History of Normandy

Normandy, a duchy in northwestern France under the Ancien Régime, persisted until the late 1700s. Its earliest inhabitants were Celtic tribes in the west and Belgic tribes in the northeast. The Romans conquered the area in AD 98, and Emperor Augustus later incorporated it into the province of Gallia Lugdunensis. After Rome’s fall in the 5th century, the Franks rose to prominence and founded several monasteries. Viking raids near the end of the 9th century devastated the region, prompting the creation of the Duchy of Normandy in 911. Following 150 years of expansion, the duchy’s borders stabilized, roughly matching those of modern Lower Normandy, Upper Normandy, and the Channel Islands. Mainland Normandy joined the Kingdom of France in 1204. The Hundred Years’ War and the Wars of Religion caused severe damage, with Normandy seeing more Protestant converts than other parts of France. In the 20th century, the 1944 D-Day Allied invasion began on its shores. Mainland Normandy was split into Lower and Upper Normandy in 1956, then reunified in 2016. Human presence in Normandy dates no earlier than the end of the Lower Paleolithic, as the region was extremely cold before then. Middle Paleolithic finds of lithic industry are numerous. During the Upper Paleolithic, tundra covered the area, making it inhospitable. Later, humans resettled, especially in Eure and Calvados, evidenced by the Orival and Gouy Cave near Rouen. Gouy features Magdalenian cave paintings, making it Europe’s northernmost decorated cave. Many megaliths, built in a uniform style, are still scattered across the Norman countryside. The Rozel Archaeological Site preserves exceptional footprints and handprints of *Homo neanderthalensis*. During the Bronze Age (2300–800 BC), Normandy developed a network of farms, field systems, and vast necropolises. More is known about Celtic Normandy from abundant, easily datable archaeological sources. In the 19th century, local scholars studied sites, especially in Upper Normandy, recording finds like the 4th-century BC Gallic gilded helmet of Amfreville-sous-les-Monts and an iron helmet now in the Museum of Louviers. They also examined the cemetery at Pîtres (Eure), which contained cremation urns, coiled swords, and traces of chariot tombs.