Editing Normandy

{{More citations needed|date=March 2025}}
{{Short description|Geographical and cultural region of France}}
{{About|the geographical and cultural area|the French administrative region|Normandy (administrative region)|other uses}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2024}}
{{Infobox settlement
| official_name = Normandy
| native_name = {{native name|fr|Normandie}}<br/>{{native name|nrf|Normaundie}}
| native_name_lang = 
| settlement_type = Geographical region
| image_skyline = Arromanches-les-Bains port artificiel Mulberry.jpg
| image_caption = Artificial port at [[Arromanches-les-Bains]]
| image_flag = Flag of Normandie.svg
| flag_size = 120px
| image_shield = Arms of William the Conqueror (1066-1087).svg
| shield_size = 
| image_blank_emblem = 
| blank_emblem_size = 75px
| image_map = Localisation_Normandie.png
| map_caption = Location and extent of Normandy
| motto = 
| coordinates = {{Coord|48.88|0.17|region:FR-NOR_type:adm1st|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
| subdivision_type = Country
| subdivision_name = {{Plain list|
* {{flag|France}}
* {{flag|Bailiwick of Guernsey|name=Guernsey}}{{refn|name=first|group=note|Dependency of the [[British Crown]], not part of the United Kingdom but not a [[sovereign state]].}}
* {{flag|Jersey}}{{refn|group=note|name=first}}
}}
| seat_type = [[Capital city|Capitals]]
| seat = {{Plain list|
* [[Caen]]
* [[Rouen]]
* [[Saint Helier]]
* [[Saint Peter Port]]
}}
| parts_type = [[Departments of France|French Departments]] and [[Crown Dependencies|British Crown Dependencies]]
| parts_style = list
| parts = 
| p1 = [[Calvados (department)|Calvados]]
| p2 = [[Eure]]
| p3 = [[Manche]]
| p4 = [[Orne]]
| p5 = [[Seine-Maritime]]
| p6 = [[Bailiwick of Guernsey|Guernsey]]
| p7 = [[Jersey]]
| area_total_km2 = 30,627
| population_footnotes = 
| population_total = 3,499,280
| population_as_of = 2017
| population_density_km2 = auto
| population_demonym = Norman<ref name="Denonym">{{cite web|title=Norman|url=http://www.wordreference.com/definition/norman|website=WordReference.com|access-date=23 April 2016|quote=3. a native or inhabitant of Normandy|archive-date=24 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170824013130/http://www.wordreference.com/definition/norman|url-status=live}}</ref>
| timezone1 = [[Central European Time|CET]]
| utc_offset1 = +01:00
| timezone1_DST = [[Central European Summer Time|CEST]]
| utc_offset1_DST = +02:00
| footnotes = 
| name = 
| timezone2 = [[Greenwich Mean Time|GMT]]
| timezone2_DST = [[British Summer Time|BST]]
| utc_offset2 = +00:00
| utc_offset2_DST = +01:00
| iso_code = FR-NOR
| website = {{URL|https://www.normandie.fr/}}
}}

'''Normandy''' ({{langx|fr|link=no|Normandie}}; {{langx|nrf|Normaundie}} or {{lang|nrf|Nouormandie}}){{refn|group=note|From [[Old French]] {{lang|fro|Normanz}}, plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages.)<ref>{{cite web |title=Norman |website=Online Etymology Dictionary |url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=Norman |access-date=1 April 2010 |archive-date=9 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171009001507/http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=Norman |url-status=live }}</ref>}} 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 Normandy (mostly the British [[Channel Islands]]). It covers {{convert|30,627|km2}}.<ref>[http://195.7.104.1/normandy/gb/01bienv/index.html Administrative Normandy] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080501135826/http://195.7.104.1/normandy/gb/01bienv/index.html |date=1 May 2008}}</ref> Its population in 2017 was 3,499,280. The inhabitants of Normandy are known as [[Normans]];<ref name="Denonym" /> the region is the historic homeland of the [[Norman language]]. Large settlements include [[Rouen]], [[Caen]], [[Le Havre]] and [[Cherbourg-en-Cotentin|Cherbourg]].

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]] and [[Sarthe]]. The Channel Islands (French: ''Îles Anglo-Normandes'') are also historically part of Normandy; they cover {{convert|194|km2}}<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.capbreizh.com/pratique/anglo-normandes/anglo-normandes.htm |title=Découvertes touristiques Cap Breizh – Les îles Anglo-Normandes |author=Michel Badet |date=29 May 2010 |publisher=capbreizh.com |access-date=8 October 2010 |archive-date=8 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110708114636/http://www.capbreizh.com/pratique/anglo-normandes/anglo-normandes.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> and comprise two [[bailiwick]]s: [[Bailiwick of Guernsey|Guernsey]] and [[Jersey]], which are British Crown Dependencies.

