The man known to history as Rollo of Normandy
was born in the mid-9th century, potentially in the year 860 AD. He was a Viking from the region of Scandinavia
and later the founder and first ruler of the Duchy of Normandy. Rollo has also been called Rolf, Rou*, Rollon*
in French and Hrólfr* in Old Norse. His father was possibly Rognvald* Eysteinsson*,
the founding Jarl*, or Earl, of Møre* - a county at the northern tip of Western Norway. Rognvald*, known as Rognvald* the Wise and
Rognvald* the powerful, was a close relative and ally of King Harald Fairhair, the earliest
known King of Norway. Rognvald* makes a brief appearance in the
Norse Sagas which are prose stories and histories from Iceland and Scandinavia that often told
of Viking voyages, migrations and family feuds. But little accurate information is known about
Rognvald’s* life, especially as the Sagas were prone to exaggeration, contradiction
and outright myth-making. It was said that Rognvald* played a role in
the founding of the Norse Earldom of Orkney and led raids on towns on the Scottish mainland
and Ireland from there. But, as with the information on the rest of
his life, there is only very limited evidence to support this claim. It should also be noted that Jarl* Rognvald*
Eysteinsson* may not have even been Rollo’s father. Alternative written documents by French chroniclers
Dudo Saint-Quentin* and monk Richer* of Rheims* claimed that Rollo’s father was actually
named Ketill, and was possibly Ketill Flatnose, King of the Isles - a Norse realm in the Western
Isles of Scotland. This claim is based on the identification
of Rollo’s brother, Gurim*, who was given the patronymic Grím* after Ketill Flatnose’s
father, Björn* Grímsson*. Equally, both Rollo and Ketill had ancestors
from Møre* in Western Norway, however, these accounts were written a century after Rollo
had lived and, in the case of Dudo, under the commission of Rollo’s grandson, Richard
I of Normandy. Rollo’s mother was a Scandinavian noblewoman
named Hildr* Hrólfsdóttir*. But this parental claim relies on a single
piece of evidence from the family history commissioned by Richard I of Normandy. However, Rollo’s Norse name, Hrólfr*, could
have potentially been a name passed down through the maternal side of his family. According to the sagas - the largest pieces
of written evidence available to us - Hildr* was the daughter of Rolv* Nefia*, or Hrólfr*
Nefja*, Jarl* of Trondhjem* in Norway. In the Orkneyinga* Saga, the daughter of Rolv*
Nefia* is called Ragnhild*, although in other sagas she is Hildr*. In the sagas, a dispute is noted between King
Harald Fairhair of Norway and Rollo’s family. During this conflict Rollo’s disputed father,
likely Jarl* Rognvald* Eysteinsson*, is killed, along with his brother Gurim*. Rollo is spared execution and forced into
exile after his mother, Hildr*, appealed for clemency for her son. At this time Hildr* composed a skaldic* stanza,
a type of medieval Scandinavian poetry, which is one of few examples composed by a woman
that survived to the present. It is also why we today know her name. It was said that after his mother had failed
to win him a full pardon, Rollo was forced to leave Norway, or perhaps Denmark, as the
historic record is also not clear on where he came from. He then wandered the North Sea in exile, staying
perhaps in Orkney. As with Rollo’s parentage, there is little
concrete information about much of his early life. The chroniclers who wrote about him lived
many years after his death and their records were often written to bolster the Norman dynasty
he founded, rather than to record things as they actually happened. The question of where in Scandinavia Rollo
was from is a good example of the contradictions historians face when they try to understand
him. Chronicler Dudo Saint-Quentin* and the main
source for later chroniclers William of Jumièges*, after 1066 as well as Orderic* Vitalis*, in
the early 12th century all recorded that Rollo was from Denmark. Though later chroniclers - such as Geoffrey
Malaterra, an 11th-century Benedictine monk and historian, and 12th-century English historian
William of Malmesbury - stated that he was from Norway. To complicate matters further, Icelandic historian
Snorre* Sturlason* stated that Rollo was Hrólf* the Walker - a man made into myth in the 13th-century
Icelandic Heimskringla* sagas about Swedish and Norwegian kings as well as in the Orkneyinga*
Saga. Hrólf* the Walker was said to be from late
9th-century Møre* in Norway and was born to Jarl* Rognvald* Eysteinsson* and noblewoman
Hildr* Hrólfsdóttir*, as Rollo was. Hrólf* the Walker was given his epithet because
he was apparently so big that no horse could carry him, so he spent his time walking everywhere. But the claims that Rollo was Hrólf* the
Walker were made well after Rollo’s lifetime and even three centuries after the history
commissioned by his own grandson.A genetic investigation in 2016 looked at the remains
of Rollo's grandson, Richard the Fearless, and his great-grandson Richard the Good, in
an attempt to identify Rollo’s origins. But the remains in both graves were found
to predate Rollo and were not related to him. The Norwegian archaeologists that undertook
the investigation suggested that the two bodies they found in the tomb had been moved there
to replace those of Richard I and Richard II to protect them from graverobbers. This investigation, like the sagas and chronicles
before it, failed to identify Rollo’s origins. With little reliable information available,
the identity of Rollo’s parents, as well as his birthdate and birthplace remain somewhat
uncertain. One of the difficulties in identifying his
home country is that place names were used interchangeably at the time, for example “Viking”,
“Northmen”, “Swedes”, “Danes”, and “Norwegians” would have all been used
to refer to the general region of Scandinavia and the various people that lived there. The distinctions and national borders between
Denmark, Norway and Sweden that exist today, did not exist in the same way at the time
when Rollo lived. If we presume, however, that Rollo was the
son of Rognvald* Eysteinsson*, then he would have been one of six brothers. His elder brothers, Hallad, Einarr* and Hrollaug*,
were born out of wedlock to concubines and were already grown up by the time that the
younger, legitimate sons were born. The younger sons were Ivar, Hrólfr*, thought
to be Rollo and Thorir* the silent. It is the Norse Sagas that identify Hrólfr*
as Rollo, though these sagas are slightly problematic sources as they were written well
after Rollo’s death and generally favoured the sensational over the factual. The Norse Sagas often sought to draw connections
between famous people and bolster dubious familial claims, rather than note genuine
family relations and histories. However, in the case of Rollo, Scottish and
Irish accounts from the time do support the claim that Rollo was Hrólfr*, son of Rognvald
