Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical

Duchy of Normandy The Duchy of Normandy grew out of the 911 Treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte between Charles the Simple, King Charles III of West Francia and the Viking leader Rollo. The duchy was named for its inhabitants, the Normans. From 1066 until 1204, as a r ...

. Normandy comprises mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular Normandy (mostly the British

Channel Islands The Channel Islands are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They are divided into two Crown Dependencies: the Jersey, Bailiwick of Jersey, which is the largest of the islands; and the Bailiwick of Guernsey, ...

). It covers . Its population in 2017 was 3,499,280. The inhabitants of Normandy are known as

Normans The Normans (Norman language, Norman: ''Normaunds''; ; ) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norsemen, Norse Viking settlers and locals of West Francia. The Norse settlements in West Franc ...

; the region is the historic homeland of the

Norman language Norman or Norman French (, , Guernésiais: , Jèrriais: ) is a ''Langues d'oïl, langue d'oïl'' spoken in the historical region, historical and Cultural area, cultural region of Normandy. The name "Norman French" is sometimes also used to des ...

. Large settlements include

Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine, in northwestern France. It is in the prefecture of Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one ...

Caen Caen (; ; ) is a Communes of France, commune inland from the northwestern coast of France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Calvados (department), Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inha ...

Le Havre Le Havre is a major port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy (administrative region), Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the Seine, river Seine on the English Channel, Channe ...

and

Cherbourg Cherbourg is a former Communes of France, commune and Subprefectures in France, subprefecture located at the northern end of the Cotentin peninsula in the northwestern French departments of France, department of Manche. It was merged into the com ...

. The cultural region of Normandy is roughly similar to the historical Duchy of Normandy, which includes small areas now part of the departments of

Mayenne Mayenne ( ) is a landlocked department in northwest France named after the river Mayenne. Mayenne is part of the administrative region of Pays de la Loire and is surrounded by the departments of Manche, Orne, Sarthe, Maine-et-Loire, and Il ...

and

Sarthe Sarthe () is a department of the French region of Pays de la Loire, and the province of Maine, situated in the '' Grand-Ouest'' of the country. It is named after the river Sarthe, which flows from east of Le Mans to just north of Angers. It ha ...

. The Channel Islands (French: ''Îles Anglo-Normandes'') are also historically part of Normandy; they cover and comprise two

bailiwick A bailiwick () is usually the area of jurisdiction of a bailiff, and once also applied to territories in which a privately appointed bailiff exercised the sheriff's functions under a royal or imperial writ. In English, the original French combi ...

Guernsey Guernsey ( ; Guernésiais: ''Guernési''; ) is the second-largest island in the Channel Islands, located west of the Cotentin Peninsula, Normandy. It is the largest island in the Bailiwick of Guernsey, which includes five other inhabited isl ...

and

Jersey Jersey ( ; ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey, is an autonomous and self-governing island territory of the British Islands. Although as a British Crown Dependency it is not a sovereign state, it has its own distinguishing civil and gov ...

, which are British Crown Dependencies. Normandy's name comes from the settlement of the territory by

Viking Vikings were 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 settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...

s (" Northmen") starting in the 9th century, and confirmed by treaty in the 10th century between King Charles III of France and the Viking ''

jarl Jarl was a rank of the nobility in Scandinavia during the Viking Age and Early Middle Ages. The institution evolved over time and varied by region. In Old Norse, it meant "chieftain", specifically one appointed to rule a territory in a king's stea ...

Rollo Rollo (, ''Rolloun''; ; ; – 933), also known with his epithet, Rollo "the Walker", was a Viking who, as Count of Rouen, became the first ruler of Normandy, a region in today's northern France. He was prominent among the Vikings who Siege o ...

. For almost 150 years following the

Norman conquest of England The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Norman, French people, French, Flemish people, Flemish, and Bretons, Breton troops, all led by the Du ...

in 1066, Normandy and England were linked by having the same person reign as both

Duke of Normandy In the Middle Ages, the duke of Normandy was the ruler of the Duchy of Normandy in north-western France. The duchy arose out of a grant of land to the Viking leader Rollo by the French king Charles the Simple in 911. In 924 and again in 933, N ...

and

King of England 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 Constitutional monarchy, regula ...

History

Prehistory

Archaeological finds, such as

cave paintings In archaeology, cave paintings are a type of parietal art (which category also includes petroglyphs, or engravings), found on the wall or ceilings of caves. The term usually implies prehistoric origin. These paintings were often created by ''Hom ...

, prove that humans were present in the region in prehistoric times. Normandy also has many megalithic monuments.

Celtic period

Celts The Celts ( , see Names of the Celts#Pronunciation, pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples ( ) were a collection of Indo-European languages, Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancient Indo-European people, reached the apoge ...

(also known as

Belgae The Belgae ( , ) were a large confederation of tribes living in northern Gaul, between the English Channel, the west bank of the Rhine, and the northern bank of the river Seine, from at least the third century BC. They were discussed in depth b ...

and

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

) have populated Normandy since at least the

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

. When

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (12 or 13 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in Caesar's civil wa ...

invaded Gaul (58–50 BC), there were nine different Celtic tribes living in this part of Gaul.

Romanisation

The

Romanisation In linguistics, romanization is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Roman (Latin) script, or a system for doing so. Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written text, and transcription, ...

of this region partly included in the ''

Gallia Celtica Gallia Celtica, meaning "Celtic Gaul" in Latin, was a cultural region of Gaul inhabited by Celts, located in what is now France, Switzerland, Luxembourg and the west bank of the Rhine River in Germany. According to Roman ethnography and Julius C ...

'' and in the ''

Gallia Belgica Gallia Belgica ("Belgic Gaul") was a Roman province, province of the Roman Empire located in the north-eastern part of Roman Gaul, in what is today primarily northern France, Belgium, and Luxembourg, along with parts of the Netherlands and German ...

'' (the Seine being more or less the limit between them) was achieved by the usual methods:

Roman roads Roman roads ( ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Republic and the Roman Em ...

and a policy of urbanisation.

Classicist Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek literature, Ancient Greek and Roman literature and ...

s mention many

Gallo-Roman Gallo-Roman culture was a consequence of the Romanization (cultural), Romanization of Gauls under the rule of the Roman Empire in Roman Gaul. It was characterized by the Gaulish adoption or adaptation of Roman culture, Roman culture, language ...

villa A villa is a type of house that was originally an ancient Roman upper class country house that provided an escape from urban life. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the f ...

s and archeology found their traces in the past 30 years. In the

Late Roman Empire In historiography, the Late or Later Roman Empire, traditionally covering the period from 284 CE to 641 CE, was a time of significant transformation in Roman governance, society, and religion. Diocletian's reforms, including the establishment of t ...

a new province was created and called '' Lugdunensis Secunda'', it sketched the later ecclesiastical province of Rouen, with the ''Metropolis civitas Rotomagensium'' (

), ''Civitas Baiocassium'' (''Augustodorum'', Bayeux), ''Civitas Abrincatum'' (''Ingena'', Avranches), ''Civitas Ebroicorum'' (''Mediolanum'', Évreux), ''Civitas Saiorum'' (Sées), ''Civitas Lexoviorum'' (''Noviomagus'', Lisieux / Lieuvin) and ''Civitas Constantia'' (Coutances).

Germanic invasions and settlements

In the late 3rd century AD, Germanic raids devastated Lugdunensis Secunda, as the modern area of Normandy was known at the time. The Romans built a system of coastal defences known as

Saxon Shore The Saxon Shore () was a military command of the Late Roman Empire, consisting of a series of fortifications on both sides of the English Channel. It was established in the late 3rd century and was led by the " Count of the Saxon Shore". In the ...

on both sides of the English Channel. Coastal settlements were raided by

Saxon The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...

pirates that finally settled mainly in the

Bessin Bessin () is an area in 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 Norman ...

region. Modern archeology reveals their presence in different Merovingian cemeteries excavated east of Caen. Christianity also began to enter the area during this period and Rouen already had a metropolitan bishop by the 4th century. The ecclesiastical province of Rouen was based on the frame of the Roman ''Lugdunensis Secunda'', whose limits corresponded almost exactly to the future

duchy A duchy, also called a dukedom, is a country, territory, fiefdom, fief, or domain ruled by a duke or duchess, a ruler hierarchically second to the king or Queen regnant, queen in Western European tradition. There once existed an important differe ...

of Normandy. In 406,

Germanic tribes The Germanic peoples were tribal groups who lived in Northern Europe in Classical antiquity and the Early Middle Ages. In modern scholarship, they typically include not only the Roman-era ''Germani'' who lived in both ''Germania'' and parts ...

began invading from the east, followed by dispersed settlements mainly in the

Pays de Bray The Pays de Bray (, literally ''Land of Bray'') is a small (about 750 km2) natural region of France situated to the north-east of Rouen, straddling the French departments of the Seine-Maritime and the Oise (historically divided among the Pr ...

