TheNormans (Norman:Normaunds;French:Normands;Latin:Nortmanni/Normanni) were a population arising in the medievalDuchy of Normandy from the intermingling betweenNorse Viking settlers and locals ofWest Francia.[1][2][3] The Norse settlements in West Francia followed a series of raids on the French northern coast mainly from what is now Denmark, although some also sailed from Norway and Sweden.[4] These settlements were finally legitimized whenRollo, a ScandinavianViking leader, agreed to swearfealty toKing Charles III of West Francia following thesiege of Chartres in 911, leading to the formation of theCounty of Rouen. This newfief, throughkinship in the decades to come, would expand into what came to be known as theDuchy of Normandy. The Norse settlers, whom the region as well as its inhabitants were named after, adopted thelanguage,religion,social customs andmartial doctrine of the West Franks but their offspring nonetheless retained many of their traits, notably theirmercenary tendencies and their fervour for adventures. The intermixing between Norse folk and native West Franks in Normandy produced anethnic and cultural "Norman" identity in the first half of the 10th century, an identity which continued to evolve over the centuries.[5]
Norman cultural and military influence spread from these new European centres to theCrusader states of the Near East, where their princeBohemond I founded thePrincipality of Antioch in theLevant, toScotland andWales in Great Britain, toIreland, and to the coasts ofnorth Africa and theCanary Islands. The legacy of the Normans persists today through theregional languages and dialects of France, England, Spain, Quebec and Sicily, and also through the various cultural, judicial, and political arrangements they introduced in their conquered territories.[7][15]
The English name "Normans" comes from theFrench wordsNormans/Normanz, plural ofNormant,[16] modern Frenchnormand, which is itself borrowed fromOld Low FranconianNortmann "Northman"[17] or directly fromOld NorseNorðmaðr,Latinized variously asNortmannus,Normannus, orNordmannus (recorded inMedieval Latin, 9th century) to mean "Norseman,Viking".[18]
Specially marked by cunning, despising their own inheritance in the hope of winning a greater, eager after both gain and dominion, given to imitation of all kinds, holding a certain mean between lavishness and greediness, that is, perhaps uniting, as they certainly did, these two seemingly opposite qualities. Their chief men were specially lavish through their desire of good report. They were, moreover, a race skillful in flattery, given to the study of eloquence, so that the very boys were orators, a race altogether unbridled unless held firmly down by the yoke of justice. They were enduring of toil, hunger, and cold whenever fortune laid it on them, given to hunting and hawking, delighting in the pleasure of horses, and of all the weapons andgarb of war.[19]
Duchy of Normandy between 911 and 1050. In blue the areas of intenseNorse settlement
In the course of the 10th century, the initially destructive incursions ofNorse war bands going upstream into the rivers ofFrance penetrated further into interiorEurope, and evolved into more permanent encampments that included local French women and personal property.[20] From 885 to 886,Odo of Paris (Eudes de Paris) succeeded indefending Paris against Viking raiders with his fighting skills, fortification of Paris and tactical shrewdness.[21] In 911,Robert I of France, brother of Odo, again defeated another band of Viking warriors in Chartres with his well-trained horsemen. This victory paved the way forRollo's baptism and settlement inNormandy.[22] TheDuchy of Normandy, which began in 911 as afiefdom, was established by thetreaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte betweenKing Charles III (Charles the Simple) (879–929, ruled 893–929) ofWest Francia and the famedViking rulerRollo also known as Gaange Rolf (c. 846–c. 929), fromScandinavia, and was situated in the formerFrankish kingdom ofNeustria.[23] The treaty offered Rollo and his men theFrench coastal lands along theEnglish Channel between the riverEpte and theAtlantic Ocean coast in exchange for their protection against further Viking incursions.[23] As well as promising to protect the area of Rouen from Viking invasion, Rollo swore not to invade further Frankish lands himself, accepted baptism and conversion toChristianity and swore fealty to King Charles III. Robert I of France stood as godfather during Rollo's baptism.[24] He became the first Duke of Normandy and Count of Rouen.[25] The area corresponded to the northern part of present-dayUpper Normandy down to the riverSeine, but the Duchy would eventually extend west beyond the Seine.[8] The territory was roughly equivalent to the old province ofRouen, and reproduced the oldRoman Empire's administrative structure ofGallia Lugdunensis II (part of the formerGallia Lugdunensis inGaul).