Eysteinsson*. It is known that Rollo followed the Old Norse
Religion, known to its Christian neighbours as Norse Paganism. The Old Norse Religion was polytheistic - the
most famous of its many gods were Odin and Thor, but two sets of gods and goddesses existed,
the Æsir* and the Vanir*, who fought against each other in an ancient battle before agreeing
that they were equally powerful. The world of the Old Norse Religion also contained
other mythological races including dwarves, giants, elves and spirits of nature, which
all existed around the world tree, the Yggdrasil*. As the Old Norse Religion was part of an oral
culture, rather than a written one, it involved a lot of ritual activity. Kings and chiefs played a key role in the
practice of the religion, including leading public acts of sacrifice in cult houses or
sacred outdoor spaces like groves and lakes. Two centuries after Rollo had lived, the Old
Norse Religion had been replaced by Christianity, though elements of Scandinavian folklore survived. The Viking world into which Rollo was born
was one that was expanding. The Vikings of Norway, Denmark and Sweden
had traded, raided and settled throughout parts of Europe between the late 8th century
and the late 11th century. They travelled as far apart as the Mediterranean,
the Black Sea, the Middle East, North Africa and North America. The Vikings had a profound impact on the early
medieval history of many of the places they went, including Scandinavia, the British Isles,
France and Kievan Rus', a state which encompassed East Slavic, Norse and Finnic peoples and
covered parts of modern Ukraine, Belarus and Russia. This was the Viking Age. The Vikings were expert sailors and navigators
and dominated the waterways of Europe. Their distinctive longships were perfect for
river navigation as well as long-distance exploration across the Atlantic. The flexible design of the Viking longships
allowed them to be used both for raiding and campaigning and for long-distance trade, exploration
and colonisation. Generally speaking, these ships were long
and thin, with symmetrical ends. They were made with overlapping planks according
to the clinker boat-building method which originated in Scandinavia and spread across
the North Sea to Britain. Their design often favoured speed over load-capacity
and were generally built for coastal water sailing, rather than open water sailing. But this didn’t restrict the Vikings to
the waters of the North Sea. They voyaged to distant locations to participate
in the trade of exotic goods and to the very edges of the known world. Trade with Byzantium, the Eastern Roman Empire
located around present-day Istanbul and Arabia proved especially fruitful. Byzantine silverware, garnet from India and
Sri Lanka, Islamic coins and even a gold Buddha statue are just some of the exotic goods found
in graves across Scandinavia and Viking Britain. There is also archaeological evidence that
the Vikings reached Baghdad, the centre of the Islamic Empire and trade hub of the lucrative
Silk Road. Silk that must have made its way to the Near
East from China before being carried across Europe by the Vikings, appears in graves across
the Viking world. The Vikings regularly plied the Volga River
with their own trade goods too: furs, tusks, seal fat for boat sealant, and the slaves
they captured from raiding. As an exceptionally mobile people, the Vikings
were more cultural and ethnically mixed than we might think. The movement of people and the tendency of
Viking men to take foreign, and often multiple wives influenced the genetic and historical
development of both Scandinavia and the East. Foreign cultural influences, from styles of
dress to desirable status goods, highlighted the connections between Scandinavia and the
East. Exotic jewellery, carnelian beads from India
and Chinese silks began being worn by Viking noblewomen and the fashion trickled down to
the lower levels of society too. The most culturally mixed places in the Viking
world were its trade ports. There were many important trading ports, in
particular Birka Island in Sweden. Birka was a melting pot of exotic goods, foreign
coins and peoples from across the world. Viking Birka was Sweden’s oldest town and
had a population of between 500 and 1,000 people, with over 2,000 graves, and many more
unmarked ones from this period found in its graveyard. The Viking Age of migration, trade and wealth
ushered in the start of real urbanisation across Scandinavia. The discovery of goods in Birka from the Middle
East emphasises the vast, lucrative trade networks developed by the Vikings. Eastern textiles, an “Allah ring” featuring
an inscription in Arabic with the word Allah, and Dirham coins from al-Shah, modern-day
Tashkent in Uzbekistan, among many other goods, have all been found here. Birka was abandoned around 975 when Sigtuna,
a Christian town, was founded just 35 km to the northeast of the island city. Other important Viking trading ports included
Hedeby*, a village in modern-day Denmark on the Jutland peninsula, and Kaupang*, meaning
market-place, which was the first market town in Norway, near modern Oslo. There were also thriving Viking trading bases
outside of Scandinavia, such as Jorvik*, modern-day York in England, Staraya* Ladoga* on the Volkhov*
River, around 100 miles from modern St Petersburg and Novgorod*, the old capital of Kievan Rus'. The Viking trading network which spread across
the waterways of Europe and beyond was even vaster than the raiding one for which the
Vikings were to be better known. The versatility of the Viking longships made
them suited for raiding, as well as trading and exploration. The speed, shallow draft, manoeuvrability
and light-weight design in particular were essential to Viking raiding strategies. The success of Viking raids relied heavily
on the element of surprise and on speed. Given that the same ships were used for raiding
and trading, especially early in the Viking period, it would have been impossible for
the inhabitants to tell if the approaching Vikings were traders or had come with a bloodier
purpose. Thi important element of surprise restricted
any possibility for defences to be called - just as with the infamous raid on the religious
site of Lindisfarne in Northumbria, northern England, in 793 AD. Vikings had been travelling and trading along
the English and Scottish coastline for many years before they turned their minds to the
greater profits that raiding offered. The Vikings did not restrict their raiding
to wealthy monasteries on the English coast alone. Raids occurred on the coasts, internal waterways
and sea-facing towns of Ireland, England, Scotland, Francia, in the Rhineland, and what
was to become the Holy Roman Empire and the eastern territories between the Baltic and
Black seas, including the Rus'. Evidence suggests Viking raiding routes even
reached Spain, round into the Mediterranean and beyond Europe into the Middle East. In particular the Frankish city of Rouen and
