Duke of Normandy

by Griff Hosker

  I stood and held my arm out. The King looked confused and two of his lords helped him to his feet. He put a hand out. It was soft and perfumed. I clasped his arm. “I will be baptised, by Padraig, my priest. I will rule the land of Normandy for you and I will care for all the people and protect you from raids along the river. I will become the Duke of Normandy!”

  Epilogue

  When we returned to our camp I explained to my lords my decision. I did not have to but I wanted them to know exactly what I was doing and why. I told them that they did not have to be baptised. The King insisted upon seeing me baptised. Padraig performed it in the church we had used during the battle. I was given the Christian name of Robert. Padraig later told me that it was the closest name to Rollo or Hrolfr. I had had so many names in my life that the change of name did not worry me. The King also gave me a chest of gold. I think he thought it obligatory when dealing with Vikings.

  As we sailed down the river in laden drekar I explained to William all the reasons for my decision. He accepted them. I feared that Sven and the others would not. I had sent a rider to Chartres to tell Sven to raise the siege and to invite my lords to Rouen.

  When I reached Rouen there were great celebrations. Word had come down the river on drekar faster than mine. The ones who lived in Rouen were largely Christian anyway. Padraig did not live to see Sven and the others. On the journey downstream he had become increasingly ill. I had sent for healers but he had shaken his head, “Lord, I am dying. I have known it for months. I die and go to heaven with a clear conscience and know that I have done that which I was sent here to do. I have made the Norsemen, Christian. You will lead a great people and William will do so when he is old enough but it will be a Christian people and that I take much of the credit for.”

  He died within the hour and I confess that I shed a tear. I had spent more years with him than my wife Poppa. He was buried with honour. The King had given me coin to build a cathedral and Padraig’s body was placed in the crypt. The building was but a skeleton but part of its bones would be Padraig.

  When Sven and my men arrived from Chartres I was a little nervous. I had no need to be. Sven Blue Cheek greeted me with a warrior’s clasp. “You defeated the Franks and you have secured this land!”

  “And Chartres?”

  “We could have taken it but it would have cost us many men. We lost few and came away rich. It is wyrd.”

  “And I am now Robert, Duke of Normandy!”

  He laughed, “When we first pulled the half-drowned fish from the sea you had another name. How many men can be reborn as many times as you? I am content. In your heart you are still the same Viking that I will follow until the day I die but I will call you by your new name Robert Duke of Normandy or perhaps Rollo. It suits you better. The Norns still spin for the prophecy they gave to your grandfather is fulfilled and your people will become greater! All hail the Duke!”

  And so, my part in the prophecy came to an end. William Longsword would have to take it on. Even as we drank I could hear the Norns spinning. I had been baptised but I was still a Viking.

  The End

  Norse Calendar

  Gormánuður October 14th - November 13th

  Ýlir November 14th - December 13th

  Mörsugur December 14th - January 12th

  Þorri - January 13th - February 11th

  Gói - February 12th - March 13th

  Einmánuður - March 14th - April 13th

  Harpa April 14th - May 13th

  Skerpla - May 14th - June 12th

  Sólmánuður - June 13th - July 12th

  Heyannir - July 13th - August 14th

  Tvímánuður - August 15th - September 14th

  Haustmánuður September 15th-October 13th

  Glossary

  Ækre -acre (Norse) The amount of land a pair of oxen could plough in one day

  Addelam- Deal (Kent)

  Afon Hafron- River Severn in Welsh

  Aldarennaöy – Alderney (Channel Islands)

  Alt Clut- Dumbarton Castle on the Clyde

  Anmyen -Amiens

  Andecavis- Angers in Anjou

  Angia- Jersey (Channel Islands)

  An Lysardh -The Lizard (Cornwall)

  An Oriant- Lorient, Brittany

  Æscesdūn – Ashdown (Berkshire)

  Áth Truim- Trim, County Meath (Ireland)

  Baille - a ward (an enclosed area inside a wall)

  Balley Chashtal -Castleton (Isle of Man)

  Bárekr’s Haven – Barfleur, Normandy

  Bebbanburgh- Bamburgh Castle, Northumbria. Also, known as Din Guardi in the ancient tongue