Before Rollo's arrival, Normandy's populations did not differ fromPicardy or theÎle-de-France, which were considered "Frankish". Earlier Viking settlers had begun arriving in the 880s, but were divided between colonies in the east (Roumois andPays de Caux) around the low Seine valley and in the west in theCotentin Peninsula, and were separated by traditionalpagii, where the population remained about the same with almost no foreign settlers. Rollo's contingents from Scandinavia who raided and ultimately settled Normandy and parts of the European Atlantic coast includedDanes,Norwegians,Norse–Gaels,Orkney Vikings, possiblySwedes, and Anglo-Danes from the EnglishDanelaw territory which earlier came under Norse control in the late 9th century.
The new Norman rulers were culturally and ethnically distinct from the oldFrench aristocracy, most of whom traced their lineage to theFranks of theCarolingian dynasty from the days ofCharlemagne in the 9th century. By intermarrying with the local aristocracy and adopting the growingfeudal doctrines of the rest of France, the Normans would progressively work these principles into a functional hierarchical system in their ownduchy, and later export it toNorman dominated England.[9]
As the proliferation of aristocratic families throughout the French kingdom limited the prospects of most heirs, young knights were encouraged to seek land and riches beyond their homeland, with Normandy becoming a major source of such adventurers.[26] Many Normans of Italy, France and England eventually served as avidCrusaders soldiers under theItalo-Norman princeBohemund I of Antioch and theAngevin-Norman kingRichard the Lion-Heart, one of the more famous and illustrious Kings of England.
Opportunistic bands of Normans successfully established a foothold insouthern Italy. Probably as the result of returning pilgrims' stories, the Normans entered southern Italy as warriors in 1017 at the latest. In 999, according toAmatus of Montecassino, Norman pilgrims returning fromJerusalem called in at the port ofSalerno when a Muslim attack occurred. The Normans fought so valiantly that PrinceGuaimar III begged them to stay, but they refused and instead offered to tell others back home of the Prince's request.William of Apulia tells that, in 1016, Norman pilgrims to the shrine of theArchangel Michael atMonte Gargano were met byMelus of Bari, aLombard nobleman and rebel, who persuaded them to return with more warriors to help throw off theByzantine rule, which they did.
The two most prominent Norman families to arrive in theMediterranean were descendants ofTancred of Hauteville and theDrengot family.A group of Normans with at least five brothers from the Drengot family fought theByzantines inApulia under the command ofMelus of Bari. Between 1016 and 1024, in a fragmented political context, theCounty of Ariano [it] was founded by another group of Norman knights headed byGilbert Buatère and hired by Melus of Bari. Defeated atCannae, Melus of Bari escaped toBamberg,Germany, where he died in 1022. The county, which replaced the pre-existing chamberlainship, is considered to be the first political body established by the Normans in the south of Italy.[27][28]ThenRainulf Drengot, from the same family, received the county ofAversa from DukeSergius IV of Naples in 1030.
TheHauteville family achieved princely rank by proclaiming PrinceGuaimar IV of Salerno "Duke ofApulia andCalabria". He promptly awarded their elected leader,William Iron Arm, with the title of count in his capital ofMelfi. The Drengot family thereafter attained theprincipality of Capua, and EmperorHenry III legally ennobled the Hauteville leader,Drogo, as "dux et magister Italiae comesque Normannorum totius Apuliae et Calabriae" ("Duke and Master of Italy and Count of the Normans of all Apulia and Calabria") in 1047.[29]
Institutionally, the Normans combined the administrative machinery of the Byzantines, Arabs, and Lombards with their own conceptions offeudal law and order to forge a unique government. Under this state, there was great religious freedom, and alongside the Norman nobles existed a meritocratic bureaucracy of Jews, Muslims and Christians, bothCatholic andEastern Orthodox. The Kingdom of Sicily thus became characterized by Norman, Byzantine, Greek, Arab, Lombard and "native" Sicilian populations living in harmony, and itsNorman rulers fostered plans of establishing an empire that would have encompassedFatimid Egypt as well as thecrusader states in theLevant.[31][32][33] One of the great geographical treatises of theMiddle Ages, the "Tabula Rogeriana", was written byal-Idrisi for King Roger II of Sicily, and entitled "Kitab Rudjdjar" ("The Book of Roger").[34]