the affluent monasteries along the River Seine were targeted repeatedly. The reputation of the Vikings as fearsome
and skilled warriors spread along the trade routes they had developed to Byzantium, now
Istanbul. As early as 839, Swedish emissaries are known
to have visited Byzantium. Not long after, Scandinavians started to serve
the Byzantine Empire as mercenaries in such large numbers that by the late 10th century
a new unit - called the Varangian Guard was formed and traditionally contained a large
number of Scandinavians. This offer of employment in the Varangian
Guard drew so many Swedish men that a new law had to be passed to limit this loss of
manpower - the Västgötalagen* Law stated that any man staying in “Greece”, the
term used in Scandinavia to refer to the Byzantine Empire could not inherit. This drain was made worse by the heavy recruitment
from two other European courts - the Kievan Rus' between 980 and 1060 and England from
around 1013 to 1066. The Thingmen, or Assembly Retinue unit served
under the Kings of England and included a great number of Norwegians and Swedes; they
were paid via direct taxation to protect England against other Viking raiders. The Vikings proved to be effective mercenaries
across Europe. In the early Viking period, raiding and trading
was a seasonal activity and was by no means the only occupation for Viking men, many of
whom were farmers and craftsmen. Those that did raid and trade, did so in the
raiding season - that is, the warmer months of the year - when calmer weather would enable
the pillaging of the coasts along the North Sea and English Channel and trading across
much of Europe and into the Middle East. Then they would return to Scandinavia for
the winter months when bad weather made sailing inadvisable. But the seasonal interactions with the coasts
of England, Scotland, Ireland and France were to become something much more permanent as,
later in the period, the Vikings chose to settle more permanently in some of the places
they raided. The late 9th century - around the time that
Rollo was born - saw the rise of the largest Viking settlement outside of Scandinavia - the
Danelaw in northern and eastern England. The invasion of the Great Heathen Army - or
so English chronicles called the Viking force - into England ended in a peace in which Viking
control was solidified in the region which became known as the Danelaw, with its centre
in Jorvik*, now York. This region experienced increased Scandinavian
settlement and a combining of the two cultures and languages, resulting in an Anglo-Norse
dialect that is still evident in place names in the north of England today. As the population in Scandinavia increased,
Viking warriors increasingly sought to move to the nearby British Isles where they had
once sought glory and treasure to now take up more peaceful pastimes such as farming
and settle there permanently. Viking navigators voyaged north from the English
coast and began opening up new lands, resulting in settlements in the Shetland, Orkney and
Faroe Islands, Iceland, Greenland, and, for a short while, Newfoundland. The Vikings were the first Europeans to reach
North America when they briefly settled in Newfoundland - which they called Vinland - around
the year 1000. Viking settlements were also established along
the important waterways of Eastern Europe, including near the Dnieper River - an important
trade route which connected Scandinavia, Kievan Rus' and the Eastern Roman Empire – as well
as the Volga River, which crossed modern-day Russia, Belarus and Ukraine. In this region, the Viking Rurik* dynasty
ruled Kievan Rus' from 862 to 1598, when they were replaced, after the Time of Troubles,
with the Romanov Dynasty in Russia. They took control of territories in Slavic
and Finnic-dominated areas of Eastern Europe and annexed Kiev in 882 to serve as the capital
of the Kievan Rus'. The Age of Viking Expansion had a long-lasting
legacy. From these Viking colonies, connections and
settlements many later communities and groups emerged, from the Normans of Normandy and
England, and the Norse-Gaels of Scotland and Ireland, to the Rus people, and islanders
like the Faroese and Icelanders. The ruling groups, as well as the general
population, of many of these countries, such as the current royal family of Great Britain
or the Romanovs of Russia, were descended from these Viking settlers and invaders. During the Viking Age in which Rollo lived,
the present-day nations of Norway, Denmark and Sweden did not exist. The general Scandinavian region was loosely
united through its similarities in culture and language, but no real geographical distinctions
were made. This is one of the reasons why it is difficult
to tell exactly where individual Vikings like Rollo were born. Through the Viking period the Norse homelands
were gradually consolidated and larger entities replaced the small, often ill-defined, kingdoms. The names of these Scandinavian kings are
only reliably known towards the end of the Viking period. And it was only after the Viking Age had come
to an end that the separate kingdoms of Norway, Denmark and Sweden gradually acquired distinct
identities as nations - a process that occurred at the same time as Christianisation. The Christianisation of Europe, which had
begun under the Roman Empire, was still underway during Rollo’s lifetime. The powerhouse behind the Christianisation
of the Vikings in particular was Francia, France. France had been united, somewhat briefly,
under Emperor Charlemagne as part of his wider Carolingian Empire, before it was divided
again between his sons upon his death in 814. During Rollo’s time, the Kingdom of West
Francia controlled much of the geographical territory of modern-day France. Though the eastern territories of Lorraine,
the Kingdom of Burgundy, Alsace and Provence, and also Brittany in the west, remained just
outside West Francia’s sphere of influence. After the impressive power and influence of
Charlemagne, who had been crowned Emperor of the First Holy Roman Empire by Pope Leo
in 800, the authority of the West Frankish monarchs was hugely restricted in comparison. This was partly due to the growing power of
their vassals, who ruled over vast fiefdoms. The power vacuum left by weak royal authority
meant wars between the fiefs were rampant, as were conflicts between the vassals and
the Frankish monarchs themselves. The period was also marked by endless Viking
raids and clashes between the West Franks and the Norsemen, which eventually resulted
in the creation of Normandy, meaning Men of the North in 911. Viking raids in West Francia began in 820,
especially in the Seine Valley region, and continued regularly until peace was signed
between Rollo and King Charles the Simple of West Francia in 911. It is believed that the first Viking raids
along the River Seine in northern France occurred around 820. Thirteen ships reached the Seine bay, where
