The Story of Europe

by Marshall, H. E.

  Rollo settles in the North of France

  After a time, some of the Northmen, under their leader, Rollo, took possession of a part of France and settled there. And from this new base they launched even fiercer attacks on the rest of the country. At length, in the time of Charles the Simple, the French saw that to buy the Northmen off was worse than useless, and to expel them now that they were firmly rooted impossible. The only thing to do was to change lawless freebooters into law-abiding citizens.

  Charles, therefore, sent messengers to the rough, old sea king, offering him the undisputed possession of all that north-west portion of France in which he and his warriors had already settled. In return for this, he was to become a Christian, be baptized, and own himself vassal of the king. Rollo was not unwilling to listen to the king's proposal, but he was not content with the land offered to him.

  "The land is desolate and barren," he said, "there is not there the wherewithal to live." So he demanded more land. Thereupon the king offered him Flanders. For he had a grudge against the count of Flanders. But Rollo would have none of it.

  "It is nothing but a waste of bog and marsh," he said, and he demanded Brittany.

  Now the part of France called Brittany had never really been in the possession of the kings of France. So all Charles could give Rollo was the right to conquer it, if he could. And this he readily gave.

  Matters being thus settled, Rollo had next to perform his part of the compact, and do homage as a vassal. Upon the appointed day the king seated himself upon his throne with his priests and courtiers about him, and to him came the rough old Northman and his warriors. The ceremony began, but when Rollo was told that he must kneel before the king and kiss his feet he started back in wrath.

  "No, by Heaven!" he cried. "I will kiss no man's feet!

  "It must be," replied the priests, "in no other way can you hold your fief."

  "Then let one of my followers do it for me," replied the proud sea-king.

  And as nothing would move Rollo, Charles had to be content with that. So one of Rollo's followers was bidden to perform the act of homage for his master. But he had as little liking as Rollo for what seemed to him a piece of degrading foolery. He had never bent his knee to any man, and he did not mean to do it now. Striding, therefore, up to the throne, without even bending, he seized the king's foot and raised it to his mouth. So rough and sudden was his action that Charles fell backwards to the ground. And thus, amid the loud laughter not only of the rude Northmen but of the Frankish courtiers also, the strange ceremony of homage ended.

  After this Rollo was duly baptized, and received the Christian name of Robert, and many of his warriors followed his example and were baptized also. Their conversion was sudden. But this was nothing to the Northmen. For it was said many of them made an annual practice of it, merely for the sake of the white linen robe which they received on the occasion.

  The land which was thus given to Rollo was already known as Northmannie. It soon became Normandy, and its people Normans. Very quickly they forgot their heathen religion and their northern speech and northern home. Normandy, strange to say, became the best governed part of France, and the exploits of Rollo the Ganger, the devastator of France, the pillager of monasteries, the slayer of women and children, were almost forgotten in the fame of Robert, Duke of Normandy, the builder of churches, and framer of righteous laws.

  Outwardly, wherever the Northmen settled they seemed to disappear and be merged in the native population. In reality they imbued these populations with something of their own spirit. They were filled with a great curiosity, they had a genius for order and government, they were fearless, energetic, and eager, always ready to adventure and to do. Civilized, they retained much of the old vigour which as barbarian heathen had made them such deadly and pitiless foes. Christianized, they became the passionate champions of the Catholic Church. And the descendants of those Vikings who had refused to bend the knee to any man, and laughed aloud at the discomfiture of their over-lord, became the great upholders of the feudal system, the impassioned exponents of the orders of knighthood and chivalry.

  The Northmen in England

  England suffered from the Northmen even as did France. Here, however, they were met and checked by a skilful soldier and statesman, Alfred the Great. Yet even he, with all his courage and perseverance, could not altogether loosen the grip of the Northmen upon the island. At length he, too, like the king of France, was obliged to buy peace by yielding part of his kingdom to the freebooters. And, by the Peace of Wedmore, Alfred assigned to the Danes all the northern half of England. The conditions of this treaty were similar to those upon which Rollo acquired Normandy. Guthrun the Dane was baptized, receiving the name of Athelstane and owning Alfred as overlord.