The Normans began appearing in the military confrontations between Christians and Muslims in the Iberian Peninsula since the early eleventh century. The first Norman who appears in the narrative sources wasRoger I of Tosny who according toAdemar of Chabannes and the laterChronicle of St Pierre le Vif went to aid the Barcelonese in a series of raids against theAndalusi Muslimsc. 1018.[35] Later in the eleventh century, other Norman adventurers such asRobert Crispin andWalter Giffard participated in the probably papal organisedsiege of Barbastro of 1064. Even after the Norman conquest of England in 1066, the Normans continued to participate in ventures in the peninsula. After the Frankish conquest of the Holy Land during the First Crusade, the Normans began to be encouraged to participate in ventures of conquest in the northeast of the peninsula. The most significant example of this was the incursion ofRotrou II of Perche andRobert Burdet in the 1120s in the Ebro frontier. By 1129 Robert Burdet had been granted a semi-independentprincipality in the city of Tarragona by the then Archbishop of this see, Oleguer Bonestruga. Several others of Rotrou's Norman followers were rewarded with lands in the Ebro valley by King Alfonso I of Aragon for their services.[36]
With the rising popularity of the sea route to the Holy Land, Norman and Anglo-Norman crusaders also started to be encouraged locally by Iberian prelates to participate in the Portuguese incursions into the western areas of the Peninsula. The first of these incursions occurred when a fleet of these Crusaders was invited by the Portuguese kingAfonso I Henriques to conquer the city of Lisbon in 1142.[37] Although thisSiege of Lisbon (1142) was a failure it created a precedent for their involvement in Portugal. So in 1147 when another group of Norman and other groups of crusaders from Northern Europe arrived in Porto on their way to join the crusading forces of theSecond Crusade, the Bishop of Porto and later Afonso Henriques according toDe expugnatione Lyxbonensi convinced them to help with thesiege of Lisbon. This time the city was captured and according to the arrangement agreed upon with the Portuguese monarch many of them settled in the newly sacked city.[38] The following year the remainder of the crusading fleet, including a substantial number of Anglo-Normans, was invited by the count of Barcelona,Ramon Berenguer IV, to participate in thesiege of Tortosa (1148). Again the Normans were rewarded with lands in the newly conquered frontier city.[39]
Between 1135 and 1160, the NormanKingdom of Sicily conquered and kept as vassals several cities on theIfriqiya coast, corresponding to Tunisia and parts of Algeria and Libya today.They were lost to the Almohads.
Soon after the Normans began to enter Italy, they entered theByzantine Empire and thenArmenia, fighting against thePechenegs, theBulgarians, and especially theSeljuk Turks. Norman mercenaries were first encouraged to come to the south by the Lombards to act against the Byzantines, but they soon fought in Byzantine service in Sicily. They were prominent alongsideVarangian and Lombard contingents in the Sicilian campaign ofGeorge Maniaces in 1038–40. There is debate whether the Normans in Greek service actually were from Norman Italy, and it now seems likely only a few came from there. It is also unknown how many of the "Franks", as the Byzantines called them, were Normans and not other Frenchmen.
A chronological map of the Norman Conquests
One of the first Norman mercenaries to serve as a Byzantine general wasHervé in the 1050s. By then, however, there were already Norman mercenaries serving as far away asTrebizond andGeorgia. They were based atMalatya andEdessa, under the Byzantine duke ofAntioch,Isaac Komnenos. In the 1060s,Robert Crispin led the Normans of Edessa against the Turks.Roussel de Bailleul even tried to carve out an independent state inAsia Minor with support from the local population in 1073, but he was stopped in 1075 by the Byzantine general and future emperorAlexius Komnenos.[40]
Some Normans joined Turkish forces to aid in the destruction of the Armenian vassal-states ofSassoun andTaron in far easternAnatolia. Later, many took up service with theArmenian state further south in Cilicia and theTaurus Mountains. A Norman namedOursel led a force of "Franks" into the upperEuphrates valley in northernSyria. From 1073 to 1074, 8,000 of the 20,000 troops of the Armenian generalPhilaretus Brachamius were Normans—formerly of Oursel—led byRaimbaud. They even lent their ethnicity to the name of their castle: Afranji, meaning "Franks". The known trade betweenAmalfi and Antioch and betweenBari andTarsus may be related to the presence of Italo-Normans in those cities while Amalfi and Bari were under Norman rule in Italy.