Pays de Caux The Pays de Caux (, , literally ''Land of Caux'') is an area in Normandy occupying the greater part of the French '' département'' of Seine Maritime in Normandy. It is a chalk plateau to the north of the Seine Estuary and extending to the cl ...

and

Vexin Vexin () is a historical county of northern France. It covers a verdant plateau on the right bank (north) of the Seine running roughly east to west between Pontoise and Romilly-sur-Andelle (about 20 km from Rouen), and north to south betw ...

. As early as 487, the area between the rivers

Somme __NOTOC__ Somme or The Somme may refer to: Places *Somme (department), a department of France * Somme, Queensland, Australia * Canal de la Somme, a canal in France *Somme (river), a river in France Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Somme'' (book), ...

and

Loire The Loire ( , , ; ; ; ; ) is the longest river in France and the 171st longest in the world. With a length of , it drains , more than a fifth of France's land, while its average discharge is only half that of the Rhône. It rises in the so ...

came under the control of the

Frankish Frankish may refer to: * Franks, a Germanic tribe and their culture ** Frankish language or its modern descendants, Franconian languages, a group of Low Germanic languages also commonly referred to as "Frankish" varieties * Francia, a post-Roman ...

lord

Clovis Clovis may refer to: People * Clovis (given name), the early medieval (Frankish) form of the name Louis ** Clovis I (c. 466 – 511), the first king of the Franks to unite all the Frankish tribes under one ruler ** Clovis II (c. 634 – c. 657), ...

Viking raids and foundation of the Norman state

Vikings Vikings were 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 settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...

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, 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 Charlemagne ( ; 2 April 748 – 28 January 814) was List of Frankish kings, King of the Franks from 768, List of kings of the Lombards, King of the Lombards from 774, and Holy Roman Emperor, Emperor of what is now known as the Carolingian ...

's empire to take Northern France. The fiefdom of Normandy was created for the Viking leader ''Hrólfr'', known in

Medieval Latin Medieval Latin was the form of Literary Latin used in Roman Catholic Church, Roman Catholic Western Europe during the Middle Ages. It was also the administrative language in the former Western Roman Empire, Roman Provinces of Mauretania, Numidi ...

as ''Rollo''. Rollo had besieged Paris but in 911 entered

vassal A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerain ...

age to the king of the West Franks,

Charles the Simple Charles III (17 September 879 – 7 October 929), called the Simple or the Straightforward (from the Latin ''Carolus Simplex''), was the king of West Francia from 898 until 922 and the king of Lotharingia from 911 until 919–923. He was a memb ...

, through the

Treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte The treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte (911) is the foundational document of the Duchy of Normandy, establishing Rollo, a Norse warlord and Viking leader, as the first Duke of Normandy in exchange for his loyalty to Charles III, the king of West Fra ...

. In exchange for his homage and

fealty An oath of fealty, from the Latin (faithfulness), is a pledge of allegiance of one person to another. Definition In medieval Europe, the swearing of fealty took the form of an oath made by a vassal, or subordinate, to his lord. "Fealty" also r ...

, Rollo legally gained the territory that he and his Viking allies had previously conquered. The name "Normandy" reflects Rollo's Viking (" Norseman") origins. The descendants of ''Rollo'' and his followers created an aristocracy that step by step adopted the local Gallo-Romance language, 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 The British Isles are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner Hebrides, Inner and Outer Hebr ...

, and often turned the women into '' frilla'', a Scandinavian tradition which became known as ''

more Danico The phrase ''more danico'' is a Medieval Latin legal expression which may be translated as "according to Danish custom", i.e. under Medieval Scandinavian customary law. It designates a type of traditional marriage practiced in northern Euro ...

'', 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, due to a constant use of

Old Norse Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...

during four or five generations in certain parts of Normandy. They then became the

– a

Norman French Norman or Norman French (, , Guernésiais: , Jèrriais: ) is a '' langue d'oïl'' spoken in the historical and cultural region of Normandy. The name "Norman French" is sometimes also used to describe the administrative languages of '' Angl ...

-speaking mixture of Norsemen and indigenous Gallo-Franks. Bayeux Tapestry scene23 Harold sacramentum fecit Willelmo duci

Rollo's descendant

William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...

became king of England in 1066 after defeating

Harold Godwinson Harold Godwinson ( – 14 October 1066), also called Harold II, was the last crowned Anglo-Saxon King of England. Harold reigned from 6 January 1066 until his death at the Battle of Hastings on 14 October 1066, the decisive battle of the Norman ...

, the last of the

Anglo-Saxon kings The Heptarchy was the division of Anglo-Saxon England between the sixth and eighth centuries into petty kingdoms, conventionally the seven kingdoms of East Anglia, Essex, Kent, Mercia, Northumbria, Sussex, and Wessex. The term originated with t ...

, 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 ...

, while retaining the

fiefdom A fief (; ) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form of feudal alle ...

of Normandy for himself and his descendants.

Norman expansion

Aside from the conquest of England and the subsequent invasions of Wales and Ireland, the Normans expanded into other areas. Norman families, such as that of Tancred of Hauteville,

Rainulf Drengot Rainulf Drengot (also Ranulph, Ranulf, or Rannulf; ''c.'' 990 – June 1045) was a Norman adventurer and mercenary in southern Italy. In 1030 he became the first count of Aversa. He was a member of the Drengot family. Early life and arrival in ...

and Guimond de Moulins played important parts in the conquest of southern Italy and the

Crusades The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and at times directed by the Papacy during the Middle Ages. The most prominent of these were the campaigns to the Holy Land aimed at reclaiming Jerusalem and its surrounding t ...

. The Drengot lineage, de Hauteville's sons

William Iron Arm {{Infobox noble , name = William Iron Arm , title = , image = {{CSS image crop, Image = Statue cathédrale Coutances Guillaume Bras-de-fer.JPG, bSize = 607, cWidth = 235, cHeight = 247, oTop = 175, oLeft = 178, Location = center , caption = S ...

, Drogo, and

Humphrey Humphrey is both a masculine given name and a surname. An earlier form, not attested since Medieval times, was Hunfrid. Notable people with the name include: People with the given name Medieval period :''Ordered chronologically'' *Hunfrid of Pr ...

Robert Guiscard Robert Guiscard ( , ; – 17 July 1085), also referred to as Robert de Hauteville, was a Normans, Norman adventurer remembered for his Norman conquest of southern Italy, conquest of southern Italy and Sicily in the 11th century. Robert was born ...

and Roger the Great Count progressively claimed territories in southern Italy until founding the

Kingdom of Sicily The Kingdom of Sicily (; ; ) was a state that existed in Sicily and the southern Italian peninsula, Italian Peninsula as well as, for a time, in Kingdom of Africa, Northern Africa, from its founding by Roger II of Sicily in 1130 until 1816. It was ...

in 1130. They also carved out a place for themselves and their descendants in the

Crusader states The Crusader states, or Outremer, were four Catholic polities established in the Levant region and southeastern Anatolia from 1098 to 1291. Following the principles of feudalism, the foundation for these polities was laid by the First Crusade ...

Asia Minor Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

and the

Holy Land The term "Holy Land" is used to collectively denote areas of the Southern Levant that hold great significance in the Abrahamic religions, primarily because of their association with people and events featured in the Bible. It is traditionall ...

. The 14th-century explorer

Jean de Béthencourt Jean de Béthencourt (; 1362–1425) was a French explorer who in 1402 led an expedition to the Canary Islands, landing first on the north side of Lanzarote. From there he conquered for Castile the islands of Fuerteventura (1405) and El H ...

established a kingdom in the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; ) or Canaries are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, Autonomous Community of Spain. They are located in the northwest of Africa, with the closest point to the cont ...

in 1404. He received the title King of the Canary Islands from Pope Innocent VII but recognized

Henry III of Castile Henry III of Castile (4 October 1379 – 25 December 1406), called the Suffering due to his ill health (, ), was the son of John I and Eleanor of Aragon. He succeeded his father as King of Castile in 1390. Birth and education Henry was bor ...

as his overlord, who had provided him with military and financial aid during the conquest.

13th to 17th centuries

In 1204, during the reign of

John, King of England John (24 December 1166 – 19 October 1216) was King of England from 1199 until his death in 1216. He lost the Duchy of Normandy and most of his other French lands to King Philip II of France, resulting in the collapse of the Angevin Empi ...

, mainland Normandy was captured from the English by the forces of

Philip II of France Philip II (21 August 1165 – 14 July 1223), also known as Philip Augustus (), was King of France from 1180 to 1223. His predecessors had been known as kings of the Franks (Latin: ''rex Francorum''), but from 1190 onward, Philip became the firs ...

, ending 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 Henry III (1 October 1207 – 16 November 1272), also known as Henry of Winchester, was King of England, Lord of Ireland, and Duke of Aquitaine from 1216 until his death in 1272. The son of John, King of England, King John and Isabella of Ang ...