  But with the Peace of Wedmore the struggle in England did not cease. It was only abated. During the rest of Alfred's life and for more than a century after his death it continued, until in 1016 Knut the Dane became king of all England. This Northman domination lasted until 1042, ending only fourteen years before the conquest of England by William the Norman.

  CHAPTER XIII

  The Beginning of Russia

  THE conquest of England by the Northmen and their settlement in France, out of which arose the second conquest of England, are the most important results of the "Northman Fury" for western Europe. In eastern Europe the most important result was the founding of Russia.

  About the middle of the ninth century some Northmen, Swedes in all probability, sailed east, just as their brethren sailed west and south, upon a marauding expedition. They made a settlement on the shores of the Gulf of Finland, and laid the Slavonic tribes along the coast under tribute. After a time, however, the Slavs succeeded in driving out these invaders. But having got rid of them the Slavs fell to quarrelling among themselves. "There was no more justice among them," says an old chronicle. "Family disputed with family, so that they fell to war." At length the turmoil and bloodshed became so great that some among them were fain to confess that the domination of the Northmen was more endurable than the misrule of their own princes.

  "Let us seek a prince," they said, "who will judge us according to the right." Therefore they sent messengers to the Northmen, begging them to return. "Our land is large and fertile," they said, "but it is filled with discord and clamour. Come, then, and rule over us."

  Rurick settles in Russia

  In answer to this petition the Viking Rurick, with his two brothers, came to settle in what is now Russia. These Northmen were often called Varangians or Varingars. No one is sure how they got this name, but it is believed to be Arabian in origin. The Arabians, at least, called all the northern peoples Varangians, whether they invented the name or not. But the people who lived in Finland called them the Rousses, and soon the Slav subjects of Rurick came to be called Russians and their country Russia. Rous in Finnish to-day means a Swede. So it seems probable that the name of the greatest Slavonic people is of Finnish, and not of Slavonic origin.

  Rurick made his capital at Novgorod, and two years after his settlement there his brothers died, and he became sole ruler of the province. We know very little of his government or whether the people lived to regret having called in a foreigner to rule over them. But it is said that after a time two Viking warriors, one named Askold and one named Dir, became discontented with his rule. So, taking several companions with them, they left Novgorod, and set out to seek their fortunes at Constantinople. On their way they came upon a castle on the banks of the Dnieper, with a small town round it.

  "Whose castle is this?" they asked of the inhabitants.

  "It was built by three brothers," replied they, "but they are long since dead. We are their descendants, and pay tribute to the Khazars."

  Hearing that, Askold and Dir took possession of the town, which was called Kief. They were soon joined by other Northmen, and thus a second Viking settlement was made in Russia.

  This second settlement soon increased, and then, with true Viking aud
acity and love of adventure, they made up their minds to attack Constantinople. Dwelling far inland although they now were, these Northmen had not forgotten their skill as sailors. Soon two hundred dragon-headed boats went sailing down the Dnieper and out into the Black Sea, and ere long the terrified inhabitants of Constantinople saw, for the first time, the gay sails and long narrow boats of the dreaded Northmen.

  The Greeks were paralysed with fear. Nothing but a miracle, it seemed, could save them from destruction. The miracle happened, for a sudden storm arose which shattered the Viking ships, only a miserable remainder of which, like wounded birds, crept slowly back to Kief.

  Prince Igor and Oleg

  For some time the two Northman settlements in Russia remained separate from each other. But after ruling for fifteen years in the northern settlement Rurick died. His son, Igor, was only a boy, so Rurick left his kinsman Oleg as regent.

  Far more than Rurick, Oleg was filled with the desire of conquest, and he resolved to bring both the northern and southern settlements under one rule. He knew, however, that Askold and Dir were not likely to give up their kingship without a struggle, and he had recourse, therefore, to treachery.

