Father of William I "The Long Sword"

Rollo

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For other uses, see Rollo (disambiguation).

Rollo
Rollo on the Six Dukes statue in Falaise town square.
Duke of Normandy
Reign	911-927
Predecessor	New creation
Successor	William I
Born	846 Scandinavia
Died	931 Normandy
Burial	Rouen Cathedral

Rollo (c. 846 – c. 931), baptised Robert and so sometimes numbered Robert I to distinguish him from his descendants, was a Norse nobleman of Norwegian or Danish descent and founder and first ruler of the Viking principality in what soon became known as Normandy. His descendants were the Dukes of Normandy.
The name "Rollo" is a Latin translation due to the clerics from the Old Norse name Hrólfr, modern Scandinavian name Rolf (cf. the latinization of Hrólfr into the similar Roluo in the Gesta Danorum), but Norman people called him Rouf, and later Rou too (see Wace's Roman de Rou).^[1] He married Poppa. All that is known of Poppa is that she was a Christian, and the daughter to Berengar of Rennes, the previous lord of Brittania Nova, which eventually became western Normandy.

Contents [hide] 1 Historical evidence 2 Raids along the Seine 3 The Principality of Normandy 4 Family 5 Death 6 Legacy 7 Genealogy 8 Depictions in fiction 9 See also 10 External links 11 References

[edit] Historical evidence

Rollo was a powerful Viking leader of contested origin. Dudo of St. Quentin, in his De moribus et actis primorum Normannorum ducum (Latin), tells of a powerful Danish nobleman at loggerheads with the king of Denmark, who had two sons, Gurim and Rollo; upon his death, Rollo was expelled and Gurim killed. William of Jumièges also mentions Rollo's prehistory in his Gesta Normannorum Ducum, but 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 historians identified Rollo instead with Ganger Hrolf (Hrolf, the Walker), a son of Rognvald Eysteinsson, Earl of Møre, in Western Norway, based on medieval Norwegian and Icelandic sagas. 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 became a Jarl in Normandy. The nickname "the Walker" came from being so big that no horse could carry him.
The question of Rollo's Danish or Norwegian 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.

Latin Wikisource has original text related to this article: De moribus et actis primorum Normannorum ducum

[edit] Raids along the Seine

In 885, Rollo was one of the lesser leaders of the Viking fleet which besieged Paris under Sigfred second official king of the Danes. Legend has it that an emissary was sent by the king to find the chieftain and negotiate terms. When he asked for this information, the Vikings replied that they were all chieftains in their own right. 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 Danes, or Norsemen). He invaded the area of northern France now known as Normandy.
In 911 Rollo's forces launched a failed attack on Paris before laying siege to Chartres. The Bishop of Chartres, Joseaume, appeals for help were answered by the Robert, Marquis of Neustria, Richard, Duke of Burgundy and Manasses, Count of Dijon. On 20 July 911, at the Battle of Chartres, they defeated Rollo despite the absence of many French barons and also the absence of the French King Charles the Simple.^[2]

[edit] The Principality of Normandy

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.^[3] In return, King Charles granted Rollo land between the Epte and the sea as well as Brittany and the hand of the Kings daughter, Gisela. He was also the titular ruler 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 to kiss the foot of King Charles, as a condition of the treaty, he refused to perform so great a humiliation, and when Charles extended his foot to Rollo, Rollo ordered one of his warriors to do so in his place. His warrior then lifted Charles' foot up to his mouth causing the king to fall to the ground.^[4]

Statue of Rollo in Rouen

After 911, Rollo stayed true to his word of defending the shores of the Seine river in accordance to the Treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte, however he also continued to act like a Viking chief with attacks on Flanders.
After Charles was deposed by Robert I, Rollo considered his oath to the King of France to be over. It started a period of expansion westwards. Negotiations with French barons ended with Rollo being given Le Mans and Bayeux and continued with the seizure of Bessin in 924. The following year saw the Normans attack Picardy.
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. Eventually, however, Rollo's men intermarried with the local women, and became more settled as Normans. At the time of his death, Rollo's expansion of his territory had extended as far west as the Vire River.

[edit] Family

14th century depiction of the marriage of Rollo and Gisela

Rollo married twice:
1. Poppa, the daughter of Berengar II of Neustria and had issue:

• William Longsword
• Gerloc
• Crispina, who married Grimaldus I of Monaco
• Gerletta
• Kadlin, who married a Scottish King called Bjolan, and had at least a daughter called Midbjorg, she was taken captive by and married Helgi Ottarson.

2. Gisela of France (d.919), the daughter of Charles III of France.

[edit] Death

Rollo's grave at the cathedral of Rouen

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 prior religious roots surfaced at the end.

