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| Duchy of Normandy (County of Rouen, prior to 966) in the 10th and 11th Century. "The Vikings first began raids of the area in the late 8th century. Permanent Scandinavian settlement occurred before 911, when King Charles reached an agreement surrendering the County of Rouen to Rollo, a Viking leader. The lands around Rouen became the core of the later Duchy of Normandy. Normandy may have been used as a base for Late 10th Century Scandinavian attacks on England, contributing to the tension and conflict between the two regions.". (source) |
996-1015 Composition of Historia Normannorum (History of the Normans), by Dudo of Saint-Quentin. "deals with the history of the Normans from 852 to the death of Duke Richard in 996." "dedicated to Adalberon, bishop of Laon. Dudo does not appear to have consulted any existing documents for his history, but to have obtained his information from oral tradition, much of it being supplied by Raoul, count of Ivry, a half-brother of Duke Richard. Consequently, the Historia partakes of the nature of a romance, and on this ground has been regarded as untrustworthy by such competent critics as Ernst Dümmler and Georg Waitz. Other authorities, however, e.g., J. Lair and J. Steenstrup, while admitting the existence of a legendary element, regard the book as of considerable value for the history of the Normans."
"Dudo, a Norman historian, and dean of Saint-Quentin, where he was born about 965. Sent in 986 by Albert I, Count of Vermandois, on an errand to Richard I, Count of Rouen he succeeded in his mission, and, having made a very favorable impression at the Norman court, spent some years in that country. During a second stay in Normandy, Dudo wrote his history of the Normans, a task which Count Richard had urged him to undertake. Very little else is known about his life, except that he died before 1043."
996 Richard I, Count of Rouen, dies. Succeeded by Richard II the Good (b. 963) (French: Le Bon), who is granted title Duke of Normandy. "H was the eldest son and heir of Richard I the Fearless and Gunnora."
966 Flodoard, chroniclers, dies.
942 William I Longsword ambushed and killed at Picquigny on the Somme (Dec. 17) "by followers of Arnulf while at a peace conference to settle their differences." "Longsword fathered his son, Richard the Fearless (b. 933) (French, Richard Sans-Peur),, with Sprota who was a Breton captive and his concubine. Richard succeeded him as Count of Rouen." "Dudo of Saint-Quentin, whom Richard commissioned to write the "De moribus et actis primorum Normanniae ducum" (Latin, "On the Customs and Deeds of the First Dukes of Normandy"), called him a Dux. However, this use of the word may have been in the context of Richard's renowned leadership in war, and not as a reference to a title of nobility. Richard either introduced feudalism into Normandy or he greatly expanded it. By the end of his reign, most important Norman landholders held their lands in feudal tenure."
940 William I Longsword meets Louis IV, pledges allegiance to him. "in return, he was confirmed in lands that had been given to his father, Rollo"
939 William I Longsword attacks Flanders, "Arnulf I, Count of Flanders, and Louis IV, King of France, retaliated by attacking Normandy. Arnulf captured the castle of Montreuil-sur-Mer expelling Herluin, Count of Ponthieu. Herluin and Longsword cooperated to retake the castle.[25][26] Longsword was excommunicated for his actions in attacking and destroying several estates belonging to Arnulf."
933 Cherbourg Peninsula and the Channel Islands added to the County of Rouen.
927 Rollo, Count of Rouen dies. Buried in Rouen. "Before his death (in 927), Rollo gave his son, William I Longsword, governance of the County of Rouen that he had founded. After William succeeded him the offspring of Rollo and his men became known as the Normans, under leadership of Rollo's progeny, the Counts of Rouen."
"William I Longsword (French: Guillaume Longue-Épée, Latin: Willermus Longa Spata, Old Norse: Vilhjálmr Langaspjót), (c. 893 – 17 December 942) was the second ruler of Normandy, from 927 until his assassination. "He is sometimes anachronistically dubbed "Duke of Normandy", even though the title duke (dux) did not come into common usage until the 11th century. Longsword was known at the time by the title Count (Latin comes) of Rouen. Flodoard (894-966)—always detailed about titles—consistently referred to both Rollo and his son William as principes (chieftains) of the Norse."
920 Stephen of Liège (Étienne de Liège) dies. s bishop of Liège from 901 to 920. He was a hagiographer and composer of church music."
912 Rollo, Count of Rouen, converts to Christianity.
911 County of Rouen granted as a fiefdom to appease Rollo the Viking.
(Fiefdom later known as the Duchy of Normandy after 996)
Charles the Simple, King of West Francia, seeking protection from his enemies,
grants lands to Rollo the Viking in exchange for the Norseman's allegiance and his military service in defense of his kingdom.