Normandy's name comes from the settlement of the territory by [[Viking]]s ("[[Norsemen|Northmen]]") starting in the 9th century, and confirmed by treaty in the 10th century between King [[Charles the Simple|Charles III of France]] and the Viking ''[[Earl|jarl]]'' [[Rollo]]. For almost 150 years following the [[Norman conquest of England]] in 1066, Normandy and England were linked by having the same person reign as both [[Duke of Normandy]] and [[King of England]].

==History==
{{Main|History of Normandy}}

===Prehistory===
Archaeological finds, such as [[cave paintings]], prove that humans were present in the region in prehistoric times. Normandy also has many [[megalithic monument]]s.<ref>Jeannine Rouch, ''Mégalithes de Normandie: Pierres de légendes'', OREP Edition, Caen, 2012</ref>

===Celtic period===
[[Celts]] (also known as [[Belgae]] and [[Gauls]]) have populated Normandy since at least the [[Bronze Age]]. When [[Julius Caesar]] invaded Gaul (58–50 BC), there were nine different Celtic tribes living in this part of Gaul.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://pagesperso-orange.fr/ridel/histnorm/Gaulois1.htm |title=César et les Gaulois |publisher=pagesperso-orange.fr |language=fr |access-date=13 April 2008 |archive-date=27 February 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080227063130/http://pagesperso-orange.fr/ridel/histnorm/Gaulois1.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Romanisation===
[[File:TheatreLillebonne.jpg|thumb|left|[[Roman theatre (structure)|Gallo-Roman theatre]] in [[Lillebonne]]]]
The [[Romanization (cultural)|Romanisation]] of this region partly included in the ''[[Gallia Celtica]]'' and in the ''[[Gallia Belgica]]'' (the Seine being more or less the limit between them) was achieved by the usual methods: [[Roman roads]] and a policy of urbanisation. [[Classicist]]s mention many [[Gallo-Roman]] [[villa]]s  and archeology found their traces in the past 30 years. In the [[Late Roman Empire]] a new province was created and called ''[[Gallia Lugdunensis|Lugdunensis Secunda]]'', it sketched the later [[Archbishopric of Rouen|ecclesiastical province of Rouen]], with the ''Metropolis civitas Rotomagensium''
([[Rouen]]), ''Civitas Baiocassium'' (''Augustodorum'', Bayeux), ''Civitas Abrincatum'' (''Ingena'', Avranches), ''Civitas Ebroicorum'' (''Mediolanum'', Évreux), ''Civitas Saiorum'' (Sées), ''Civitas Lexoviorum'' (''Noviomagus'', Lisieux / Lieuvin) and ''Civitas Constantia'' (Coutances).<ref>René Herval, "Les origines chrétiennes de la Seconde Lyonnaise (Normandie actuelle)" in ''Études Normandes'', 1963, n° 163,  p. 1–11 (online reading in French) [https://www.persee.fr/doc/etnor_0014-2158_1963_num_49_163_3197] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220331220422/https://www.persee.fr/doc/etnor_0014-2158_1963_num_49_163_3197|date=31 March 2022}}</ref>

===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]] on both sides of the English Channel. Coastal settlements were raided by [[Saxons|Saxon]] pirates that finally settled mainly in the [[Bessin]] region.<ref>Jean Soulat, La présence saxonne et anglo-saxonne sur le littoral de la Manche, in ''Quentovic'' : ''Environnement, archéologie, histoire'', 2010, p. 146 – 163.</ref> Modern archeology reveals their presence in different Merovingian cemeteries excavated east of Caen.<ref>Christian Pilet, ''Quelques témoignages de la présence Anglo-Saxonne dans le Calvados, Basse-Normandie (France)'', Band 13, edited by Karl Hauck, Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter, 2020, pp. 357–381.</ref> 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]] of Normandy. In 406, [[List of early Germanic peoples|Germanic tribes]] began invading from the east, followed by dispersed settlements mainly in the [[Pays de Bray]], [[Pays de Caux]] and [[Vexin]]. As early as 487, the area between the rivers [[Somme (river)|Somme]] and [[Loire]] came under the control of the [[Franks|Frankish]] lord [[Clovis I|Clovis]].

===Viking raids and foundation of the Norman state===
[[Vikings]] 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.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Neveux|first1=Francois|title=The Normans: The conquests that changed the face of Europe|date=3 June 2008|isbn=978-0-7624-3371-1|pages=48|publisher=Running Press }}</ref> After attacking and destroying monasteries, including one at [[Jumièges]], they took advantage of the power vacuum created by the disintegration of [[Charlemagne]]'s empire to take Northern France. The [[Duchy of Normandy|fiefdom of Normandy]] was created for the Viking leader ''Hrólfr'', known in [[Medieval Latin]] as ''Rollo''. Rollo had [[Siege of Paris (885–886)|besieged Paris]] but in 911 entered [[vassal]]age to the king of the [[Western Francia|West Franks]], [[Charles the Simple]], through the [[Treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte]]. In exchange for his [[Homage (feudal)|homage]] and [[fealty]], Rollo legally gained the territory that he and his Viking allies had previously conquered. The name "Normandy" reflects Rollo's Viking ("[[Norsemen|Norseman]]") origins.

