| Rollo | |
|---|---|
 Rollo as depicted in the 13th century | |
| Count of Rouen | |
| Reign | 911–928 |
| Successor | William Longsword |
| Born | c. 835/870[1][2][3] Scandinavia |
| Died | 933 Duchy of Normandy |
| Burial | |
| Spouses |
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| Issue more | |
| House | Normandy (founder) |
| Religion | |
Rollo (Norman:Rou,Rolloun;Old Norse:Hrólfr;French:Rollon;c. 835/870 – 933), also known with his epithet,Rollo "the Walker",[4] was aViking who, as Count ofRouen, became the first ruler ofNormandy, a region in today's northern France. He was prominent among the Vikings whobesieged Paris in 885–886,[5][6] and he emerged as a war leader among theNorsemen who had secured a permanent foothold onFrankish soil in the valley of the lowerSeine after theSiege of Chartres in 911.Charles the Simple, king ofWest Francia, agreed to theTreaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte, which granted Rollo lands between the riverEpte and the sea in exchange for Rollo agreeing to end his brigandage,swear allegiance to Charles,convert to Christianity, and pledge to defend the Seine estuary from other Viking raiders.[7][8]
Rollo's life was recorded byDudo of St. Quentin. Historians such as W. Vogel,Alexander Bugge, and Henri Prentout have debated whether Dudo's account is historically accurate,[9] and Rollo's origin and life are heavily disputed.
Rollo is first recorded in a charter of 918 as the leader of a group of Viking settlers, and he reigned over the region of Normandy until at least 928. He was succeeded as ruler of the newDuchy of Normandy by his sonWilliam Longsword.[10] The offspring of Rollo and his followers, through their intermingling with the local Frankish and Gallo-Roman population, became known as the "Normans". After theNorman conquest of England and ofsouthern Italy and Sicily over the following two centuries, their descendants came to ruleEngland, much ofIreland,Sicily andAntioch from the 11th to 13th centuries, leaving behind an enduring legacy in the histories of Europe and theNear East.[11]
TheHeimskringla (written in the 13th century) records that Rolf the Ganger went to Normandy and ruled it, so Rollo is generally presumed to be aLatinisation of the Old Norse nameHrólfr, a theory that is supported by the rendition of Hrólfr asRoluo in theGesta Danorum by Saxo Grammaticus. It is also sometimes suggested that Rollo may be a Latinised version of another Norse name,Hrollaugr.[12]
The 10th-century French historianDudo in hisHistoria Normannorum records that Rollo took thebaptismal name Robert.[13] A variant spelling,Rou, is used in the 12th-centuryNorman French verse chronicleRoman de Rou, which was compiled byWace and commissioned by KingHenry II of England, a descendant of Rollo.[14][15]
Rollo was born in the mid-9th century, as his tomb states he was in his eighties when he died in 933; he was almost certainly born inScandinavia, either in Denmark or Norway. In part, this uncertainty may result from the unspecific contemporary usage of terms such as "Vikings", "Northmen", "Norse", "Swedes", "Danes", and "Norwegians" (Dani vel Nortmanni in medieval Latin).
The earliest well-attested historical event associated with Rollo is his part in leading the Vikings whobesieged Paris in 885–886 but were fended off byOdo of France.[5][6]
Sources do not make clear the year of Rollo's birth, but from his activity, marriage, children, and death, the mid-9th century may be inferred.