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 Louis X (4 October 1289 – 5 June 1316), known as the Quarrelsome (), was King of France from 1314 and King of Navarre (as Louis I) from 1305 until his death. He emancipated serfs who could buy their freedom and readmitted Jews into the king ...

in 1315 (and later re-confirmed in 1339) – like the analogous

Magna Carta (Medieval Latin for "Great Charter"), sometimes spelled Magna Charta, is a royal charter of rights agreed to by King John of England at Runnymede, near Windsor, on 15 June 1215. First drafted by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Cardin ...

granted in England in the aftermath of 1204 – guaranteed the liberties and privileges of the province of Normandy. Normandy was devastated by various civil wars and the

Hundred Years' War The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a conflict between the kingdoms of Kingdom of England, England and Kingdom of France, France and a civil war in France during the Late Middle Ages. It emerged from feudal disputes over the Duchy ...

. Between 1419 and 1450, the English controlled all of Normandy apart from

Mont-Saint-Michel Mont-Saint-Michel (; Norman: ''Mont Saint Miché''; ) is a tidal island and mainland commune in Normandy, France. The island lies approximately off France's north-western coast, at the mouth of the Couesnon River near Avranches and is in ...

, and 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 Alençon (, , ; ) is a commune in Normandy, France, and the capital of the Orne department. It is situated between Paris and Rennes (about west of Paris) and a little over north of Le Mans. Alençon belongs to the intercommunality of Alen� ...

, Rouen,

Coutances Coutances () is a commune in the Manche department in Normandy in north-western France. History The capital of the Unelli, a Gaulish tribe, the town was given the name of ''Constantia'' in 298 during the reign of Roman Emperor Constantius ...

Bayeux Bayeux (, ; ) is a commune in the Calvados department in Normandy in northwestern France. Bayeux is the home of the Bayeux Tapestry, which depicts the events leading up to the Norman Conquest of England in 1066. It is also known as the fir ...

) joined the

Protestant Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the papacy and ...

, battles ensued throughout the province. In the Channel Islands, a period of

Calvinism Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Christian, Presbyteri ...

following the Reformation was suppressed when

Anglicanism Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

was imposed following the

Stuart Restoration The Stuart Restoration was the reinstatement in May 1660 of the Stuart monarchy in Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland, and Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland. It replaced the Commonwealth of England, established in January 164 ...

Samuel de Champlain Samuel de Champlain (; 13 August 1574#Fichier]For a detailed analysis of his baptismal record, see #Ritch, RitchThe baptism act does not contain information about the age of Samuel, neither his birth date nor his place of birth. – 25 December ...

left the port of

Honfleur Honfleur () is a commune in the Calvados department in northwestern France. It is located on the southern bank of the estuary of the Seine across from Le Havre and very close to the exit of the Pont de Normandie. The people that inhabit Hon ...

in 1604 and founded

Acadia Acadia (; ) was a colony of New France in northeastern North America which included parts of what are now the The Maritimes, Maritime provinces, the Gaspé Peninsula and Maine to the Kennebec River. The population of Acadia included the various ...

. 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 travelled in the area of the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes spanning the Canada–United States border. The five lakes are Lake Superior, Superior, Lake Michigan, Michigan, Lake Huron, H ...

, then on the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville (16 July 1661 – 9 July 1706) or Sieur d'Iberville was a French soldier, explorer, colonial administrator, and trader. He is noted for founding the colony of Louisiana in New France. He was born in Montreal to French ...

and his brother Lemoyne de Bienville founded

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

Biloxi Biloxi ( ; ) is a city in Harrison County, Mississippi, United States. It lies on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast in southern Mississippi, bordering the city of Gulfport, Mississippi, Gulfport to its west. The adjacent cities ar ...

, Mobile and New Orleans. Territories located between Québec and the

Mississippi Delta The Mississippi Delta, also known as the Yazoo–Mississippi Delta, or simply the Delta, is the distinctive northwest section of the U.S. state of Mississippi (and portions of Arkansas and Louisiana) that lies between the Mississippi and Yazo ...

were opened up to establish

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

and

. Colonists from Normandy were among the most active in

New France New France (, ) was the territory colonized by Kingdom of France, France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Kingdom of Great Br ...

, comprising

, Canada, and Louisiana. Honfleur and

were two of the principal

slave trade Slave trade may refer to: * History of slavery - overview of slavery It may also refer to slave trades in specific countries, areas: * Al-Andalus slave trade * Atlantic slave trade ** Brazilian slave trade ** Bristol slave trade ** Danish sl ...

ports of France.

18th century to present

Although agriculture remained important, industries such as weaving, metallurgy, sugar refining, ceramics, and shipbuilding were introduced and developed. In the 1780s, the economic crisis and the crisis of the ''

Ancien Régime ''Ancien'' may refer to * the French word for " ancient, old" ** Société des anciens textes français * the French for "former, senior" ** Virelai ancien ** Ancien Régime ** Ancien Régime in France {{disambig ...

'' struck Normandy as well as other parts of the nation, leading to the French Revolution. Bad harvests, technical progress and the effects of the Eden Agreement signed in 1786 affected employment and the economy of the province. Normans laboured under a heavy fiscal burden. In 1790, the five departments of Normandy replaced the former province. On 13 July 1793, the Norman

Charlotte Corday Marie-Anne Charlotte de Corday d'Armont (27 July 1768 – 17 July 1793), known simply as Charlotte Corday (), was a figure of the French Revolution who assassinated revolutionary and Jacobins, Jacobin leader Jean-Paul Marat on 13 July 1793. Cor ...

assassinated

Jean-Paul Marat Jean-Paul Marat (, , ; born Jean-Paul Mara; 24 May 1743 – 13 July 1793) was a French political theorist, physician, and scientist. A journalist and politician during the French Revolution, he was a vigorous defender of the ''sans-culottes ...

. The Normans reacted little to the many political upheavals which characterized the 19th century. Overall, they warily accepted the changes of régime (

First French Empire The First French Empire or French Empire (; ), also known as Napoleonic France, was the empire ruled by Napoleon Bonaparte, who established French hegemony over much of continental Europe at the beginning of the 19th century. It lasted from ...

, Bourbon Restoration,

July Monarchy The July Monarchy (), officially the ''Kingdom of France'' (), was a liberalism, liberal constitutional monarchy in France under , starting on 9 August 1830, after the revolutionary victory of the July Revolution of 1830, and ending 26 Februar ...

French Second Republic The French Second Republic ( or ), officially the French Republic (), was the second republican government of France. It existed from 1848 until its dissolution in 1852. Following the final defeat of Napoleon, Napoleon Bonaparte at the Battle ...

Second French Empire The Second French Empire, officially the French Empire, was the government of France from 1852 to 1870. It was established on 2 December 1852 by Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte, president of France under the French Second Republic, who proclaimed hi ...

French Third Republic The French Third Republic (, sometimes written as ) was the system of government adopted in France from 4 September 1870, when the Second French Empire collapsed during the Franco-Prussian War, until 10 July 1940, after the Fall of France durin ...

). Following the

French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars () were a series of sweeping military conflicts resulting from the French Revolution that lasted from 1792 until 1802. They pitted French First Republic, France against Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain, Habsb ...

and the

Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

(1792–1815), there was an economic revival that included the mechanization of textile manufacturing and the introduction of the first trains. Also, with seaside tourism in the 19th century came the advent of the first beach resorts. NormandySupply edit

During the Second World War, following the

armistice of 22 June 1940 The Armistice of 22 June 1940, sometimes referred to as the Second Armistice at Compiègne, was an agreement signed at 18:36 on 22 June 1940 near Compiègne, France by officials of Nazi Germany and the French Third Republic. It became effective a ...

, continental Normandy was part of the German occupied zone of France. The Channel Islands were occupied by German forces between 30 June 1940 and 9 May 1945. The town of

Dieppe Dieppe (; ; or Old Norse ) is a coastal commune in the Seine-Maritime department, Normandy, northern France. Dieppe is a seaport on the English Channel at the mouth of the river Arques. A regular ferry service runs to Newhaven in England ...

was the site of the unsuccessful

Dieppe Raid Operation Jubilee or the Dieppe Raid (19 August 1942) was a disastrous Allied amphibious attack on the German-occupied port of Dieppe in northern France, during the Second World War. Over 6,050 infantry, predominantly Canadian, supported by a ...

by Allied forces. The Allies coordinated a massive build-up of troops and supplies to support a large-scale invasion of Normandy in the

D-Day landings The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during the Second World War. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...

on 6 June 1944 under the code name

Operation Overlord Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allies of World War II, Allied operation that launched the successful liberation of German-occupied Western Front (World War II), Western Europe during World War II. The ope ...

. German forces dug into fortified emplacements above the beaches.

Carentan Carentan () is a small rural town near the north-eastern base of the French Cotentin Peninsula in Normandy in north-western France, with a population of about 6,000. It is a former commune in the Manche department. On 1 January 2016, it was m ...

, Falaise and other Norman towns endured many casualties in the

Battle of Normandy Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful liberation of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 (D-Day) with the N ...