a force of Vikings landed but, having to face the unexpected shore guard, were forced to
re-embark, leaving five of their number dead on the bank of the Seine. In 841 a better prepared Viking fleet sailed
up the Seine and captured and burned the city of Rouen on the 14th of May. The Viking in charge of this fleet - Asgeir*
- continued to plunder down the Seine, bringing home an enormous amount of loot, in particular
from the raid on the rich Jumiège* monastery on the 24th May and from the ransom paid on
the 28th of May for the freeing of the nearby monastery of Fontenelle* and sixty-eight captives. Paris itself was besieged on the 28th of March
845, this time by a fleet led by Viking chieftain Reginherus*. This huge 120-ship fleet carried around 6,000
men up the Seine and successfully forced King Charles the Bald of France to pay 7,000 livres,
the currency of West Francia at the time in return for Paris to be spared. But this payment did not bring an end to the
Viking raids. In 851 Asgeir* and his men were back on the
Seine, this time to devastate the monastery of Fontenelle*. Once they returned there again eighty-nine
days later they reportedly found nothing left to plunder, and so burned it down. The next year, Asgeir* and his force raided
on foot in the area of Flanders from their base in Rouen. In the face of the Frankish army, they had
to overwinter on Jeufosse* island, from where they controlled the important entrance to
the Seine and the Frankish interior. By 853, new groups of Vikings, mainly Norwegians
led by Sigtrygg* and Godfrid, began sailing up the Seine and establishing their own bases. The Frankish army of Charles the Bald was
forced to engage his forces and, where this failed, negotiate with the Vikings. Significant Viking attacks on Paris and on
wealthy monasteries in the Seine Valley occurred in 853, 855, 857 and 859. Indeed by 858 the raids in Francia had become
so lucrative that famous Viking leaders Björn* Ironside, allegedly the son of Ragnar Lothbrok
and his queen Aslaug* and Hastein*, also known as Hasting attacked the region just before
or following a famous raiding expedition in the Mediterranean. The year 859 saw a redoubling of Viking efforts
when Charles the Bald was distracted by a struggle over territory with his half-brother,
Louis the German, ruler of East Francia. Taking advantage of the internal turmoil of
their enemies, a common Viking tactic used in England as well as in France, the Vikings
attacked far from their bases, reaching Bayeux*, Laon* and Beauvais*, where bishops were executed
and monasteries plundered. In the year of 860 - the believed year of
Rollo’s birth - King Charles the Bald gave the order to build fortified bridges across
the Seine and Loire* Rivers to protect Paris and the Frankish heartland against Viking
raids. He also hired the services of Weland*, a Viking
chieftain based on the Somme, to attack the Seine Vikings. Weland* besieged the Vikings, but accepted
a huge bribe of 6,000 pounds of silver to let them escape. In the summer of 860 the Seine Viking chieftains
Hastein* and Björn* Ironside ravaged upstream as far as Italy. They sailed up the River Arno to sack the
cities of Pisa and Fiesole* in Tuscany. At the same time, Viking raiders led by Weland*
sailed to England and attacked Winchester, the capital of Wessex, and then set it ablaze. Weland* and his warriors then moved even further
inland before being defeated by West Saxon forces. Back in West Francia, King Charles the Bald
ordered local ruler Robert the Strong of Neustria* to attack Weland* and his Vikings, who then
submitted to Charles and were forced to accept Christianity and be baptised. A tribute, called Danegeld*, was raised as
a tax and paid to stop Viking raiding in Neustria*. This pattern of military submission, payment
and baptism was used throughout Rollo’s lifetime in an attempt to control the Vikings
in West Francia. But Viking raids in West Francia continued,
with some Viking leaders establishing short-lived settlements, though it was not until Rollo
and the establishment of Normandy that a permanent Viking settlement was created in France. What Rollo did before the establishment of
Normandy is an historical mystery. There is a particularly large gap in the historical
record between Rollo’s mostly unknown childhood and the first report of him taking up the
Viking raiding tradition. The earliest reference to Rollo comes from
876 when 100 ships sailed up the Seine to lay waste to the region, likely led or co-led
by Rollo. Norman historian Dudo of Saint-Quentin*, who
wrote his History of the Normans around 986 stated that Rollo had seized Rouen in 876. This claim is supported by another chronicler,
Flodoard*, who records that Robert, the ruler of the Breton March buffer between France
and the Vikings, waged a campaign against the Vikings which nearly levelled Rouen and
other nearby settlements. In the end, several coastal provinces in the
region were ceded to Rollo and the Vikings, including Bayeux*. Chronicler Dudo recorded that while ruling
Bayeux*, Rollo carried off the daughter of the Count of Rennes*, a beautiful woman named
Poppa. Although her parentage is debated, it is possible
that she was the daughter of Count Berengar* II of Neustria*, who was captured by Rollo. It is possible though that this claim of Poppa’s
significant parentage was perhaps invented by Dudo to legitimise the lineage of their
son, William I Longsword. Poppa remained the wife more danico - a medieval
Latin expression meaning “according to Danish custom” – and as Rollo subsequently married
Gisela of France, doubt is cast on the claim that Poppa was from a powerful Christian noble
family as they would have insisted on a legal, monogamous marriage. It seems more likely that Poppa was actually
of common origin, perhaps taken from a country where Rollo had traded or raided or from Bayeux*
itself. Not content with Bayeux* and the other coastal
provinces won in 876, Rollo continued raiding across the Seine Valley. In the 885-886 siege of Paris, it was said
that Rollo took part in leading the Viking raiders, before they were pushed back by Count
Odo of Paris. Then in 911, a group of Vikings led by Rollo
besieged Paris again and also the city of Chartres*, south-west of Paris. A resounding victory at Chartres* on the 26th
August forced King Charles the Simple of France to negotiate with Rollo. After consulting with his trusted advisers,
Charles acknowledged that the only way to stop the Viking raids, other than the age-old
tactic of paying them, known as the Danegeld, was to turn Rollo from enemy into ally. Charles sent the Archbishop of Rouen to Rollo
to present him with an offer of land in return for his sworn loyalty to Charles. The land offered in what is today Normandy
was neglected and, at the time, unprofitable. But Rollo consulted with his Danish chiefs
who encouraged him to see the value in the land that, though currently desolate, had
