Yvetot

Yvetot is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Haute-Normandie region in northern France.

History

The name is of Scandinavian origin (Ivetofta). The town is most likely of Scandinavian origin too. There is also a locality in Bromölla municipality in southern Sweden bearing the same name. Yvetot comes from the Frankish man’s name "Ivo", root of the modern French names Yves and Yvon, which are very common in Normandy, being adopted by the Scandinavian converts to Christianity, and "topt" (modern toft), 'farm' in Danish, found in many place-names throughout Normandy . This 'Ivo Veteris' (Yves the old, fr: Yves Le-Vieux) may have received this territory as a jarl of Rollo or his successors. These lords were often given the title king and benefited from all of the privileges of sovereignty up until 1551. One of the most popular songs of the 19th century, 'Le Roi d'Yvetot', written by the famous Béranger, helped propagate the legend of an independent state within the Duchy of Normandy and the Kingdom of France. However, it is established that, with no other allegiances since 1203, Yvetot remained a principality up until 1789, a time at which the title was held by the (now-extinct) d'Albon family.

The town’s prosperity was linked to strong commerce, developed as early as the 17th century, thanks to its fiscal statutes and to cotton spinning, which saw massive expansion after 1794. In the 19th century, the town developed fabric...
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