[edit] Legacy

Rollo is the great-great-great-grandfather of William the Conqueror. Through William, he is an ancestor of the present-day British royal family, as well as an ancestor of all current European monarchs and a great many pretenders to abolished European thrones.
The "Clameur de Haro" in the Channel Islands is, supposedly, an appeal to Rollo.

[edit] Genealogy

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Father of Richard I

William I, Duke of Normandy

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

William I "Longsword"
Statue of William Longsword, part of the "Six Dukes of Normandy" series in Falaise.
Duke of Normandy
Reign	927–942
Predecessor	Rollo
Successor	Richard I
Born	893 Bayeux or Rouen
Died	17 December 942

William I Longsword (French: Guillaume Longue-Épée, Latin: Willermus Longa Spata, Scandinavian: Vilhjálmr Langaspjót) (893 – 17 December 942) was the second Duke of Normandy from his father's death until his own assassination. The title dux (duke) was not in use at the time and has been applied to early Norman rulers retroactively; William actually used the title comes (count).

[edit] Biography

Little is known about his early years. He was born in Bayeux or Rouen to Rollo and his wife Poppa. All that is known of Poppa is that she was a Christian, and the daughter to Berengar of Rennes, the previous lord of Brittania Nova, which eventually became western Normandy. According to the William's planctus, he was baptised a Christian.
William succeeded Rollo sometime around 927 and, early in his reign, faced a rebellion from Normans who felt he had become too Gallicised and also from Bretons. According to Orderic Vitalis, the leader was Riouf of Evreux.^[1]
After putting down the rebellion, William attacked Breton and ravaged the territory. Resistance to the Normans was led by Alan Wrybeard and Beranger but shortly ended with the Wrybeard fleeing to England and Beranger seeking reconciliation. However, it was not through invasion that he gained Breton territory but by politics, receiving Contentin and Avranchin as a gift from the Rudolph, King of France.
In 935, William married Luitgarde, daughter of Herbert II of Vermandois whose dowry gave him the lands of Longueville, Coudres and Illiers l'Eveque. His expansion northwards, including the fortress of Montreuil brought him into conflict with Arnulf I of Flanders.

The funerary monument of William Longsword in the cathedral of Rouen, France. The monument is from the XIVth century.

In 939 William became involved in a war with Arnulf I of Flanders, which soon became intertwined with the other conflicts troubling the reign of Louis IV. It began with Herluin appealing to William for help to regain the castle of Montreuil from Arnulf. Losing the castle was a major setback in Arnulf's ambitions and William's part in it gained him a deadly enemy. He was ambushed and killed by followers of Arnulf on 17 December 942 at Picquigny on the Somme while at a meeting to settle their differences.
His son Richard the Fearless, child of his first wife, Sprota, succeeded him.

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Father of Richard II

Richard I, Duke of Normandy

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Richard I "the Fearless"
Richard the Fearless as part of the Six Dukes of Normandy statue in the town square of Falaise.
Duke of Normandy
Predecessor	William I
Successor	Richard II
Born	28 August 933 Fécamp Normandy, France
Died	20 November 996 Fécamp Normandy, France

Richard I of Normandy (born 28 August 933, in Fécamp Normandy, France died 20 November 996, in Fécamp) was the Duke of Normandy from 942 to 996; he is considered the first to actually have held that title. He was called Richard the Fearless (French, Sans Peur).

Contents [hide] 1 Birth 2 Life 3 Marriages 4 Mistresses 5 Possible other children 6 Death 7 Depictions in Fiction 8 Genealogy 9 Notes 10 Sources

[edit] Birth

He was born to William I of Normandy, ruler of Normandy, and Sprota. He was still a boy of around 10 years of age when his father died on 17 December 942. His mother was a Breton concubine captured in war and bound to William by a Danish marriage. After William died, Sprota became the wife of Esperleng, a wealthy miller; Rodulf of Ivry was their son and Richard's half-brother.

