Bertheville was one of the first places taken by the Normans, by whom
the appellation was changed to Dyppe or Dieppe, a word which in their
language is said to signify a good anchorage. Other writers[9], however,
treat the whole of the early chronicle of Dieppe as a fiction, and
maintain, that even at the beginning of the XIth century the town had no
existence, and the place was only known as the port of Arques, within
whose territory it was comprehended; nor was it till the end of the same
century that the inhabitants of Arques were, partly from the convenience
of the fisheries, and partly from the advantages of the salt trade,
induced to form this settlement. Whatever date may be assigned to the
foundation of Dieppe, it is frequently contended that William the
Conqueror embarked here for the invasion of England, and it seems
undoubted that he sailed hence for his new kingdom in the next year,
agreeably to the following passage from Ordericus Vitalis, (p. 509) by
which you will observe, that the river had at that time the same name as
the town, "Deinde sexta nocte Decembris ad ostium amnis Deppae ultra
oppidtim Archas accessit, primaque vigilia gelidae noctis Austro vela
dedit, et mane portum oppositi littoris, (quem Vvicenesium vocitant)
prospero cursu arripuit.
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