the potential to become more affluent. Rollo decided to accept Charles’ proposal. The deal also included the caveat that Rollo
should accept a Christian baptism and marry Charles’ daughter Gisela. But when the day of the baptism arrived, Rollo
refused on the grounds that it would take many years to restore the health and prosperity
of the land he had been offered. Again Charles’ counsellors encouraged him
to make the deal at all costs in order to protect the kingdom of West Francia. Now the matter of baptism also weighed into
the decision - converting a Viking pagan leader to Christianity would be an important victory
in France’s Christianising mission. Charles first offered Rollo the addition of
Flanders, but Rollo declined because the land was too marshy. Then Charles offered Brittany, an independent
Duchy that West Francia had failed to conquer but which bordered the lands already offered
to Rollo, and Rollo accepted. The date of Rollo’s baptism and marriage
to Gisela was now set. Rollo swore loyalty to Charles and ceased
raiding against West Francia in return for his promised lands. The resulting Treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte*
created the Duchy of Normandy - Rollo now controlled all of the land from the River
Epte*, which lies between Rouen and Paris and westwards to the sea, as well as the independent
Duchy of Brittany. The Treaty was to be finalised by a pledge
of fealty, a display of loyalty and respect, on Rollo’s part. He was asked to kiss the foot of King Charles
as a vassal would his king, but Rollo refused. Chronicler Dudo noted that Rollo declared:
“I will never bow my knees at the knees of any man and no man's foot will I kiss.” Instead, at the urging of the Franks, he ordered
one of his warriors to kiss the king's foot, which led to, according to Dudo a humorous
scene. The warrior immediately grasped the king's
foot and raised it to his mouth to kiss while still standing, which caused Charles to land
flat on his back to the delight of the Vikings and the horror of the Franks. After taking his oath of fealty, Rollo proceeded
to divide his lands between his chieftains, and settled his capital at Rouen. According to the deal, Rollo was baptised
in 912 and his conversion to Christianity was held up by later Christian writers as
a triumphant moment in Christian history. Rollo’s story was embellished and presented
as a case study for the victory of Christianity over paganism. If this savage, pagan Viking chief could be
brought into the light of Christianity, accept Christian virtues and bring Christian law
to the land, then the spread of Christianity into the pagan North was inevitable. But these Christian writers ignored both Rollo’s
life prior to his interactions with Charles, a problem for anyone in the present trying
to understand Rollo’s early life and the fact that he is said to have died a pagan. The question of Rollo’s marriage to Gisela
is an uncertain one. Chroniclers, such as the Norman chronicler
William of Jumieges*, do refer to Rollo having two wives: the captive Poppa taken at Bayeux*
whom Rollo married more danico, “according to Danish custom” and Gisela, his wife more
Cristiano, married “according to Christian custom”. It is believed that Rollo and Gisela married
at the time of the Treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte*, but given that her father, Charles, had only
been married in 907, Gisela was either four years old or an illegitimate child. The marriage of Gisela and Rollo is also called
into question by the fact that there are no records of a royal princess or her marriage
in Frankish sources, suggesting that Gisela may be entirely fictional. It is also suspicious that the son of Rollo
and Poppa, William Longsword, was recognised as legitimate by Christian Franks and that
he became his father’s successor. A child resulting from the legal Christian
marriage between Rollo and Gisela would have displaced William as a legitimate heir. It is clear that after Gisela died, if she
had existed, Rollo returned to his first wife, Poppa. Although the Treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte*
had created the new territorial entity of Normandy, the policy behind the agreement
was nothing new. In fact, the Treaty was simply a continuation
of a defence policy used by the Franks against the Vikings for generations. Charles the Simple knew from experience - his
own and that of his ancestors - that fighting off the Viking raiders was a fruitless strategy. In the past only paying off the Viking raiders
with Danegeld had proved anything like a positive solution for West Francia. Appeasement was the only viable path open
to Charles. The main difference between the earlier payoffs
and the Treaty of 911 was Rollo himself. Previous Viking leaders had preferred to pillage
the land and leave in a short time frame. Rollo took the Treaty seriously, honoured
his promise of loyalty to the King and stayed in Normandy to protect the people he had sworn
to protect. Equally, his promise to end Viking raids in
the region seems to have been fulfilled - there are no records of Viking raids in West Francia
after 911. Rollo quickly took up the mantle of leadership
in Normandy and set upon a policy of restoration and reformation. He imposed law and order, promoted peace and
established privileges. He restored churches that had been devastated
by Viking raids and rebuilt city walls and defences. The lands he had been given were restored
and Normandy was to thrive as a result. Rollo ruled not as a Frankish vassal but as
a Viking chief. He established a law code that resembled those
in Scandinavia at the time. In particular, he worked to reform passive
laws which suggested, rather than enforced, acceptable behaviours and morals. His new law code emphasised responsibility
and personal honour. Punishments became more severe, including
the use of the death penalty for crimes such as theft, murder, assault and fraud. A particular tale of fraud and the justice
levelled out according to Rollo’s law code highlights the changes that he made. It was said that a farmer’s wife tried to
take advantage of a law change which required farm tools be left in the field overnight
by hiding them and claiming they had been robbed. Rollo reimbursed the man for the loss of his
tools and called for trials by ordeal for the suspects of the theft. After no culprit was found, the wife was beaten
until she confessed to the fraud and, when her husband admitted he had known about the
fraud all along, both she and her husband were found guilty and hanged. The event was said to have terrified the local
inhabitants to such an extent that Normandy became a territory free from petty criminality
for the next century. Harsh punishments were also handed out to
anyone who was guilty of dishonouring Rollo’s reputation, or that of his wife - the punishment