Several families of Byzantine Greece were of Norman mercenary origin during the period of theComnenian Restoration, when Byzantine emperors were seeking out western European warriors. The Raoulii were descended from an Italo-Norman named Raoul, the Petraliphae were descended from a Pierre d'Aulps, and that group ofAlbanian clans known as the Maniakates were descended from Normans who served underGeorge Maniaces in the Sicilian expedition of 1038.
Robert Guiscard, another Norman adventurer previously elevated to the dignity of count ofApulia as the result of his military successes, ultimately drove the Byzantines out of southern Italy. Having obtained the consent ofPope Gregory VII and acting as his vassal, Robert continued his campaign conquering the Balkan peninsula as a foothold for western feudal lords and the Catholic Church. After allying himself withCroatia and the Catholic cities of Dalmatia, in 1081 he led an army of 30,000 men in 300 ships landing on the southern shores ofAlbania, capturingValona,Kanina, Jericho (Orikumi), and reachingButrint after numerous pillages. They joined the fleet that had previously conqueredCorfu and attackedDyrrachium from land and sea, devastating everything along the way. Under these harsh circumstances, the locals accepted the call of EmperorAlexios I Comnenos to join forces with the Byzantines against the Normans. The Byzantine forces could not take part in the ensuingbattle because it had started before their arrival. Immediately before the battle, the Venetian fleet had secured a victory in the coast surrounding the city. Forced to retreat, Alexios ceded the city of Dyrrachium to theCount of the Tent (or Byzantine provincial administrators) mobilizing fromArbanon (i.e., ἐξ Ἀρβάνων ὁρμωμένω Κομισκόρτη; the termΚομισκόρτη is short for κόμης της κόρτης meaning "Count of the Tent").[41] The city's garrison resisted until February 1082, when Dyrrachium was betrayed to the Normans by the Venetian andAmalfitan merchants who had settled there. The Normans were now free to penetrate into the hinterland; they took Ioannina and some minor cities in southwestern Macedonia and Thessaly before appearing at the gates of Thessalonica. Dissension among the high ranks coerced the Normans to retreat to Italy. They lost Dyrrachium, Valona, andButrint in 1085, after the death of Robert.
A few years after theFirst Crusade, in 1107, the Normans under the command of Bohemond, Robert's son, landed in Valona and besieged Dyrrachium using the most sophisticated military equipment of the time, but to no avail. Meanwhile, they occupiedPetrela, the citadel of Mili at the banks of the riverDeabolis, Gllavenica (Ballsh), Kanina and Jericho. This time, the Albanians sided with the Normans, dissatisfied by the heavy taxes the Byzantines had imposed upon them. With their help, the Normans secured theArbanon passes and opened their way to Dibra. The lack of supplies, disease and Byzantine resistance forced Bohemond to retreat from his campaign and sign a peace treaty with the Byzantines in the city of Deabolis.
The further decline of Byzantine state-of-affairs paved the road to a third attack in 1185, when a large Norman army invadedDyrrachium, owing to the betrayal of high Byzantine officials. Some time later, Dyrrachium—one of the most important naval bases of theAdriatic—fell again to Byzantine hands.
Modern depiction of 11th century Norman cavalry and infantry
The Normans were in contact with England from an early date. Not only were their original Viking brethren still ravaging the English coasts, they occupied most of the important ports opposite England across theEnglish Channel. This relationship eventually produced closer ties of blood through the marriage ofEmma, sister of DukeRichard II of Normandy, and KingEthelred II of England. Due to this, Ethelred fled to Normandy in 1013, when he was forced from his kingdom bySweyn Forkbeard. His stay in Normandy (until 1016) influenced him and his sons by Emma, who stayed in Normandy afterCnut the Great's conquest of the isle.
WhenEdward the Confessor finally returned from his father's refuge in 1041, at the invitation of his half-brotherHarthacnut, he brought with him a Norman-educated mind. He also brought many Norman counsellors and fighters, some of whom established an English cavalry force. This concept never really took root, but it is a typical example of Edward's attitude. He appointedRobert of JumiègesArchbishop of Canterbury and madeRalph the TimidEarl of Hereford.
On 14 October 1066,William the Conqueror gained a decisive victory at theBattle of Hastings, which led to the conquest of England three years later;[42] this can be seen on theBayeux tapestry. The invading Normans and their descendants largely replaced theAnglo-Saxons as the ruling class of England. The nobility of England were part of a single Norman culture and many had lands on both sides of the channel. Early Norman kings of England, as Dukes of Normandy, owed homage to the King of France for their land on the continent. They considered England to be their most important holding (it brought with it the title of King—an important status symbol).
