About

Normandy is a region in the north of France. Its varied coastline includes white chalk cliffs and World War II beachheads, including Omaha Beach, site of the famous D-Day landings. Off the coast is the rocky island of Mont-Saint-Michel, at the top of which stands a Gothic abbey. Rouen, dominated by Notre-Dame de Rouen Cathedral, is the city in which military leader and Catholic saint Joan of Arc was executed in 1431.

The Viking

Normandy was born with the Vikings In the 9th century, the banks of the Seine and the coasts of the English Channel suffered violent and destructive attacks from the Vikings. Coming from Scandinavia, they gradually settled in the region. In 911, the Carolingian king Charles the Simple put an end to these invasions with the treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte. He then granted Rollo a territory roughly similar to present-day Upper Normandy. In exchange, the Viking leader converted to Christianity and guaranteed peace. Normandy, “land of the men of the North”, was born! From 933, it already extended to the limits that we know today.

Guillaume le Conquerant

William the Conqueror, also called William the Bastard or William of Normandy, was born in Falaise in 1027 or 1028 and died in Rouen on September 9, 1087. He was Duke of Normandy, under the name William II, from 1035 to his death, and king of England, under the name of William I, from 1066 to his death