Among biographical remarks about Rollo written by the clericDudo of Saint-Quentin in the late 10th century, he claimed that Rollo "the Dane" was fromDacia, and had moved from there to the island ofScandza.Dacia originally referred to the region near theBlack Sea, but Dudo identified it withDenmark by making a false etymology betweenDaci (Dacians) andDani (Danes).[16] One of Rollo's great-grandsons and a contemporary of Dudo was known asRobert the Dane. However, Dudo'sHistoria Normannorum (orLibri III de moribus et actis primorum Normanniae ducum) was commissioned by Rollo's grandson, Richard I of Normandy and while Dudo likely had access to family members and/or other people with a living memory of Rollo, this fact must be weighed against the text's potential biases, as an official biography.[17]
According to Dudo, an unnamed king of Denmark was antagonistic to Rollo's family, including his father – an unnamed Danish nobleman – and Rollo's brother Gurim. Following the death of their father, Gurim was killed and Rollo was forced to leave Denmark.[18] Dudo appears to have been the main source forWilliam of Jumièges (after 1066) andOrderic Vitalis (early 12th century), although both include additional details.[19]
A Norwegian background for Rollo was first explicitly claimed byGoffredo Malaterra (Geoffrey Malaterra), an 11th-centuryBenedictine monk and historian, who wrote: "Rollo sailed boldly from Norway with his fleet to the Christian coast."[20] Likewise, the 12th-century English historianWilliam of Malmesbury stated that Rollo was "born of noble lineage among the Norwegians".[21]
A chronicler named Benoît (probablyBenoît de Sainte-More) wrote in the mid-12th-centuryChronique des ducs de Normandie that Rollo had been born in a town named "Fasge". This has since been variously interpreted as referring toFaxe inSjælland (Denmark), Fauske inSykkylven (Norway), or perhaps a more obscure settlement that has since been abandoned or renamed. Benoît also repeated the claim that Rollo had been persecuted by a local ruler and had fled from there to "Scanza island", by which Benoît probably meansScania (SwedishSkåne). Benoît says elsewhere in theChronique that Rollo is Danish.[22]
Snorri Sturluson identified Rollo with Hrólfr the Walker (NorseGöngu-Hrólfr; DanishGanger-Hrólf) from the 13th-centuryIcelandicsagas,Heimskringla andOrkneyinga Saga. Hrólf the Walker was so named because he "was so big that no horse could carry him".[23] The Icelandic sources claim that Hrólfr was fromMøre[24] in westernNorway, in the late 9th century and that his parents were the Norwegian jarlRognvald Eysteinsson ('Rognvald the Wise') and a noblewoman from Møre namedHildr Hrólfsdóttir. However, these claims were made three centuries after the history commissioned by Rollo's own grandson.
There may be circumstantial evidence for kinship between Rollo and his historical contemporaryKetill Flatnose,King of the Isles – a Norse realm centred on theWestern Isles of Scotland. Both Irish and Icelandic sources suggest that Rollo, as a young man, visited or lived in northern Scotland, where he had a daughter named Cadlinar (Kaðlín Kathleen).[25][26] Icelandic sources name Ketill Flatnose's father as Björn Grímsson,[27] which would imply that the name of Ketill Flatnose's paternal grandfather wasGrim. That would be limited,onomastic evidence for a connection to Rollo, whose father (according to Richer) was named Ketill, while Rollo also (according to Dudo) had a brother named Gurim – a name likely cognate withGrim. In addition, Icelandic sources report that Rollo's ancestral home wasMøre, where Ketill Flatnose's ancestors were also said to have originated. However, there are no surviving sources explicitly claiming a connection;Ketill was a common name in Norse societies,[28] as were names like Gurim/Grim.
