Population (2006) 425 Local time Saturday 5:36 AM | Region Normandy Canton Saint-Sauveur-Lendelin Area 11.98 km² | |
 | ||
Intercommunality Communauté de communes du canton de Saint-Sauveur-Lendelin Weather 9°C, Wind W at 34 km/h, 97% Humidity | ||
Hauteville-la-Guichard is a commune in the Manche department in Normandy in north-western France (population: 425 in 2006).
Contents
Map of 50570 Hauteville-la-Guichard, France
It is famous as the original stronghold of the Hauteville family who made their fortunes in southern Italy and Sicily as the Norman kings of Sicily, beginning with the modest Norman seigneur Tancred of Hauteville, who is commemorated by a simple exhibit housed in the former presbytère.
Origins
The Hauteville family is said to descend from Hiallt, a Norseman who is said to have settled in the Cotentin and founded the village of Hialtus Villa (Hauteville) in 920, the later family's toponym coming from this town. From just which village of Hauteville the family drew its name is hard to identify with certainty, though modern scholarship favours Hauteville-la-Guichard.