Eventually, the Normans merged with the natives, combining languages and traditions, so much so thatMarjorie Chibnall says "writers still referred to Normans and English; but the terms no longer meant the same as in the immediate aftermath of 1066."[43] In the course of theHundred Years' War, the Norman aristocracy often identified themselves as English. TheAnglo-Norman language became distinct from theFrench spoken in Paris, something that was the subject of some humour byGeoffrey Chaucer. The Anglo-Norman language was eventually absorbed into the Anglo-Saxon language of their subjects (seeOld English) and influenced it, helping (along with theNorse language of the earlierAnglo-Norse settlers and theLatin used by the church) in the development ofMiddle English, which, in turn, evolved intoModern English.
The Normans had a profound effect on Irish culture and history after their invasion atBannow Bay in 1169. Initially, the Normans maintained a distinct culture and ethnicity. Yet, with time, they came to be subsumed into Irish culture to the point that it has been said that they became "more Irish than the Irish themselves". The Normans settled mostly in an area in the east ofIreland, later known asthe Pale, and also built many fine castles and settlements, includingTrim Castle andDublin Castle. The cultures intermixed, borrowing from each other's language, culture and outlook. Normansurnames still exist today. Names such asFrench,(De) Roche,Devereux,D'Arcy andLacy are particularly common in the southeast of Ireland, especially in the southern part ofCounty Wexford, where the first Norman settlements were established. Other Norman names, such asFurlong, predominate there.[clarification needed] Another common Norman-Irish name was Morell (Murrell), derived from the French Norman nameMorel. Names beginning withFitz- (from the Norman for "son") usually indicate Norman ancestry.Hiberno-Norman surnames with theprefixFitz- includeFitzgerald,FitzGibbons (Gibbons) as well asFitzmaurice. Families bearing such surnames asBarry (de Barra) andDe Búrca (Burke) are also of Norman extraction.
One of the claimants of the English throne opposingWilliam the Conqueror,Edgar Atheling, eventually fled to Scotland. KingMalcolm III of Scotland married Edgar's sisterMargaret, and came into opposition to William who had already disputed Scotland's southern borders. William invaded Scotland in 1072, riding as far asAbernethy where he met up with his fleet of ships. Malcolm submitted, paid homage to William and surrendered his sonDuncan as a hostage, beginning a series of arguments as to whether the Scottish Crown owed allegiance to the King of England.
Normans went into Scotland, building castles and founding noble families that would provide some future kings, such asRobert the Bruce, as well as founding a considerable number of theScottish clans. KingDavid I of Scotland, whose elder brotherAlexander I had marriedSybilla of Normandy, was instrumental in introducing Normans and Norman culture toScotland, part of the process some scholars call the "Davidian Revolution". Having spent time at the court ofHenry I of England (married to David's sisterMaud of Scotland), and needing them to wrestle the kingdom from his half-brotherMáel Coluim mac Alaxandair, David had to reward many with lands. The process was continued under David's successors, most intensely of all underWilliam the Lion. The Norman-derivedfeudal system was applied in varying degrees to most of Scotland. Scottish families of the namesBruce,Gray, Ramsay, Fraser, Rose, Ogilvie, Montgomery, Sinclair, Pollock, Burnard, Douglas andGordon to name but a few, and including the later royalHouse of Stewart, can all be traced back to Norman ancestry.
Even before the Norman Conquest of England, the Normans had come into contact withWales. Edward the Confessor had set up the aforementioned Ralph as Earl of Hereford and charged him with defending theMarches and warring with the Welsh. In these original ventures, the Normans failed to make any headway into Wales.
After the Conquest, however, the Marches came completely under the dominance of William's most trusted Norman barons, includingBernard de Neufmarché,Robert Fitzhamon,Roger of Montgomery inShropshire andHugh Lupus inCheshire. These Normans began a long period of slow conquest during which almost all of Wales was at some point subject to Norman interference. Norman words, such asbaron (barwn), first enteredWelsh at that time.