, which continued until the closing of the so-called Falaise gap between Chambois and Mont Ormel. The liberation of

followed. This was a significant turning point in the war in western Europe and led to the restoration of the French Republic. The remainder of Normandy was liberated by Allied forces only on 9 May 1945 at the end of the war, when the Channel Island occupation effectively ended. Despite the renunciation of the Duke of Normandy title by

in the 1259 Treaty of Paris, and the extinction of the duchy itself in modern-day, republican France, in the

the

monarch of the United Kingdom 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 Constitutional monarchy, regula ...

(whether a king or queen) is regardless still sometimes informally referred to by the title "Duke of Normandy".

Geography

Jonquerets-de-Livret- batiment du Pressoir

The historical Duchy of Normandy was a formerly independent duchy occupying the lower Seine area, the

and the region to the west through the

Pays d'Auge The Pays d'Auge (, literally ''Land of Auge'') is an area in Normandy, straddling the '' départements'' of Calvados and Orne (plus a small part of the territory of Eure). The chief town is Lisieux. Geography Generally it consists of the basin ...

as far as the

Cotentin Peninsula 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 ...

and Channel Islands. Western Normandy belongs to the

Armorican Massif The Armorican Massif (, ) is a geologic massif that covers a large area in the northwest of France, including Brittany, the western part of Normandy and the Pays de la Loire. It is important because it is connected to Dover on the British side o ...

, while most of the region lies in the

Paris Basin The Paris Basin () is one of the major geological regions of France. It developed since the Triassic over remnant uplands of the Variscan orogeny (Hercynian orogeny). The sedimentary basin, no longer a single drainage basin, is a large sag in ...

. France's oldest rocks are exposed in Jobourg, on 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 ...

peninsula. The region is bounded to the north and west by the

English Channel The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...

. 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 Bocage (, ) is a terrain of mixed woodland and pasture characteristic of parts of northern France, southern England, Ireland, the Netherlands, northern Spain and northern Germany, in regions where pastoral farming is the dominant land use. ' ...

'' typical of the western areas caused problems for the invading forces in the

. A notable feature of the landscape is created by the

meander A meander is one of a series of regular sinuous curves in the Channel (geography), channel of a river or other watercourse. It is produced as a watercourse erosion, erodes the sediments of an outer, concave bank (cut bank, cut bank or river cl ...

s of the Seine as it approaches its estuary. The highest point is the Signal d'Écouves (417 m), in the Armorican Massif. Normandy is sparsely forested: 12.8% of the territory is 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%, a characteristic shared with the Channel Islands.

Sub-regions

Mainland Normandy

Avranchin Avranchin is an area in Normandy, France corresponding to the territory of the Abrincatui, a tribe of Celts from whom the city of Avranches, the main town of the Avranchin, takes its name. In 867, by the Treaty of Compiègne, Charles the Bald g ...

* 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) *

Perche Perche () (French: ''le Perche'') is a former Provinces of France, province of France, known historically for its forests and, for the past two centuries, for the Percheron draft horse, draft horse breed. Until the French Revolution, Perche was ...

* Domfrontais or Passais *

Hiémois Exmes () is a former commune in the Orne department in north-western France. On 1 January 2017, it was merged into the new commune Gouffern en Auge.

* Lieuvin *

Mortain Mortain () is a former commune in the Manche department in Normandy in north-western France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of Mortain-Bocage. Geography Mortain is situated on a rocky hill rising above the gorge of the ...

ais *

, central Normandy, is characterized by excellent agricultural land. *

* Pays d'Houlme * Pays de Madrie, area between the Seine and the Eure. *

Pays d'Ouche The Pays d'Ouche (, literally ''Land of Ouche'') is an historical and geographical region in Normandy. It extends from the southwest of Évreux up to Bernay and Beaumont-le-Roger as a northern limit, and down to L'Aigle and to Gacé in the sou ...

* Roumois et

Marais-Vernier Marais-Vernier () is a commune in the Eure department in Normandy in northern France. It is situated near the left bank of the Seine, at the edge of a wetland (the ''Marais Vernier'') formed by an old branch of the Seine. The wetland was cut of ...

* Suisse Normande (

Norman Switzerland Norman Switzerland (; ) is a term for part of Normandy, France, in the border region of the departments Calvados and Orne. Its name comes from its rugged and verdant relief, apparently resembling the Swiss Alps, with gorges carved by the river O ...

), in the south, presents hillier terrain. *

Val de Saire The Val de Saire (or Vale of the River Saire) is an area situated in the north of the Cotentin Peninsula, to the east of Cherbourg in the French region of Lower Normandy. To the south lies the Plain. It is named after the river Saire, which flow ...

* Vexin normand

Insular Normandy (Channel Islands)

* The

bailiwick of Guernsey The Bailiwick of Guernsey (; Guernésiais: ''Bailliage dé Guernési'') is a self-governing British Crown Dependencies, Crown Dependency off the coast of Normandy, France, comprising several of the Channel Islands. It has a total land area of ...

(Fr. ''Bailliage de Guernesey'') The

are considered culturally and historically a part of Normandy. However, they are British

Crown Dependencies The Crown Dependencies are three dependent territory, offshore island territories in the British Islands that are self-governing possessions of the The Crown, British Crown: the Bailiwick of Guernsey and the Jersey, Bailiwick of Jersey, both lo ...

, and are not part of the modern French administrative region of Normandy. Although the British surrendered claims to mainland Normandy, France, and other French possessions in 1801, the monarch of the United Kingdom retains the title Duke of Normandy in respect to the Channel Islands. The Channel Islands (except for

Chausey Chausey () is a group of small islands, islets and rocks off the coast of Normandy, in the English Channel. It lies from Granville and forms a ''quartier'' of the Granville commune in the Manche '' département''. Chausey forms part of the C ...

) remain

of the

British Crown The Crown is a political concept used in Commonwealth realms. Depending on the context used, it generally refers to the entirety of the State (polity), state (or in federal realms, the relevant level of government in that state), the executive ...

in the present era. Thus the Loyal Toast in the Channel Islands is ''Le Roi, notre Duc'' ("The King, our Duke"). The British monarch is understood to ''not'' be the Duke with regards to mainland Normandy described herein, by virtue of the Treaty of Paris of 1259, the surrender of French possessions in 1801, and the belief that the rights of succession to that title are subject to

Salic Law The Salic law ( or ; ), also called the was the ancient Frankish Civil law (legal system), civil law code compiled around AD 500 by Clovis I, Clovis, the first Frankish King. The name may refer to the Salii, or "Salian Franks", but this is deba ...

which excludes inheritance through female heirs.

Rivers

Rivers in Normandy include: * the

Seine The Seine ( , ) is a river in northern France. Its drainage basin is in the Paris Basin (a geological relative lowland) covering most of northern France. It rises at Source-Seine, northwest of Dijon in northeastern France in the Langres plat ...

and its tributaries: ** the

Andelle The Andelle () is a river of Normandy, France, in length, flowing through the departments of Seine-Maritime and Eure. It is a right tributary of the Seine. Geography The Andelle has its source in the Pays de Bray in the territory of the commu ...

** the

Epte The Epte () is a river in Seine-Maritime and Eure, in Normandy, France. It is a right tributary of the Seine, long. The river rises in Seine-Maritime in the Pays de Bray, near Forges-les-Eaux, and empties into the Seine not far from Giverny. O ...

** the

Eure Eure ( ; ; or ) is a department in the administrative region of Normandy, northwestern France, named after the river Eure. Its prefecture is Évreux. In 2021, Eure had a population of 598,934.Risle The Risle (; less common: ''Rille'') is a long river in Normandy, left tributary of the Seine. The river begins in the Orne department west of L'Aigle, crosses the western part of the department of Eure flowing from south to north and out into ...

** the Robec And many coastal rivers: * the

Bresle Bresle (; Picard: ''Brèle'') is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. Geography Bresle is situated on the D226 road, some northwest of Amiens. Population See also *Communes of the Somme department The ...

* the Couesnon, which traditionally marks the boundary between the

Duchy of Brittany The Duchy of Brittany (, ; ) was a medieval feudal state that existed between approximately 939 and 1547. Its territory covered the northwestern peninsula of France, bordered by the Bay of Biscay to the west, and the English Channel to the north. ...

and the

* the Dives * the

Orne Orne (; or ) is a département in the northwest of France, named after the river Orne. It had a population of 279,942 in 2019.Sée * the

Sélune The Sélune () is an 85 km long river in the Manche department, Normandy, France, beginning near Saint-Cyr-du-Bailleul. It empties into the bay of Mont Saint-Michel (part of the English Channel The English Channel, also known as the C ...

* the Touques * the Veules, the shortest French coastal river * the Vire

Politics

Mainland Normandy

The modern region of

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 ...

was created by the territorial reform of French Regions in 2014 by the merger of Lower Normandy, and Upper Normandy. The new region took effect on 1 January 2016, after the regional elections in December 2015. The Regional Council has 102 members who are elected under a system of

proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to any electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to political divisions (Political party, political parties) amon ...

. The executive consists of a president and vice-presidents.

