Duchy of Normandy

Coordinates: 49°9′N 0°6′E / 49.150°N 0.100°E / 49.150; 0.100
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Duchy of Normandy
Duchie de Normaundie (
Latin
)
911–1290
Flag of Normandy
Heraldic
flag of Normandy
Coat of arms of Normandy
Coat of arms
Normandy's historical[when?] borders in the northwest of France and the Channel Islands
Normandy's historical[when?] borders in the northwest of France and the Channel Islands
StatusVassal state of West Francia (911–987)
Vassal state of the Kingdom of France (987–1204)
CapitalRouen
Official languagesMedieval Latin
Common languages
Religion
  • Norse religion
Demonym(s)Normans
GovernmentFeudal monarchy
Duke of Normandy 
• 911–927
Rollo (first)
• 1035–1087
William the Conqueror
• 1144–1150
Geoffrey Plantagenet
• 1199–1204
John (last)
Historical eraMiddle Ages
911
• Continental Normandy conquered by Philip II
1204
1259
• Split into Guernsey and Jersey
1290
CurrencyDenier (Rouen penny)
Preceded by		 Succeeded by
Kingdom of Brittany
West Francia
Kingdom of France
Bailiwick of Guernsey
Jersey
Today part ofFrance

British Islands

The Duchy of Normandy grew out of the 911

Viking leader Rollo. The duchy was named for its inhabitants, the Normans
.

From 1066 until 1204, as a result of the

king of England
in 1154.

In 1202,

French Royal Domain, the now much smaller Duchy continued to exist under the authority of the English sovereign until it was split into the Bailiwicks of Guernsey and Jersey around 1290 by Otto de Grandson
.

In the

Louis-Charles
, duke from 1785 to 1792.

The title "Duke of Normandy" continues to be used in an informal manner in the Channel Islands, to refer to the monarch of the United Kingdom. There is no definite end as to when the Duchy of Normandy (with its remnants in the Channel Islands) as a vassal of the English monarch became 'part' of the United Kingdom, with history blending the link between the two gradually. In official documents in Guernsey, the British monarch is entitled "Duke of Normandy", while in official documents in Jersey, the British monarch is ambiguously titled Sovereign.

In 1204, Normandy was transferred from the English Crown to France, with the exception of the Channel Islands, which were never incorporated into England. As such, although no form of the Duchy or its structure exists, there has never been a formal end to Norman state rule over the islands.

History

Origins

The first

West Franks, granted to the Viking leader Rollo some lands along the lower Seine that were apparently already under Danish control. Whether Rollo himself was a Dane or a Norwegian is not known. For his part, Rollo agreed to defend the territory from other Vikings and that he and his men would convert to Christianity.[2] Rollo's decision to convert and come to terms with the Franks came in the aftermath of his defeat at the battle of Chartres by Richard of Burgundy and Robert of Neustria (the future Robert I of France) earlier in 911.[3]

The territory ceded to Rollo comprised the

Évrecin, Roumois and Talou. This was territory formerly known as the county of Rouen, and which would become Upper Normandy. A royal diploma of 918 confirms the donation of 911, using the verb adnuo ("I grant"). There is no evidence that Rollo owed any service or oath to the king for his lands, nor that there were any legal means for the king to take them back: they were granted outright.[2] Likewise, Rollo does not seem to have been created a count or given comital authority, but later sagas refer to him as Rúðujarl (earl of Rouen).[4]

The Norman polity had to contend with the Frankish and Breton systems of power that already existed in Normandy. In the early 10th century, Normandy was not a political or monetary unit. According to many academics, "the formation of a new aristocracy, monastic reform, episcopal revival, written bureaucracy, saints’ cults – with necessarily different timelines" were as important if not more than the ducal narrative espoused by Dudo. The formation of the Norman state also coincided with the creation of an origin myth for the Norman ducal family through Dudo, such as Rollo being compared to a "good pagan" like the Trojan hero Aeneas. Through this narrative, the Normans were assimilated closer to the Frankish core as they moved away from their pagan Scandinavian origins.[5][6]

Norse settlement

There were two distinct patterns of Norse settlement in the duchy. In the Danish area in the Roumois and the Caux, settlers intermingled with the indigenous Gallo-Romance-speaking population. Rollo shared out the large estates with his companions and gave agricultural land to his other followers. Danish settlers cleared their own land to farm it, and there was no segregation of populations.[2]

