Normandy
an ancient province of France, bordering on the English Channel, now divided into the departments of Seine-Inférieure, Eure, Orne, Calvados, and Manche; anciently comprised a portion of the kingdom of Neustria, and was ceded to Rollo, Rolf, or Raoul, by Charles III., in 911. William I., Duke of Normandy, invaded England in 1066, and established a Norman dynasty, thereby uniting Normandy with the latter country. Philip Augustus conquered it in 1204, the French holding holding it till 1417, when it was recovered by the English, who held it till 1450, when it was finally wrested from them by Charles VII.
NORMANS (literally "north-men"), the descendants of the Northmen who established themselves in northern France, hence called Normandy. Besides the important place occupied in history by the Normans in Normandy and England, bands of Normans established themselves in S. Italy and Sicily, and Norman princes ruled there from the middle of the 11th till the end of the 12th century.