Encyclopedia
Normandy is a geographical region in northern
France. Upper Normandy consists of the French
départements of Seine-Maritime and Eure, and Lower Normandy of the
départements of Orne, Calvados, and Manche.
The Duchy of Normandy is a formerly independent duchy situated in northern France occupying the lower
Seine area, the
Pays de Caux and the region to the west through the Pays d'Auge as far as the Cotentin Peninsula. Normandy was historically a
province of France. It comprised present-day Upper and Lower Normandy, as well as small areas now part of the
départements of Eure-et-Loir, Mayenne, and
Sarthe.
The
Channel Islands, although British, are culturally and historically a part of Normandy that never reverted to the crown of France.
Population
Normandy has 3.2 million inhabitants, with an average population density of 107 per square kilometre, just under the French national average, but rising to 145 for upper Normandy. The principal cities are
Rouen , the capital of upper Normandy and formerly of the whole province;
Le Havre ;
Caen , the capital of lower Normandy; and
Cherbourg-Octeville .
Other towns include: Alençon; Arromanches;
Avranches;
Bayeux;
Coutances;
Dieppe; Doudeville; Évreux; Falaise;
Honfleur;
Houlgate;
Lisieux;
Mortain; Saint-Lô; Saint-Sauveur-le-Vicomte; Sainte-Mère-Église; and Villers-Bocage.
Geography
The region is bordered along the northern coasts by the
English Channel. There are granite
cliffs in the west and limestone cliffs in the east. There are also long stretches of beach in the center of the region. The
bocage, patchwork of small fields with high hedges, typical of the western areas caused problems for the invading forces in the
Battle of Normandy. There are
meanders of the Seine as it approaches its estuary which form a notable feature of the landscape.
Regions
- The Suisse normande , in the south, presents hillier terrain.
- The Pays d'Auge is considered typical of the rich agricultural landscape of central Normandy.
- The Roumois
- The Lieuvin
- The Cotentin Peninsula
- The Pays de Caux
- The Bessin
- The Pays d'Ouche
- The Norman Vexin
- The Pays de Bray
Rivers
Rivers in Normandy include:
...
...
- the Vire
- the Eure
- the Risle
...
The Pont de Normandie crossing the estuary of the Seine is regarded as a feat of modern engineering.
History
Normandy was the home of the
Normans in the early
Middle Ages, the last people to successfully invade
England. The Normans were a mixture of the indigenous Gauls and of the
Viking invaders under the leadership of Rollo, who besieged
Paris and was given the area of Normandy in return for defending it against future
pirate attacks.
Rollo's descendant William, Duke of Normandy, invaded England in 1066 and became king
William I of England. Normandy remained associated with England until 1087, in 1106-1144 and in 1154-1204. Also see the
Battle of Bouvines in 1214. Normandy was occupied by English forces during the
Hundred Years' War in 1346-1360 and again in 1415-1450.
Norman families, such as that of Tancred of Hauteville played important parts in the
Crusades and established a kingdom in
Sicily and the south of
Italy.
Both
Wace and Orderic Vitalis are important Norman writers for the history of the province.
Jean de Béthencourt conquered and ruled the
Canary Islands in the 15th century.
Prosperity returned to Normandy after the
Hundred Years' War until the Wars of Religion when many Norman town joined the
Reformation and battles ensued throughout the province. During the
French Revolution, Normandy generally supported the idea of a Federal republic against the highly centralised conception championed by the Jacobins in Paris.
During
World War II, the town of Dieppe was the site of the ill-fated
Dieppe Raid by Canadian and British units in 1942. Later, Normandy was also the site of the
Normandy Invasion or Operation Overlord that began on June 6 1944, which today is also known as
D-Day. This was the successful invasion of German-occupied France by
Allied troops. Caen, Cherbourg, Carentan, and other Norman towns endured many casualties in the fight for the province, which continued until the liberation of Le Havre on September 12.
Channel Islands
Since the Channel Islands have remained loyal to the English Crown since the division of Normandy in 1204, yet are not part of the UK but rather the Duchy of Normandy, the British monarch is toasted as Duke of Normandy. However, she is not regarded as Duke of Normandy outside her realms since claims by English monarchs to the title were given up by the Treaty of Paris of 1259. Additionally, the rights of succession to that title are subject to
Salic Law, which does not allow for female inheritance of the ducal title.
Culture
Languages
The
Norman language, a
regional language, is spoken by a minority of the population, with a concentration in the Cotentin peninsula in the far West, and in the Pays de Caux in the East. Many place names show the influence of this
Norse-influenced oïl language; for example
-bec ,
-fleur ,
-hou ,
-tot .
Arts
Architecture
- Main article is Architecture of Normandy
...
.
Architecturally, Norman cathedrals, abbeys and castles characterise the former Duchy in a way that mirrors the similar pattern of
Norman architecture in England following the
Norman Conquest of 1066.
Domestic architecture in upper Normandy is typified by
half-timbered 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 and
brutalist trends of the 1950s and 1960s. Le Havre, the city rebuilt by Auguste Perret, was added to Unesco’s World Heritage List in 2005.