Hervé Morin Hervé Morin (; born 17 August 1961) is a French politician of the Centrists who has been serving as the first President of the Regional Council of Normandy since January 2016. Under President Nicolas Sarkozy, he was the Minister of Defence. ...

from the Centre party was elected president of the council in January 2016.

Channel Islands

The Channel Islands are not part of French territory, but are instead British

. They are self-governing, each having its own parliament, government and legal system. The head of state of both territories is

Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, and ...

and each have an appointed

Lieutenant-Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a " second-in-com ...

. The

Bailiwick of Guernsey The Bailiwick of Guernsey (; Guernésiais: ''Bailliage dé Guernési'') is a self-governing British Crown Dependencies, Crown Dependency off the coast of Normandy, France, comprising several of the Channel Islands. It has a total land area of ...

comprises three separate jurisdictions:

Alderney Alderney ( ; ; ) is the northernmost of the inhabited Channel Islands. It is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a British Crown Dependencies, Crown dependency. It is long and wide. The island's area is , making it the third-largest isla ...

and

Sark Sark (Sercquiais: or , ) is an island in the southwestern English Channel, off the coast of Normandy, and part of the archipelago of the Channel Islands. It is a self-governing British Crown Dependencies, Crown Dependency, with its own set o ...

. Administratively, Herm forms part of

Economy

Much of Normandy 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 ''

'' is a patchwork of small fields with high hedges, typical of western areas. Areas near the

(the former Upper Normandy region) contain a higher concentration of industry. Normandy is a significant

cider Cider ( ) is an alcoholic beverage made from the Fermented drink, fermented Apple juice, juice of apples. Cider is widely available in the United Kingdom (particularly in the West Country) and Ireland. The United Kingdom has the world's highest ...

-producing region, and also produces calvados, a distilled cider or

apple brandy Fruit brandy (or fruit spirit) is a distilled beverage produced from mash, juice, wine or residues of edible fruits. The term covers a broad class of spirits produced across the world, and typically excludes beverages made from grapes, which are ...

. Other activities of economic importance are dairy produce,

flax Flax, also known as common flax or linseed, is a flowering plant, ''Linum usitatissimum'', in the family Linaceae. It is cultivated as a food and fiber crop in regions of the world with temperate climates. In 2022, France produced 75% of t ...

(60% of production in France),

horse breeding Horse breeding is reproduction in horses, and particularly the human-directed process of selective breeding of animals, particularly purebred horses of a given Horse breed, breed. Planned matings can be used to produce specifically desired chara ...

(including two French national stud farms), fishing, seafood, and tourism. The region contains three French

nuclear power station A nuclear power plant (NPP), also known as a nuclear power station (NPS), nuclear generating station (NGS) or atomic power station (APS) is a thermal power station in which the heat source is a nuclear reactor. As is typical of thermal power st ...

s. There is also easy access to and from the UK using the ports of

(

Ouistreham Ouistreham () is a commune in the Calvados department in Normandy region in northwestern France. Ouistreham is a small port with fishing boats, leisure craft and a ferry harbour. It serves as the port of the city of Caen. The town borders t ...

and

. Jersey and Guernsey are often considered to be tax havens, due to having large financial services sectors and low tax rates.

Demographics

In January 2006 the population of French Normandy (including the part of

which lies inside the

Orne Orne (; or ) is a département in the northwest of France, named after the river Orne. It had a population of 279,942 in 2019.département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. There are a total of 101 ...

'' but excluding the

) was estimated at 3,260,000 with an average population density of 109 inhabitants per km², just under the French national average, but rising to 147 for Upper Normandy. The population of the Channel Islands is estimated around 174,000 (2021). HalftimberedHousesRouen2

The main cities (population given from the 1999 census) are Rouen (518,316 in the metropolitan area), the capital since 2016 of the province and formerly of Upper Normandy;

(420,000 in the metropolitan area) and formerly the capital of Lower Normandy;

(296,773 in the metropolitan area); and

(117,855 in the metropolitan area).

Culture

Flag

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 represents the strength and courage Normandy has towards the neighbouring provinces. The unofficial anthem of the region is the song " Ma Normandie". File:Flag of Normandie.svg, "Two-leopard" version, which is the main one. File:Flag of Normandie (three-leopard version).svg, "Three-leopard" version File:Flag of Normandy.svg,

Nordic Cross A Nordic cross flag is a flag bearing the design of the Nordic or Scandinavian cross, a cross symbol in a rectangular field, with the centre of the cross shifted towards the hoist. All independent Nordic countries have adopted such flags in ...

version File:Flag of Sark.svg, "Two-leopard" flag of

File:Arms of William the Conqueror (1066-1087).svg, Coat of arms of the

File:Coat of arms of Guernsey.svg,

Coat of arms of Guernsey The coat of arms of Guernsey is the official symbol of the Channel Island of Guernsey. It is very similar to the arms of Normandy, Jersey, and England. Seal of Guernsey The Seal of Guernsey closely follows the coat of arms; it originates from ...

File:Jersey arms on Piquet House in St Helier.jpg,

Coat of arms of Jersey The coat of arms of Jersey is the heraldic device consisting of a shield charged with three gold lions on a red field. Utilised unofficially before the 20th century, its status as the coat of arms of the Bailiwick of Jersey was formalized in 19 ...

Language

The Norman language, including its insular variations

Jèrriais ( ; also known as the Jersey language, Jersey French and Jersey Norman French in English) is a Romance languages, Romance language and the traditional language of the Jersey people. It is a form of the Norman language spoken in Jersey, an isla ...

and

Guernésiais Guernésiais (), also known as Guerneseyese, ''Dgèrnésiais'', Guernsey French, and Guernsey Norman French, is the variety of the Norman language spoken in Guernsey. It is sometimes known on the island simply as "patois". As one of the langues d ...

, is a

regional language * A regional language is a language spoken in a region of a sovereign state, whether it be a small area, a federated state or province or some wider area. Internationally, for the purposes of the European Charter for Regional or Minority La ...

, spoken by a minority of the population on the continent and the islands, with a concentration in the Cotentin Peninsula in the far west (the

Cotentinais Cotentinais () is the dialect of the Norman language spoken in the Cotentin Peninsula of France. It is one of the strongest dialects of the language on the French mainland. Dialects Due to the relative lack of standardisation of Norman, there ...

dialect), and in the

in the East (the

Cauchois dialect Cauchois (; ) is one of the eastern dialects of the Norman language that is spoken in and takes its name from the Pays de Caux region of the Seine-Maritime department. Status The Pays de Caux is one of the remaining strongholds of the Norman lan ...

). Many words and place names demonstrate the

Old English Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...

and Norse (

Anglo-Scandinavian Anglo-Scandinavian is an academic term referring to the hybridisation between Norse and Anglo-Saxon cultures in Britain during the early medieval period. It remains a term and concept often used by historians and archaeologists, and in linguist ...

) influence in this Oïl language; for example, words : ''mauve'' (seagull), ''fifotte'' (starfish), ''hâ'' (catshark), ''mucre'' (humid, wet), ''(é)griller'' (slide, slip), ''fale'' (throat), etc. place-names : ''-bec'' (stream), ''-fleur'' (river), ''

-hou ''-hou'' or ''hou'' is a place-name element found commonly in the Norman toponymy of the Channel Islands and continental Normandy. Etymology and signification Its etymology and meaning are disputed, but most specialists think it comes from S ...

'' (island), ''-tot'' (homestead), ''-dal'' / ''-dalle'' (valley), ''Hogue'' / ''Hougue'' (hill, mound), ''-lon'' / ''-londe'' (grove, wood), ''-vy'' / ''-vic'' (bay, cove), ''-mare'' (pond), ''-beuf'' (booth, cabin), etc. French is the only

official language An official language is defined by the Cambridge English Dictionary as, "the language or one of the languages that is accepted by a country's government, is taught in schools, used in the courts of law, etc." Depending on the decree, establishmen ...

in continental Normandy and English is also an official language in the Channel Islands.

Architecture

Architecturally, Norman cathedrals, abbeys (such as the Abbey of Bec) and castles characterise the former duchy in a way that mirrors the similar pattern of

Norman architecture The term Norman architecture is used to categorise styles of Romanesque architecture developed by the Normans in the various lands under their dominion or influence in the 11th and 12th centuries. In particular the term is traditionally used f ...

in England following the

Norman Conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Norman, French people, French, Flemish people, Flemish, and Bretons, Breton troops, all led by the Du ...

of 1066. Domestic architecture in upper Normandy is typified by

half-timbered Timber framing () and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy Beam (structure), timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and Woodworking joints, joined timbers with joints secure ...

buildings that also recall vernacular English architecture, although the farm enclosures of the more harshly landscaped Pays de Caux are a more idiosyncratic response to socio-economic and climatic imperatives. Much urban architectural heritage was destroyed during the Battle of Normandy in 1944 – post-war urban reconstruction, such as in Le Havre and Saint-Lô, could be said to demonstrate both the virtues and vices of

modernist Modernism was an early 20th-century movement in literature, visual arts, and music that emphasized experimentation, abstraction, and Subjectivity and objectivity (philosophy), subjective experience. Philosophy, politics, architecture, and soc ...

and

brutalist Brutalist architecture is an architectural style that emerged during the 1950s in the United Kingdom, among the reconstruction projects of the post-war era. Brutalist buildings are characterised by minimalist constructions that showcase the b ...

trends of the 1950s and 1960s. Le Havre, the city rebuilt by

Auguste Perret Auguste Perret (12 February 1874 – 25 February 1954) was a French architect and a pioneer of the architectural use of reinforced concrete. His major works include the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, the first Art Deco building in Paris; the C ...

