Normandy

Normandy is a region in the North of France, lying on the English Channel.

The Viking leader Rollo who had besieged Paris was given Normandy in 911 under the Treaty of St. Claire, in return for defending it against future pirate attacks. By the 11th century the Norman people had become a mixture of native Franks and Viking immigrants.

Norman culture spread into England with the Norman Conquest led by the Duke of Normandy in 1066, William the Conqueror. Normandy was sporadically under English control, until the end of the Hundred Years' War in 1453, from which point it remained with France until World War II.