Rue is situated 15 miles (24 km) north of Abbeville.
First known in the 9th century, when Vikings, from Rye, Denmark (pronounced "Ru"), first settled here. At that time it would have been little more than a group of huts in the marshes.
Positioned in a meander of the River Maye, Rue was a thriving port until the 14th century when the silting up of the Bay put an end to trade.
The capital of Marquenterre and fortified by the granting of a town charter it became important and wealthy and was fought over between the French and the Anglo-Burgundians.