, was added to Unesco's World Heritage List in 2005.

Vernacular architecture Vernacular architecture (also folk architecture) is building done outside any academic tradition, and without professional guidance. It is not a particular architectural movement or style but rather a broad category, encompassing a wide range a ...

in lower Normandy takes its form from

granite Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly coo ...

, the predominant local building material. The Channel Islands also share this influence –

was for many years a source of quarried granite, including that used for the construction of

Mont Saint-Michel Mont-Saint-Michel (; Norman: ''Mont Saint Miché''; ) is a tidal island and mainland commune in Normandy, France. The island lies approximately off France's north-western coast, at the mouth of the Couesnon River near Avranches and is i ...

. The south part of Bagnoles-de-l'Orne is filled with bourgeois villas in ''

Belle Époque The Belle Époque () or La Belle Époque () was a period of French and European history that began after the end of the Franco-Prussian War in 1871 and continued until the outbreak of World War I in 1914. Occurring during the era of the Fr ...

'' style with polychrome façades, bow windows and unique roofing. This area, built between 1886 and 1914, has an authentic "Bagnolese" style and is typical of high-society country vacation of the time. The Chapel of Saint Germanus (''Chapelle Saint-Germain'') at Querqueville with its

trefoil A trefoil () is a graphic form composed of the outline of three overlapping rings, used in architecture, Pagan and Christian symbolism, among other areas. The term is also applied to other symbols with a threefold shape. A similar shape with f ...

floorplan incorporates elements of one of the earliest surviving places of Christian worship in the Cotentin – perhaps second only to the Gallo-Roman baptistry at Port-Bail. It is dedicated to Germanus of Normandy.

Gastronomy

Parts of Normandy consist of rolling countryside typified by pasture for dairy cattle and apple orchards. A wide range of dairy products are produced and exported. Norman cheeses include

Camembert Camembert ( , , ) is a moist, soft, creamy, surface-ripened cow's milk cheese. It was first made in the late 18th century in Camembert, Normandy, in northwest France. It is sometimes compared in look, taste and texture to brie cheese, albe ...

, Livarot, Pont l'Évêque,

Brillat-Savarin Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin (; 2 April 1755 – 2 February 1826) was a French lawyer and politician, who, as the author of ''Physiologie du goût'' (''The Physiology of Taste''), became celebrated for his culinary reminiscences and reflect ...

, Neufchâtel, Petit Suisse and

Boursin Boursin () is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the northern Hauts-de-France region of France 12 miles (19 km) south of Calais. Population See also *Communes of the Pas-de-Calais department The following is a list of t ...

. Normandy butter and Normandy cream are lavishly used in gastronomic specialties.

and Guernsey cattle are famous cattle breeds worldwide, especially to North America. Reflets de France Cidre

Turbot and oysters from the Cotentin Peninsula are major delicacies throughout France. Normandy is the chief

oyster Oyster is the common name for a number of different families of salt-water bivalve molluscs that live in marine or brackish habitats. In some species, the valves are highly calcified, and many are somewhat irregular in shape. Many, but no ...

-cultivating, scallop-exporting, and mussel-raising region in France. Normandy is a major

-producing region (very little wine is produced).

Perry Perry or pear cider is an alcoholic beverage made from fermented pears, traditionally in England (particularly Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, and Worcestershire), parts of South Wales, France (especially Normandy and Anjou), Canada, Austral ...

is also produced, but in less significant quantities. Apple brandy, of which the most famous variety is calvados, is also popular. The mealtime ''trou normand'', or "Norman hole", is a pause between meal courses in which diners partake of a glassful of calvados in order to improve the appetite and make room for the next course, and this is still observed in many homes and restaurants. '' Pommeau'' is an '' apéritif'' produced by blending unfermented cider and apple brandy. Another aperitif is the '' kir normand'', a measure of

crème de cassis Crème de cassis () (also known as cassis liqueur) is a sweet, dark red liqueur made from blackcurrants. Several cocktails are made with crème de cassis, notably the popular wine cocktail kir and its sparkling variant, the kir royal. Other ...

topped up with cider. ''

Bénédictine Bénédictine () is a herbal liqueur produced in France. It was developed by wine merchant Alexandre Le Grand in the 19th century and is flavored with twenty-seven flowers, berries, herbs, roots, and spices. A drier version, B&B, blending B� ...

'' is produced in Fécamp. Other regional specialities include '' tripes à la mode de Caen'', '' andouilles'' and ''andouillettes'', , salt meadow (''pré salé'') lamb, seafood (mussels,

scallop Scallop () is a common name that encompasses various species of marine bivalve molluscs in the taxonomic family Pectinidae, the scallops. However, the common name "scallop" is also sometimes applied to species in other closely related famili ...

s, lobsters, mackerel...), and '' teurgoule'' (spiced rice pudding). Normandy dishes include duckling ''à la rouennaise'', sautéed chicken ''yvetois'', and goose ''en daube''. Rabbit is cooked with

morel ''Morchella'', the true morels, is a genus of edible sac fungi closely related to anatomically simpler cup fungi in the order Pezizales ( division Ascomycota). These distinctive fungi have a honeycomb appearance due to the network of ridges ...

s, or ''à la havraise'' (stuffed with truffled pigs' trotters). Other dishes are sheep's trotters ''à la rouennaise'', casseroled veal, larded calf's liver braised with carrots, and veal (or turkey) in cream and mushrooms. Normandy is also noted for its pastries. Normandy turns out ''douillons'' (pears baked in pastry), ''craquelins'', ''roulettes'' in Rouen, ''fouaces'' in Caen, ''fallues'' in

Lisieux Lisieux () is a Communes of France, commune in the Calvados (department), Calvados Departments of France, department in the Normandy (administrative region), Normandy Regions of France, region in northwestern France. It is the capital of the Pa ...

, ''sablés'' in Lisieux. It is the birthplace of

brioche Brioche (, also , , ) is a bread of French origin whose high egg and butter content gives it a rich and tender crumb. Chef Joël Robuchon described it as "light and slightly puffy, more or less fine, according to the proportion of butter and e ...

s (especially those from

Évreux Évreux () is a commune in and the capital of the department of Eure, in the French region of Normandy. History Antiquity In late Antiquity, the town, attested in the fourth century AD, was named '' Mediolanum Aulercorum'', "the central town ...

and

Gisors Gisors () is a Communes of France, commune in the Departments of France, French department of Eure, Normandy (administrative region), Normandy, France. It is located northwest from the Kilometre Zero, centre of Paris. Gisors, together with the ...

). Confectionery of the region includes Rouen apple sugar, Isigny caramels,

mint chews, Falaise berlingots,

marzipans,

Argentan Argentan () is a commune and the seat of two cantons and of an arrondissement in the Orne department in northwestern France. As of 2019, Argentan is the third largest municipality by population in the Orne department.

''croquettes'', and Rouen

macaroons A macaroon ( ) is a small cake or cookie, originally made from ground almonds, egg whites, and sugar, but now often with coconut or other nuts. They may also include jam, chocolate, or other flavorings. Etymology The name ''macaroon'' is b ...

. Normandy is the native land of Taillevent, cook of the kings of France

Charles V Charles V may refer to: Kings and Emperors * Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558) * Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain * Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise Others * Charles V, Duke ...

and Charles VI. He wrote the earliest French cookery book named ''Le Viandier''. '' Confiture de lait'' was also made in Normandy around the 14th century.

Literature

The dukes of Normandy commissioned and inspired epic literature to record and legitimise their rule.

Wace Wace ( 1110 – after 1174), sometimes referred to as Robert Wace, was a Medieval Norman poet, who was born in Jersey and brought up in mainland Normandy (he tells us in the ''Roman de Rou'' that he was taken as a child to Caen), ending his car ...

Orderic Vitalis Orderic Vitalis (; 16 February 1075 – ) was an English chronicler and Benedictine monk who wrote one of the great contemporary chronicles of 11th- and 12th-century Normandy and Anglo-Norman England.Hollister ''Henry I'' p. 6 Working out of ...

and Stephen of Rouen were among those who wrote in the service of the dukes. After the division of 1204, French literature provided the model for the development of literature in Normandy. Olivier Basselin wrote of the Vaux de Vire, the origin of literary ''

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...

