Avranchin is an area in Normandy, France corresponding to the territory of the

Abrincatui The Abrincatui were a Gallic tribe dwelling in the south of the Cotentin Peninsula during the Roman period. Name They are mentioned as ''Abrincatuos'' by Pliny (1st c. AD), ''’Abrinkátouoi'' (’Aβρινκάτουοι) by Ptolemy (2nd c. A ...

, a tribe of

Celts The Celts (, see pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples () are. "CELTS location: Greater Europe time period: Second millennium B.C.E. to present ancestry: Celtic a collection of Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancien ...

from whom the city of Avranches, the main town of the Avranchin, takes its name. In 867, by the

Treaty of Compiègne A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between actors in international law. It is usually made by and between sovereign states, but can include international organizations, individuals, business entities, and other legal pers ...

Charles the Bald Charles the Bald (french: Charles le Chauve; 13 June 823 – 6 October 877), also known as Charles II, was a 9th-century king of West Francia (843–877), king of Italy (875–877) and emperor of the Carolingian Empire (875–877). After a ...

gave the Avranchin to

Salomon, King of Brittany Salomon ( br, Salaün) (died 874) was Count of Rennes and Nantes from 852 and Duke of Brittany from 857 until his death by assassination. He used the title King of Brittany intermittently after 868. In 867, he was granted the counties of Avranches ...

. In 933, it was reunited with the

Duchy of Normandy The Duchy of Normandy grew out of the 911 Treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte between King Charles III of West Francia and the Viking leader Rollo. The duchy was named for its inhabitants, the Normans. From 1066 until 1204, as a result of the Norman c ...

William I of Normandy William Longsword (french: Guillaume Longue-Épée, nrf, Willâome de lon Espee, la, Willermus Longa Spata, on, Vilhjálmr Langaspjót; c. 893 – 17 December 942) was the second ruler of Normandy, from 927 until his assassination in 942.Det ...

Geography

Avranchin is located in the

Armorican Massif The Armorican Massif (french: Massif armoricain, ) is a geologic massif that covers a large area in the northwest of France, including Brittany, the western part of Normandy and the Pays de la Loire. It is important because it is connected to Dov ...

south of

Cotentin The Cotentin Peninsula (, ; nrf, Cotentîn ), also known as the Cherbourg Peninsula, is a peninsula in Normandy that forms part of the northwest coast of France. It extends north-westward into the English Channel, towards Great Britain. To its w ...

in the department of

Manche Manche (, ) is a coastal French département in Normandy, on the English Channel, which is known as ''La Manche'', literally "the sleeve", in French. It had a population of 495,045 in 2019.Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

. The Thar river forms the northern border. The eastern border is formed by the Égrenne, a tributary of the

Mayenne Mayenne () is a landlocked department in northwest France named after the river Mayenne. Mayenne is part of the administrative region of Pays de la Loire and is surrounded by the departments of Manche, Orne, Sarthe, Maine-et-Loire, and Ill ...

. To the north west lies the bay of

Mont-Saint-Michel Mont-Saint-Michel (; Norman: ''Mont Saint Miché''; ) is a tidal island and mainland commune in Normandy, France. The island lies approximately off the country's north-western coast, at the mouth of the Couesnon River near Avranches and i ...

. The south west was once marked by the

Couesnon The Couesnon (; br, Kouenon) is a river running from the ''département'' of Mayenne in north-western France, forming an estuary at Mont Saint-Michel. It is long, and its drainage basin is . Its final stretch forms the border between the histor ...

river, however due to canal building in the 18th century the river now flows 4 km to the west of the region. The largest town in the area is Avranches. The village of

Mortain Mortain () is a former commune in the Manche department in Normandy in north-western France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of Mortain-Bocage. Geography Mortain is situated on a rocky hill rising above the gorge of the ...

is traditionally included as part of Avranchin.

History

Avranchin was once the territory of the Abrincuti. During Roman rule it became part of the second division of

Gallia Lugdunensis Gallia Lugdunensis (French: ''Gaule Lyonnaise'') was a province of the Roman Empire in what is now the modern country of France, part of the Celtic territory of Gaul formerly known as Celtica. It is named after its capital Lugdunum (today's Lyon) ...

, which roughly corresponds to modern-day Normandy. After the fall of the Roman empire the area became part of the Frankish kingdom of

Neustria Neustria was the western part of the Kingdom of the Franks. Neustria included the land between the Loire and the Silva Carbonaria, approximately the north of present-day France, with Paris, Orléans, Tours, Soissons as its main cities. It late ...

until it was ceded to

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period ...

as part of the treaty of Compiègne in 867. In 933 William Longsword was given control of a large part of Brittany (Avranchin included) in return for recognizing

Rudolph of France Rudolph (french: Rodolphe), sometimes called Ralph (; c. 890 – 14/15 January 936), was the king of France from 923 until his death in 936. He was elected to succeed his father-in-law, Robert I, and spent much of his reign defending his realm fr ...

as king of

West Francia In medieval history, West Francia (Medieval Latin: ) or the Kingdom of the West Franks () refers to the western part of the Frankish Empire established by Charlemagne. It represents the earliest stage of the Kingdom of France, lasting from about ...

. The Bretons did not recognize this agreement and had to be forcibly suppressed. Avranchin was not fully integrated into Normandy until 1009 under Richard II. In 1204 Phillip II took Normandy (and alongside it Avranchin) for France.

References

* Richard Seguin, Olivier Basselin, ''Essai sur l'histoire de l'industrie du bocage'', Vire, Adam, 1910 * Daniel Levalet, ''De la cité des Abrincates au diocese d'Avranches. Contribution à l'étude du peuplement de la Normandie. 1)L'environnement archéologique'' annales de Normandie, vol. 29. no 1, 1979 * François de Beaurepaire, ''Les Noms des communes et anciennes paroisses de la Manche'', Paris, A. and J. Picard, 1986, pg. 253. (, OCLC 15314425) * Duncan, Jonathan (1839). ''The Dukes of Normandy from the time of King Rollo to the expulsion of King John''. Joseph Rickerby and Harvey & Darton. Geography of Manche Former provinces of France History of Normandy {{Manche-geo-stub