  With a great fleet of boats he sailed down the Dnieper. Then as they neared Kief, leaving his soldiers behind him, he went on with the young Prince Igor, and a few soldiers only, hidden in the bottom of his boat. Arrived at Kief, he sent messengers to Askold and Dir, saying that Northman merchants passing on their way to Constantinople desired to greet them in the name of the Prince of Novgorod.

  Askold and Dir, suspecting no treachery, at once hurried to the river bank, only to find themselves surrounded by Viking warriors, and led captive before Oleg.

  "You are no princes," he said to them, haughtily. "You are not even of noble birth. As for me, I am a prince." Then, taking Igor by the hand, he led him forward.

  "Behold the son of Rurick!" he cried.

  It was the signal agreed upon, and at the words the Vikings fell upon Askold and Dir and slew them. Then, his hands still red with blood, Oleg marched in triumph into Kief. Everything that he saw there delighted the old warrior. It seemed to him, with the Dnieper flowing by, a splendid point from which to lead his warriors forth to conquest, and he resolved to make his capital there. "This town shall be the mother of all Russian towns!" he cried.

  Such is the more or less legendary story of the founding of Russia by the Vikings, and for many a long day the rulers traced their descent to the sea-king Rurick.

  Meanwhile, more than twenty years passed during which Oleg extended his conquests all around, and added province after province to his kingdom. But he kept peace with the Eastern Empire, and a regular trade route was established from the shores of the Baltic to the Golden Horn. Along this route there came many a peaceful merchant, bringing furs from the snowy north, and carrying back with him in exchange the corn and wine of the south. Thus numbers of Russians came to know of Myklegaard or the Great City, as they called Constantinople. To these rude, northern giants the riches and luxury they saw there were a constant wonder and amaze, and they carried home with them strange tales of its marvels.

  So at length, either driven on by his peoples' envy of the riches of the Eastern Empire, or desirous of finding a foeman worthy of his steel, Oleg decided to attack Constantinople, and gathering a great host of warriors, he set out. For many a mile the River Dnieper was covered with boats, two thousand in all, it is said, while vast squadrons of horsemen accompanied them along the banks. Seeing them come in such force the Greeks fled within their city, put a chain across the harbour, and left the wild Northmen to plunder and burn at will in all the country around. The desolation they made was truly terrible, for in becoming Russian the Northmen had lost none of their Viking fury.

  But Oleg was bent on taking the city itself. So he ordered his soldiers to make wheels, and placing his boats upon them, he brought them overland right up to the walls of Constantinople. When the Greeks saw this strange sight their last vestige of courage gave way, and sending messengers to the Russians, they begged for peace. "Spare our city," they said, "and we will give you all the tribute you demand."

  To this Oleg agreed, and having received an immense ransom, he made a treaty of peace with the emperor. As the emperor swore to keep the peace he kissed the Cross, but Oleg swore by his sword, for he was a heathen, as most of his people still were. Then, having hung his sword on the gates of Constantinople as a sign of his victory, he returned home, richly laden with booty.

  But peace between the Empire and Russia did not last. For Constantinople had proved a rich and easy prey, and four times at least in less than two hundred years the Russians appeared before its walls, and forced the emperor to buy them off.

  EUROPE ABOUT A.D. 1100.

  With all their growing power the Russian rulers did not take the regal title, but called themselves Grand Dukes. In 980 Vladimir I became Grand Duke. He was a fratricide, a heathen, and an evil liver. But he was a great soldier and a wise statesman. He desired, above all things to make his country great, and he believed that an alliance with the Empire would serve his purpose better than war. So he asked the emperors, Basil II and Constantine VII, to give him the hand of their sister Anne in marriage. But the emperors refused to give their sister in marriage to a heathen.

  "Be baptized," they said, "and you shall marry our sister." Vladimir immediately promised to do as they wished, whereat the emperors rejoiced. But the Princess Anne wept bitter tears.

  "You send me to slavery among a heathen people!" she cried. "It is worse than death."

  "Not so, sister," replied the emperors, "it is by thee that God will lead the Russian nation to penitence, and thou wilt save the Empire from a cruel war."