[edit] Life

Richard was still a boy when his father died, and so he was powerless to stop Louis IV of France when he seized Normandy and split the lands, giving lands in lower Normandy to Hugh the Great. Louis kept him in confinement in his youth at Lâon, but he escaped with the assistance of Osmond de Centville, Bernard de Senlis (who had been a companion of Rollo of Normandy), Ivo de Bellèsme, and Bernard the Dane (ancestor of families of Harcourt and Beaumont).
In 946, Richard agreed to "commend" himself to Hugh, Count of Paris. He then allied himself with the Norman and Viking leaders, drove Louis out of Rouen, and took back Normandy by 947. The rest of his reign was mainly peaceful, apart from conflict with Theobald I, Count of Blois marked by the restoration of Church lands and monasteries.
Richard cemented his alliance with Hugh, marrying his daughter Emma. When Hugh died, Richard became vassal to his son Hugh Capet who became king in 987. Although married to Emma, they produced no offspring, his children being the product of a relationship with Gonnor, a woman of Danish origin who gave him a heir, Richard.^[1]
He later quarrelled with Ethelred II of England regarding Danish invasions of England because Normandy had been buying up much of the stolen booty.
Richard was bilingual, having been well educated at Bayeux. He was more partial to his Danish subjects than to the Franks. During his reign, Normandy became completely Gallicized and Christianized. He introduced the feudal system and Normandy became one of the most thoroughly feudalized states on the continent. He carried out a major reorganization of the Norman military system, based on heavy cavalry.

[edit] Marriages

He married 1st (960) Emma (not to be confused with Emma of France), daughter of Hugh "The Great" of France, and Hedwiga de Sachsen. They were betrothed when both were very young. She died 19 Mar 968, with no issue.

Richard & his children

According to Robert of Torigni, not long after Emma's death, Duke Richard went out hunting and stopped at the house of a local forester. He became enamoured of the forester's wife, Seinfreda, but she being a virtuous woman, suggested he court her unmarried sister, Gunnor, instead. Gunnor became his mistress, and her family rose to prominence. Her brother, Herefast de Crepon, may have been involved in a controversial heresy trial. Gunnor was, like Richard, of Norse descent, being a Dane by blood. Richard finally married her to legitimize their children:

• Richard II "the Good", Duke of Normandy (996), died 1026.
• Robert, Archbishop of Rouen, Count of Evreux, died 1037.
• Mauger, Earl of Corbeil, died after 1033
• Robert Danus, died between 985 and 989
• another son
• Emma of Normandy (c.985-1052) wife of two kings of England.
• Maud of Normandy, wife of Odo II of Blois, Count of Blois, Champagne and Chartres
• Hawise of Normandy (b. ca. 978), d. 21 February 1034. m. Geoffrey I, Duke of Brittany
• Orielda of France (c.936-1031)

[edit] Mistresses

Richard was known to have had several other mistresses and produced children with many of them. Known children are:

• Geoffrey, Count of Eu, (b. ca. 970)
• William, Count of Eu (ca. 972-26 January 1057/58)^[2] m. Leseline de Turqueville (d. 26 January 1057/58).
• Beatrice of Normandy, Abbess of Montvilliers d.1034 m. Ebles of Turenne (d.1030 (divorced)
• Robert
• "Papia" m. Gilbert de St Valery (based on a claim his wife as a daughter of "Richard of Normandy" -- the only Richard who chronologically fits is Richard I. Name is not confirmed in any source. ref)

[edit] Possible other children

Late chroniclers claimed that two of the De Hautevilles of Naples/Sicily were nephews of "Duke Richard". As the two were children of Tancred of Hauteville by different mothers, this would mean that both of Tancred's wives had been sisters of a Duke Richard, and by chronology, of Richard II, although this is not backed up by contemporary source. If true, Richard would have had at least two more illegitimate children:

• Fressenda (ca. 995-ca. 1057)
• Muriella

[edit] Death

He died in Fecamp, France on 20 November 996 of natural causes.

[edit] Depictions in Fiction

The Little Duke, a Victorian Juvenile novel by Charlotte Mary Yonge is a fictionalized account of Richard's boyhood and early struggles.

[edit] Genealogy

Diagram based on the information found on Wikipedia

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Father of Robert I

Richard II, Duke of Normandy

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Richard II
Richard the Good as part of the "Six Dukes of Normandy" statue in the town square of Falaise.
Duke of Normandy
Predecessor	Richard I
Successor	Richard III
Born	23 August 970 Normandy
Died	28 August 1026 Normandy

Richard II (born 23 August 970, in Normandy, France – 28 August 1026, in Normandy), called the Good (French: Le Bon), was the eldest son and heir of Richard I the Fearless and Gunnora.^[1]

[edit] Biography

Richard succeeded his father as Duke of Normandy in 996 but the first five years of his reign were spent with Count Ralph of Ivry wielding power and putting down a peasant insurrection.^[2]
When he took power he strengthened his alliance with the Capetians by helping Robert II of France against the duchy of Burgundy. He formed a new alliance with Brittany by marrying his sister Hawise to Geoffrey I, Duke of Brittany and by his own marriage to Geoffrey's sister, Judith.
He also repelled an English attack on the Cotentin Peninsula that was led by Ethelred II of England. He pursued a reform of the Norman monasteries.

Richard II (right), with the Abbot of Mont Saint Michel (middle) and Lothair of France (left).