The legendary religious zeal of the Normans was exercised in religious wars long before theFirst Crusade carved out a Normanprincipality in Antioch. They were major foreign combatants in theReconquista inIberia. In 1018,Roger de Tosny travelled to the Iberian Peninsula to carve out a state for himself fromMoorish lands, but failed. In 1064, during theWar of Barbastro,William of Montreuil,Roger Crispin and probablyWalter Guiffard led an army under the papal banner which took a huge booty as they captured the city from its Andelusi rulers. Later a group of Normans led by certain William (some have suggested this wasWilliam the Carpenter) participated in the failed siege of Tudela of 1087.[44]
In 1096, Crusaders passing by the siege ofAmalfi were joined byBohemond of Taranto and his nephewTancred with an army of Italo-Normans. Bohemond was thede facto leader of the Crusade during its passage throughAsia Minor. After the successfulSiege of Antioch in 1097, Bohemond began carving out an independent principality around that city. Tancred was instrumental in the conquest ofJerusalem and he worked for the expansion of theCrusader kingdom inTransjordan and the region ofGalilee.[citation needed].
After the First Crusade to the Levant, the Normans continued with their involvement in Iberia as well as other areas of the Mediterranean. Among them was Rotrou of Perche and his followersRobert Burdet andWilliam Giffard who joined multiple expeditions into the Ebro Valley to aid Alfonso I of Aragon in his campaigns of conquest. Robert Burdet managed to acquire the position of Alcide of Tudela by 1123 and later that of Prince of the city Tarragona in 1129.[45]
The conquest ofCyprus by theAnglo-Norman forces of theThird Crusade opened a new chapter in the history of the island, which would be underWestern European domination for the following 380 years. Although not part of a planned operation, the conquest had much more permanent results than initially expected.
In April 1191,Richard the Lion-hearted leftMessina with a large fleet in order to reachAcre.[46] But a storm dispersed the fleet. After some searching, it was discovered that the boat carrying his sister and his fiancée Berengaria was anchored on the south coast of Cyprus, together with the wrecks of several other ships, including the treasure ship. Survivors of the wrecks had been taken prisoner by the island's despotIsaac Komnenos.[47] On 1 May 1191, Richard's fleet arrived in the port ofLimassol on Cyprus.[47] He ordered Isaac to release the prisoners and the treasure.[47] Isaac refused, so Richard landed his troops and took Limassol.[48]
Various princes of the Holy Land arrived in Limassol at the same time, in particularGuy de Lusignan. All declared their support for Richard provided that he support Guy against his rivalConrad of Montferrat.[49] The local barons abandoned Isaac, who considered making peace with Richard, joining him on thecrusade, and offering his daughter in marriage to the person named by Richard.[50] But Isaac changed his mind and tried to escape. Richard then proceeded to conquer the whole island, his troops being led by Guy de Lusignan. Isaac surrendered and was confined with silver chains, because Richard had promised that he would not place him in irons. By 1 June, Richard had conquered the whole island. His exploit was well publicized and contributed to his reputation; he also derived significant financial gains from the conquest of the island.[51] Richard left forAcre on 5 June, with his allies.[51] Before his departure, he named two of his Norman generals,Richard de Camville andRobert de Thornham, as governors of Cyprus.
While in Limassol, Richard the Lion-Heart marriedBerengaria of Navarre, first-born daughter of KingSancho VI of Navarre. The wedding was held on 12 May 1191 at the Chapel of St. George and it was attended by Richard's sisterJoan, whom he had brought fromSicily. The marriage was celebrated with great pomp and splendor. Among other grand ceremonies was a double coronation: Richard caused himself to be crownedKing of Cyprus, and Berengaria Queen of England andQueen of Cyprus as well.
Norman expeditionary ship depicted in the chronicleLe Canarien (1490)
The rapid Anglo-Norman conquest proved more important than it seemed. The island occupied a key strategic position on the maritime lanes to the Holy Land, whose occupation by the Christians could not continue without support from the sea.[52] Shortly after the conquest, Cyprus was sold to theKnights Templar and it was subsequently acquired, in 1192, by Guy de Lusignan and became astable feudal kingdom.[52] It was only in 1489 that theVenetians acquired full control of the island, which remained a Christian stronghold until thefall of Famagusta in 1571.[51]
WhenNorseVikings fromScandinavia arrived in the then-province ofNeustria and settled the land that became known as Normandy, they originally spokeOld Norse, aNorth Germanic language. Over time, they came to live among the localGallo-Romance-speaking population, with the two communities converging to the point that the original Norsemen largely assimilated and adopted the local dialect ofOld French while contributing some elements from theOld Norse language.[54][55] This Norse-influenced dialect which then arose was known asOld Norman, and it is the ancestor of both the modernNorman language still spoken today in theChannel Islands and parts of mainland Normandy, as well as the historicalAnglo-Norman language in England. Old Norman was also an important language of thePrincipality of Antioch during Crusader rule in theLevant.[56]
Old Norman andAnglo-Norman literature was quite extensive during the Middle Ages, with records existing from notable Norman poets such asWace, who was born on the island ofJersey and raised in mainland Normandy.[57]
Thecustomary law ofNormandy was developed between the 10th and 13th centuries and survives today through the legal systems ofJersey andGuernsey in theChannel Islands. Norman customary law was transcribed in twocustomaries inLatin by two judges for use by them and their colleagues:[58] These are theTrès ancien coutumier (Very ancient customary), authored between 1200 and 1245; and theGrand coutumier de Normandie (Great customary of Normandy, originallySumma de legibus Normanniae in curia laïcali), authored between 1235 and 1245.