The descendants of ''Rollo'' and his followers created an aristocracy that step by step adopted the local [[Gallo-Romance languages|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]], and often turned the women into ''[[Concubine|frilla]]'', a Scandinavian tradition which became known as ''[[More danico|more Danico]]'', 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]] during four or five generations in certain parts of Normandy.

They then became the [[Normans]] – a [[Norman language|Norman French]]-speaking mixture of Norsemen and indigenous Gallo-Franks.

[[File:Bayeux Tapestry scene23 Harold sacramentum fecit Willelmo duci.jpg|thumb|[[Bayeux Tapestry]] (Scene 23): [[Harold Godwinson|Harold II]] swearing oath on holy relics to [[William the Conqueror]]]]
Rollo's descendant [[William the Conqueror|William]] became king of England in 1066 after defeating [[Harold Godwinson]], the last of the [[History of Anglo-Saxon England|Anglo-Saxon kings]], at the [[Battle of Hastings]], while retaining the [[fiefdom]] of Normandy for himself and his descendants.

===Norman expansion===
[[File:Norman Conquests copy (1).jpg|thumb|A chronological map of the Norman Conquests, including England (1066–1485, not always in personal union with Normandy), Normandy (911–1204), [[Norman conquest of southern Italy|southern Italy and Sicily]] (1030–1263), [[Kingdom of Africa|parts of Africa around Tripoli]] (1146–1158), and the [[Crusader state]] of the [[Principality of Antioch]] along with associated vassals, the Principality of Ancyra (1073–1075),   the [[Principality of Tarragona]] (1129–1173), and the [[Kingdom of the Canary Islands]].]]
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]] and [[Guimond de Moulins]] played important parts in the [[Norman conquest of southern Italy|conquest of southern Italy]] and the [[Crusades]].

The [[Drengot family|Drengot]] lineage, de Hauteville's sons [[William Iron Arm]], [[Drogo of Hauteville|Drogo]], and [[Humphrey of Hauteville|Humphrey]], [[Robert Guiscard]] and [[Roger I of Sicily|Roger the Great Count]] progressively claimed territories in southern Italy until founding the [[Kingdom of Sicily]] in 1130. They also carved out a place for themselves and their descendants in the [[Crusader states]] of [[Asia Minor]] and the [[Holy Land]].

The 14th-century explorer [[Jean de Béthencourt]] established a [[Kingdom of the Canary Islands|kingdom]] in the [[Canary Islands]] in 1404. He received the title King of the Canary Islands from Pope [[Pope Innocent VII|Innocent VII]] but recognized [[Henry III of Castile]] as his overlord, who had provided him with military and financial aid during the conquest.

===13th to 17th centuries===
[[File:Joan of arc burning at stake.jpg|thumb|[[Joan of Arc]] about to be burned at the stake in the city of [[Rouen]], painting by [[Jules Eugène Lenepveu]]]]
In 1204, during the reign of [[John, King of England]], mainland Normandy was captured from the English by the forces of [[Philip II of France]], 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 (1259)|Treaty of Paris]], [[Henry III of England]] 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]] in 1315 (and later re-confirmed in 1339) – like the analogous [[Magna Carta]] 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]]. Between 1419 and 1450, the English controlled all of Normandy apart from [[Mont-Saint-Michel]], 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.<ref>{{cite book| author = Emmanuel Le Roy Ladurie| title = The French Peasantry: 1450–1660| url = https://archive.org/details/frenchpeasantry10000lero| url-access = registration| year = 1987| publisher = University of California Press| isbn = 978-0-520-05523-0| page = [https://archive.org/details/frenchpeasantry10000lero/page/32 32] }}</ref> Afterwards, prosperity returned to Normandy until the [[French Wars of Religion|Wars of Religion]]. When many Norman towns ([[Alençon]], Rouen, [[Caen]], [[Coutances]], [[Bayeux]]) joined the [[Protestant Reformation]], battles ensued throughout the province. In the Channel Islands, a period of [[Calvinism]] following the Reformation was suppressed when [[Anglicanism]] was imposed following the [[Stuart Restoration]].

[[Samuel de Champlain]] left the port of [[Honfleur]] in 1604 and founded [[Acadia]]. 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]], then on the [[Mississippi River]]. [[Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville]] and his brother [[Lemoyne de Bienville]] founded [[Louisiana]], [[Biloxi, Mississippi|Biloxi]], Mobile and New Orleans. Territories located between Québec and the [[Mississippi Delta]] were opened up to establish [[Canada (New France)|Canada]] and [[Louisiana (New France)|Louisiana]]. Colonists from Normandy were among the most active in [[New France]], comprising [[Acadia]], Canada, and Louisiana.

Honfleur and [[Le Havre]] were two of the principal [[Atlantic slave trade|slave trade]] 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]]'' 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]] assassinated [[Jean-Paul Marat]].

