'''Normandy''' a sizable coastal region in northern France given as a fiefdom to the [[Vikings]] to keep them from ravaging the rest of France in the 900's. [[William the Conqueror]] came from Normandy and in 1066 conquered [[England]]. For years the English kings had claims to this large area of France, sometimes at odds with the French crown. [[Richard I|Richard the Lionhearted]] actually spent more time consolidating his lands and holdings in Normandy than he did governing his own kingdom. English claims were eventually lost at the end of the [[Hundred Years War]] except for a small holding, which itself was lost years later. | '''Normandy''' a sizable coastal region in northern France given as a fiefdom to the [[Vikings]] to keep them from ravaging the rest of France in the 900's. [[William the Conqueror]] came from Normandy and in 1066 conquered [[England]]. For years the English kings had claims to this large area of France, sometimes at odds with the French crown. [[Richard I|Richard the Lionhearted]] actually spent more time consolidating his lands and holdings in Normandy than he did governing his own kingdom. English claims were eventually lost at the end of the [[Hundred Years War]] except for a small holding, which itself was lost years later. |