In the northern

þing, an assembly of all free men, whose meeting place may be preserved in the name of Le Tingland,[2] near Jobourg.[7]

Within a few generations of the founding of Normandy in 911, however, the Scandinavian settlers had intermarried with the natives and adopted much of their culture. But in 911, Normandy was not a political nor monetary unit. Frankish culture remained dominant and according to some scholars, 10th century Normandy was characterized by a diverse Scandinavian population interacting with the "local Frankish matrix" that existed in the region. In the end, the Normans stressed assimilation with the local population.[5] In the 11th century, the anonymous author of the Miracles of Saint Wulfram referred to the formation of a Norman identity as "shaping [of] all races into one single people".[2]

According to some historians, the idea of "Norman" as a political identity was a deliberate creation of the court of Richard I in the 960s as a way to "create a powerful if rather incoherent sense of group solidarity to galvanize the duchy's disparate elites around the duke".[8]

Norman rule

King of England

Starting with Rollo, Normandy was ruled by an enduring and long-lived Viking dynasty. Illegitimacy was not a bar to succession and three of the first six rulers of Normandy were illegitimate sons of concubines. Rollo's successor, William Longsword, managed in expanding his domain and came into conflict with Arnulf of Flanders, who had him assassinated in 942.[9] This led to a crisis in Normandy, with a minor succeeding as Richard I, and also led to a temporary revival of Norse paganism in Normandy.[10] Richard I's son, Richard II, was the first to be styled duke of Normandy, the ducal title becoming established between 987 and 1006.[11]

In 924, King

Cotentin to Rollo's son and successor, William Longsword. These areas had been previously under Breton rule. The northern Cotentin had been settled by Norwegians coming from the region of the Irish Sea. There was initially much hostility between these Norwegian settlers and their new Danish overlords. These expansions brought the boundaries of Normandy roughly in line with those of the ecclesiastical province of Rouen.[2]

The Norman dukes created the most powerful, consolidated duchy in Western Europe between the years 980, when the dukes helped place

Olaf Haraldsson crossed the Channel in such circumstances to support Richard II in the conflict against the count of Chartres and was baptized in Rouen in 1014.[14]

In 1066,

Norman conquest of England.[15] Anglo-Norman and French relations became complicated after the Norman Conquest. The Norman dukes retained control of their holdings in Normandy as vassals owing fealty to the King of France, but they were his equals as kings of England. Serfdom was outlawed around 1100.[16]

From 1154 until 1214, with the creation of the Angevin Empire, the Angevin kings of England controlled half of France and all of England, dwarfing the power of the French king, yet the Angevins were still de jure French vassals.[17]

The Duchy remained part of the Angevin Empire until 1204,

Château de Rouen, as a symbol of royal power.[20]

After the absorption of the mainland portion of the Duchy into the royal domain of France, the Duchy, now confined to the Channel Islands, continued to exist under the English Crown until it was split around 1290 into the Bailiwicks of Guernsey and Jersey by Otto de Grandson, who was Lord of the Channel Islands since his appointment in 1277 by Edward I of England.[21][22]

French appanage

Main article: History of Normandy

Although within the royal demesne, Normandy retained some specificity. Norman law continued to serve as the basis for court decisions. In 1315, faced with the constant encroachments of royal power on the liberties of Normandy, the barons and towns pressed the Norman Charter on the king. This document did not provide autonomy to the province but protected it against arbitrary royal acts. The judgments of the Exchequer, the main court of Normandy, were declared final. This meant that Paris could not reverse a judgment of Rouen.[23] Another important concession was that the King of France could not raise a new tax without the consent of the Normans. However the charter, granted at a time when royal authority was faltering, was violated several times thereafter when the monarchy had regained its power.[24]

The Duchy of Normandy survived mainly by the intermittent installation of a duke. In practice, the King of France sometimes gave that portion of his kingdom to a close member of his family, who then did homage to the king. Philip VI made Jean, his eldest son and heir to his throne, the Duke of Normandy. In turn, Jean II appointed his heir, Charles.[25]

In 1465,

Philippe de Commynes expressed what was probably a common Norman thought of the time: "It has always seemed good to the Normans and still does that their great duchy really should require a duke" (A tousjours bien semblé aux Normands et faict encores que si grand duchié comme la leur requiert bien un duc).[29]