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]], [[Bourbon Restoration in France|Bourbon Restoration]], [[July Monarchy]], [[French Second Republic]], [[Second French Empire]], [[French Third Republic]]).

Following the [[French Revolutionary Wars]] and the [[Napoleonic Wars]] (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.

[[File:NormandySupply edit.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|right|[[Omaha Beach]] during the Allied invasion of Normandy, mid-June 1944]]
During the Second World War, following the [[Second Armistice at Compiègne|armistice of 22 June 1940]], continental Normandy was part of the [[Military Administration in France (Nazi Germany)|German occupied zone of France]]. The Channel Islands were [[German occupation of the Channel Islands|occupied by German forces]] between 30 June 1940 and 9 May 1945. The town of [[Dieppe]] was the site of the unsuccessful [[Dieppe Raid]] by [[Allies of World War II|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]] on 6 June 1944 under the code name [[Operation Overlord]]. German forces dug into fortified emplacements above the beaches. [[Caen]], [[Cherbourg]], [[Carentan]], [[Falaise, Calvados|Falaise]] and other Norman towns endured many casualties in the [[Invasion of Normandy|Battle of Normandy]], which continued until the closing of the so-called [[Falaise pocket|Falaise gap]] between [[Chambois, Orne|Chambois]] and [[Mont Ormel]]. The liberation of [[Le Havre]] 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 [[Liberation of the German-occupied Channel Islands|Channel Island occupation]] effectively ended.

Despite the renunciation of the Duke of Normandy title by [[Henry III of England]] in the 1259 [[Treaty of Paris (1259)|Treaty of Paris]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.dhi.ac.uk/normans/history.html |title=The historical background and the 'Lands of the Normans' |website=The Digital Humanities Institute |publisher=University of Sheffield}}</ref> and the extinction of the duchy itself in modern-day, republican France, in the [[Channel Islands]] the [[Monarchy of the United Kingdom|monarch of the United Kingdom]] (whether a king or queen) is regardless still sometimes informally referred to by the title "Duke of Normandy".

==Geography==
[[File:Mont_Saint_Michel_bordercropped.jpg|thumb|The island of [[Mont-Saint-Michel]], the most visited monument in Normandy]]
[[File:Falaises Etretat 2012.jpg|thumb|The ''Arche'' and the ''Aiguille'' of the cliffs of [[Étretat]]]]
[[File:Jonquerets-de-Livret- batiment du Pressoir.JPG|thumb|A typical Norman [[Thatching|thatched]] building. This is now a village hall]]

The historical Duchy of Normandy was a formerly independent duchy 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]] and Channel Islands.

Western Normandy belongs to the [[Armorican Massif]], while most of the region lies in the [[Paris Basin]]. France's oldest rocks are exposed in Jobourg, on the [[Cotentin]] peninsula.<ref>[http://www.etab.ac-caen.fr/discip/geologie/precamb/lahagueEcalgrain/ecalgrain.htm ''Bay of Écalgrain and Bay of Cul-Rond''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140819194049/http://www.etab.ac-caen.fr/discip/geologie/precamb/lahagueEcalgrain/ecalgrain.htm |date=19 August 2014 }} Website Lithothèque de Normandie.</ref> The region is bounded to the north and west 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 centre of the region. The ''[[bocage]]'' typical of the western areas caused problems for the invading forces in the [[Invasion of Normandy|Battle of Normandy]]. A notable feature of the landscape is created by the [[meander]]s of the Seine as it approaches its estuary.

The highest point is the Signal d'Écouves (417&nbsp;m), in the Armorican Massif.

Normandy is sparsely forested:<ref>''Normandie'', Bonneton, Paris 2001 {{ISBN|2-86253-272-X}}</ref> 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]]
* [[Bessin]]
* [[Baupte|Bauptois]]
* [[Vire|Bocage virois]]
* [[Alençon|Campagne d'Alençon]]
* [[Argentan|Campagne d'Argentan]]
* [[Caen|Campagne de Caen]]
* [[Falaise pocket|Campagne de Falaise]]
* [[Le Neubourg|Campagne du Neubourg]]
* [[Évreux|Campagne de Saint-André]] (or d’Évreux)
* [[Cotentin]]
* [[Perche]]
* [[Domfront, Orne|Domfrontais]] or Passais
* [[Exmes|Hiémois]]
* [[Lieuvin]]
* [[Mortain]]ais
* [[Pays d'Auge]], central Normandy, is characterized by excellent agricultural land.
* [[Pays de Bray]]
* [[Pays de Caux]]
* [[Le Houlme|Pays d'Houlme]]
* [[Merey, Eure|Pays de Madrie]], area between the Seine and the Eure.
* [[Pays d'Ouche]]
* [[Roumois]] et [[Marais-Vernier]]
* Suisse Normande ([[Norman Switzerland]]), in the south, presents hillier terrain.
* [[Val de Saire]] [[File:Picardy countryside (8930216616).jpg|thumb|Normandy countryside]]
* [[Vexin normand]]