for such a crime was execution in Rouen’s public square. Cases of false witness, or anything that wasted
the time of those working in the justice system, were hugely reduced. These examples of Viking justice seemed harsh
to the Christian bishops of the region, but it was argued that Rollo’s conversion, and
the conversion of all pagans, was a process which would take time. The mixture of Viking and Christian traditions
and culture, views of law and order and of morality was to be expected for a period of
time. In any case, no bishop could argue against
Rollo’s record of success in Normandy. His maintenance of law and order and the prosperity
he had brought to the region were undeniable. Rollo’s reign over Normandy was a success. Though later chronicles often referred to
Rollo as the first Duke of Normandy, he never actually held this title. His great-grandson, Richard II, was the real
first Duke of Normandy. Later historians have sometimes given Rollo
the title of Count, but he was never awarded this title either. Earlier historians and chroniclers called
him Chieftain Rollo, but whatever title he claimed for himself is unknown. While he lived, Rollo would have simply been
called Rollo. Rollo honoured the agreement made with Charles
the Simple and also exerted control over the Seine Vikings in order to maintain the peace. But this changed in 922 when Charles was deposed. Charles’ successor, Robert I, could not
count on Rollo’s loyalty. Rollo argued that his pledge of loyalty and
allegiance was sworn to Charles, not to his successors and especially not to Robert, who
Rollo saw as a usurper. Instead, Rollo remained loyal to Charles and
opposed Robert I’s reign. Declaring the agreement now void, Rollo took
up raiding once again, this time in a bid to expand his territory westwards and pressure
other rulers to negotiate to his benefit. The pressure proved effective. An agreement was made between Robert I and
a group of Norsemen thought to be led by Rollo, which handed over the provinces of Bessin,
a northern region in present-day Normandy and Maine, a province south of Normandy. The westward movement of Rollo’s authority
saw other settled Vikings fall under his influence, which had perhaps been King Robert’s intent. Robert’s motives behind this additional
land grant have been lost to history, but the move has been painted equally as a method
of appeasement to stop Rollo seizing more land, an attempt to restrain and Christianize
other Vikings in the region, and as a way of defending the Franks near Bayeux* against
other nearby Viking groups. After this reference to the expansion of his
territory between 922 and Robert I’s death in 923, Rollo again disappears from history. Rollo retired from ruling Normandy in 927
and was succeeded by his son, William Longsword, 927-942. It is likely that Rollo died shortly after,
around 930. The final brief mention of Rollo in the early
chronicles comes in 928, by chronicler Flodoard* and in 933 it is noted that his son, William,
inherited a third grant of land which stretched from the Cotentin* peninsula in Normandy southwards
to Rennes* in east Brittany. Rollo’s immediate successors William Longsword,
his successor and illegitimate son Richard I, also known as Richard the Fearless, and
Richard’s successor Richard II, continued to rule Normandy in the way of their ancestor
Rollo, honouring his policies which had brought Normandy prosperity, order and peace. Over time Normandy was transformed from a
neglected backwater into a formidable Duchy. The hierarchy and system of law and order
in Normandy developed in accordance with developments in France as a whole, but retained a distinct
individuality. The law code in Normandy emerged first as
ancient customary law and was transcribed in Latin in the early 13th century. Sometime between 1235 and 1245 William the
Conqueror, Rollo’s great-great-great grandson had Normandy’s law code rewritten, becoming
the second Grand Coutumier* de Normandie, the customary law code of Normandy. The earlier custom law represented a combination
of Scandinavian legal principles and Frankish law. William the Conqueror’s adaptations saw
Normandy’s law code develop into an amalgamation of royal legislation, Roman law, medieval
Frankish law and canon law. The Coutume* de Normandie was still in force
in the Channel Islands until the French Revolution in 1789. It finally ceased to be used in France in
1804 when Napoleon’s Civil Code unified the laws and customs of the French provinces
under national law. Rollo’s descendants adopted the Feudal System
in Normandy, as in the rest of France and in England after the Norman Conquest. The Feudal System codified a regimented social
and political system. In this system, rights and obligations were
enshrined and the boundaries between social classes were strengthened. The peasants were attached to the land in
serfdom. Land ownership was the right of the upper
classes - this was a Manorial System in which the peasants worked, the upper classes defended
the country and the King ruled. Under Feudalism, the Duke of Normandy paid
homage to the King of France as a vassal in return for the land of Normandy. But Normandy - like many other regions within
Medieval France - retained both its independence and its distinct culture. Prior to Rollo’s arrival in Normandy, the
people living there were mostly indistinct from those in other regions of France, such
as Picardy or Île-de-France*. The distinct identity of Normandy and the
Normans developed under Rollo’s descendants. William Longsword and Richard the Fearless
began assimilating their maternal French-Catholic culture with that of their Viking ancestors,
becoming known as the Normans of Normandy. As Vikings had done for generations, the Normans
married indigenous women to legitimise their claims to land won by conquest and took up
Christianity and the native language, resulting in a bilingual society. Norman elites would talk amongst themselves
in French but converse with others and their foreign wives in English, Italian, Spanish
or Greek. This resulted in increasing assimilation,
meaning that while the second generation of Normans was bilingual, the third was monolingual. The language spoken in Normandy became known
as Norman French - a mix of Norse and indigenous Gallo-Franks. The Normans did not restrict themselves to
Normandy. Diplomatic connections were sought after and
many young Normans left Normandy to try their luck in foreign climes and find foreign brides. Even Rollo’s daughters were married off
to important foreign elites. Rollo’s daughter with his first wife Poppa,
Gerloc*, also known as Adele or Adela, was married to William III, Count of Poitou* and
the future Duke of Aquitaine*. Another of Rollo’s daughters, Cadlinar*,
who had been born in Scotland most likely to a Scottish mother, married an Irish prince
named Beollán* mac Ciarmaic*, later King of South Brega*, which is north of Dublin. Over the two centuries following Rollo’s
