History of Normandy
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Normandy was a province in the North-West of France under the Ancien Régime. Initially populated by Celtic and Belgian tribes in the East, and Ligures and Iberians in the West, it was conquered in 56 AD by the Romans and integrated into the province of Gallia Lugdunensis by Augustus. In the 4th century, Gratian divided the province into the civitates which constitute the historical borders. After the fall of Rome in the 5th century, the Franks became the dominant ethnic group in the area, built several monasteries, and replaced the barbarism of the region with the civilization of the Carolingian Empire. Towards the end of the 8th century, Viking raids devastated the region, prompting the establishment of the Duchy of Normandy in 911. After 150 years of expansion, the borders of Normandy reached relative stability. These old borders roughly correspond to the present borders of Basse-Normandie, Haute-Normandie and the Channel Islands. Mainland Normandy was integrated into the Kingdom of France in 1204. The region was badly damaged during the Hundred Years War and the Wars of Religion, the Normans having more converts to Protestantism than other peoples of France. In the 20th century, D-Day, the 1944 Allied invasion of Northern Europe, started in Normandy. In 1956, mainland Normandy was separated into two régions, Basse-Normandie and Haute-Normandie, although proposals to unify the regions are under consideration.
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[edit] Prehistory and antiquity
[edit] Normandy before the Roman conquest
Archeological finds, such as cave paintings prove that humans were present in the region as far back as prehistoric times, especially in Eure and Calvados. The Gouy and Orival cave paintings also testify to humans in Seine-Maritime. Several megaliths can be found throughout Normandy, most of them built in a uniform style.
More is known about Celtic Normandy due to the archeological sources being more numerous and easier to date. As early as the 19th century, local scholars studied archeological sites (especially those of Haute-Normandie) and recorded their discoveries. They discovered objects such as the Gallic gilded helmet of d’Amfreville-la-Mi-Voie, made in the 4th century BC, and the iron helmet currently in the Museum of Louviers. They also examined the cemetery at Pîtres with its urns for cremated remains. The artifacts found at these sites indicate Gallic presence in Normandy as far back as the times of the Hallstatt or Tène cultures.
Belgian Celts, known as Gauls, invaded Normandy in successive waves from the 4th century BC to the 3rd century BC. Much of our knowledge about this group comes from Julius Caesar’s de Bello Gallico. Caesar identified several different groups among the Belgian Celts, who occupied separate regions and lived in enclosed agrarian towns. In 57 BC the Gauls united under Vercingetorix in an attempt to resist the onslaught of Caesar’s army. After their defeat at Alesia, the people of Normandy continued to fight until 51 BC, the year Caesar completed his conquest of Gaul.
A list of Gallic tribes in Normandy and their administrative centers:
- Abrincates (Ingena, modern day Avranches),
- Aulerques Diablintes (Noviodumun, modern day Jublains),
- Aulerques Eburovices (Mediolanum, modern day Evreux),
- Baiocasses (Augustodurum, modern day Bayeux),
- Calètes (Juliobona, modern day Lillebonne),
- Lexoviens (Noviomagus Lexoviorum, modern day Lisieux),
- Unelles (Cosedia, modern day Coutances),
- Véliocasses (Rotomagus, modern day Rouen),
- Viducasses (Aragenuae, modern day Vieux).
[edit] Roman Normandy
In 27 BC, Emperor Augustus reorganized the Gallic territories by adding Calètes and Véliocasses to the province of Gallia Lugdunensis, which had its capital at Lyon. The Romanization of Normandy was achieved by the usual methods: Roman roads and a policy of urbanization.
Classicists have knowledge of many Gallo-Roman villas in Normandy, thanks in large part to finds made during construction of the A29 in Seine-Maritime. These country houses were often laid out according to two major plans. One design features a tall and slender structure with an open façade facing south; the second design is similar to Italian villas, with an organized layout around a square courtyard. The latter can be seen at the villa of Sainte-Marguerite-sur-Mer. The villas were built using local matrials: flint, chalk, limestone, brick, and cob. The technique of half-timbering came from this period and Celtic huts. The heating systems of these villas relied on the Roman hypocaust.
Agriculture in the region provided wheat and linen, according to Pliny the Elder. Pliny also noted the presence of fana (small temples with a centered, usually square plan) in great numbers. In antiquity the temples of Évreux made the town an important pilgrimage site, with a forum, Roman baths, a basilica, and a Gallic theatre. Évreux is also notable for the mother goddess statues found in tombs and houses.
[edit] Crises in the third century and the Roman loss of Normandy
In the late 3rd century, barbarian raids devastated Normandy. Traces of fire and hastily buried treasures bear evidence to the degree of insecurity in Northern Gaul. Coastal settlements risked raids by Saxon pirates. The situation was so severe that an entire legion was garrisoned at Constantia (in the pagus Constantinus), the administrative center of the Unelli tribe. As a result of Diocletian’s reforms, Normandy was detached from Brittany, while remaining within Gallia Lugdunensis. Christianity began to enter the area during this period: Saint Mellon was ordained bishop of Rouen in the mid-3rd century. In 406, Germanic tribes began invading from the West, while the Saxons subjugated the Norman coast. The Roman Emperor withdrew from most of Normandy and gave it back its ancient name: Armorica. Rural villages were abandoned and the remaining Romans confined themselves to within urban fortifications. Toponymy suggests that the various barbarian groups had installed themselves and formed alliances and federations shortly before the end of the Western Roman Empire in 476.