====Insular Normandy (Channel Islands)====
* The [[bailiwick]] of [[Jersey]]
* The [[bailiwick of Guernsey]] (Fr. ''Bailliage de Guernesey'')

The [[Channel Islands]] are considered culturally and historically a part of Normandy. However, they are British [[Crown Dependencies]], and are not part of the modern French [[Normandy (administrative region)|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.<ref>{{cite web|title= Channel Islands|publisher= The official website of The British Monarchy|url= http://www.royal.gov.uk/MonarchUK/QueenandCrowndependencies/ChannelIslands.aspx|access-date= 20 July 2015|archive-date= 21 September 2012|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120921052748/http://www.royal.gov.uk/MonarchUK/QueenandCrowndependencies/ChannelIslands.aspx|url-status= live}}</ref> The Channel Islands (except for [[Chausey]]) remain [[Crown Dependencies]] of the [[The Crown|British Crown]] 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 (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.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ie8vXUqHkKIC&q=Salic+Law&pg=PA316|access-date=2 February 2019|title=The Spirit of Laws: Translated from the French of M. de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu by Thomas Nugent, LL.D |author=Baron de Montesquieu, M. de Secondat|year=1873|publisher=ROBERT CLARKE & CO.|pages=328|quote=It would be easy for me to prove that the Salic law did not absolutely exclude the daughters from the possession of the Salic land, but only in the case where they were de barred by their brothers. This appears from the letter of the Salic law; which after having said, that the women shall possess none of the Salic land, but only the males, interprets and restrains itself by adding, "that is, the son shall succeed to the inheritance of the father."}}</ref>

===Rivers===
[[File:Petit-andely-depuis-chateau-gaillard.jpg|thumb|The Seine in [[Les Andelys]]]]
[[File:La Bresle au centre d'Eu (vue vers l'amont).jpg|thumb|right|The Bresle]]
Rivers in Normandy include:
* the [[Seine]] and its tributaries:
** the [[Andelle]]
** the [[Epte]]
** the [[Eure (river)|Eure]]
** the [[Risle]]
** the [[Robec]]
And many coastal rivers:
* the [[Bresle (river)|Bresle]]
* the [[Couesnon]], which traditionally marks the boundary between the [[Duchy of Brittany]] and the [[Duchy of Normandy]]
* the [[Dives (river)|Dives]]
* the [[Orne (river)|Orne]]
* the [[Sée]]
* the [[Sélune]]
* the [[Touques (river)|Touques]]
* the Veules, the shortest French coastal river
* the [[Vire (river)|Vire]]

== Politics ==
{{Main|Politics of Normandy}}
[[File:Caserne Jeanne d'Arc.jpg|thumb|Historic photograph of the ''Caserne Jeanne d'Arc'' in Rouen, today seat of the Norman regional assembly]]

=== Mainland Normandy ===
The modern region of [[Normandy (administrative region)|Normandy]] 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 [[2015 French regional elections|regional elections in December 2015]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.lemonde.fr/politique/article/2014/12/17/la-carte-a-13-regions-definitivement-adoptee_4542278_823448.html|title=La carte à 13 régions définitivement adoptée|date=17 December 2014|agency=[[Agence France-Presse]]|newspaper=[[Le Monde]]|language=fr|access-date=13 January 2015|archive-date=15 May 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200515014944/https://www.lemonde.fr/politique/article/2014/12/17/la-carte-a-13-regions-definitivement-adoptee_4542278_823448.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

The [[Regional Council (France)|Regional Council]] has 102 members who are elected under a system of [[proportional representation]]. The executive consists of a president and vice-presidents. [[Hervé Morin]] 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 [[Crown Dependencies]]. They are self-governing, each having its own parliament, government and legal system. The head of state of both territories is [[Charles III]] and each have an appointed [[Lieutenant governor|Lieutenant-Governor]].

The [[Bailiwick of Guernsey]] comprises three separate jurisdictions: [[Guernsey]], [[Alderney]] and [[Sark]]. Administratively, Herm forms part of [[Guernsey]].

==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 ''[[bocage]]'' is a patchwork of small fields with high hedges, typical of western areas. Areas near the [[Seine]] (the former [[Upper Normandy]] region) contain a higher concentration of industry. Normandy is a significant [[cider]]-producing region, and also produces [[calvados (spirit)|calvados]], a distilled cider or [[apple brandy]]. Other activities of economic importance are dairy produce, [[flax]] (60% of production in France), [[horse breeding]] (including two French national stud farms), fishing, seafood, and tourism. The region contains three French [[nuclear power station]]s.
There is also easy access to and from the UK using the ports of [[Cherbourg]], [[Caen]] ([[Ouistreham]]), [[Le Havre]] and [[Dieppe, Seine-Maritime|Dieppe]].<ref>[http://normandyproperty.com/ Houses and properties for sale] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170917024526/http://normandyproperty.com/ |date=17 September 2017 }}. Normandy Property. Retrieved on 19 September 2014.</ref> Jersey and Guernsey are often considered to be tax havens, due to having large financial services sectors and low tax rates.<ref>{{Cite web|title=View 2018 Results|url=https://www.financialsecrecyindex.com/introduction/fsi-2018-results|access-date=1 May 2019|website=Financial Secrecy Index |archive-date=31 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180331040220/https://www.financialsecrecyindex.com/introduction/fsi-2018-results|url-status=dead }}</ref>

