Normandy

Normandy is a geographical region in northern France. Upper Normandy (Haute-Normandie) consists of the French départements of Seine-Maritime and Eure, and Lower Normandy (Basse-Normandie) of the départements of Orne, Calvados, and Manche.

Culture

Languages

The Norman language, a regional language, is spoken by a minority of the population, especially in the Cotentin peninsula in the far West and in the Pays de Caux in the East. Many place names show the influence of this Norse-influenced oïl language; for example -bec (stream), -fleur (river), -hou (island), -tot (homestead).

Related Topics:
Norman language - Regional language - Norse - Oïl language

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Arts

Architecture

:Main article is Architecture of Normandy.

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Architecturally, Norman cathedrals, abbeys (such as the Abbey of Bec) and castles characterise the former Duchy in a way that mirrors the similar pattern of Norman architecture in England following the Norman Conquest of 1066.

Related Topics:
Abbey of Bec - Norman architecture - Norman Conquest - 1066

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Domestic architecture in upper Normandy is typified by half-timbered buildings that also recall vernacular English architecture, although the farm enclosures of the more harshly landscaped Pays de Caux are a more idiosyncratic response to socio-economic and climatic imperatives. Much urban architectural heritage was destroyed during the Battle of Normandy in 1944 - post-war urban reconstruction, such as in Le Havre and Saint-Lô, could be said to demonstrate both the virtues and vices of modernist and brutalist trends of the 1950s and 1960s.

Related Topics:
Half-timbered - Modernist - Brutalist

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Vernacular architecture in lower Normandy takes its form from granite, the predominant local building material. The Channel Islands also share this influence - Chausey was for many years a source of quarried granite, including that used for the construction of Mont Saint Michel.

Related Topics:
Vernacular architecture - Granite - Chausey - Mont Saint Michel

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Literature

Writers in the French language connected with Normandy include:

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• Alphonse Allais
• Olivier Basselin
• Jules Barbey d'Aurevilly
• Jean Bertaut
• François le Metel de Boisrobert
• Pierre Corneille
• Casimir Delavigne
• Octave Feuillet
• Gustave Flaubert
• André Gide
• Rémy de Gourmont
• François de Malherbe
• Guy de Maupassant
• André Maurois
• Jack Quesnot Monnier
• Jacques Prévert
• Marcel Proust
• Raymond Queneau
• Jean Rotrou

See also Anglo-Norman literature, Gesta Normannorum Ducum

Related Topics:
Anglo-Norman literature - Gesta Normannorum Ducum

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Painting

From the 1860s, plein-air painters, who worked outside the studio, were attracted to Normandy by the ease of railway access from Paris. Claude Monet's waterlily garden at Giverny is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the region. Eugène Boudin's paintings of fashionable seaside scenes are also typical.

Related Topics:
Claude Monet - Giverny - Eugène Boudin

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Artists Norman by birth include:

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• Nicolas Poussin
• Jean-François Millet
• Marcel Duchamp
• Fernand Léger
• André Breton
• Raoul Dufy
• Théodore Géricault
• Jean Dubuffet
• Georges de Scudéry
• Madeleine de Scudéry

Music

Erik Satie, Daniel Auber, Arthur Honegger and Marcel Dupré, composers, were born in Normandy.

Related Topics:
Erik Satie - Daniel Auber - Arthur Honegger - Marcel Dupré

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Design

Christian Dior, fashion designer, was born in Granville.

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Religion

The cathedrals of Normandy have exerted influence down the centuries in matters of both faith and politics. Mont Saint Michel is a historic pilgrimage site. The influence of Celtic Christianity can still be found in the Cotentin.

Related Topics:
Cathedral - Mont Saint Michel - Pilgrimage - Celtic Christianity

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Many saints have been revered in Normandy down the centuries, including:

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• Thérèse de Lisieux whose cult in Lisieux is a focus for religious devotion
• Joan of Arc who was martyred in Rouen, and who is especially remembered in that city
• Helier and Samson of Dol who are evangelizers of the Channel Islands
• Saint Marcouf and Saint Lô who are important saints in Lower Normandy
• St. Aubert who is remembered as the founder of Mont Saint Michel
• Thomas Becket, an Anglo-Norman whose parents were from Rouen, who was the object of a considerable cult in mainland Normandy following his martyrdom

Normandy does not have one generally-agreed patron saint, although this title has been ascribed to Saint Michael, and to Saint Ouen.

Related Topics:
Patron saint - Michael - Saint Ouen

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Food and drink

Normandy is famous for its rich, rolling countryside, which provides plentiful pasture for dairy cattle and orchards for apples. The dairy produce of the region is renowned: its cheeses are world famous and include Camembert, Livarot and Pont l'Evêque. Normandy butter is highly prized, as is Normandy cream, both of which are lavishly used in local gastronomic specialities.

Related Topics:
Cattle - Apple - Camembert - Livarot - Pont l'Evêque

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Normandy is a major cider-producing region (very little wine is produced). Perry is also produced, but in less significant quantities. The apple brandy, of which the most famous variety is calvados, is also popular. The mealtime trou normand, or Norman break, is a pause between meal courses in which diners partake of a glassful of calvados, is still observed in many homes and restaurants. Pommeau is an aperitif produced by blending unfermented cider and apple brandy. Another aperitif is the kir normand, a measure of cassis topped up with cider. Benedictine is produced in Fécamp.

Related Topics:
Cider - Perry - Calvados - Kir - Benedictine - Fécamp

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Apples are also used in cooking: for example, moules à la normande are mussels cooked with apples and cream, bourdelots are apples baked in pastry, and localities all over the province have their own variation of apple tart. A classic pastry dish from the region is Flan Normand a flaky pastry-based variant of the apple tart.

Related Topics:
Flan Normand - Flaky pastry

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Other regional specialities include tripes à la mode de Caen, andouilles, teurgoule (spiced rice pudding) and seafood. Normandy is the most significant oyster-cultivating region in France.

Related Topics:
Tripe - Andouille - Oyster

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Symbols

The traditional provincial flag of Normandy, gules, two leopards passant or, is used in both modern regions. The historic three-leopard version (known in the Norman language as les treis cats, "the three cats") is used by some associations and individuals, especially those who support reunification of the regions and cultural links with the Channel Islands and England.

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The unofficial anthem of the region is the song "Ma Normandie."

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