Bavent () is a

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

in the

Calvados Calvados (, , ) is a brandy from Normandy in France, made from apples or pears, or from apples with pears. History In France Apple orchards and brewers are mentioned as far back as the 8th century by Charlemagne. The first known record of Norm ...

department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

in the

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

of north-western

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. The inhabitants of the commune are known as ''Baventais'' or ''Baventaises''.

Geography

Bavent is located on the northern edge of the Caen plain some 8 km north-east of

Caen Caen (, ; nrf, Kaem) is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the department of Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inhabitants (), while its functional urban area has 470,000,Cabourg Cabourg (; nrf, Cabouorg) is a commune in the Calvados department, region of Normandy, France. Cabourg is on the coast of the English Channel, at the mouth of the river Dives. The back country is a plain, favourable to the culture of cereal. Th ...

. Access to the commune is by the D513 road from

Varaville Varaville () is a commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northwestern France. It gives its name to the Battle of Varaville The Battle of Varaville was a battle fought in 1057 by William, Duke of Normandy, against King H ...

in the north-east which passes through the commune just north of the village and continues south-west to

Hérouvillette Hérouvillette () is a commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northwestern France. Population Places and monuments * Hérouvillette: Church of the "Nativité-de-Notre-Dame" (XIV). * Sainte-Honorine-la-Chardronnette: C ...

. Access to the village is by the D236 which comes from Amfreville in the north-west. The D224 branches from the D513 in the commune and goes west to the village and continues to Goustranville. The D95A goes north from the village to Gonneville-en-Auge while the D95 goes south to

Troarn Troarn () is a commune in the Calvados in the Normandy region in northwestern France. On 1 January 2017, it was merged into the new commune Saline, but this merger was undone on 31 December 2019. Population Sights * The abbey founded by Roger ...

. The D37B branches from the D513 in the west of the commune and goes north to Bréville-les-Monts. Apart from the village there are the hamlets of ''Chateau de Beneauville, Chef-de-Rue, Les Harnots, Grand Plain, La Ritachere, Le Prieure, La Petite Bruyere, Roncheville'', and ''Robehomme''. The commune is mostly farmland except for a large forest in the south. At 1845 hectares, the commune is the largest in the canton of Cabourg. Its highest point (66 m) is located in the west near a place called ''La Grande Bruyère''. Its lowest point (2 m) is at the exit of the Dives from the commune. Due to its proximity to the sea, Bavent enjoys an oceanic climate. The nearest weather station is 19 km away at Caen-Carpiquet. The river Dives forms the south-eastern border of the commune as it flows north-east to join the ocean at

Houlgate Houlgate () is a small tourist resort in northwestern France along the English Channel with a beach and a casino. It is a commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region. History Pre-19th century Houlgate developed as a hamlet in the ...

. The ''Divette'' rises in the commune and flows north to join the Dives. The ''Douet du Moulin du Pre'' rises in the commune and flows north-east to join the Divette north of Varaville. The ''Saint-Laurent'' stream flows from the south through the commune and continues to join the Divette just north of the commune. The ''Ruisseau du Bois de Bavent'' forms part of the southern border of the commune.

Toponymy

''Bavent'' is attested in the forms: ''Bavent'' in 1059,Ernest Nègre
''General Toponymy of France''
Librairie Droz, 1990, Vol II, 676 pages, p. 829 & 974, . ''Badvento'' in 1063, and ''Batvent'' in 1066.Albert Dauzat and Charles Rostaing, ''Etymological Dictionary of place names in France'', Larousse, Paris, 1963 The origin of this place name divides Toponymists: *Dauzat and Rostaing suggest ''bat vent'' meaning "a place where the wind blows" *René Lepelley makes a similar hypothesis: that of an old mill whose "sails are blown by the wind".René Lepelley, ''Etymological Dictionary of names of communes in Normandy'', Éditions Charles Corlet, Condé-sur-Noireau, 1996, BnF 36174448w p. 60 There is fact a mill at

Sénoville Sénoville () is a commune in the Manche department in Normandy in north-western France. See also *Communes of the Manche department The following is a list of the 446 Communes of France, communes of the Manche Departments of France, departme ...

(Manche), called ''La Masse de Bavent''. *Ernest Nègre proposes an explanation of Bavent from a German anthroponym ''Badvin''. It is also possible to suggest the

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...

name ''-ent-''

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

ized to ''-entu'' (m) which is also found in

Douvrend Douvrend () is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region in northern France. Geography A farming village situated in the valley of the Eaulne river in the Pays de Caux, some southeast of Dieppe, at the junction of the D58 ...

(''Dovrent'' in the 12th century)''The Names of communes and old parishes of Seine-Maritime''
ed. A. et J. Picard, François de Beaurepaire, preface by Marianne Mulon, 1979, Paris, 180 pages, , , p. 5 preceded by an unknown element in the absence of an older form. The same suffix has been identified in Nogent (''Novientum'', from ''novio'' meaning "new") and

Drevant Drevant () is a commune in the Cher department in the Centre-Val de Loire region of France. Geography A farming village situated by the banks of the river Cher some south of Bourges at the junction of the D97 with the D141 and D2144 roads. P ...

(''Derventum'' from ''Dervo'' meaning "oak", cf.

