Rollo

Rollo, occasionally known as Rollo the Viking, (c. 860 - c. 932) was the founder and first ruler of the Viking principality in what soon became known as Normandy. He is also in some sources known as "Robert of Normandy", using his baptismal name.

The name Rollo is a Frankish-Latin name probably taken from the Old Norse name Hrólfr (cf. the latinization of Hrólfr Kraki into the similar "Roluo" in the "Gesta Danorum", modern Scandinavian name Rolf).

Historical evidence

Rollo was a Viking leader of contested origin. Dudo of St. Quentin, in his [http://la.wikisource.org/wiki/De_moribus_et_actis_primorum_Normannorum_ducum De moribus et actis primorum Normannorum ducum] la icon, tells of a powerful Danish nobleman at loggerheads with the king of Denmark, who then died and left his two sons, Gurim and Rollo, leaving Rollo to be expelled and Gurim killed. William of Jumièges also mentions Rollo's prehistory in his "Gesta Normannorum Ducum" however he 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 this Rollo with a son of Rognvald Eysteinsson, Earl of Møre, in Western Norway, based on medieval Norwegian and Icelandic sagas that mention a Ganger Hrolf (Hrolf, the Walker). 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 of that character came from being so big that no horse (or at least not the Norwegian ponies of that era) 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.

Invasion of France

In 885, Rollo was one of the lesser leaders of the Viking fleet which besieged Paris under Sigfred. 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 were defeated at the Battle of Chartres by the troops of King Charles the Simple. [ David C. Douglas. "The Normans." The Folio Society. 2002; p. 24] In the aftermath of the battle, rather than pay Rollo to leave, as was customary, Charles the Simple understood that he could no longer hold back their onslaught, and decided to give Rollo the coastal lands they occupied under the condition that he defend against other raiding Vikings.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. ["Roman de Rou", Wace] In return, King Charles granted Rollo the lower Seine area (today's upper Normandy) and the titular rulership 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 him to fall to the ground. [Holden, A.J. (1970). "Le Roman de Rou de Wace". Paris: Éditions A.J. Picard. p.54. Lines 1147-1156]

Settlement

Initially, Rollo stayed true to his word of defending the shores of the Seine river in accordance to the Treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte, but in time he and his followers had very different ideas. 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. With these settlements, Rollo began to further raid other Frankish lands, now from the security of a settled homeland, rather than a mobile fleet. Eventually, however, Rollo's men intermarried with the local women, and became more settled as Frenchmen. At the time of his death, Rollo's expansion of his territory had extended as far west as the Vire River.

Death

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 pagan roots surfaced at the end.

Legacy

Rollo is a direct ancestor of William the Conqueror. Through William, he is a direct ancestor and predecessor of the present-day British royal family.

The "Clameur de Haro" in the Channel Islands is, supposedly, an appeal to Rollo.

Genealogy

Family

Rollo married firstly Poppa de Bayeux, they had issue:

* William Longsword
* Gerloc (Adele)
* Kadline, wife of Bjolan, a Scottish King.
* Gerletta married William II of Aquitaine.
* Crispina married Grimaldus Prince of Monaco, from this issue came the Grimaldi line of Monaco.

Rollo then repudiated Poppa and married in 912 Gisela (d.919) daughter of Charles III of France and had:

* Griselle wife of Thorbard av Møre (Which was changed to Herbert de la Mare, when he became the first Lord of St. Opportune-la-Mare. Opportune-the-Mare).

He then re-married his first wife again after Gisela's death.

Depictions in fiction

Rollo is the subject of the 17th Century play Rollo Duke of Normandy written by John Fletcher, Philip Massinger, Ben Jonson, and George Chapman.

See also

* Viking Age
* Rulers of Normandy

References and external links

*D.C. Douglas, "Rollo of Normandy", "English Historical Review", Vol. 57 (1942), pp. 414-436
*Robert Helmerichs, [Rollo as Historical Figure]
*Rosamond McKitterick, "The Frankish Kingdom under the Carolingians, 751-987", (Longman) 1983
* [http://www.fh-augsburg.de/~harsch/Chronologia/Lspost11/Dudo/dud_f.html Dudonis gesta Normannorum] - Dudo of St. Quentin "Gesta Normannorum" Latin version at Bibliotheca Augustana
* [http://www.the-orb.net/orb_done/dudo/dudindex.html Dudo of St. Quentin's Gesta Normannorum] - An English Translation
*Gwyn Jones. Second edition: A History of the Vikings. Oxford University Press. (1984).
*William W. Fitzhugh and Elizabeth Ward. Vikings: The North Atlantic Saga. Smithsonian Institute Press. (2000)
*Eric Christiansen. The Norsemen in the Viking Age. Blackwell Publishers Ltd. (2002)
*Agnus Konstam. Historical Atlas of the Viking World. Checkmark Books. (2002)
*Holgar Arbman. Ancient People and Places: The Vikings. Thames and Hudson. (1961)
*Eric Oxenstierna. The Norsemen, New York Graphics Society Publishers, Ltd. (1965)

* [http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/NORWEGIAN%20NOBILITY.htm#Ragnvalddied894A FMG on Ragnvald the Wise, the father of Rollo? Probably conjectural or doubtful, see the following link below]
* [http://sbaldw.home.mindspring.com/hproject/prov/rollo000.htm Stewart Baldwin's report on the unknown parentage of Rollo]