  Beck- a stream

  Bexelei – Bexhill on sea

  Blót – a blood sacrifice made by a jarl

  Blue Sea/Middle Sea- The Mediterranean

  Bondi- Viking farmers who fight

  Bourde- Bordeaux

  Bjarnarøy –Great Bernera (Bear Island)

  Byrnie- a mail or leather shirt reaching down to the knees

  Brvggas -Bruges

  Caerlleon- Welsh for Chester

  Caestir - Chester (old English)

  Cantwareburh- Canterbury

  Casnewydd –Newport, Wales

  Cent- Kent

  Cephas- Greek for Simon Peter (St. Peter)

  Cetham -Chatham Kent

  Chape- the tip of a scabbard

  Charlemagne- Holy Roman Emperor at the end of the 8th and beginning of the 9th centuries

  Cherestanc- Garstang (Lancashire)

  Cippanhamm -Chippenham

  Ċiriċeburh- Cherbourg

  Condado Portucalense- the County of Portugal

  Constrasta-Valença (Northern Portugal)

  Corn Walum or Om Walum- Cornwall

  Cissa-caestre -Chichester

  Cymri- Welsh

  Cymru- Wales

  Cyninges-tūn – Coniston. It means the estate of the king (Cumbria)

  Dùn Èideann –Edinburgh (Gaelic)

  Din Guardi- Bamburgh castle

  Drekar- a Dragon ship (a Viking warship)

  Duboglassio –Douglas, Isle of Man

  Djupr -Dieppe

  Dwfr- Dover

  Dyrøy –Jura (Inner Hebrides)

  Dyflin- Old Norse for Dublin

  Ein-mánuðr- middle of March to the middle of April

  Eopwinesfleot -Ebbsfleet

  Eoforwic- Saxon for York

  Fáfnir - a dwarf turned into a dragon (Norse mythology)

  Faro Bregancio- Corunna (Spain)

  Ferneberga -Farnborough (Hampshire)

  Fey- having second sight

  Firkin- a barrel containing eight gallons (usually beer)

  Fret-a sea mist

  Frankia- France and part of Germany

  Fyrd-the Saxon levy

  Gaill- Irish for foreigners

  Galdramenn- wizard

  Glaesum –amber

  Gleawecastre- Gloucester

  Gói- the end of February to the middle of March

  Greenway- ancient roads- they used turf rather than stone

  Grenewic- Greenwich

  Gyllingas - Gillingham Kent

  Haesta- Hastings

  Haestingaceaster-Pevensey

  Hastingas-Hastings

  Hamwic -Southampton

  Hantone- Littlehampton

  Haughs/ Haugr - small hills in Norse (As in Tarn Hows) or a hump- normally a mound of earth

  Hearth-weru- Jarl's bodyguard/oathsworn

  Heels- when a ship leans to one side under the pressure of the wind

  Hel- Queen of, the Norse underworld.

  Herkumbl- a mark on the front of a helmet denoting the clan of a Viking warrior

  Here Wic- Harwich

  Hetaereiarch – Byzantine general

  Hí- Iona (Gaelic)

  Hjáp - Shap- Cumbria (Norse for stone circle)

  Hoggs or Hogging- when the pressure of the wind causes the stern or the bow to droop

  Hrams-a – Ramsey, Isle of Man

  Hrīs
Wearp – Ruswarp (North Yorkshire)

  Hrofecester-Rochester Kent

  Hywel ap Rhodri Molwynog- King of Gwynedd 814-825

  Icaunis- British river god

  Ishbiliyya- Seville

  Issicauna- Gaulish for the lower Seine

  Itouna- River Eden Cumbria

  Jarl- Norse earl or lord

  Joro-goddess of the earth

  Jǫtunn -Norse god or goddess

  Kartreidh -Carteret in Normandy

  Kjerringa - Old Woman- the solid block in which the mast rested

  Knarr- a merchant ship or a coastal vessel

  Kyrtle-woven top

  Laugardagr-Saturday (Norse for washing day)

  Leathes Water- Thirlmere

  Ljoðhús- Lewis

  Legacaestir- Anglo Saxon for Chester

  Liger- Loire

  Lochlannach – Irish for Northerners (Vikings)

  Lothuwistoft- Lowestoft

  Louis the Pious- King of the Franks and son of Charlemagne

  Lundenwic - London

  Lincylene -Lincoln

  Maen hir – standing stone (menhir)

  Maeresea- River Mersey

  Mammceaster- Manchester

  Manau/Mann – The Isle of Man(n) (Saxon)

  Marcia Hispanic- Spanish Marches (the land around Barcelona)

  Mast fish- two large racks on a ship for the mast

  Melita- Malta

  Midden - a place where they dumped human waste

  Miklagård - Constantinople

  Leudes- Imperial officer (a local leader in the Carolingian Empire. They became Counts a century after this.)