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center"
|-
! Area || Year || Labour force in agriculture || Labour force in industry || Labour force in services
|-
! Upper Normandy<ref>{{in lang|fr}} L'état des régions françaises 2004, page 189</ref>
| 2003 || 2.30% || 36.10% || 61.60%
|-
! Lower Normandy<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.insee.fr/fr/statistiques|title=Résultats de la recherche|website=Insee|access-date=14 February 2021|archive-date=3 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160803075143/http://www.insee.fr/fr/themes/detail.asp?ref_id=bilan-demo&reg_id=99&page=donnees-detaillees%2Fbilan-demo%2Fpop_age2b.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>
| 2006 || 6.50% || 25.00% || 68.50%
|-
! France<ref>"France in CIA factbook"</ref>
| 2006 || 2.20% || 20.60% || 77.20%
|}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center"
|-
! Area ||GDP (in million of Euros)<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=https://www.insee.fr/fr/accueil|title=Insee − Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques &#124; Insee|website=www.insee.fr|access-date=14 February 2021|archive-date=19 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181219121012/http://www.insee.fr/fr/insee_regions/reunion/zoom/mayotte/publications/inseeinfos/pdf/insee|url-status=live}}</ref> (2006)|| Unemployment (% of the labour force)<ref name="auto"/> (2007)
|-
! Upper Normandy
| 46,853 || 6.80%
|-
! Lower Normandy
| 34,064 || 7.90%
|-
! France
| 1,791,956 || 7.50%
|}

== Demographics ==
In January 2006 the population of French Normandy (including the part of [[Perche]] which lies inside the [[Orne]] ''[[departments of France|département]]'' but excluding the [[Channel Islands]]) was estimated at 3,260,000 with an average population density of 109 inhabitants per km<sup>2</sup>, 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).<ref>{{Cite web|title=Channel Islands Population (2021) – Worldometer|url=https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/channel-islands-population/|access-date=6 January 2021|website=www.worldometers.info|language=en|archive-date=4 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201204175518/https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/channel-islands-population/|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:HalftimberedHousesRouen2.JPG|thumb|Half-timbered houses in Rouen]]
{{See also|Norman toponymy}}
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; [[Caen]] (420,000 in the metropolitan area) and formerly the capital of Lower Normandy; [[Le Havre]] (296,773 in the metropolitan area); and [[Cherbourg]] (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]]".

<gallery heights="120" widths="120" class="center">
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 flag|Nordic Cross]] version
File:Flag of Sark.svg|"Two-leopard" flag of [[Sark]]
File:Arms of William the Conqueror (1066-1087).svg|Coat of arms of the [[Duchy of Normandy]]
File:Coat of arms of Guernsey.svg|[[Coat of arms of Guernsey]]
File:Jersey arms on Piquet House in St Helier.jpg|[[Coat of arms of Jersey]]
</gallery>

===Language===
{{Main|Norman language|Norman toponymy}}
The Norman language, including its insular variations [[Jèrriais]] and [[Guernésiais]], is a [[languages of France|regional language]], 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]] dialect), and in the [[Pays de Caux]] in the East (the [[Cauchois dialect]]).

Many words and place names demonstrate the [[Old English]] and [[Old Norse language|Norse]] ([[Anglo-Scandinavian]]) influence in this [[Oïl languages|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]]'' (island), ''-tot'' (homestead), ''-dal'' / ''-dalle'' (valley), ''Hogue'' / ''Hougue'' (hill, mound), ''-lon'' / ''-londe'' (grove, wood), ''-vy'' / ''-vic'' (bay, cove), ''-mare'' (pond), ''-beuf'' (booth, cabin), etc.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.viking.no/e/france/contribution.html|title=The Vikings in Normandy: The Scandinavian contribution in Normandy|website=www.viking.no|access-date=14 December 2009|archive-date=23 January 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100123193858/http://www.viking.no/e/france/contribution.html|url-status=live}}</ref> French is the only [[official language]] in continental Normandy and English is also an official language in the Channel Islands.

===Architecture===
[[File:Dauville Hotel Normandie.jpg|thumb|A Norman style construction in [[Deauville]]]]
{{Main|Architecture of Normandy}}

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]] in England following the [[Norman Conquest]] of 1066.