Vernacular architecture in lower Normandy takes its form from
granite, the predominant local building material. The Channel Islands also share this influence - Chausey was for many years a source of quarried granite, including that used for the construction of
Mont Saint-Michel.
The south part of
Bagnoles-de-l'Orne, which is called “Belle Époque” district is filled with superb bourgeois villas 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.
Philosophy
Philosophers Norman by birth include:
Literature
Writers in the
French language connected with Normandy include:
Writers in the
English language connected with Normandy include:
|
- J. Hector St. John de Crèvecœur
|
|
Writers in the
Latin language connected with Normandy include:
Writers in the
Norman language include:
- Béroul
- Marie de France
- Wace
|
|
|
See also
Anglo-Norman literature,
Gesta Normannorum DucumPainting
From the 1860s,
plein-air painters, who worked outside the studio, were attracted to Normandy by the ease of railway access from Paris.
Claude Monet's waterlily garden at
Giverny is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the region.
Eugène Boudin's paintings of fashionable seaside scenes are also typical.
Artists Norman by birth include:
...
Sculptor, Painter, Photographer, Writer
...
|
|
...
...
|
Music
Composers and musicians Norman by birth include:
Design
Christian Dior, fashion designer, was born in Granville. Laetitia Casta, supermodel, was born in Pont-Audemer and her mother Line Blin is Norman since several generations.
Religion
The
cathedrals of Normandy have exerted influence down the centuries in matters of both faith and politics.
Mont Saint-Michel is a historic
pilgrimage site. The influence of Celtic Christianity can still be found in the Cotentin.
Many
saints have been revered in Normandy down the centuries, including:
- St. Aubert who is remembered as the founder of Mont Saint-Michel
- Saint Marcouf and Saint Lô who are important saints in Lower Normandy
- Helier and Samson of Dol who are evangelizers of the Channel Islands
- Thomas Becket, an Anglo-Norman whose parents were from Rouen, who was the object of a considerable cult in mainland Normandy following his martyrdom
- St. Joan of Arc who was martyred in Rouen, and who is especially remembered in that city
- Thérèse de Lisieux whose cult in Lisieux is a focus for religious devotion
Normandy does not have one generally-agreed patron saint, although this title has been ascribed to Saint Michael, and to Saint Ouen.
Prominent Protestants ministers include Pierre Allix, Jacques Basnages, and Samuel Bochart.
Food and drink
Normandy is famous for its rich, rolling countryside, which provides plentiful pasture for dairy
cattle and orchards for
apples. The dairy produce of the region is renowned: its cheeses are world famous and include
Camembert, Livarot, Pont l'Evêque, Brillat-Savarin, Neufchâtel, and Boursin. Normandy butter is highly prized, as is Normandy cream, both of which are lavishly used in local gastronomic specialties. Fish and seafood are of superior quality in Normandy. Turbot and oysters from the Cotentin Peninsula are major delicacies throughout France. Normandy is the chief
oyster-cultivating, as well the biggest scallop-exporting, region in France.
Normandy is a major
cider-producing region .
Perry is also produced, but in less significant quantities. The apple brandy, of which the most famous variety is calvados, is also popular. The mealtime
trou normand, or Norman break, is a pause between meal courses in which diners partake of a glassful of calvados, is still observed in many homes and restaurants.
Pommeau is an aperitif produced by blending unfermented cider and apple brandy. Another aperitif is the
kir normand, a measure of cassis topped up with cider.
Benedictine is produced in
Fécamp.
Apples are also used in cooking: for example,
moules à la normande are
mussels cooked with apples and cream,
bourdelots are apples baked in pastry, partridges are flamed with reinette apples, and localities all over the province have their own variation of apple tart. A classic pastry dish from the region is flan Normand a flaky pastry-based variant of the apple tart.
Other regional specialities include
tripes à la mode de Caen,
andouilles and
andouillettes, salt meadow lamb, seafood , and
teurgoule .
Normandy dishes include duckling
à la rouennaise, sautéed chicken
yvetois, and goose
en daube. Rabbit is cooked with
morels, or
à la havraise . Other dishes are sheep's trotters
à la rouennaise, casseroled veal, larded calf's liver braised with carrots, and veal in cream and mushrooms.
Normandy is also noted for its pastries. It is the birthplace of
brioches and also turns out
douillons ,
craquelins,
roulettes in Rouen,
fouaces in Caen,
fallues in Lisieux,
sablés in Lisieux. Confectionery of the region includes Rouen apple sugar, Isigny caramels, Bayeux mint chews, Falaise berlingots, Le Havre marzipans, Argentan
croquettes, and Rouen macaroons.
Normandy is the native land of Taillevent, cook of the kings of France
Charles V and
Charles VI. He wrote the earliest French cookery book named
Le Viandier.
Symbols
The traditional provincial flag of Normandy,
gules, two leopards passant or, is used in both modern regions.
The historic three-leopard version is used by some associations and individuals, especially those who support reunification of the regions and cultural links with the Channel Islands and England.
The unofficial anthem of the region is the song "Ma Normandie".
See also
- Battle of Normandy
- Duchy of Normandy
- Duke of Normandy
- List of postal codes in Normandy
- British military history
- COGEMA La Hague site
External links
