Rollo of Normandy

Rollo (c.860 - c.932) was the founder and first ruler of the Viking principality in what soon became known as Normandy. He is also in some sources known as Robert of Normandy.

The name Rollo is a Frankish-Latin name probably taken from Scandinavian name Hrolf.

Some ancient sources, though contestedly, identify this Rollo with Hrolf Ganger (Hrolf the Walker; Old Norse: Hrólfr Rǫgnvaldsson and Gǫngu-Hrólfr, Norwegian: Gange-Rolf. The nickname of that character, be it Rollo of Normandy or not, came from being so big that no horse could carry him. He has also been called "Rollo the Gangler" in some works.

Historical evidence

Rollo was a Viking leader of contested origin. Dudo of St. Quentin, in his De moribus et actis primorum Normannorum ducum, tells of a powerful Danish nobleman at loggerheads with the king of Denmark, who then died and left his two sons, Gurim and Rollo, leaving Rollo to be expelled and Gurim killed. William of Jumièges also mentions Rollo's prehistory in his Gesta Normannorum Ducum however he states that he was from the Danish town of Fakse. Wace, writing some 300 years after the event in his Roman de Rou, also mentions the two brothers (as Rou and Garin), as does the Orkneyinga Saga.

Norwegian and Icelandic sources however state that he came from Norway, the son of Ragnvald, Earl of Moer; sagas mention a Hrolf, son of Ragnvald jarl of Moer. The oldest source of this version is the latin Historia Norvegiae, written in Norway at the end of the 12th century. This Hrolf fell foul of the Norwegian king, Harald Fairhair and left Norway with a viking war-band, arriving in France via the British Isles. However, the latinization Rollo has in no other known instance been applied to a Hrolf, and in the texts which speak of him, numerous latinized Hrolfs are included.

The matter of Rollo's Norwegian or Danish origins was a matter of heated dispute between Norwegian and Danish historians of the 19th and early 20th century, particularly in the run-up to Normandy's 1000-year-anniversary in 1911. Today, historians still disagree on this question, but most would now agree that a certain conclusion can never be reached.

Invasion of France

In 885, Rollo was one of the lesser leaders of the Viking fleet which besieged Paris under Sigfred. In 886, when Sigfred retreated in return for tribute, Rollo stayed behind and was eventually bought off and sent to harry Burgundy.

Later, he returned to the Seine with his followers (known as Norse, or Northmen). He invaded the area of northern France now known as Normandy.

Unlike most Vikings whose intentions were to plunder Frankish lands, Rollo's true intentions were to look for lands to settle. Upon arrival in France, and after many battles with the Vikings, the French King Charles the Simple understood that he could no longer hold back their advances, and decided as a tempory measure to give Rollo land around Rouen under the condition that he would convert to Christianity and defend the Seine River from other raiding Vikings.

In the Treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte (911) with King Charles, Rollo pledged feudal allegiance to the king, changed his name to the Frankish version, and converted to Christianity, probably with the baptismal name Robert. In return, and in admission of defeat, King Charles granted Rollo the lower Seine area (today's upper Normandy) and the titular rulership of Normandy, centred around the city of Rouen. There exists some argument among historians as to whether Rollo was a "duke" (dux) or whether his position was equivalent to that of a "count" under Charlemagne. According to legend, when required, in conformity with general usage, to kiss the foot of King Charles, he refused to stoop to what he considered so great a degradation; yet as the homage could not be dispensed with, he ordered one of his warriors to perform it for him. The latter, as proud as his chief, instead of stooping to the royal foot, raised it so high, that the King fell to the ground.

Settlement

Rollo stayed true to his word of defending the shores of the Seine river in accordance to the Treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte, but in time he and his followers had very different ideas. Rollo began to divide the land between the Epte and Risle rivers among his chieftains and settled there with a de facto capital in Rouen. With these settlements, Rollo began to further raid other Frankish lands, now from the security of a settled homeland, rather than a mobile fleet. Eventually, however, Rollo's men intermarried with the local women, and became more settled as Frenchmen. At the time of his death, Rollo's expansion of his territory had extended as far west as the Vire River.

Death

Sometime around 927, Rollo passed the fief in Normandy to his son, William Longsword. Rollo may have lived for a few years after that, but certainly died before 933. According to the historian Adhemar, 'As Rollo's death drew near, he went mad and had a hundred Christian prisoners beheaded in front of him in honour of the gods whom he had worshipped, and in the end distributed a hundred pounds of gold around the churches in honour of the true god in whose name he had accepted baptism.' Even though Rollo had converted to Christianity, some of his pagan roots surfaced at the end.

Legacy

If genealogical information from Middle Ages is true, Rollo is a direct ancestor of William the Conqueror. Through William, he is a direct ancestor and predecessor of the present-day British royal family, including Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

The "Clameur de Haro" in the Channel Islands is, supposedly, an appeal to Rollo.

Genealogy

References and external links

D.C. Douglas, "Rollo of Normandy", English Historical Review, Vol. 57 (1942), pp. 414-436
Robert Helmerichs, as Historical Figure
Rosamond McKitterick, The Frankish Kingdom under the Carolingians, 751-987, (Longman) 1983
Dudonis gesta Normannorum - Dudo of St. Quentin Gesta Normannorum latin version at Bibliotheca Augustana
Dudo of St. Quentin's Gesta Normannorum - An English Translation
Gwyn Jones. Second edition: A History of the Vikings. Oxford University Press. (1984).
William W. Fitzhugh and Elizabeth Ward. Vikings: The North Atlantic Saga. Smithsonian Institute Press. (2000)
Eric Christiansen. The Norsemen in the Viking Age. Blackwell Publishers Ltd. (2002)
Agnus Konstam. Historical Atlas of the Viking World. Checkmark Books. (2002)
Holgar Arbman. Ancient People and Places: The Vikings. Thames and Husdson. (1961)
Eric Oxenstierna. The Norsemen, New York Graphics Society Publishers, Ltd. (1965)

Preceded by:
—

Fiefholder of Normandy

Succeeded by:
William I

860 births | 932 deaths | Dukes of Normandy | Viking Age

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