Origin of Norman feudalism. Norse raiders brought into the continental system by stable feudal allegiances of service in return for land.
"Normandy grew out of various invasions of West Francia by Danish, Norwegian, Hiberno-Norse, Orkney Viking, and Anglo-Danish in the 9th century. Normandy began in 911 as a fief, probably a county (in the sense that it was held by a count), established in 911 by the treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte between King Charles III (King of Western Francia) and a Viking leader, Rollo."
"Charles the Simple (Charles III), the King of West Francia, ceded the Vikings lands between the mouth of the Seine and what is now the city of Rouen in exchange for Rollo agreeing to end his brigandage, and provide the Franks with his protection against further incursion by Norse war bands."
c. 900 Rollo, Viking leader, seizes Rouen. Born 846, "came from a noble warrior family of Scandinavian origin. After making himself independent of the Norwegian king Harald Fairhair, Rollo sailed off to Scotland, Ireland, England and Flanders on pirating expeditions, and took part in raids along France's Seine river. won a reputation as a great leader of Viking rovers in Ireland and Scotland, and emerged as the outstanding personality among the Norsemen who had secured a permanent foothold on Frankish soil in the valley of the lower Seine."
898 Odo dies. Succeeded as King of West Francia by Charles the Simple (Charles III).
888 Odo, Count of Paris, elected King of the Franks after the death of Charles the Fat.
888 Charles III the Fat dies in retirement. Last ruler of the unified Empire.
887 During a coup led by his nephew Arnulf of Carinthia in November 887, Charles III is deposed in East Francia, Lotharingia, and Italy.
886 Siege of Paris broken by arrival of army of Charles the Fat (Oct.)
885 Vikings return, laying siege to Paris (Nov. 24). Vikings arrive at Paris demanding tribute (Nov). "This was denied by Odo, Count of Paris, despite the fact that he could assemble only a couple of hundred soldiers to defend the city. The Vikings attacked with a variety of siege engines, but failed to break through the city walls after some days of intense attacks. The siege was upheld after the initial attacks, but without any significant offence for months thereafter. As the siege went on, most of the Vikings left Paris to pillage further upriver. The Vikings made a final unsuccessful attempt to take the city during the summer."
884 Carloman II, King of West Francia, dies. His brother Charles III the Fat, Holy Roman Emperor, becomes King of West Francia. His is the last ruler of the unified Empire.
882 Charles III the Fat becomes king of East Francia (Germany).
881 Charles III the Fat, King of Italy (since 879), crowned Emperor by Pope John VIII. (Charles le gros). "Charles III was the youngest son of Louis the German, King of Eastern Francia, and Hemma. An incident of demonic possession is recorded in his youth, in which he was said to have been foaming at the mouth before he was taken to the altar of the church. Usually considered lethargic and inept – he is known to have had repeated illnesses and is believed to have suffered from epilepsy – he twice purchased peace with Viking raiders, including at the famous siege of Paris in 886."
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| A seal of Charles III the Fat with the inscription KAROLVS MAGS ("Carolus Magnus"). Sceau de Charles III le gros, IXème siècle. Bayerisches Nationalmuseum, Munich. (source) |
882 Louis III dies. Carloman II inherits the entire realm of his father, becoming King of West Francia.
880 Louis III and Carloman II unite to fight Duke Boso. "Duke Boso had renounced his allegiance to both brothers and had been elected King of Provence. In the summer of 880 the brothers Carloman and Louis marched against him, took Mâcon and the northern parts of Boso's realm. They united their forces with those of Charles the Fat and unsuccessfully besieged Vienne from August to November. Only in the summer of 882, Vienne was taken after being besieged by Richard, Count of Autun."
879 Louis II the Stammerer dies. His sons Carloman II and Louis III rule jointly after his death, then divide his realm the following year. "Some nobles advocated electing a sole king, but eventually both brothers were elected kings. Although doubts were cast upon their legitimacy, the brothers obtained recognition and in March 880 divided their father's realm at Amiens, Carloman receiving Burgundy and Aquitaine."
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878 Louis II the Stammerer, King of West Francia, gives the counties of Barcelona, Girona, and Besalú to Wilfred the Hairy.