death, his descendants came to the thrones of England, Ireland, Sicily and Antioch, leaving
a lasting legacy on the histories of Europe and the Near East. The Viking and Norman impact on England was
particularly significant. The last Anglo-Saxon King, Harold Godwinson,
had Danish ancestors and two Vikings even directly ascended the English throne - Sweyn*
Forkbeard from 1013 until 1014 and his son Cnut from 1016 to 1035. But it was Rollo’s great-great-great-grandson,
William the Conqueror, who most transformed England and its monarchy after the Norman
Conquest of 1066. William came to the throne after King Edward
the Confessor’s death by defeating two other claimants to the English throne: Anglo-Saxon
Harold Godwinson and the Viking Harald Hadrada. But William did have a claim to the throne
based on blood: William’s great aunt, Emma, had been King Edward the Confessor’s mother. The success of the Norman Conquest of England
was rooted in William’s military cunning - a skill passed down to him from his marauding
Viking ancestors. Upon arriving on the English coast, William
built a fortification, a strategy the Normans had developed in France, pillaged the coastline
and lured Harold Godwinson south. William’s tactical brilliance and Viking
ruthlessness led him to victory over Godwinson and England was then ruled by the Duke of
Normandy. When installed on the throne of England, William
continued to utilise the lessons from his Norman heritage - he continued the family
tradition of marrying relatives of his rivals to secure their loyalty and cooperated with
many of the existing bishops. He also built huge castles and fortifications,
as was popular in his French homeland, including the White Tower, or Tower of London. William’s castles spread across the breadth
of England and as far north as York, highlighting Norman power and permanence. Besides the landscape altered by William’s
thorough castle-building project, Norman rule in England also left a lasting legacy on English
law, land ownership and system of government. William the Conqueror’s Domesday Book surveyed
land ownership and found that the Church held 26% of the land and the rest now lay almost
entirely in Norman hands - the old Anglo-Saxon elite were replaced over time and only around
5% of the land belonged to natives. The language of the court and government was
now French. As in Normandy, the Feudal System was formalised
and social classes solidified. The magnates with titles and territory given
by the King were invited to attend royal councils - forming the prerunner of the House of Lords
- while untitled local landowners continued to run local affairs. The Normans also left their mark upon the
history of English royalty. William the Conqueror’s granddaughter Matilda
briefly reigned during a Civil War from 1141 to 1148, and her son Henry Plantagenet became
King Henry II in 1172. The current British royal family are direct
descendants of the House of Plantagenet, and therefore the House of Normandy. Another line of the House of Normandy - the
Hauteville line - conquered Sicily in 1091. The Vikings had long been involved in the
region of Italy. As early as 860 there are reports of Francia-based
Vikings reaching Iberia and what is now Italy. Chronicler Dudo reported that Vikings used
the River Arno to sack the port city of Luni in north-west Italy, Pisa and Fiesole*, north
of Florence. Viking mercenaries working for Byzantium,
the Varangians and Viking traders would have crossed the land of Italy many times. In 965 Arab Muslims had seized Sicily from
the Byzantine Empire and succession crises and conflict between regional powers in the
early 11th century left a vacuum for the Normans to fill. Norman Robert Guiscard*, then Duke of Apulia
and Calabria, was given the title of Duke of Sicily by the Pope who wanted Robert and
his brother Roger Bosso to seize the island and revert it to its Christian state. In May 1061, the Norman brothers invaded and
built the first Norman castle in Sicily - San Marco d'Alunzio*, in Messina. Continuing to learn from the regions and cultures
they conquered, the Normans in southern Italy combined Lombard, northern Italy, Byzantine
and Islamic building techniques to form the Norman-Arab architecture found in the fortifications
in the Kingdom of Sicily. The assault on Sicily continued for another
ten years until a siege on Palermo saw the city fall to the Normans on 10th January 1071. Robert, Duke of Sicily, awarded his brother
the title of Count of Sicily and partitioned the island with the aim for Roger to take
his portion by seizing the remaining Arab-held land. By February 1091 Roger had finally conquered
the entirety of Sicily and went on to conquer the island of Malta too. Latin Christianity returned to the island
of Sicily and Palermo became the capital city. The Kingdom of Sicily fell in 1194 when Holy
Roman Emperor Henry VI invaded reportedly on behalf of his wife Constance, the daughter
of Roger. But Norman influence in Sicily was not ended
in 1194 as Constance’s son - a half-Norman - was crowned King Frederick II of Sicily
in 1198 and went on to become Holy Roman Emperor in 1212, expanding the influence of the House
of Normandy even further. Around the time of the conquering of Sicily,
the Principality of Antioch near present-day Antakya in Turkey was established around 1098. This was the time of the First Crusade, 1096-1099,
a religious war in the Holy Land in which many Normans served. Many crusaders who settled in Antioch were
of Norman descent, most from the Kingdom of Sicily. A siege of Antioch in October 1097 had been
led by the son of Robert, Duke of Apulia, Calabria and Sicily - Bohemond* of Taranto. Legends of huge suffering during this winter
battle of attrition built up, including tales of crusaders being forced to eat the bodies
of the fallen to survive. After Bohemond* emerged victorious against
the Muslim army, he became the Prince of Antioch, adding to his title of Prince of Taranto,
in Italy. Bohemond* then faced a run of bad luck, including
being captured in battle, losing land to the Byzantine Empire, and Antioch being reduced
to the status of a vassal of the Byzantine Empire. But the rulership of Antioch continued to
be passed down the Norman line, from Bohemond* to his nephew Tancred* and then to Tancred’s*
son Bohemond* II, before Antioch became a tributary state of the Mongol Empire in 1260. Back in France, Rollo’s descendants survived
the turmoil of the period through a mix of old Viking strategies: ruthless military action
and the cunning ability to sense weakness in the enemy. The Normans were masters at taking advantage
of the infighting among the Frankish aristocracy - a weakness which had left them unable to
combat the Rouen Vikings’ growing determination to stay. In 987 the House of Normandy had helped appoint
King Hugh Capet* of the Capetian* dynasty to the French throne. The Capetian* dynasty lasted until 1792 with