Breton Breton most often refers to: *anything associated with Brittany, and generally ** Breton people ** Breton language, a Southwestern Brittonic Celtic language of the Indo-European language family, spoken in Brittany ** Breton (horse), a breed **Ga ...

''derv'' also meaning "oak"). The name is homophonic with ''

Bavans Bavans () is a commune in the Doubs department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in eastern France. Population See also * Communes of the Doubs department The following is a list of the 571 communes of the Doubs department of France ...

'' (''Bavens'' 11th century, the name of a German man ''Bavo'' with the Germanic suffix ''-ingen'' Romanized to ''-ingos''). ''Robehomme'' is attested in the forms: ''Raimberti Hulmus'' in 1083, ''Rambertihulmus'' in 1149, and ''Robbehomme'' in 1190. The first element ''Robe-'' comes from the German anthroponym ''Raimbert''. The second element ''-homme''n is widespread in Normandy in this form with the

hiatus Hiatus may refer to: *Hiatus (anatomy), a natural fissure in a structure *Hiatus (stratigraphy), a discontinuity in the age of strata in stratigraphy *''Hiatus'', a genus of picture-winged flies with sole member species ''Hiatus fulvipes'' *Globa ...

(the "h" is aspirated): ''Le Homme'' (not ''l'homme'' cf.

Saint-Quentin-sur-le-Homme Saint-Quentin-sur-le-Homme () is a commune in the Manche department in Normandy in north-western France. See also *Communes of the Manche department The following is a list of the 446 communes of the Manche department of France. The commune ...

). This is a toponymic appellative derived from Old Norse ''holmr'' meaning "island" or "meadow at the edge of the water". It also took the forms ''Houlme'' and ''Hom''. Moreover, there is a hamlet of ''Hom'' at Robehomme. There is also a personal name associated with a Norse appellative ''topt'' giving ''-tot'' as in ''Raimbertot'' at

Cauville-sur-Mer Cauville-sur-Mer (, literally ''Cauville on Sea'') is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region in northern France. Geography A farming village situated in the Pays de Caux, some northeast of Le Havre, at the junction of ...

(Seine-Maritime). Bavent appears as ''Bavent'' on the 1750

Cassini Map The Cassini Map or Academy's Map is the first topographic and geometric map made of the Kingdom of France as a whole. It was compiled by the Cassini family, mainly César-François Cassini (Cassini III) and his son Jean-Dominique Cassini (Ca ...

and as ''Baven'' on the 1790 version. Robehomme appears as ''Robehomme'' on the 1750

and as ''Robe homme'' on the 1790 version.

History

In 1974 the commune of Bavent (984 inhabitants in 1968) merged with Robehomme (122 inhabitants in 1954).

Heraldry

*These arms do not respect the

Rule of tincture The most basic rule of heraldic design is the rule of tincture: metal should not be put on metal, nor colour on colour (Humphrey Llwyd, 1568). This means that the heraldic metals or and argent (gold and silver, represented by yellow and white) s ...

and are therefore faulty.

Administration

List of Successive

Mayors In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities ...

Twinning

Bavent has twinning associations with: *

Geiselbach Geiselbach is a community in the Aschaffenburg district in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Lower Franconia (''Unterfranken'') in Bavaria, Germany. Geography Location Geiselbach lies on the Hesse-Bavaria boundary, 20 km north of Aschaffenburg ...

(Germany) since 1988. *

Stoke Canon Stoke Canon is a small village and civil parish near the confluence of the rivers Exe and Culm on the main A396 between Exeter and Tiverton in the English county of Devon, and the district of East Devon. At the 2001 census it had a populatio ...

(United Kingdom) since 1983.

Demography

In 2017 the commune had 1,814 inhabitants. Bavent manoir Venoix

Economy

The Terreal Group has a tile production plant in the commune. The Mesnil pottery of Bavent manufactures

finial A finial (from '' la, finis'', end) or hip-knob is an element marking the top or end of some object, often formed to be a decorative feature. In architecture, it is a small decorative device, employed to emphasize the Apex (geometry), apex of a d ...

s of

Faience Faience or faïence (; ) is the general English language term for fine tin-glazed pottery. The invention of a white pottery glaze suitable for painted decoration, by the addition of an oxide of tin to the slip of a lead glaze, was a major ad ...

. It holds an ''Enterprise label of living heritage'' and its expertise is included in the ''inventory of intangible cultural heritage in France''.

Culture and heritage

Civil heritage

*The Manoir Venoix (17th century). In 1944 the mansion had significant damage and was renovated in 1948 with some additions and changes.''The heritage of the communes of Calvados'', vol. 1, Flohic Éditions, 2001, Paris, , p. 359-362 *The Pavilion of Pottery (1842). The commune has a number of buildings and sites that are registered as historical monuments: *The Chateau of Bavent (17th century) *The Château of Béneauville (1589) *The Château of Béneauville Park The Chateau contains a Clock (16th century) which is registered as an historical object.

Religious heritage

*The Church of Saint Hilaire (12th century, much altered in the 19th century). *The Church at Robehomme

Sports

*The Bavent Football Club has a soccer team in the district division.Ligue Basse-Normandie official website
F.C. Baventais, consulted on 21 August 2014

Notable people linked to the commune

* Henri-Gabriel-Marie Le Bègue de Germiny (1811-1900), politician, Mayor of Bavent