of France. Insular Normandy (the Channel Islands) remained under English control. In 1259, Henry III of England recognised the legality of French possession of mainland Normandy under the Treaty of Paris. His successors, however, often fought to regain control of mainland French Normandy.

The Charte aux Normands granted by Louis X of France in 1315 (and later re-confirmed in 1339), like the analogous Magna Carta granted in England in the aftermath of 1204, guaranteed the liberties and privileges of the province of Normandy.

French Normandy was occupied by English forces during the Hundred Years' War in 1345–1360 and again in 1415–1450. Afterward 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. In the Channel Islands, a period of Calvinism following the Reformation was suppressed when Anglicanism was imposed following the English Civil War.

From the 1660s onwards, France engaged in a policy of expansion in North America. Normans continued the exploration of the New World: René Robert Cavelier de La Salle travelled in the area of the Great Lakes of the United States and Canada, then on the Mississippi River. Territories located between Quebec and the Mississippi Delta were opened up to establish French Louisiana. Colonists from Normandy (in particular Basse-Normandie) were among the most active in New France (Quebec).

Honfleur and Le Havre were two of the principal slave trade ports of France.

18th century and 19th century

Although agriculture remained important, industries such as weaving, metallurgy, sugar refining, ceramics, shipbuilding were introduced and developed.