''. Notable Norman writers include

Jean Marot Jean Marot (; Mathieu, near Caen, 1463 – c. 1526) was a French poet of the late 15th and early 16 century and the father of the French Renaissance poet Clément Marot. He is often grouped with the " Grands Rhétoriqueurs". Jean Marot seems ...

, Rémy Belleau,

Guy de Maupassant Henri René Albert Guy de Maupassant (, ; ; 5 August 1850 – 6 July 1893) was a 19th-century French author, celebrated as a master of the short story, as well as a representative of the naturalist school, depicting human lives, destinies and s ...

Jules Barbey d'Aurevilly Jules-Amédée Barbey d'Aurevilly (2 November 1808 – 23 April 1889) was a French novelist, poet, short story writer, and literary critic. He specialised in mystery tales that explored hidden motivation and hinted at evil without being explicitl ...

Gustave Flaubert Gustave Flaubert ( , ; ; 12 December 1821 – 8 May 1880) was a French novelist. He has been considered the leading exponent of literary realism in his country and abroad. According to the literary theorist Kornelije Kvas, "in Flaubert, realis ...

Octave Mirbeau Octave Henri Marie Mirbeau (; 16 February 1848 – 16 February 1917) was a French novelist, art critic, travel writer, pamphleteer, journalist and playwright, who achieved celebrity in Europe and great success among the public, whilst still app ...

, and

Remy de Gourmont Remy de Gourmont (4 April 1858 – 27 September 1915) was a French symbolist poet, novelist, and influential critic. He was widely read in his era, and an important influence on Blaise Cendrars and Georges Bataille. The spelling ''Rémy'' de Go ...

, and

Alexis de Tocqueville Alexis Charles Henri Clérel, comte de Tocqueville (29 July 180516 April 1859), was a French Aristocracy (class), aristocrat, diplomat, political philosopher, and historian. He is best known for his works ''Democracy in America'' (appearing in t ...

. The Corneille brothers, Pierre and

Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the A ...

, born in Rouen, were great figures of French classical literature. David Ferrand (1591–1660) in his ''Muse Normande'' established a landmark of Norman language literature. In the 16th and 17th centuries, the workers and merchants of Rouen established a tradition of polemical and satirical literature in a form of language called the ''parler purin''. At the end of the 18th century and beginning of the 19th century, a new movement arose in the Channel Islands, led by writers such as George Métivier, which sparked a literary renaissance on the Norman mainland. In exile in Jersey and then Guernsey,

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo, vicomte Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romanticism, Romantic author, poet, essayist, playwright, journalist, human rights activist and politician. His most famous works are the novels ''The Hunchbac ...

took an interest in the vernacular literature. '' Les Travailleurs de la mer'' is a well-known novel by Hugo set in the Channel Islands. The boom in insular literature in the early 19th century encouraged production especially in La Hague and around Cherbourg, where Alfred Rossel, Louis Beuve and

Côtis-Capel Côtis-Capel (22 January 1915 – 30 October 1986) was the pen name of Albert Lohier, a Norman language poet. He was from La Hague and wrote in the Haguais dialect of Cotentinais Cotentinais () is the dialect of the Norman language spoken in ...

became active. The typical medium for literary expression in Norman has traditionally been newspaper columns and almanacs. The novel ''Zabeth'' by André Louis which appeared in 1969 was the first novel published in Norman.

Painting

Claude Monet - Woman with a Parasol - Madame Monet and Her Son - Google Art Project

Normandy has a rich tradition of painting and gave to France some of its most important artists. In the 17th century, some major French painters were Normans like

Nicolas Poussin Nicolas Poussin (, , ; June 1594 – 19 November 1665) was a French painter who was a leading painter of the classical French Baroque style, although he spent most of his working life in Rome. Most of his works were on religious and mythologic ...

, born in

Les Andelys Les Andelys (; Norman language, Norman: ''Les Aundelys'') is a Communes of France, commune in the northern French Departments of France, department of Eure, in Normandy (administrative region), Normandy. Geography It lies on the Seine, about no ...

and Jean Jouvenet.

Romanticism Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century. The purpose of the movement was to advocate for the importance of subjec ...

drew painters to the Channel coasts of Normandy.

Richard Parkes Bonington Richard Parkes Bonington (25 October 1802 – 23 September 1828) was an English Romantic landscape painter. He moved to France at the age of 14 and can also be considered as a French artist, and an intermediary bringing aspects of English styl ...

and

J. M. W. Turner Joseph Mallord William Turner (23 April 177519 December 1851), known in his time as William Turner, was an English Romantic painter, printmaker and watercolourist. He is known for his expressive colouring, imaginative landscapes and turbu ...

crossed the Channel from Great Britain, attracted by the light and landscapes.

Théodore Géricault Jean-Louis André Théodore Géricault (; 26 September 1791 – 26 January 1824) was a French painter and lithographer, whose best-known painting is '' The Raft of the Medusa''. Despite his short life, he was one of the pioneers of the Romanti ...

, a native of Rouen, was a notable figure in the Romantic movement, its 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 Jean-François Millet (; 4 October 1814 – 20 January 1875) was a French artist and one of the founders of the Barbizon school in rural France. Millet is noted for his paintings of peasant farmers and can be categorized as part of the Realis ...

, a native of La Hague. The landscape painter

Eugène Boudin Eugène Louis Boudin (; 12 July 1824 – 8 August 1898) was one of the first French landscape painters to paint outdoors. Boudin was a marine painter, and expert in the rendering of all that goes upon the sea and along its shores. His pastels, ...

, born in Honfleur, was a determining influence on the impressionists and was highly considered by Monet. Breaking away from the more formalised and classical themes of the early part of the 19th century, Impressionist painters preferred to paint outdoors, in natural light, and to concentrate on landscapes, towns and scenes of daily life. Leader of the movement and father of modern painting,

Claude Monet Oscar-Claude Monet (, ; ; 14 November 1840 – 5 December 1926) was a French painter and founder of Impressionism painting who is seen as a key precursor to modernism, especially in his attempts to paint nature as he perceived it. During his ...

is one of the best known Impressionists and a major character in Normandy's artistic heritage. His house and gardens at

Giverny Giverny () is a Communes of France, commune in the northern French Departments of France, department of Eure.Étretat Étretat () is a Communes of France, commune in the Seine-Maritime Departments of France, department in the Normandy (administrative region), Normandy Regions of France, region of Northwestern France. It is a Tourism, tourist and Agriculture, far ...

, the beach and port at Fécamp and the sunrise at

. It was ''

Impression, Sunrise ''Impression, Sunrise'' () is an 1872 painting by Claude Monet first shown at what would become known as the " Exhibition of the Impressionists" in Paris in April, 1874. The painting is credited with inspiring the name of the Impressionist movem ...

'', Monet's painting of Le Havre, that led to the movement being dubbed

Impressionism Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by visible brush strokes, open Composition (visual arts), composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...

. After Monet, all the main

avant-garde In the arts and literature, the term ''avant-garde'' ( meaning or ) identifies an experimental genre or work of art, and the artist who created it, which usually is aesthetically innovative, whilst initially being ideologically unacceptable ...

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. Landscapes and scenes of daily life were also immortalised on canvas by artists that have included : William Turner,

Gustave Courbet Jean Désiré Gustave Courbet ( ; ; ; 10 June 1819 – 31 December 1877) was a French painter who led the Realism movement in 19th-century French painting. Committed to painting only what he could see, he rejected academic convention and the ...

, the Honfleur born Eugène Boudin,

Camille Pissarro Jacob Abraham Camille Pissarro ( ; ; 10 July 1830 – 13 November 1903) was a Danish-French Impressionist and Neo-Impressionist painter born on the island of St Thomas (now in the US Virgin Islands, but then in the Danish West Indies). ...

Alfred Sisley Alfred Sisley (; ; 30 October 1839 – 29 January 1899) was an Impressionist landscape painter who was born and spent most of his life in France, but retained British citizenship. He was the most consistent of the Impressionists in his dedic ...

Auguste Renoir Pierre-Auguste Renoir (; ; 25 February 1841 – 3 December 1919) was a French people, French artist who was a leading painter in the development of the Impressionism, Impressionist style. As a celebrator of beauty and especially femininity, fe ...

Gustave Caillebotte Gustave Caillebotte (; 19 August 1848 – 21 February 1894) was a French painter who was a member and patron of the Impressionists, although he painted in a more Realism (arts), realistic manner than many others in the group. Caillebotte was kno ...

Eugène Chigot Eugène Henri Alexandre Chigot (; 22 November 1860 – 14 July 1923) was a post impressionist French painter. A pupil of his father, the military painter Alphonse Chigot, in 1881 he entered the internationally renowned École Nationale Supérie ...

Paul Gauguin Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin (; ; 7 June 1848 – 8 May 1903) was a French painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramist, and writer, whose work has been primarily associated with the Post-Impressionist and Symbolist movements. He was also an influ ...

Georges Seurat Georges Pierre Seurat ( , ; ; 2 December 1859 – 29 March 1891) was a French post-Impressionist artist. He devised the painting techniques known as chromoluminarism and pointillism and used conté crayon for drawings on paper with a rough ...