Norman law during the ducal period, between 1000 and 1144, blended local Frankish traditions, Carolingian legal structures, and Viking influences. This unique combination created a legal system distinct from both its Norse and Frankish predecessors.[59] The Norse customs that were adopted emphasized community-based dispute resolution, honor, and reparation. The Carolingian legal principles that the Normans utilized were the written codes, administrative structure, and practices such as the use of oaths and ordeals. Lastly, the Normans wanted to preserve some of the existing customary practices in Normandy, particularly in rural areas, such as land ownership and inheritance, governance through local assemblies, and customary taxation and resource management.
In England, the Normans replaced the Anglo-Saxon landholding customs with a feudal system. Under this system, all land was held by the king, who granted it to nobles in exchange for military service and other obligations. The nobles, in turn, granted portions of their land to vassals, land holders for the king, which created a hierarchal structure of land tenure. TheDomesday Book, written in 1086 formalized land ownership and feudal obligations in England, creating a legal framework form resolving disputes over property.[60]
Legal obligations under this feudal system included required military service to the land's respective lords. Failure to meet these duties often resulted in forfeiture of land or other penalties. The disputes over land and feudal obligations were resolved in feudal courts. These courts operated at various levels: local, manorial, or baronial - and reinforced the feudal hierarchy by emphasizing the lord's role as the arbiter of justice within his domain.[61]
Norman architecture typically stands out as a new stage in the architectural history of the regions they subdued. They spread a uniqueRomanesque idiom to England, Italy and Ireland, and theencastellation of these regions withkeeps in their north French style fundamentally altered the military landscape. Their style was characterised by roundedarches, particularly over windows and doorways, and massive proportions.
In England, the period of Norman architecture immediately succeeds that of theAnglo-Saxon and precedes theEarly Gothic. In southern Italy, the Normans incorporated elements ofIslamic,Lombard, andByzantine building techniques into their own, initiating a unique romanesque style known asNorman-Arab architecture within theKingdom of Sicily and precedes the Early Gothic.[5]
In the visual arts, the Normans did not have the rich and distinctive traditions of the cultures they conquered. However, in the early 11th century, the dukes began a programme of church reform, encouraging theCluniac reform of monasteries and patronising intellectual pursuits, especially the proliferation ofscriptoria and the reconstitution of a compilation of lostilluminated manuscripts. The church was utilised by the dukes as a unifying force for their disparate duchy. The chief monasteries taking part in this "renaissance" of Norman art and scholarship wereMont-Saint-Michel,Fécamp,Jumièges,Bec,Saint-Ouen,Saint-Evroul, andSaint-Wandrille. These centres were in contact with the so-called "Winchester school", which channeled a pureCarolingian artistic tradition to Normandy. In the final decade of the 11th and first of the 12th century, Normandy experienced a golden age of illustrated manuscripts, but it was brief and the major scriptoria of Normandy ceased to function after the midpoint of the century.
TheFrench Wars of Religion in the 16th century and theFrench Revolution in the 18th successively destroyed much of what existed in the way of the architectural and artistic remnant of this Norman creativity. The former, with their violence, caused the wanton destruction of many Norman edifices; the latter, with its assault on religion, caused the purposeful destruction of religious objects of any type, and its destabilisation of society resulted in rampant pillaging.
