Memorial of the Mora of Barfleur, Memorial in Barfleur, Normandy, France
The Mémorial du Mora de Barfleur is a memorial set on a large rock near the SNSM slipway at the port of Barfleur, in Normandy, France. A bronze medallion fixed to the rock marks the departure of William the Conqueror's fleet across the English Channel in 1066.
According to local tradition, the Mora was the ship steered by a sailor named Étienne to carry William the Conqueror to England in 1066. The bronze medallion was placed on the rock in 1966 to mark 900 years since that crossing.
The memorial sits right along the harbor edge in Barfleur and is easy to reach on foot while walking the waterfront. The rock and its bronze medallion are in the open air, so footing can be slippery in wet weather.
In 2011, the Monnaie de Paris struck an official medal bearing the image of the harbor medallion, giving this modest rock-mounted plaque a form of national recognition. A poem by the Norman writer Côtis-Capel also names the Mora, comparing the sound of the word to the cry of seabirds flying into the wind.
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