[edit] Marriages

Richard attempted to improve relations with England through his sister Emma of Normandy's marriage to King Ethelred, but she was strongly disliked by the English. However, this connection later gave his grandson, William the Conqueror, part of his claim to the throne of England.
He married firstly (996) Judith (982-1017), daughter of Conan I of Brittany, by whom he had the following issue:

• Richard (c. 1002/4), duke of Normandy
• Alice (c. 1003/5), married Renaud I, Count of Burgundy
• Robert (c. 1005/7), duke of Normandy
• William (c. 1007/9), monk at Fécamp, d. 1025
• Eleanor (c. 1011/3), married to Baldwin IV, Count of Flanders
• Matilda (c. 1013/5), nun at Fecamp, d. 1033

Secondly he married Poppa of Envermeu, by whom he had the following issue:

• Mauger (c. 1019), Archbishop of Rouen
• William (c. 1020/5), count of Arques

[edit] Other marriages / children

Traditionally, Richard had a third wife named Astrid (Estritha), daughter of Sweyn Forkbeard, King of England, Denmark, and Norway, and Sigrid the Haughty. This is extremely unlikely, however, given the political situation.
An illegitimate daughter of Richard I, sometimes called "Papia", is also at times given as a daughter of Richard II. Tancred of Hauteville's two wives Muriella and Fredensenda are likewise given as daughters of "Duke Richard of Normandy", referring to either Richard I or Richard II.

[edit] References

Normandy portal

1. ^ Burke, John Bernard (1852). The Royal Families of England, Scotland, and Wales, with Their Descendants, Sovereigns and Subjects. BiblioBazaar (2009). pp. ii–iii, Section V. ISBN 1115404474. http://books.google.com/books?id=oJoH-3-xlnIC&lpg=RA1-PA59&vq=richard%20II&pg=RA1-PR2#v=onepage&q&f=false. Retrieved 2010-11-08. 
2. ^ Francois Neveux. A Brief History of The Romans. Constable and Robinson. 2008; p. 74

[edit] Genealogy

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Father of William the Conqueror

Robert I, Duke of Normandy

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Robert "The Magnificent"
Robert the Magnificent as part of the Six Dukes of Normandy statue in the town square of Falaise.
Duke of Normandy
Reign	1027–1035
Predecessor	Richard III
Successor	William I
Issue
William I "the Conqueror" of England (illegitimate) Adelaide of Normandy (illegitimate)
Father	Richard II, Duke of Normandy
Mother	Judith of Brittany
Born	22 June 1000 Normandy, France
Died	3 July 1035 (aged 35) Nicaea

Family tree

Robert the Magnificent^[1] (French: le Magnifique) (22 June 1000 – 3 July 1035), also called Robert the Devil (French: le Diable), was the Duke of Normandy from 1027 until his death. Owing to uncertainty over the numbering of the Dukes of Normandy he is usually called Robert I, but sometimes Robert II with his ancestor Rollo as Robert I. He was the son of Richard II of Normandy and Judith, daughter of Conan I of Rennes. He was the father of William the Conqueror.
When his father died, his elder brother Richard succeeded, whilst he became Count of Hiémois. When Richard died a year later, there were great suspicions that Robert had Richard murdered, hence his other nickname, "the Devil". He is sometimes identified with the legendary Robert the Devil.^{[citation needed]}
Robert aided King Henry I of France against Henry's rebellious brother and mother, and for his help he was given the territory of the Vexin (1032). He also intervened in the affairs of Flanders, supported his cousin Edward the Confessor, who was then in exile at Robert's court, and sponsored monastic reform in Normandy.
By his mistress, Herleva of Falaise, he was father of the future William I of England (1028–1087). He also had an illegitimate daughter, but the only chronicler to explicitly address the issue, Robert of Torigny, contradicts himself, once indicating that she had a distinct mother from William, elsewhere stating that they shared the same mother. This daughter, Adelaide of Normandy (1030 – c. 1083), married three times: to Enguerrand II, Count of Ponthieu, Lambert II, Count of Lens, and Odo II of Champagne.
After making his illegitimate son William his heir, he set out on pilgrimage to Jerusalem. According to the Gesta Normannorum Ducum he travelled by way of Constantinople, reached Jerusalem, and died on the return journey at Nicaea on 2 July 1035. Some sources attribute his death to poison and date it to 1 or 3 July. His son William, aged about eight, succeeded him.
According to the historian William of Malmesbury, William sent a mission to Constantinople and Nicaea, charging it with bringing his father's body back to be buried in Normandy. Permission was granted, but, having travelled as far as Apulia (Italy) on the return journey, the envoys learned that William himself had meanwhile died. They then decided to re-inter Robert's body in Italy.

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