In Britain, Norman art primarily survives asstonework ormetalwork, such ascapitals andbaptismal fonts. In southern Italy, however, Norman artwork survives plentifully in forms strongly influenced by itsGreek,Lombard, andArab forebears. Of the royal regalia preserved inPalermo, the crown isGermanic andByzantine in style and the coronation cloak is of Arab craftsmanship withArabic inscriptions. Many churches preserve sculptured fonts, capitals, and more importantly mosaics, which were common in Norman Italy and drew heavily on the Greek heritage. Lombard Salerno was a centre ofivorywork in the 11th century and this continued under Norman domination.
An illuminated manuscript fromSaint-Evroul depictingKing David on the lyre (or harp) in the middle of the back of the initial 'B'
Normandy was the site of several important developments in the history ofclassical music in the 11th century.Fécamp Abbey andSaint-Evroul Abbey were centres of musical production and education. At Fécamp, under two Italian abbots,William of Volpiano and John of Ravenna, the system of denoting notes by letters was developed and taught. It is still the most common form of pitch representation in English- and German-speaking countries today. Also at Fécamp, thestaff, around whichneumes were oriented, was first developed and taught in the 11th century. Under the German abbotIsembard,La Trinité-du-Mont became a centre of musical composition.
At Saint Evroul, a tradition of singing had developed and the choir achieved fame in Normandy. Under the Norman abbotRobert de Grantmesnil, several monks of Saint-Evroul fled to southern Italy, where they were patronised by Robert Guiscard and established a Latin monastery atSant'Eufemia Lamezia. There they continued the tradition of singing.
^Brown 1994, p. 18: "The first Viking settlers in Normandy, it is agreed, were predominantly Danish, though their leader, Rollo was of Norse extraction."
^Brown 1994, p. 19: "the Northmen of Normandy became increasingly Gallicized, increasingly Norman we may say, until by the mid-eleventh century they were more French than the French, or, to speak correctly, more Frankish than the Franks."
^Du Cluzel de Remaurin, Chevalier. (1863)."Généalogie de la noble et ancienne maison des Le Roy".Bibliothèque nationale de France, département Philosophie, histoire, sciences de l'homme.Archived from the original on 30 May 2023. Retrieved30 May 2023.D'orgine normande, la noble maison des LE ROY 1, divisée en quatre principales bran-ches, dont nous donnons ici la généalogie, remonte à la plus haute antiquité, c'est-à-dire à ces fiers enfants du Nord (Nort-mans) qui, du fond de la Norwège 2, sous la conduite des Hadding, des Gerlon, des Héric et autres chefs non moins inhumains et farouches, inon-dèrent la Gaule au septième siècle, et ne laissèrent rien d'entier sur leur passage que les traces sanglantes de leur barbarie, la désolation et des' ruines, assiégèrent trois fois Paris et en effrayèrent si fort les habitants..." "2 Nortwége selon Moriri, et Norwegue selon Bruzen de a Martinière.
^"Etymologie de Normand" (in French). Centre National de Ressources Textuelles et Lexicales.Archived from the original on 30 January 2012. Retrieved22 April 2011.
^Duby, Georges (1964). "Dans la France du Nord-Ouest au XIIe siècle : les " jeunes " dans la société aristocratique".Annales. Economies, sociétés, civilisations. 19ᵉ année (in French).19 (5):835–846.doi:10.3406/ahess.1964.421226.S2CID161176498.
^Lucas Villegas-Aristizábal (2015) 'Norman and Anglo-Norman Intervention in the Iberian Wars of Reconquest before and after the First Crusade', in Harlock and Oldfield, Crusading and Pilgrimage in the Norman World, Woodbridge, Boydell, pp. 103–124https://doi.org/10.1484/J.NMS.5.111293Archived 2 May 2023 at theWayback Machine
^Lucas Villegas-Aristizábal, 'The Changing Priorities in the Norman Incursions into the Iberian Peninsula's Muslim–Christian Frontiers, 1018–1191', inNormans in the Mediterranean, eds. Emily Winkler and Liam Fitzgerald, MISCS 9, Turnhout: Brepols, 2021, pp. 90–91.http://www.brepols.net/Pages/ShowProduct.aspx?prod_id=IS-9782503590578-1Archived 28 September 2021 at theWayback Machine
^Elisabeth Ridel (2010).Les Vikings et les mots. Editions Errance.
^"Norman".Encyclopædia Britannica.Archived from the original on 24 March 2022. Retrieved22 July 2020.Norman, member of those Vikings, or Norsemen, who settled in northern France...The Normans (from Nortmanni: "Northmen") were originally pagan barbarian pirates from Denmark, Norway, and Iceland
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