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Normandy. Map of the old French province, once an apanage of the British crown 



Bayeux Tapestry, colour plate ; 

 England : History ; Feudalism ; 

 William I; consult also The Norman 

 Conquest, E. A. Freeman, 1867-79. 



Normandy. Old province of 

 France. It was one of the largest of 

 those into which France was 

 divided before the Revolution, and 

 takes its name from the Normans 

 or Northmen. The name is still 

 used to describe the district. 

 Normandy lies along the English 

 Channel between Picardy and 

 Brittany, and on the S. touches 

 Maine, and in the S.E. the lie de 

 France. Its capital is Rouen, while 

 Caen, Bayeux, Lisicnx, and Evreux 

 are interesting Norman towns. For 

 many years the Channel Islands 

 belonged to the duchy, and it was 

 owing to this connexion that they 

 became English. 



After having been included in 

 the Roman and the Prankish 

 empires, Normandy was ravaged 

 by the Danes or Northmen, \\\\<> 

 found an easy way for their boats 

 along the Seine. Some of them 

 settled on its banks, and in 912 

 King Charles the Simple made a 

 treaty with their leader, Rollo, 

 to whom he gave some land around 

 Rouen. Thus Rollo founded the 

 duchy of Normandy, which grew 

 in size under his successors. They 



assimilated the French language 

 and culture, and were often at war 

 with their neighbours the counts of 

 Anjou. William the Conqueror, 

 who became duke in 1035, added 

 Maine to his possessions. In 1066 

 he was crowned king of England, 

 and when he died in 1087 he left 

 Normandy to his eldest son Robert, 

 thus separating it from England. 

 In 1106, however, Robert was 

 beaten at Tinchebrai and captured 

 by his younger brother, Henry I. 

 and the two countries were again 

 united. After Henry's death in 

 1135, his grandson, Henry II, had 

 to fight for Normandy as for Eng- 

 land, but when he became king 

 in ll'>4, he was already duke. 



Normandy and England 

 Normandy, although ruled by 

 the English king, had the king of 

 France as its overlord, and the 

 relationship naturally led to 

 trouble. Both Louis VII and 

 Philip Augustus coveted the great 

 possessions acquired by Henry II, 

 but were unable to take any of 

 them from him, although they 

 helped his sons to harass hU life. 

 The warfare continued during the 

 reign of Richard I, and came to a 

 climax in that of John. In 1 -'"-' 

 Philip Augustus invaded Nor- 

 mandy, and when Rouen sur- 



rendered to him in 1204, it was 

 all in his possession. The duchy 

 was formally surrendered by 

 Henry III (1259). 



After John had been deprived of 

 Normandy the land was without a 

 duke, but in 1329 Philip VI ap- 

 pointed his son John to that office. 

 During the Hundred Year- 

 the duchy was a battleground, and 

 in 1359, after the English successes, 

 the French king promised to cede 

 it. This arrangement fell through, 

 and after Agincourt the F-nglfrh 

 overran it and established an 

 administration. But the Normans 

 steadily resisted, and gradually it 

 was recovered by France. 



For many years Normandy had 

 its own assembly of estate*, and 

 there was a parlement at Rouen 

 from 1499 until the Revolution. 

 Before that time, however, the 

 land was completely at one with 

 the rest of France. In 1791 it was 

 divided into department*. See 

 Channel Islands; Distaff; North- 

 men ; consult also History of 

 Normandy and of England. P. 

 Palgrave, 1851-64; The Norman 

 Conquest, E. A. Freeman, 1867-79. 



Norman-French. Dialect of 

 Old French 8i>oken in Normandy 

 and Kngland. The Scandinavian 

 settlers in Normandy adopted the 