  So Vladimir was baptized, and the marriage between him and the Grecian princess was celebrated with great rejoicings and splendour. Then Vladimir caused every idol in Kief to be destroyed and cast into the river, and commanded all his people on pain of his displeasure to be baptized at once. Many obeyed him. "For," said they, "the religion must be good, or our prince would not have accepted it."

  The Greek Church

  Thus was Christianity introduced into Russia. For although many years before priests had come from Constantinople to teach the people about the true God, only few had listened to them. Thus, too, it comes about that the Russians, to this day, belong to the Greek and not to the Roman Church.

  After this time there was great intercourse between the Empire and Russia, and the emperors formed a bodyguard of Northmen whom they called the Varangian guard, These Varangians were bound to the emperor by a special oath. They lived in the palace itself, one of their special duties being to guard the door of the emperor's bedchamber. They were accorded many privileges, and it was considered a great honour to serve in the guard of Myklegaard. Besides this special guard many Northmen were to be found among the soldiers and sailors of the Empire, and many Vikings of fame came to serve the emperor.

  With Vladimir the Viking period of Russian history ends, and Russia begins to take a place among the Christian states of Europe. Besides the alliance with the emperor, the Grand Dukes of Russia soon made alliances with France and other of the great states of Europe. But the country was constantly torn asunder by civil wars. Rival princes claimed the title and authority of grand duke, little princedoms sprang up, and were crushed out of existence again. So instead of consolidating into a kingdom the country remained merely a conglomeration of rival principalities, until in the thirteenth century the Mongols, taking advantage of this disunion, conquered the country and held it in subjection for more than two hundred years.

  CHAPTER XIV

  The Norman Kingdom of Sicily

  The Saracens in Sicily

  THE same restless energy which drove the Northmen out of their native country drove the Normans out of Normandy, and led them to seek adventures in other lands. And how, even before William of Normandy conquered England, a Norman adventurer made himself ruler of Sicily is on
e of the most picturesque chapters of European history.

  Sicily at this time was, in theory, still part of the Eastern Empire. In reality it had long been in the possession of the Saracens, who had also overrun the southern states of the Italian Peninsula. These states were, at the same time, full of internal unrest, their petty chiefs frequently quarrelling with each other. They were, as well, a bone of contention between the Emperor of the West and the Emperor of the East, who each claimed them as part of his Empire, while the pope also had his eye upon them.

  We find the Greeks now fighting against Saracens, now trying to subdue some native rebellious chief. Now Greek Emperor and German Emperor join against the Saracens, or again, Greeks and Saracens join in routing the Germans. In the general turmoil there was room enough for the adventurous free-lance. Norman adventurers travelled far and were always ready to lend their swords to any side which would pay them, and just as ready to change sides. And ere long we find them taking part in the fray.

  Chief among these Norman adventurers were the sons of Tancred of Hauteville. They were "of middling parentage, neither very low nor very high." There were twelve brothers, among whom William of the Iron Arm, Robert Guiscard, or the Wily, Humphrey, and Roger are the most famous. There was no scope for their ardent and ambitious spirits in their native village, so they set forth to seek their fortune by their swords. They "journeyed through divers places, in military fashion, seeking gain, and at last, by God's providence, reached Apulia, a province of Italy."

  Robert Guiscard

  Soon we find Iron Arm and Humphrey, with their followers, in the service of the Greek Emperor, helping to rout the Saracens. But when the fight was over, and the spoil was divided, the Normans considered that they did not receive their fair share. They complained loudly, but instead of listening to their demands, the Greek general insulted their leader. Thereupon the proud adventurers determined to avenge the insult. And passing over to the mainland, they roused the Normans who had already settled there. In many battles they defeated the Greeks, and at length put an end to their rule. They won Pope Nicholas II to their cause, and at his hands Robert Guiscard received the title of duke. Thus a Norman adventurer "of middling parentage" became "Robert, by the grace of God and of St. Peter, Duke of Apulia and of Calabria, and future Duke of Sicily by their aid."