its direct descendants ruling France across all periods except the Bonaparte Empires. The relationship between Richard I of Normandy,
Rollo’s grandson and King Hugh Capet* was similar to that between Rollo and King Charles
the Simple. Richard gave Hugh his loyalty and supported
him with military aid. Equally, Richard II of Normandy shared a deep
religious conviction with King Robert II of France and also provided him with military
aid against the Duchy of Burgundy. The Dukes of Normandy regularly married their
daughters and sisters into the French royal family and to neighbouring noblemen. Rollo’s strategy of agreeing to overlordship
by the Frankish King became more difficult for his descendants. The Dukes of Normandy swore loyalty to the
Frankish King, but in practice ruled over their territory in their own way, as Rollo
had done. But after 1066, the elevation of the House
of Normandy from duke to king, although it was of another country made the relationship
with the French crown harder to maintain. As King, William and his descendants no longer
owed allegiance to the King of France. The House of Normandy became increasingly
powerful under William’s successors, going on to rule over not only England, Ireland
and Normandy, but also the Channel Islands, Gascony and Aquitaine. Rollo’s descendants continued to rule Normandy
until 1204 when the Duchy was lost by John Lackland to the French King Philip Augustus. The title of Duke of Normandy was then seized
by the Capetian* kings and bestowed upon their own relations as the King could no longer
trust the House of Normandy. The administration of the Duchy was taken
over and the powerful fortress Château de Rouen was built to ensure compliance. An attempt by King Henry V, a descendant of
John Lackland, to reconquer Normandy brought the region temporarily back under the control
of Rollo’s direct line, but the region was lost again during the reign of his son, King
Henry VI. Norman law did continue to be used in Normandy,
especially when the barons and towns of Normandy forced the King of France to sign the Norman
Charter in 1315 which aimed to reduce the encroachment of royal power, restricted the
King’s power to create taxes there, and made the judgements of Normandy’s main court
final - though the Charter was broken several times as the French monarchy became more powerful. Rollo himself would not have envisioned the
long life Normandy would live under the rule of his direct line, as the Vikings were more
often temporary settlers. But his role in the founding of the Duchy
became more significant the longer the Normans controlled Normandy and expanded their reach
to England. The early chroniclers, like Dudo of Saint-Quentin*
and William of Jumièges*, were keen to present Rollo as the sole founder of the great dynasty
of the Normans. Dudo of Saint-Quentin* - a Frank who developed
a positive working relationship with the new rulers of Normandy and became their historian
- chronicled the lives of Norman leaders in a level of detail that had been previously
reserved for only bishops and abbots. He wrote between 995-1015 with the intention
of glorifying the early Norman leaders, including Rollo. His work was then built upon by Norman monk
William of Jumièges*, who wrote after the Norman Conquest of England in 1066 with even
more determination to celebrate the Norman dukes. Dudo and William of Jumièges* shaped the
history of the Normans, often focusing on their transformation from pagan Viking raiders
to Christian conquerors and leaders. Dudo’s narrative that Rollo had almost solely
conquered what was to become Normandy was somewhat replaced by William of Jumièges’*
incorporation of the roles of other significant Vikings, such as Björn* Ironside, and the
Danes in general, but Rollo ultimately emerged as the central hero in the story of the dynasty. Later writers have almost always relied on
the works of Dudo and William of Jumièges*, solidifying their views and interpretations
into history. As with many great Vikings, the real Rollo
was overshadowed by the legend that grew up around him. Just as Rollo has become more myth than man,
the Vikings themselves have been misremembered. Modern interpretations of the Vikings almost
always focus on their military prowess and barbarity, to the neglect of the achievements
of the Viking culture, trade and exploration. Popular conceptions of the Vikings ignore
the poetic language of Old Norse, the runic inscriptions, the intricacies of the Old Norse
religion and the works of brilliant Viking poets and historians. The Vikings had their own distinctive law
code and conceptions of morality, distinctive art and architecture. Unlike modern depictions, most Vikings were
farmers, fishermen, craftsmen and traders, not bloodthirsty raiders. The advanced and culturally mixed Viking society
shown to us by archaeology and historical sources has been flattened out in favour of
the image of savage Viking warriors wearing horned helmets, which the Vikings never wore. Where the Old Norse Religion is concerned,
interpretations have focused either on the violent aspects of the religion, such as the
wars among the gods, or upon the replacement of paganism with Christianity. The 18th and 19th centuries in particular
saw a more romanticised picture emerge, with the Vikings presented as noble savages saved
by their conversion to Christianity. Today the only moments of Viking history widely
remembered and depicted relate to conquest and raiding. British schools as a rule teach the events
of the Norman Conquest of 1066, in which the brutality of Norman William the Conqueror
is highlighted. TV series focus on warfare and family feuds. Rollo receives coverage in Vikings the TV
show, when the much-fictionalised story of the formation and defence of Normandy is told
- but as with the chroniclers who focused almost entirely on his transactions with Charles
the Simple, anything of Rollo’s earlier life is left out. The debates about Rollo’s parentage, birthplace
and early life are perhaps not questions we need answering in order to understand Rollo
and his legacy. The legacy and myths that grew up around Rollo,
and to some extent obscure him as a person, may have been exaggerated to bolster the lineage
and claims of his descendants, but his legacy - embellished or not - is what is important
about the man. That a Viking of uncertain heritage could
demand such a concession of land from a Frankish King, and then make such a permanent success
of this settlement is astonishing. Perhaps evaluating his success in Normandy
- still named the land of the Northmen -, and that of his successors, makes up for the large
historical gaps in his life story. What do you think of Rollo of Normandy? Was he merely a blood-thirsty Viking or was
he an enterprising founder of a dynasty that was to shape much of medieval Europe? Please let us know in the comment section,
and in the meantime, thank you very much for watching.
