History of Normandy

Normandy | Places to Stay | Places to Eat |  Places to Visit | Things to Do | Events Calendar | Firework Displays | Market Days | Gardens  | Children's Activities |  History   | Geography & Map  | Museums | Recipes  & Gastronomy| Sports|  World War II |Maison de Normandie |

                  BC : Celtic populations

Roman period

280: administrative reform of Diocletien which created a territory verging on the current Normandy. 

Frankish Domination

709: Western Kingdom inherited by Clothaire, Clovis’ son. 

Viking invasions

820: Channel coast invaded by Vikings.

911: Treaty of St Clair-sur-Epte; Rollon becomes the first Duke of Normandy. 

The Independent Dukedom

From the tenth to the twelfth century, Normandy became a Dukedom hardly independent of France Kingdom.

933: Under William Longsword, the Dukedom takes on its final form with the unification of the Avranchin and the Cotentin.

1027: Birth of William, the future conqueror of England, at Falaise.

1066: Invasion of England by William who becomes King of England.

1087: Death of William the Conqueror in Rouen.

1087-1135: William’s heirs in dispute.

1135: Ducal authority restored by Henry Beauclerc who becomes King of England as Henry I (1100-1135) after his brother William Rufus

1204: Normandy united to the French crown. 

The French Dukedom 

1315: granting of the Norman Charter, symbol of provincial status, which remained in being until the French Revolution.

1417-1450: Normandy invaded by Henry V of England.

1450: Normandy recovered by the French crown at the victory at Formigny and the recapture of Cherbourg.

1469: Charles of France, last Duke of Normandy, is dispossessed of his Dukedom.

The Province of Normandy 

1514: The Rouen Exchequer becomes the Parliament of Normandy so Normandy becomes a province where the royal power is more and more felt.

1639-1640: Revolt of the Barefoot Peasants provoked by the introduction of the salt tax.

Contemporary Normandy

1789: The Caen Revolt.

1795-1800: Insurrection of the Norman royalists, the Chouans.

June 1940: Bresle Front breached.

1942: Dieppe commando raid by Canadian and British troops.

6 June 1944: Allied landing on the Calvados coast. Battle of Normandy.