Manche
Manche (, ; Norman language, Norman: ) is a coastal Departments of France, French ''département'' in Normandy (administrative region), Normandy on the English Channel, which is known as , literally "the sleeve", in French. Manche is bordered by ...
Normandy
Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy.
Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...
in northwestern
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
.
History
The origin of the name derives from the
Gaulish
Gaulish is an extinct Celtic languages, Celtic language spoken in parts of Continental Europe before and during the period of the Roman Empire. In the narrow sense, Gaulish was the language of the Celts of Gaul (now France, Luxembourg, Belgium, ...
root ''brut-''.
Brix is known primarily as being the assumed origin of the
Bruce family
Clan Bruce () is a Scottish Lowlands, Lowlands Scottish clan. It was a royal house in the 14th century, producing two kings of Scotland (Robert the Bruce and David II of Scotland, David II), and a disputed High King of Ireland, Edward Bruce.
Or ...
, which emigrated to Britain in the Middle Ages and settled in northern England and then southern Scotland. The family became a
royal house
A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family, usually in the context of a monarchy, monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A dynasty may also be referred to as a "house", "family" or "clan", among others.
H ...
with the accession of
Robert the Bruce
Robert I (11 July 1274 – 7 June 1329), popularly known as Robert the Bruce (), was King of Scots from 1306 until his death in 1329. Robert led Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland during the First War of Scottish Independence against Kingdom of Eng ...
in 1306.
The ruins of the castle of Brix are located near the village.
Population
Sights
A family known variously as Bruis, Brus, Bruz is said to be responsible for the Adam Castle, the oldest monument in Brix.There is no evidence, other than unreliable late medieval sources, like the Battle Abbey Roll, to support a claim that another member of the family, Robert de Brix or de Brus, served under
William the Conqueror
William the Conqueror (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), sometimes called William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England (as William I), reigning from 1066 until his death. A descendant of Rollo, he was D ...
at the
Battle of Hastings
The Battle of Hastings was fought on 14 October 1066 between the Norman-French army of William, Duke of Normandy, and an English army under the Anglo-Saxon King Harold Godwinson, beginning the Norman Conquest of England. It took place appr ...
in 1066. (See: Emma Cownie, 2004, "Brus , Robert de (supp. d. 1094)" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford, Oxford University Press.) Very little remains of the castle.
The main square of Brix is called Place Robert Bruce. Many prominent members of the family mentioned above were named "Robert", including:
Robert de Brus
Robert I (11 July 1274 – 7 June 1329), popularly known as Robert the Bruce (), was King of Scots from 1306 until his death in 1329. Robert led Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland during the First War of Scottish Independence against Kingdom of Eng ...
(1078–1138), the first member of the family known to have resided in Britain, and his descendant
Robert the Bruce
Robert I (11 July 1274 – 7 June 1329), popularly known as Robert the Bruce (), was King of Scots from 1306 until his death in 1329. Robert led Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland during the First War of Scottish Independence against Kingdom of Eng ...
(1274–1329), also known as Robert I,
King of Scotland
The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the form of government used by the United Kingdom by which a hereditary monarch reigns as the head of state, with their powers regulated by the British cons ...
.
Events
On the first weekend of October, the commune holds the St. Denis Fair, a tradition of the
Cotentin
The Cotentin Peninsula (, ; ), also known as the Cherbourg Peninsula, is a peninsula in Normandy that forms part of the northwest coast of France. It extends north-westward into the English Channel, towards Great Britain. To its west lie the Gu ...