Domestic architecture in upper Normandy is typified by [[Half-timbered construction|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 [[Modernism|modernist]] and [[Brutalism|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]] is filled with bourgeois villas in ''[[Belle Époque]]'' 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]] 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===
[[File:Vachesnormandes.jpg|thumb|[[Normande Cattle|Normande cow]]]]
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 (cheese)|Camembert]], [[Livarot cheese|Livarot]], [[Pont-l'Évêque cheese|Pont l'Évêque]], [[Brillat-Savarin cheese|Brillat-Savarin]], [[Neufchâtel (cheese)|Neufchâtel]], [[Petit suisse (cheese)|Petit Suisse]] and [[Boursin (cheese)|Boursin]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fromages.org/fdn/fdn_histoire_en.html |title=Norman cheeses: History |publisher=fromages.org |access-date=10 September 2007 |archive-date=30 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220330012940/http://www.fromages.org/fdn/fdn_histoire_en.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Normandy butter and Normandy cream are lavishly used in gastronomic specialties. [[Jersey]] and [[Guernsey cattle]] are famous cattle breeds worldwide, especially to North America.
[[File:Reflets de France Cidre.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Cider]] from Normandy]]
Turbot and oysters from the Cotentin Peninsula are major delicacies throughout France. Normandy is the chief [[oyster]]-cultivating, scallop-exporting, and mussel-raising region in France.

Normandy is a major [[cider]]-producing region (very little wine is produced). [[Perry]] is also produced, but in less significant quantities. Apple brandy, of which the most famous variety is [[calvados (spirit)|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 (cocktail)|kir]] normand'', a measure of [[crème de cassis]] topped up with cider. ''[[Bénédictine]]'' is produced in [[Fécamp]].

Other regional specialities include ''[[tripes à la mode de Caen]]'', ''[[andouille]]s'' and ''andouillettes'', {{Lang|fr|[[salade cauchoise]]|italic=no}}, salt meadow (''pré salé'') lamb, seafood (mussels, [[scallop]]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]]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]], ''sablés'' in Lisieux. It is the birthplace of [[brioche]]s (especially those from [[Évreux]] and [[Gisors]]). 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 of France|Charles V]] and [[Charles VI of France|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===
[[File:Wace illustration Roman de Rou 1824.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Wace]] presents his ''[[Roman de Rou]]'' to Henry II, Illustration 1824]]
{{See also|Anglo-Norman literature|Gesta Normannorum Ducum}}
The dukes of Normandy commissioned and inspired epic literature to record and legitimise their rule. [[Wace]], [[Orderic Vitalis]] 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]]''. Notable Norman writers include [[Jean Marot]], [[Rémy Belleau]], [[Guy de Maupassant]], [[Jules Barbey d'Aurevilly]], [[Gustave Flaubert]], [[Octave Mirbeau]], and [[Remy de Gourmont]], and [[Alexis de Tocqueville]]. The Corneille brothers, [[Pierre Corneille|Pierre]] and [[Thomas Corneille|Thomas]], 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]] 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]] 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===
[[File:Claude Monet - Woman with a Parasol - Madame Monet and Her Son - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Claude Monet]], ''[[Woman with a Parasol – Madame Monet and Her Son]]'', 1875]]

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]], born in [[Les Andelys]] and [[Jean Jouvenet]].

[[Romanticism]] drew painters to the Channel coasts of Normandy. [[Richard Parkes Bonington]] and [[J. M. W. Turner]] crossed the Channel from Great Britain, attracted by the light and landscapes. [[Théodore Géricault]], a native of Rouen, was a notable figure in the Romantic movement, its famous ''[[Le Radeau de la Méduse|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]], a native of La Hague. The landscape painter [[Eugène Boudin]], born in Honfleur, was a determining influence on the impressionists and was highly considered by Monet.
[[File:Eugène Chigot (French), Printemps en Normandie (Springtime in Normandy).jpg|thumb|[[Eugène Chigot]] (1860–1923), Printemps en Normandie (Springtime in Normandy) (1914/15)]]
[[File:Robert Antoine Pinchon, Un après-midi à l'Ile aux Cerises, Rouen, oil on canvas, 50 x 61.2 cm.jpg|thumb|left|[[Robert Antoine Pinchon]], ''Un après-midi à l'Ile aux Cerises, Rouen'', oil on canvas, 50 x 61.2 cm]]
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]] is one of the best known Impressionists and a major character in Normandy's artistic heritage. His [[Fondation Monet in Giverny|house and gardens]] at [[Giverny]] are one of the region's major tourist sites, much visited for their beauty and their water lilies, as well as for their importance to Monet's artistic inspiration. Normandy was at the heart of his creation, from the paintings of Rouen's cathedral to the famous depictions of the cliffs at [[Étretat]], the beach and port at [[Fécamp]] and the sunrise at [[Le Havre]]. It was ''[[Impression, Sunrise]]'', Monet's painting of Le Havre, that led to the movement being dubbed [[Impressionism]]. After Monet, all the main [[avant-garde]] 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 (artist)|William Turner]], [[Gustave Courbet]], the Honfleur born Eugène Boudin, [[Camille Pissarro]], [[Alfred Sisley]], [[Auguste Renoir]], [[Gustave Caillebotte]], [[Eugène Chigot]],  [[Paul Gauguin]], [[Georges Seurat]], [[Paul Signac]], [[Pierre Bonnard]], [[Georges Braque]] and [[Pablo Picasso]]. 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 [[Musée des Beaux-Arts de Rouen|Museum of Fine Arts]] in Rouen, the Musée Eugène Boudin in [[Honfleur]] or the [[Musée Malraux|André Malraux Museum]] in [[Le Havre]].

