The flag and coat of arms of Normandy are symbols of

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 ...

, a region in north-western

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

Normandy

The traditional provincial flag, ''gules, two lions passant or'', is used in both former regions of France:

Lower Normandy Lower Normandy (french: Basse-Normandie, ; nrf, Basse-Normaundie) is a former administrative region of France. On 1 January 2016, Lower and Upper Normandy merged becoming one region called Normandy. Geography The region included three departme ...

and

Upper Normandy Upper Normandy (french: Haute-Normandie, ; nrf, Ĥâote-Normaundie) is a former administrative region of France. On 1 January 2016, Upper and Lower Normandy merged becoming one region called Normandy. History It was created in 1956 from two d ...

. It is based on the design of arms which had been attributed by medieval heralds to

William the Conqueror William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first House of Normandy, Norman List of English monarchs#House of Norman ...

, ultimately related to the 12th-century

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...

of the House of Anjou. The red flag with two leopards is nicknamed ''les p'tits cats'' "the little cats" in

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

. The three-leopards version (known in the Norman language as ''les treis cats'', "the three cats") may also be seen, which is based on the coat of arms of

Richard I of England Richard I (8 September 1157 – 6 April 1199) was King of England from 1189 until his death in 1199. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Aquitaine and Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, and Count of Poitiers, Anjou, Maine, and Nantes, and was overl ...

. The arms ''De gueules aux deux léopards d'or, armés et lampassés d'azur, passant l'un sur l'autre'' (Gules two leopards passant gardant in pale or armed and langued azure) was described by Jacques Meurgey in 1941.Jacques Meurgey, ''Notice historique sur les blasons des anciennes provinces de France'', 1941 In 1939 Jean Adigard des Gautries created the ''flag of

Saint Olaf Olaf II Haraldsson ( – 29 July 1030), later known as Saint Olaf (and traditionally as St. Olave), was King of Norway from 1015 to 1028. Son of Harald Grenske, a petty king in Vestfold, Norway, he was posthumously given the title '' Rex Per ...

'', a Nordic cross flag inspired by the

Papal Cross The papal cross is a Christian cross, which serves as an emblem for the office of the Pope in ecclesiastical heraldry. It is depicted as a staff with three horizontal bars near the top, in diminishing order of length as the top is approached. ...

borne on a standard by William the Conqueror. The '' Le Mouvement Normand'' adopted this flag in the 1970s, and it is used unofficially by some associations and individuals, especially those with an interest in the

Viking Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...

origins of the Normans, although the Normans are also of Celtic ( Belgae and

Gauls The Gauls ( la, Galli; grc, Γαλάται, ''Galátai'') were a group of Celtic peoples of mainland Europe in the Iron Age and the Roman period (roughly 5th century BC to 5th century AD). Their homeland was known as Gaul (''Gallia''). They s ...

) and Continental Germanic (

Franks The Franks ( la, Franci or ) were a group of Germanic peoples whose name was first mentioned in 3rd-century Roman sources, and associated with tribes between the Lower Rhine and the Ems River, on the edge of the Roman Empire.H. Schutz: Tools, ...

) origins. A flag combining the Saint-Olaf and the P'tit Cats, called the Croix de Falaise (

Falaise Falaise may refer to: Places * Falaise, Ardennes, France * Falaise, Calvados, France ** The Falaise pocket was the site of a battle in the Second World War * La Falaise, in the Yvelines ''département'', France * The Falaise escarpment in Quebe ...

cross) can sometimes be seen. File:Arms of William the Conqueror (1066-1087).svg, Arms attributed to

(1066-1087). File:Flag of Normandie.svg, Two léopard Flag File:Royal Banner of England.svg, Three léopard Flag File:Flag of Normandy.svg, File:Normandy flag falaise.svg, Olaf Cross and Léopards Flag

Channel Islands

The three-leopard is used by some associations and individuals, especially those who support reunification of the regions.

Jersey Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label= Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west France. It is the l ...

and Guernsey use three leopards in their national symbols. Image:Coat of arms of Guernsey.svg, Image:Arms of Jersey States of Jersey Airport 1937.jpg, Image:Norman flags on parade.jpg, Two-leopard and three-leopard flags at a Norman language festival in Jersey. Image:Fête Nouormande 2008 Jèrri 3.jpg, Two-leopard and three-leopard flags at a concert of Norman music. Image:Flag of Sark.svg,

Ireland

Norman symbols can also be seen in Ireland, through the influence of Anglo-Norman noble families who settled in Ireland in the 12th and 13th centuries, following the

Norman Invasion of Ireland The Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland took place during the late 12th century, when Anglo-Normans gradually conquered and acquired large swathes of land from the Irish, over which the kings of England then claimed sovereignty, all allegedly san ...

. Image:Carlow_County_Crest.svg, Image:Portlaoise COA.svg,

References

External links

Description of the flag of Normandy
{{Subnational flags of France Flag and coat of arms

Flags displaying animals

Normandy

Channel Islands

Ireland

See also

References

External links