Brix () is a commune in the Manche department in Normandy in northwestern France.
History The origin of the name derives from the Gaulish root brut-.François de Beaurepaire, Les noms des communes et anciennes paroisses de la Manche, éditions Picard 1986.
Brix is known primarily as being the assumed origin of the Bruce family, which emigrated to Britain in the Middle Ages and settled in northern England and then southern Scotland. The family became a royal house with the accession of Robert the Bruce in 1306.
The ruins of the castle of Brix are located near the village.
Population
Sights A family known variously as Bruis, Brus, Bruz is said to be responsible for the Adam Castle, the oldest monument in Brix.There is no evidence, other than unreliable late medieval sources, like the Battle Abbey Roll, to support a claim that another member of the family, Robert de Brix or de Brus, served under William the Conqueror at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. (See: Emma Cownie, 2004, "Brus, Robert de (supp. d. 1094)" Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford, Oxford University Press.) Very little remains of the castle.
The main square of Brix is called Place Robert Bruce. Many prominent members of the family mentioned above were named "Robert", including: Robert de Brus (1078–1138), the first member of the family known to have resided in Britain, and his descendant Robert the Bruce (1274–1329), also known as Robert I, King of Scotland.
Events On the first weekend of October, the commune holds the St. Denis Fair, a tradition of the Cotentin.
See also Communes of the Manche department
References
External links
Brix on the Quid web site