  Njoror- God of the sea

  Nithing- A man without honour (Saxon)

  Odin- The "All Father" God of war, also associated with wisdom, poetry, and magic (The ruler of the gods).

  Olissipo- Lisbon

  Orkneyjar-Orkney

  Portucale- Porto

  Portesmūða -Portsmouth

  Penrhudd – Penrith Cumbria

  Pillars of Hercules- Straits of Gibraltar

  Qādis- Cadiz

  Ran- Goddess of the sea

  Readingum -Reading Berks

  Remisgat Ramsgate

  Roof rock- slate

  Rinaz –The Rhine

  Sabrina- Latin and Celtic for the River Severn. Also, the name of a female Celtic deity

  Saami- the people who live in what is now Northern Norway/Sweden

  Saint Maclou- St Malo (France)

  Sandwic- Sandwich (Kent)

  Sarnia- Guernsey (Channel Islands)

  St. Cybi- Holyhead

  Sampiere -samphire (sea asparagus)

  Scree- loose rocks in a glacial valley

  Seax – short sword

  Sheerstrake- the uppermost strake in the hull

  Sheet- a rope fastened to the lower corner of a sail

  Shroud- a rope from the masthead to the hull amidships

  Skeggox – an axe with a shorter beard on one side of the blade

  Sondwic-Sandwich

  South Folk- Suffolk

  Stad- Norse settlement

  Stays- ropes running from the mast-head to the bow

  Streanæshalc -Whitby

  Stirap- stirrup

  Strake- the wood on the side of a drekar

  Suthriganaworc - Southwark (London)

  Svearike -Sweden

  Syllingar- Scilly Isles

  Syllingar Insula- Scilly Isles

  Tarn- small lake (Norse)

  Temese- River Thames (also called the Tamese)

  The Norns- The three sisters who weave webs of intrigue for men

  Thing-Norse for a parliament or a debate (Tynwald)

  Thor’s day- Thursday

  Threttanessa- a drekar with 13 oars on each side.

  Thrall- slave

  Tinea- Tyne

  Tintaieol- Tintagel (Cornwall)

  Trenail- a round wooden peg used to secure strakes

  Tude- Tui in Northern Spain

  Tynwald- the Parliament on the Isle of Man

  Úlfarrberg- Helvellyn

  Úlfarrland- Cumbria

  Úlfarr- Wolf Warrior

  Úlfarrston- Ulverston

  Ullr-Norse God of Hunting

  Ulfheonar-an elite Norse warrior who wore a wolf skin over his armour

  Uuluuich- Dulwich

  Valauna- Valognes (Normandy)

  Vectis- The Isle of Wight

  Veðrafjǫrðr -Waterford (Ireland)

  Veisafjǫrðr- Wexford (Ireland)

  Volva- a witch or healing woman in Norse culture

  Waeclinga Straet- Watling Street (A5)

  Windlesore-Windsor

  Waite- a Viking word for farm

  Werham -Wareham (Dorset)

  Wintan-ceastre -Winchester

  Wihtwara- Isle of White

  Withy- the mechanism connecting the steering board to the ship

  Woden’s day- Wednesday

  Wyddfa-Snowdon

  Wyrd- Fate

  Yard- a timber from which the sail is suspended on a drekar

  Ynys Môn-Anglesey

  Maps and Illustrations

  The Norman dynastyCourtesy of Wikipedia.

  Historical note

  My research encompasses not only books and the Internet but also TV. Time Team was a great source of information. I wish they would bring it back! I saw the wooden compass which my sailors use on the Dan Snow programme about the Vikings. Apparently, it was used in modern times to sail from Denmark to Edinburgh and was only a couple of points out. Similarly, the construction of the temporary hall was copied from the settlement of Leif Eriksson in Newfoundland.

