Inheritance and history

Normandy and the History make only one! That history which one declines with a large H, and which takes its fertile source in the extraordinary maritime epic of the Vikings in search of a ground of asylum. Guided by their chief Rollon, they adopted the grove to pose there the bases of a rich civilization with an already European spirit. In his turn, Guillaume the Conqueror affixed his stone to this incredible human adventure while becoming king of England, after having overcome in Hastings, in the year of grace 1066. He wrote one of the most beautiful pages of the legend of Normandy, for the same reason as Richard Coeur de Lion defying king Philippe Auguste from the top of his stronghold Castle, "his beautiful daughter of one year old! ".

The legend of the centuries
During this time, the monks of the Mount built on a spur rock , protected by Saint-Michel, a true Wonder! Normandy changed for centuries into a temple of meditation and a refuge of civilization, on the shade of the abbeys of Jumièges, Saint-Wandrille, Fécamp, Trappe, Hambye, Caen and Bec-Hellouin. The imposing cathedrals of Evreux, Rouen, Sées, Bayeux and Coutances, also testify to this formidable élan impelled by the most enlightened spirits of the time.

Legend
Projected under the fires of the slope, the proud Normands defended with ardour the identity of the Leopards, going to fight victoriously as far as Sicily. Jeanne d' Arc did not know the same fortune, but his courage remains an alive symbol for Rouenne inhabitants whose ancestors attended the sacrifice.
Admittedly, the Normans expressed their passion very differently. How to compare the combat carried out by Jacques-Rene Hébert, the most sans-culotte of the Revolutionists of 1789, with that of the just Charles Dupont-de- Eure, first president of the Second Republic! In the same way, the feather with the vitriol of Mirbeau Octave does not have anything of common with the serene and tough fight of the abbot Pierre to move back misery. Nevertheless these Normans exalted by the History maintain a common point. They all ,on their manner, forged the great Norman adventure. If this epic occurs in the Tapestry of Bayeux, which was in fact the first comic strip of the History, it has not then ceased growing richer, for more than a thousand years!

Norman art
Decorated with a multitude of monuments, Normandy brings one of the most important contributions to the history of the sacred art in France. With the creation of the architectural Norman school, the originality of the religious buildings will affirm itself during the Roman time and will influence the surrounding areas. It will carry the new style to a high degree of completion, as the single masterpieces of the cathedrals of Mont Saint-Michel testify where the Gothic style is nourished with traditions .

Castles and manors
The Norman ground is rich of castles, hotels and manors of prestigious vestiges that still illustrate the Norman military architecture of the time of the dukes kings of England that is rich, such as the fort castles of Caen and Falaise (Calvados), Castle-Gaillard in Andelys, Gisors, the castles, and the hotels of Harcourt (the Eure). The castles of Balleroy, Henry Fountain, Lantheuil, St-Germain-de-Livet (Calvados); Bizy, Champ-de-Bataille (Eure); Tourlaville, the Hotel of Beaumont in Valognes (Manche); Bourg-St-Léonard, Carrouges, Castle of O in Mortrée, the Stud farm of Pine, Sassy (Orne); Bailleul, Etelan, the Manor of Ango in Varengeville (Seine-Maritime) are examples of the civil architecture that is accessible to the visitors. Certain castles shelter museums: Caen, Crèvecœur-en-Auge, Pontecoulant (Calvados) ; Beaumesnil, Vascoeuil (Eure) ; Bricquebec (Manche) ; Fiers, Tessé-la-Madeleine (Orne) ; Dieppe, Eu, Martainville, Robert-le-Diable (Seine-Maritime).

Impregnated of the memory of Jeanne d' Arc, Rouen has today the appearance of a jewel of the medieval urban architecture. Near to its dawdlings around the Saint-Maclou church, the visitor plunges in another time, attentive at the splendid restored houses with wood sides which he also crosses in the street of the Clock. Regarded for a long time as the second city of the kingdom, the French capital of the antique dealers reveals today its charms related to the inheritance. The historical assets of Caen are revealed.
Guillaume the Conqueror ordered to build there two splendid abbeys to the men and theladies. And the vestiges of the old ducal palace testify to the power of the lineage of Robert Le Magnifique! But this university town ,with the haussmanian paces, knew to raise the bet of modernity, without sacrificing its most tragic hours, as it is recalled by the Memorial for peace.

The pleasure of the cities
Certainly, the Norman cities were ravaged by the bombardments of the second World war. But some of them, and not of least, were preserved. The large Normans cities affirm their identity. Bayeux is wrapped in its Tapestry, Cherbourg, Fécamp, and Dieppe ogle towards the English islands. While Alençon remains deeply attached to its lace point, Evreux continues to live in the shade of its Gothic cathedral, suspended with its worthy belfry whose bell has sounded since the XV th century! "Pride" of François Let, Havre also found the force to be raised while being posted like a balneal city. With its cousins of Calvados, it maintains besides the bonds that are even more accessory since the opening of the impressive bridge of Normandy!