Dudo's chronicle about Rollo seizingRouen in 876 is supported by the contemporary chroniclerFlodoard, who records that Robert of theBreton March waged a campaign against the Vikings, nearly levelling Rouen and other settlements. Eventually, he conceded "certain coastal provinces" to them.[29] Although, scholars have debated this and have said that Rollo did not even arrive inWest Francia until after the year 876, making this timeline given in Dudo wrong.[30]
According to Dudo, Rollo struck up a friendship in England with a king called “Alstem”. This has puzzled many historians, but recently this person has been identified asGuthrum, the Danish leader whom Alfred the Great baptised with the name “Athelstan”, and was recognised as King of the East Angles in 880.[31][32]
Dudo recorded that when Rollo controlled Bayeux by force, he carried off the beautifulPopa or Poppa, a daughter of Berenger, Count of Rennes. He married her, and she bore his son and heir,William Longsword.[33] Her parentage is uncertain, and may have been invented after the fact to legitimize her son's lineage, as many of the fantastic genealogical claims made by Dudo were. She may have come from any country with which the Norse had contact, as Dudo is a highly unreliable source who may have written his chronicle primarily as a didactic tool to teach courtly values.[34]
There are few contemporary mentions of Rollo. 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 for Rollo's baptism and settlement in Normandy. In return for formal recognition of the lands he possessed, Rollo agreed to be baptised and assisted the king in defending the realm. As was custom, Rollo took thebaptismal name “Robert”, after his godfather, Robert I.[35]
The seal of the agreement was to be a marriage between Rollo andGisela, daughter of Charles, possibly her legitimate father.[36] Since Charles first married in 907, that would mean that Gisela was at most 5 years old at the time of the treaty of 911 which offered her in marriage.[37] It has therefore been speculated that she could have been an illegitimate daughter.[38] However, a diplomatic child betrothal need not be doubted.[37]
The earliest record of Rollo is from 918, in a charter ofCharles III to an abbey, which referred to an earlier grant to "the Normans of theSeine", namely "Rollo and his associates" for "the protection of the kingdom".[39] Dudo retrospectively stated that this pact took place in 911 atSaint-Clair-sur-Epte.
Dudo narrates a humorous story not found in other primary sources about Rollo's pledge of fealty to Charles III as part of theTreaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte. The attendant bishops urged Rollo to kiss the king's foot to prove his allegiance. Rollo refused, saying "I will never bow my knees at the knees of any man, and no man's foot will I kiss."[40] Instead, Rollo commanded one of his warriors to kiss the king's foot. The warrior complied by raising the king's foot to his mouth as the king was standing, which "caused the king to topple backward"[40] much to the amusement of their entourage. On taking his oath of fealty, Rollo divided the lands between the riversEpte andRisle among his chieftains and settled in thede facto capital of Rouen.[41]
Given Rouen and itshinterland in return for the alliance with theFranks, it was agreed upon that it was in the interests of both Rollo himself and his Frankish allies to extend his authority over Viking settlers.[42] This would appear to be the motive for later concessions to the Vikings of the Seine, which are mentioned in other records of the time. When Charles III was being deposed byRudolph of France he appealed to Rollo andRagenold [fr], another one of his Norman allies. With their combined army they marched to his aid in fulfilment of their pledge to theCarolingians, but were stopped at theOise River by Charles' opponents who traded their cooperation for more territorial concessions.[43] The need for an agreement was particularly urgent whenRobert I, successor of Charles III, was killed in 923.[42]
Rudolph was recorded as sponsoring a new agreement by which a group of Norsemen conceded the provinces of the Bessin and Maine. These settlers were presumed to be Rollo and his associates, moving their authority westward from the Seine valley.[42] It is still unclear as to whether Rollo was being given lordship over the Vikings already settled in the region to domesticate and restrain them, or the Franks aroundBayeux to protect them from other Viking leaders settled in easternBrittany and theCotentin peninsula.[44]
Rollo died sometime between a final mention of him byFlodoard in 928, and 933 – the year in which a third grant of land, usually identified as being the Cotentin and Avranchin areas, was given to his son and successorWilliam.[45]