877 Charles the Bald dies. Succeeded as King of West Francia by his 31 y.o. son. Louis II the Stammerer. ( Louis le Bègue, born 846). "the eldest son of Charles the Bald and Ermentrude of Orléans. During the peace negotiations between his father and Erispoe of Brittany, Louis was betrothed to an unnamed daughter of Erispoe in 856. It is not known if this was the same daughter who later married Gurivant. The contract was broken in 857 upon Erispoe's murder. He succeeded his younger brother in Aquitaine in 866 and his father in West Francia in 877, though he was never crowned Emperor. He was crowned king on 8 October 877 by Hincmar, archbishop of Reims, at Compiegne and was crowned a second time in August 878 by Pope John VIII at Troyes while the pope was attending a council there. The pope may even have offered the imperial crown, but it was declined. Louis the Stammerer was said to be physically weak and outlived his father by only two years. He had relatively little impact on politics. He was described "a simple and sweet man, a lover of peace, justice, and religion."
876 Heiric of Auxerre dies."His Miracula sancti Germani was a verse life of St. Germanus. Other works include his Collectaeum, a homiliary, and glosses on the Categoriae decem."
876 Rollo, Viking leader, seizes Rouen (or possibly after 900?)
875 Charles the Bald crowned Holy Roman Emperor at Pavia, reigning as Charles II.
864 Charles the Bald issues Edict of Pistres to provide defense against Viking raids. "To prevent the Vikings from even attaining a great booty, Charles also declared that fortified bridges should be built at all towns on rivers. This was to prevent the dreaded longships from sailing into the interior. Simon Coupland believes that only two bridges, at Pont-de-l'Arche (near Pistres) on the Seine and at Les Ponts-de-Cé on the Loire, were ever fortified, though a few others that had fallen into disrepair were rebuilt "in times of crisis in order to increase troop mobility". Charles also prohibited all trade in weapons with the Vikings, in order to prevent them from establishing bases in Gaul.The penalty for selling horses to the Vikings was death. Since the prohibition on the sale of horses was new, it is probable that mounted Viking raids were on the rise"
859 Future Charles III, son of Charles the Bald, made Count of the Breisgau, an Alemannic march against southern Lotharingia.
852 Start of the era covered by Historia Normannorum.
845 Sack of Paris by Vikings. Appeased by Charles the Bald, King of West Franica. "the culmination of a Viking invasion of the kingdom of the West Franks. The Viking forces were led by a Norse chieftain named "Reginherus", or Ragnar, who traditionally has been identified with the legendary saga character Ragnar Lodbrok. Ragnar's fleet of 120 Viking ships, carrying thousands of men, entered the Seine in March and proceeded to sail up the river. The West Frankish king Charles the Bald assembled a smaller army in response, but as the Vikings defeated one division, comprising half of the army, the remaining forces retreated. The Vikings reached Paris at the end of the month, during Easter. After plundering and occupying the city, the Vikings finally withdrew after receiving a ransom payment of 7,000 French livres (2,570 kilograms or 5,670 pounds) of silver and gold from Charles the Bald.
843 Treaty of Verdun. End of the civil war following the death of Louis I the Pious with agreement dividing his empire . "Charles the Bald was confirmed in Aquitaine,..., and granted West Francia (modern France). Louis the German was confirmed in Bavaria and granted East Francia (modern Germany), the lands east of Lothair's kingdom (Middle Francia)."
840 Death of Louis I the Pious. Empire plunged into three-year civil war over the division of his realm.
838 Louis I the Pious, Holy Roman Emperor and King of the Franks, pronounces the final division of his Empire at Worms. "He made Charles the Bald heir to the west, including Aquitaine, and Lothair heir to the east, including Italy and excluding Bavaria, which was left for Louis the German. However, following the emperor's death in 840, the empire was plunged into a civil war that lasted three years.."
834 Danish Vikings attack the Frankish Empire in Frisia and Dorestad.
822 Louis I the Pious, Holy Roman Emepor makes public penance to the Pope.
820 Viking raid on the Seine River.
816 Louis I the Pious crowned Holy Roman Emperor at Rheims Cathedral by Pope Stephen IV.
810 Franks organize coastal defense against Vikings.
799 Viking raids on the Frankish Empire.
795 Viking raid on Iona Abbey on west coast of Scotland.
794 Viking sack of Monkwearmouth-Jarrow Abbey,
793 Viking raid on Lindisfarne. "In the final decade of the 8th century AD, Norse raiders sacked a series of Christian monasteries located in what is now the United Kingdom, beginning in 793, with a raid on the coastal monastery of Lindisfarne on the east coast of England."
789 Earliest recorded Viking attack, at Portland, Dorset, England.
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