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Concept
Harfleur
Summary
Harfleur (aʁflœʁ) is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France.
It was the principal seaport in north-western France for six centuries, until Le Havre was built about five kilometres (three miles) downstream in the sixteenth century to take advantage of anchorages less prone to siltation. Harfleur is now on the eastern edge of Le Havre's urban area.
A light industrial town situated in the Pays de Caux by the banks of the Seine and Lézarde rivers, some east of Le Havre, at the junction of the N282, D231 and D9015 roads. Harfleur station has rail connections to Fécamp and Le Havre.
In Roman times, Harfleur was known as Caracotinum, the principal port of the ancient Calates. A Roman road led from Harfleur to Troyes. Another road that disappeared during the Hundred Years War linked Harfleur to Fécamp.
Several Merovingian sarcophagi have been unearthed at the foot of Mount Cabert.
In the Middle Ages, the town's name, Herosfloth, Harofluet or Hareflot, was still sufficiently uncorrupted to indicate its Norman origins. The suffix fleur comes from Old Norse Flöthe meaning "estuary or arm of the sea". The precise meaning of the prefix "har" is unknown.
1202 saw the granting of a town charter by King John of England.
In 1281 the expansion of the port of Harfleur began.
At the beginning of the 14th century, Harfleur saw the setting-up of a Spanish (from the Aragonese Crown) and Portuguese merchants association.
1341–1361 saw the building of the city walls, pierced by three gates (Porte d'Eure, Porte de Rouen and Montivilliers Gate). These were restored in the 15th century after the destruction caused during the Hundred Years War.
For six centuries, Harfleur was the principal seaport of north-western France. In 1415, it was captured by Henry V of England, an event explicitly mentioned in a popular song of the day, the Agincourt Carol. Sir John Fastolf of Caister Castle Norfolk (1380–1459) later claimed to have been 'the first man over the side' of the boat when the English landed outside the town; and he certainly played a part in the siege, being invalided home afterwards.
Official source
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