InDudo's story of Rollo, he had a vision in which he was on a high mountain on a Frankish dwelling, where he washed himself in a stream and rid himself of the diseases with which he was infected. He then saw birds of all kinds gather around the mountain and wash themselves in this stream, which remained together as a whole group and found twigs to build nests. This dream was interpreted to mean that the mountain was the church of Christianity, the diseases of which he rid himself were his sins being washed away and his being born again in the baptism of Christianity. The birds of different types represented the different armies and common people having their sins washed away and communities joined. The nests were the walls of the city to be rebuilt, and all were to bow down to Rollo to serve him. Rollo carried this vision with him throughout his journey to Normandy. Once he arrived and was granted land, he dedicated different sections of land to God, saints, and various churches. He was baptised and spread the word of Christianity to his followers.[46]
This account of Rollo's role in Christianity has been long debated by scholars. In his 1752 workMicromégas,Voltaire wrote that "peaceful Rollo was the only legislator of his time on the Christian continent". Recently, Scholars have said that Rollo's law-making was the cause of the civilization of Normandy, not his actual conversion to Christianity.[47] While it has been supported that Rollo and his companions did get baptized, it has been argued that this conversion was only formal at first and paganism was still practiced.[48]
Rollo's son and heir,William Longsword, and grandchild,Richard the Fearless, forged theDuchy of Normandy intoWest Francia's most cohesive and formidable principality.[49] The descendants of Rollo and his men assimilated with the Frankish culture and became known as theNormans, lending their name to the region ofNormandy.[50]
Rollo was the great-great-great-grandfather ofWilliam the Conqueror, the progenitor ofHouse of Normandy in England. As such,Charles III and the currentBritish royal family are descendants of Rollo, albeit not in the direct male line.Henry I of England was the last monarch of the House of Normandy; but his daughterEmpress Matilda was ancestral to the EnglishHouse of Plantagenet and subsequent English monarchs.
Agenetic investigation into the remains of Rollo's grandson Richard the Fearless, and his great-grandsonRichard the Good, was announced in 2011 to discern the origins of the historic Viking leader.[51] On 29 February 2016, Norwegian researchers opened Richard the Good's tomb and found a lower jaw with eight teeth in it.[52] However, the skeletal remains in both graves turned out to significantly predate Rollo and therefore are not related to him.[53]
Rollo's dynasty survived through a combination of ruthless military action and infighting among the 10th-century Frankish aristocracy, which left them severely weakened and unable to resist the Rouen Vikings' growing determination to stay put.[54] After Rollo's death, his direct male descendants continued to rule Normandy untilStephen of Blois became King of England and Duke of Normandy in 1135.[55] The duchy was later absorbed into what became theAngevin Empire following its conquest byGeoffrey of Anjou, who in 1128 had marriedMatilda of England, herself a descendant of Rollo.[56]
Rollo left a legacy as the founder of Normandy, and his leadership and integration of Viking settlers into the region transformed it into a stable political entity.[57] His lineage played a key role in shaping medieval Europe, as it wasWilliam the Conqueror, another descendant of Rollo, who famously led theNorman Conquest of England in 1066. Rollo's baptism also marked a significant point in the assimilation of Viking settlers into Frankish society.
Rollo is the subject of the 17th-century playRollo Duke of Normandy, also known asThe Bloody Brother, written byJohn Fletcher,Philip Massinger,Ben Jonson, andGeorge Chapman. The similarities to Rollo are slim, as the play draws inspiration from Herodian's account of the rivalry between Emperor Severus's sons, Geta and Antonine. However, the setting shifts from ancient Rome to medieval France, with the brothers reimagined as Otto and Rollo. Initially appointed as co-rulers of the kingdom, Rollo seizes sole power by killing Otto. His reign, marked by tyranny, ultimately ends when he is killed in retribution for his oppressive rule.[58]
A character, broadly inspired by the historical Rollo but including many events predating the historical Rollo's birth, played byClive Standen, isRagnar Lothbrok's brother in theHistory Channel television seriesVikings.[59] Rollo was staying in West Francia to maintain the Viking's hold on the Seine, as a spot to lead future raids. But, the Franks are able to sway him to betray his brother and go through with an acceptance of land and a marriage to the princess Gisla. There are similarities in this story seen inDudo's, as Rollo settled in West Francia, although there is no mention of betrayal to his brother. He also in the Dudo account marries Charles the Simple's daughter, which is similar to his marriage of princess Gisla.[60]
Rollo is a character in the video gameAssassin's Creed Valhalla.[61]
rollo paris 885–886.
| French nobility | ||
|---|---|---|
| New title | Count of Rouen 911–927 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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