Louis XVI, was again given the nominal title of 'Duke of Normandy' before the death of his elder brother in 1789.[30]

Modern usage

"La Reine, Notre Duc": title of a Diamond Jubilee exhibition at the Jersey Arts Centre

In the

British monarch is known informally as the "Duke of Normandy", irrespective of whether or not the holder is male (as in the case of Queen Elizabeth II who was known by this title).[31] The Channel Islands are the last remaining part of the former Duchy of Normandy to remain under the rule of the British monarch. Although the English monarchy relinquished claims to continental Normandy and other French claims in 1259 (in the Treaty of Paris), the Channel Islands (except for Chausey
under French sovereignty) remain Crown dependencies of the British throne.

In the islanders' loyal toast, they say, "The Duke of Normandy, our King", or "The King, our Duke", "L'Rouai, nouotre Duc" or "L'Roué, note Du" in Norman (Jèrriais and Guernésiais respectively), or "Le Roi, notre Duc" in Standard French, rather than simply "The King", as is the practice in the United Kingdom.[32][33]

Queen Elizabeth II is often referred to by her traditional and conventional title of Duke of Normandy. However ... she is not the Duke in a constitutional capacity and instead governs in her right as Queen ... This notwithstanding, it is a matter of local pride for monarchists to treat the situation otherwise: the Loyal Toast at formal dinners is to "The Queen, our Duke" rather than "Her Majesty, the Queen" as in the UK.[33]

The title 'Duke of Normandy' is not used in formal government publications, and, as a matter of Channel Islands law, does not exist.[34][33]

The British historian Ben Pimlott noted that while Queen Elizabeth II was on a visit to mainland Normandy in May 1967, French locals began to doff their hats and shout "Vive la Duchesse!", to which the Queen supposedly replied "Well, I am the Duke of Normandy!"[35][failed verification]

Rulers

Dukes

Main article: Duke of Normandy

Governors

Below is a list of the seneschals (sénéchal de Normandie) and governors of Normandy (gouverneur de Normandie) during its time as a French province.[36]

  • 9 May 1661 – 1726: Charles François Frédéric de Montmorency,
    Duke of Piney
  • 1726 – 18 May 1764: Marshal of France Charles François Frédéric de Montmorency II, Duke of Piney
  • 15 June 1764 – 1775: Marshal of France
    Duke of Harcourt
  • 17 September 1775 – 1 January 1791: François Henri, Duke of Harcourt

Law

Main article: Norman law

There are traces of Scandinavian law in the customary laws of Normandy, which were first written down in the 13th century.[23] A charter of 1050, listing several pleas before Duke William II, refers to the penalty of banishment as ullac (from Old Norse útlagr). The word was still current in the 12th century, when it was used in the Roman de Rou.[37] Marriage more danico ("in the Danish manner"), that is, without any ecclesiastical ceremony in accordance with old Norse custom, was recognised as legal in Normandy and in the Norman church. The first three dukes of Normandy all practised it.[2]

Scandinavian influence is especially apparent in laws relating to waters. The duke possessed the

Scanian law of c. 1210.[2]

There is no surviving reference to the

húskarl, but is late evidence for the existence of a hirð in the 10th century.[2]

