Editing English Channel (section)

=== Norsemen and Normans ===
[[File:Hermitage St Helier Jersey.jpg|thumb|left|The Hermitage of [[Helier|St Helier]] lies in the bay off [[Saint Helier]] and is accessible on foot at low tide.]]

The attack on [[Lindisfarne]] in 793 is generally considered the beginning of the [[Viking Age]]. For the next 250&nbsp;years the Scandinavian raiders of Norway, Sweden, and Denmark dominated the North Sea, raiding monasteries, homes, and towns along the coast and along the rivers that ran inland. According to the ''[[Anglo-Saxon Chronicle]]'' they began to settle in Britain in 851. They continued to settle in the [[British Isles]] and the continent until around 1050, with some raids recorded along the channel coast of England, including at Wareham, Portland, near Weymouth and along the river Teign in Devon.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Nick Attwood MA |title=The Holy Island of Lindisfarne – The Viking Attack |url=http://www.lindisfarne.org.uk/793/index.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110108090618/http://www.lindisfarne.org.uk/793/index.htm |archive-date=8 January 2011 |access-date=24 July 2007}}</ref>

The [[Duchy of Normandy|fiefdom of Normandy]] was created for the [[Viking]] leader [[Rollo of Normandy|Rollo]] (also known as Robert of Normandy). Rollo had besieged Paris but in 911 entered [[vassal]]age to the king of the [[Western Francia|West Franks]] [[Charles the Simple]] through the [[Treaty of St.-Claire-sur-Epte]]. In exchange for his [[Homage (feudal)|homage]] and [[fealty]], Rollo legally gained the territory he and his Viking allies had previously conquered. The name "Normandy" reflects Rollo's Viking (i.e. "Northman") origins.

The descendants of Rollo and his followers adopted the local [[Gallo-Romance languages|Gallo-Romance language]] and intermarried with the area's inhabitants and became the [[Normans]] – a [[Norman language|Norman French]]-speaking mixture of [[Scandinavia]]ns, [[Hiberno-Norse]], [[Orkney|Orcadians]], [[Danelaw|Anglo-Danish]], and indigenous [[Franks]] and [[Gauls]].

[[File:BayeuxTapestry39.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|Landing in England scene from the [[Bayeux Tapestry]], depicting ships coming in and horses landing]]

Rollo's descendant [[William I of England|William, Duke of Normandy]], became king of England in 1066 in the [[Norman Conquest]] beginning with the [[Battle of Hastings]], while retaining the fiefdom of Normandy for himself and his descendants. In 1204, during the reign of [[John of England|King John]], mainland Normandy was taken from England by France under [[Philip II of France|Philip II]], while insular Normandy (the [[Channel Islands]]) remained under English control. In 1259, [[Henry III of England]] recognised the legality of French possession of mainland Normandy under the [[Treaty of Paris (1259)|Treaty of Paris]]. His successors, however, often fought to regain control of mainland Normandy.

With the rise of [[William the Conqueror]], the North Sea and Channel began to lose some of their importance. The new order oriented most of England and Scandinavia's trade south, toward the [[Mediterranean]] and the Orient.

Although the British surrendered claims to mainland Normandy 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]]) are [[Crown Dependencies]] of the [[The Crown|British Crown]]. 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 of Normandy in regards of the French region of Normandy described herein, by virtue of the [[Treaty of Paris (1259)|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]] which excludes inheritance through female heirs.

French Normandy was occupied by English forces during the [[Hundred Years' War]] in 1346–1360 and again in 1415–1450.