  Stirrups began to be introduced in Europe during the 7th and 8th Centuries. By Charlemagne's time they were widely used but only by nobles. It is said this was the true beginning of feudalism. It was the Vikings who introduced them to England. It was only in the time of Canute the Great that they became widespread. The use of stirrups enabled a rider to strike someone on the ground from the back of a horse and facilitated the use of spears and later, lances.

  The Vikings may seem cruel to us now. They enslaved women and children. Many of the women became their wives. The DNA of the people of Iceland shows that it was made up of a mixture of Norse and Danish males and Celtic females. These were the people who settled Iceland, Greenland and Vinland. They did the same in England and, as we shall see, Normandy. Their influence was widespread. Genghis Khan and his Mongols did the same in the 13th century. It is said that a high proportion of European males have Mongol blood in them. The Romans did it with the Sabine tribe. They were different times and it would be wrong to judge them with our politically correct twenty first century eyes. This sort of behaviour still goes on in the world but with less justification.

  At this time, there were no Viking kings. There were clans. Each clan had a hersir or Jarl. Clans were loyal to each other. A hersir was more of a landlocked Viking or a farmer while a Jarl usually had ship(s) at his command. A hersir would command bondi. They were the Norse equivalent of the fyrd although they were much better warriors. They would all have a helmet shield and a sword. Most would also have a spear. Hearth weru were the oathsworn or bodyguards for a jarl or, much later on, a king. Kings like Canute and Harald Hadrada were rare and they only emerged at the beginning of tenth century.

  One reason for the Normans success was that when they arrived in northern France they integrated quickly with the local populace. They married them and began to use some of their words. They adapted to the horse as a weapon of war. Before then the Vikings had been quite happy to ride to war but they dismounted to fight. The Normans took the best that the Franks had and made it better. This book sees the earliest beginnings of the rise of the Norman knight.

  I have used the names by which places were known in the medieval period wherever possible. Sometimes I have had to use the modern name. The Cotentin is an example. The isle of sheep is now called the Isle of Sheppey and lies on the Medway close to the Tha
mes. The land of Kent was known as Cent in the early medieval period. Thanet or, Tanet as it was known in the Viking period was an island at this time. The sea was on two sides and the other two sides had swamps, bogs, mud flats and tidal streams. It protected Canterbury. The coast was different too. Richborough had been a major Roman port. It is now some way inland. Sandwich was a port. Other ports now lie under the sea. Vikings were not afraid to sail up very narrow rivers and to risk being stranded on mud. They were tough men and were capable of carrying or porting their ships as their Rus brothers did when travelling to Miklagård.

  The Norns or the Weird Sisters.

  "The Norns (Old Norse: norn, plural: nornir) in Norse mythology are female beings who rule the destiny of gods and men. They roughly correspond to other controllers of humans' destiny, the Fates, elsewhere in European mythology.

  In Snorri Sturluson's interpretation of the Völuspá, Urðr (Wyrd), Verðandi and Skuld, the three most important of the Norns, come out from a hall standing at the Well of Urðr or Well of Fate. They draw water from the well and take sand that lies around it, which they pour over Yggdrasill so that its branches will not rot. These three Norns are described as powerful maiden giantesses (Jotuns) whose arrival from Jötunheimr ended the golden age of the gods. They may be the same as the maidens of Mögþrasir who are described in Vafþrúðnismál"

  Source: Norns - https://en.wikipedia.org

  I have used the word town as this is the direct translation of the Danish ton- meaning settlement. A town could vary in size from a couple of houses to a walled city like Jorvik. If I had used ton it would have been confusing. There are already readers out there who think I have made mistakes because I use words like stiraps, wyrd and drekar!

  The assimilation of the Norse and the Franks took place over a long period. Hrolf Ragnvaldson aka Rollo aka Robert of Normandy is not yet born but by the time he is 64 he will have attacked Paris and become Duke of Normandy. The journey has just begun.

  Tower construction

  Towers were made by constructing two walls with mortared dress stone and then infilling with rocks. When I visited Penrith castle in Cumbria in 2017 I saw a partly ruined tower which demonstrates this. It helps that the dressed stone was red sandstone! You can see the width of the tower. This one is 13th Century but the principle was the same in the 9th.