Paul Signac Paul Victor Jules Signac ( , ; 11 November 1863 – 15 August 1935) was a French Neo-Impressionist painter who, with Georges Seurat, helped develop the artistic technique Pointillism. Biography Paul-Victor-Jules Signac was born in Paris on ...

Pierre Bonnard Pierre Bonnard (; 3 October 186723 January 1947) was a French painter, illustrator and printmaker, known especially for the stylized decorative qualities of his paintings and his bold use of color. A founding member of the Post-Impressionist gr ...

Georges Braque Georges Braque ( ; ; 13 May 1882 – 31 August 1963) was a major 20th-century List of French artists, French painter, Collage, collagist, Drawing, draughtsman, printmaker and sculptor. His most notable contributions were in his alliance with ...

and

Pablo Picasso Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, Ceramic art, ceramicist, and Scenic ...

. While Monet's work adorns galleries and collections all over the world, a remarkable quantity of Impressionist works can be found in galleries throughout Normandy, such as the Museum of Fine Arts in Rouen, the Musée Eugène Boudin in

or the André Malraux Museum in

Maurice Denis Maurice Denis (; 25 November 1870 – 13 November 1943) was a French painter, decorative artist, and writer. An important figure in the transitional period between impressionism and modern art, he is associated with '' Les Nabis'', symbolism, ...

, one of the leaders and theoricists of the

Nabis Nabis may refer to: * Nabis of Sparta, reigned 207–192 BCE * Nabis (art), a Parisian post-Impressionist artistic group * ''Nabis'' (bug), a genus of insects * NABIS, National Ballistics Intelligence Service, a British government agency See a ...

movement in the 1890s, was a native of Granville, in the department of Manche. Marie-Thérèse Auffray, an

expressionist Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...

painter and member of the French resistance during WWII, lived and painted in the village of

Échauffour Échauffour () is a commune in the Orne department in north-western France. Geography The commune is on the borders of the country of Ouche and the campaign of Alençon. Its village is 4.5 km northwest of Sainte-Gauburge-Sainte-Colombe, 9 ...

. The '' Société Normande de Peinture Moderne'' was founded in 1909 by Pierre Dumont, Robert Antoine Pinchon, Yvonne Barbier and Eugène Tirvert. Among members were

Raoul Dufy Raoul Dufy (; 3 June 1877 – 23 March 1953) was a French painter associated with the Fauvist movement. He gained recognition for his vibrant and decorative style, which became popular in various forms, such as textile designs, and public build ...

, a native of Le Havre,

Albert Marquet Albert Marquet (; 27 March 1875 – 14 June 1947) was a French painter. He initially became one of the Fauve painters and a lifelong friend of Henri Matisse. Marquet subsequently painted in a more naturalistic style, primarily landscapes, bu ...

Francis Picabia Francis Picabia (: born Francis-Marie Martinez de Picabia; 22January 1879 – 30November 1953) was a French avant-garde painter, writer, filmmaker, magazine publisher, poet, and typography, typographist closely associated with Dada. When consid ...

and

Maurice Utrillo Maurice Utrillo (; born Maurice Valadon; 26 December 1883 – 5 November 1955) was a French painter of the School of Paris who specialized in cityscapes. From the Montmartre quarter of Paris, France, Utrillo is one of the few famous painters of ...

. Also in this movement were the Duchamp brothers,

Jacques Villon Jacques Villon (July 31, 1875 – June 9, 1963), also known as Gaston Duchamp, was a French Cubist and Abstract art, abstract painter and printmaker. Early life Born Émile Méry Frédéric Gaston Duchamp in Damville, Eure, Damville, Eure, ...

and

Marcel Duchamp Henri-Robert-Marcel Duchamp (, ; ; 28 July 1887 – 2 October 1968) was a French painter, sculptor, chess player, and writer whose work is associated with Cubism, Dada, Futurism and conceptual art. He is commonly regarded, along with Pablo Pica ...

, considered one of the father of modern art, also natives of Normandy.

Jean Dubuffet Jean Philippe Arthur Dubuffet (; 31 July 1901 – 12 May 1985) was a French Painting, painter and sculpture, sculptor of the School of Paris, École de Paris (School of Paris). His idealistic approach to aesthetics embraced so-called "low art" a ...

, one of the leading French artist of the 1940s and the 1950s was born in Le Havre.

Religion

Rouen Cathedral as seen from Gros Horloge 140215 4

Christian missionaries implanted

monastic communities Monasticism (; ), also called monachism or monkhood, is a religious way of life in which one renounces worldly pursuits to devote oneself fully to spiritual activities. Monastic life plays an important role in many Christian churches, especially ...

in the territory in the 5th and 6th centuries. Some of these missionaries came from across the Channel. The influence of

Celtic Christianity Celtic Christianity is a form of Christianity that was common, or held to be common, across the Celtic languages, Celtic-speaking world during the Early Middle Ages. The term Celtic Church is deprecated by many historians as it implies a unifi ...

can still be found in the

. By the terms of the treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte, Rollo, a Viking pagan, accepted Christianity and was baptised. The Duchy of Normandy was therefore formally a Christian state from its foundation. The cathedrals of Normandy have exerted influence down the centuries in matters of both faith and politics. King Henry II of England did

penance Penance is any act or a set of actions done out of contrition for sins committed, as well as an alternative name for the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Oriental Orthodox sacrament of Reconciliation or Confession. The word ''penance'' derive ...

at the cathedral of

Avranches Avranches (; ) is a commune in the Manche department, and the region of Normandy, northwestern France. It is a subprefecture of the department. The inhabitants are called ''Avranchinais''. History Middle Ages By the end of the Roman period, th ...

on 21 May 1172 and was absolved from the censures incurred by the assassination of

Thomas Becket Thomas Becket (), also known as Saint Thomas of Canterbury, Thomas of London and later Thomas à Becket (21 December 1119 or 1120 – 29 December 1170), served as Lord Chancellor from 1155 to 1162, and then as Archbishop of Canterbury fr ...

is a historic

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a travel, journey to a holy place, which can lead to a personal transformation, after which the pilgrim returns to their daily life. A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) w ...

site. Normandy does not have one generally agreed

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, Eastern Orthodoxy or Oriental Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, fa ...

, although this title has been ascribed to Saint

Michael Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * he He ..., a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name * Michael (bishop elect)">Michael (surname)">he He ..., a given nam ...

, and to Saint Ouen. Many saints have been revered in Normandy down the centuries, including: * Aubert who's remembered as the founder of

* Marcouf and Laud who are important saints in Normandy *

Helier Helier (died 555) was a 6th-century ascetic hermit. He is the patron saint of Jersey in the Channel Islands, and in particular of the town and parish of Saint Helier, the island's capital. He is also invoked as a healing saint for diseases of t ...

and

Samson of Dol Samson of Dol (also Samsun; born late 5th century) was a Welsh saint, who is also counted among the Brittany#Religion, seven founder saints of Brittany with Paul Aurelian, Pol Aurelian, Saint Tudwal, Tugdual or Tudwal, Brieuc, Saint Malo (saint ...

who are evangelizers of the Channel Islands *

, an Anglo-Norman whose parents were from Rouen, who was the object of a considerable following in mainland Normandy following his martyrdom *

Joan of Arc Joan of Arc ( ; ; – 30 May 1431) is a patron saint of France, honored as a defender of the French nation for her role in the siege of Orléans and her insistence on the Coronation of the French monarch, coronation of Charles VII o ...

who was

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', 'witness' Word stem, stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external party. In ...

ed in Rouen, and who is especially remembered in that city * Thérèse de Lisieux whose birthplace in

and later home in Lisieux are a focus for religious pilgrims. * Germanus of Normandy Since the 1905 French law on the Separation of the Churches and the State, there is no established church in mainland Normandy. In the

, the Church of England is the established church.

People

:''See :People from Normandy''

Gallery

File:MSM sunset 02.JPG,

File:Château Gaillard.jpg, Château Gaillard File:Honfleur vieux bassin.jpg,

File:Le Havre (skatepark).jpg,

File:Arromanches-les-Bains port artificiel Mulberry.jpg, Arromanches, Mulberry Harbour File:Colombages.jpg, Half-timbered houses in

File:Saint-Cenéri-Le-Gerei.jpg, Saint-Céneri-le-Gérei File:Etelan0706ZF - Basse Def..jpg, Château d'Ételan (1494) File:Honfleur Harbour, June 2012.jpg, Decorated boats in

harbour File:RouenCathedral Monet 1894.jpg, Rouen Cathedral by

File:NormandyCourcelles2JM.jpg, World War II 15 cm TbtsK C/36 German coastal gun. File:Pegasus Bridge, June 1944 B5288.jpg, Pegasus Bridge File:Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial, June 2012.jpg, The Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial near Colleville-sur-Mer

Notes

References

External links

*
Normandie Héritage

Gallery of photos of Normandy
{{Authority control Normandy, Former provinces of France Geographical, historical and cultural regions of France Historical regions