[[Maurice Denis]], one of the leaders and theoricists of the [[Les Nabis|Nabis]] movement in the 1890s, was a native of Granville, in the department of Manche. [[Marie-Thérèse Auffray]], an [[expressionism|expressionist]] painter and member of the French resistance during WWII, lived and painted in the village of [[Échauffour]].

The ''[[Société Normande de Peinture Moderne]]'' was founded in 1909 by [[Pierre Dumont (painter)|Pierre Dumont]], [[Robert Antoine Pinchon]], Yvonne Barbier and Eugène Tirvert. Among members were [[Raoul Dufy]], a native of Le Havre, [[Albert Marquet]], [[Francis Picabia]] and [[Maurice Utrillo]]. Also in this movement were the Duchamp brothers, [[Jacques Villon]] and [[Marcel Duchamp]], considered one of the father of modern art, also natives of Normandy. [[Jean Dubuffet]], one of the leading French artist of the 1940s and the 1950s was born in Le Havre.

===Religion===
[[File:Rouen Cathedral as seen from Gros Horloge 140215 4.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Rouen Cathedral]]]]

Christian missionaries implanted [[monastic communities]] in the territory in the 5th and 6th centuries. Some of these missionaries came from across the [[English Channel|Channel]]. The influence of [[Celtic Christianity]] can still be found in the [[Cotentin]]. 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. [[Henry II of England|King Henry II]] of England did [[penance]] at the cathedral of [[Avranches Cathedral|Avranches]] on 21 May 1172 and was absolved from the censures incurred by the assassination of [[Thomas Becket]]. [[Mont Saint-Michel]] is a historic [[pilgrimage]] site.

Normandy does not have one generally agreed [[patron saint]], although this title has been ascribed to Saint [[Michael (archangel)|Michael]], and to [[Saint Ouen]]. Many saints have been revered in Normandy down the centuries, including:
* [[St. Aubert|Aubert]] who's remembered as the founder of [[Mont Saint-Michel]]
* [[Saint Marcouf|Marcouf]] and [[Laud of Coutances|Laud]] who are important saints in Normandy
* [[Helier]] and [[Samson of Dol]] who are evangelizers of the Channel Islands
* [[Thomas Becket]], an [[Anglo-Normans|Anglo-Norman]] whose parents were from Rouen, who was the object of a considerable following in mainland Normandy following his martyrdom
* [[Joan of Arc]] who was [[martyr]]ed in Rouen, and who is especially remembered in that city
* [[Thérèse de Lisieux]] whose birthplace in [[Alençon]] 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 [[Channel Islands]], the [[Church of England]] is the [[established church]].

===People===
:''See [[:Category:People from Normandy]]''

==Gallery==
<gallery mode="packed">
File:MSM sunset 02.JPG|[[Mont Saint-Michel]]
File:Château Gaillard.jpg|[[Château Gaillard]]
File:Honfleur vieux bassin.jpg|[[Honfleur]]
File:Le Havre (skatepark).jpg|[[Le Havre]]
File:Arromanches-les-Bains port artificiel Mulberry.jpg|[[Arromanches]], [[Mulberry Harbour]]
File:Colombages.jpg|Half-timbered houses in [[Rouen]]
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 [[Honfleur]] harbour
File:RouenCathedral Monet 1894.jpg|[[Rouen Cathedral]] by [[Claude Monet]]
File:NormandyCourcelles2JM.jpg|[[World War II]] 15&nbsp;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]]
</gallery>

==See also==
{{Portal|France}}
* [[Duchy of Normandy]]
* [[Duke of Normandy]]
* [[Integration of Normandy into the royal domain of the Kingdom of France]]

== Notes ==
{{reflist|group=note}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons|Normandie|Normandy}}
{{NIE Poster|year=1905}}
* {{in lang|fr}} [http://www.normandie-heritage.com/ Normandie Héritage] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070824171123/http://www.normandie-heritage.com/ |date=24 August 2007 }}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20151128221234/http://www.mondes-normands.caen.fr/angleterre/index.htm The Norman Worlds]
* [http://www.pbase.com/ericdeparis/normandie Gallery of photos of Normandy]

{{Historic Provinces of France}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Normandy| ]]
[[Category:Former provinces of France]]
[[Category:Geographical, historical and cultural regions of France]]
[[Category:Historical regions]]