See also

Notes

References

  1. ^ Trudgill, Peter (15 May 2021). "The slow death of Channel Islands Norman". The New European. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Renaud, Jean (2008). Brink, Stefan (ed.). The Duchy of Normandy. Routledge. pp. 453–457. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  3. ^ Lake, Justin (2013). Richer of Saint-Rémi: The Methods and Mentality of a Tenth-Century Historian. Catholic University of America Press. p. 101.
  4. ^ Helmerichs, Robert (1997). "Princeps, Comes, Dux Normannorum: Early Rollonid Designators and Their Significance"". The Haskins Society Journal. 9: 57–77.
  5. ^
    ISBN 9781782041085
    .
  6. ^ Miller, Aron. "Scandinavian Origins through Christian Eyes: A Comparative Study of the History of the Normans and the Russian Primary Chronicle". repository.stcloudstate.edu. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
  7. ^ Renaud Jean, Ridel Elisabeth: «Le Tingland : l'emplacement d'un ping en Normandie ?», In: Nouvelle revue d'onomastique, n°35-36, 2000, pp. 303–306.
  8. ISSN 1468-0254. Archived
    (PDF) from the original on 18 December 2019. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
  9. ^ Thorpe, Benjamin (1857). A History of England Under the Norman Kings: Or, from the Battle of Hastings to the Accession of the House of Plantagenet: To Which Is Prefixed an Epitome of the Early History of Normandy. London: John Russel Smith. p. 24. Archived from the original on 30 July 2024. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  10. ISBN 9780826435149. Archived
    from the original on 30 July 2024. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  11. ISBN 9780750951357. Archived
    from the original on 30 July 2024. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  12. ^
    ISBN 9780060170332
    .
  13. ISBN 9780851157023. Archived
    from the original on 30 July 2024. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  14. ^ "Olav Haraldsson – Olav the Stout – Olav the Saint". The Viking Network. 25 June 2015. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
  15. ISBN 9781445608839
    .
  16. ^ Sept essais sur des Aspects de la société et de l'économie dans la Normandie médiévale (Xe – XIIIe siècles) Lucien Musset, Jean-Michel Bouvris, Véronique Gazeau -Cahier des Annales de Normandie- 1988, Volume 22, Issue 22, pp. 3–140
  17. ISSN 0002-8762
    .
  18. ISBN 9781843833413. Archived
    from the original on 30 July 2024. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  19. ISBN 9780719057403
    .
  20. ISBN 9780520911116. Archived from the original on 14 January 2023. Retrieved 15 August 2019.; "Castles.nl - Joan of Arc Tower"
    . www.castles.nl. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
  21. ^ Le Roy, Pierre. Note book of Pierre Le Roy. Guille Alles Library 1893.
  22. doi:10.1111/1468-229X.13269
    .
  23. ^ a b Vincent, Nicholas (2015). "Magna Carta (1215) and the Charte aux Normands (1315): Some Anglo-Norman Connections and Correspondences" (PDF). Jersey and Guernsey Law Review. 2: 189–197. Archived (PDF) from the original on 22 February 2019. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
  24. ISBN 9780826443090
    .
  25. ISBN 9780521362900. Archived from the original on 30 July 2024. Retrieved 10 November 2020.; "Normandy (Traditional province, France)"
    . www.crwflags.com. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
  26. ISBN 9780226310329. Archived from the original on 30 July 2024. Retrieved 10 November 2020.; Smedley, Edward (1836). The History of France: From the Final Partition of the Empire of Charlemagne, A.D. 843, to the Peace of Cambray, A.D. 1529. London: Baldwin. pp. 388–389. Archived
    from the original on 30 July 2024. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  27. ^ Grove, Joseph (1742). The History of the Life and Times of Cardinal Wolsey, Prime Minister to King Henry VIII, Vol. 1: I. Of His Birth, and the Various Steps He Took to Attain Preferment, Connected With Affairs, Both Foreign and Domestick, From the Death of Edward IV. To He End of the Reign of Henry VII. London: J. Purser. p. 57. Archived from the original on 30 July 2024. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  28. ^ Michelet, Jules (1845). History of France. Translated by Smith, G. H. London: Whittaker and Co. p. 309. Archived from the original on 30 July 2024. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  29. ^ Contamine (1994), p. 233.
  30. JSTOR 40794680
    .
  31. ^ "Crown Dependencies". The Royal Household. Archived from the original on 11 July 2021. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  32. ^ "The Loyal Toast". Debrett's. 2016. Archived from the original on 7 March 2016. Retrieved 25 January 2016. In Jersey the toast of 'The Queen, our Duke' (i.e. Duke of Normandy) is local and unofficial, and used when only islanders are present. This toast is not used in the other Channel Islands.
  33. ^ a b c The Channel Islands, p. 11, at Google Books
  34. ^ Matthews, Paul (1999). "Lé Rouai, Nouot' Duc" (PDF). Jersey and Guernsey Law Review. 1999 (2).
  35. ^ The Queen: Elizabeth II and the Monarchy, p. 314, at Google Books
  36. ^ "Provinces of France to 1791". www.worldstatesmen.org. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  37. ISBN 9782701012810. Archived
    from the original on 30 July 2024. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  38. ^ "Varech coutume de Normandie | Varech en Manche|". Le Petit Manchot - histoire patrimoine personnage (in French). Retrieved 21 February 2019.
  39. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived
    from the original on 30 July 2024. Retrieved 21 February 2019.

49°9′N 0°6′E / 49.150°N 0.100°E / 49.150; 0.100

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