William the Conqueror:
The Normandy Touring Game Created by Savvy Mom Ruth Paget
Introduction
I
chose the name William the Conqueror for this game, because he was the French
noble who invaded today’s UK in 1066 and made himself King of England.
The
French language became the language of:
-the
royal family
-the
local nobility, who displaced local Anglo-Saxon nobility (There are vestiges of
the problems this caused in the tale of Robin Hood.)
-the
tax collectors
-the
courts
-all
trade officials, including customs
-high
culture creators (the wealthy art patrons spoke, read, and wrote in French)
Even
Shakespeare sprinkled French here and there as in the play Julius Caesar when
the assassinated Julius Caesar asks his dear friend with his last breath, “Et
tu, Brutus?”
William
the Conqueror launched the invasion on the UK from Normandy. I have listed the two most famous Norman
sites below as well as the two most famous American D-Day Invasion sites for
Americans.
Sites in Western
Normandy to Visit
Bayeux
The
Reine Mathilda Museum (Wife of William the Conqueror) houses the 11th
century Bayeux Tapestry that depicts the Norman Invasion of England in 1066 by
William the Conqueror, who would become the King of England.
Omaha Beach Museum
The
new, private Omaha Beach Museum in Vierville-sur-Mer documents the entire D-Day
invasion for the American contingent of troops.
(There
are other museums throughout Normandy that document the Canadian and English
contributions to the liberation of Europe during World War II.
I
will write about the Canadian Monument to the D-Day Liberation in a later blog
on Savvy Mom Ruth Paget.)
Arromanches-les-Bains
Arromanches
should be on every engineer’s “to visit” list in France.
The
Mulberry Harbours were developed by the British as artificial ports that
allowed the allies to move 9,000 tons of materials per day from ship-to-shore
to win the war – World War II.
Caen
Caen
is the home of William the Conqueror’s tomb at the Abbaye-aux-Hommes. Queen Mathilda is buried across town at the
Abbaye-aux-Dames
The
Château de Caen dates from about 1060.
It is a good spot to take photos. Many restaurants surround the Château.
Caen’s Food Specialty
The
food specialty of Caen is tripes à la Caen – stewed beef tripe with carrots,
onions, leeks, peppercorns, and cider.
Apples
grow in Normandy, so I would drink apple cider with the tripe and a Calvados
apple brandy after the meal.
These
are all interesting places to visit outside of Mont Saint Michel. Hotel concierges can arrange bus tours to
Mont Saint Michel as well as for lunches of the famous omelets served there.
By
Ruth Paget, author of Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France
Click here for: Ruth Paget's Amazon Books
Click here for: Ruth Paget's Amazon Books
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