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As we can see from the above map, Normandy is an area in present day France , in its north-western region, just south of England.
The people of Normandy were known as Normans.
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NORMANDY
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In 911,AD a Viking leader named Rollo, based close to Rouen in France for about a decade, launched an unsuccessful raid on Paris. Later in that year, he went on to besiege Chartres, where, again, he was unsuccessful.
After some deliberation, the local rulers, including the French King, Charles the Simple, decided that they were unlikely to get rid of Rollo, whose men were still firmly rooted in the heart of the French kingdom, and that a truce was the better approach.
Charles agreed to offer Rollo the north-western corner of France in return for Rollo’s allegiance. It was in fact a smart compromise: the territory given to Rollo was the frequently-attacked coastal frontier, and putting it in the hands of a Viking ally would spare the Franks (as the French were then called), from having to deal with invaders. This would enable them to focus on improving their kingdom, by that point in a poor state because of extended civil strife.
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The Norman Conquest is the major historical event, which defeated the Saxon kings and nobles in England .
(it happened in 1068 AD) ( The time of Raja Raja Chozhan and his son Rajendra Chozhan).
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Wonderful video-lesson!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWAdWvdfMAk
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who were the Anglo-Saxons?
The Anglo-Saxons are a people who inhabited Great Britain from the 5th century. AD They came from northern Germany and southern Scandinavia
( Norway and Sweden) and stemmed from three powerful tribes - the Angles, Saxons and Jutes.
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The above image shows Norway, Sweden, Denmark and England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland and how the Vikings invaded by sea route.
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The area shown in pink, is Wales. Northern parts are known as Scotland.
Ireland is to the west of Wales -separated by the sea.
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WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR
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The English language developed from the West Germanic dialects spoken by the Angles, Saxons, and other Teutonic tribes who participated in the invasion and occupation of England in the fifth and sixth centuries. As a language, Anglo-Saxon, or Old English, was very different from modern English
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William's friend was Edward the Confessor, the last Anglo-Saxon King of England. ( In a way, Edward the Saxon King,
was a distant cousin of William, because Edwards father had taken a bride from Normandy!. As there were frequent attacks on the Saxon kingdom by Danish kings ( of Denmark), for safety, Edward was sent to Normandy and it was there that he lived in most of the younger years and then was a friend and relative of William.
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EDWARD (SAXON KING) --
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King Edward's right-hand man was Harold, an earl and member of a family of a powerful Anglo-Saxon dynasty.
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In 1064, Harold embarked on a voyage to France but was shipwrecked and captured by the Count of Ponthieu.
William seized his opportunity to gain the support of another powerful English noble – he ordered the count, an old rival, to release Harold and had him brought to Normandy.
Harold then swore to help William secure the English throne after Edward's death, before making a swift exit back to England.
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However, on his death bed, King Edward named Harold as his heir.
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William was therefore, furious when he learned of Harold’s surprise succession: . He immediately rallied support from neighbouring French provinces and got Pope to support him.
The Pope backed his fight for the English crown and granted William one of the first papal banners.
Believing God is on his side and with a fleet of 700 ships he set of for England.
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William arrived on the Sussex coast while King Harold is in the north of England, fighting Viking invaders
Harold marched his troops 200 miles south to meet the Norman invaders in Hastings.
but got defeated and killed in battle.
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Thus began the Norman rule in England almost totally expropriating the
Anglo-Saxon aristocracy .
Old English was gradually influenced by the French language and customs.
Modern English is a mixture of old English and French. Of course, behind them all, was Latin and among the Latin scholars , Greek.
( Does it sound familiar to Indian students? Tamils alone , were spared much mix up with Sanskrit but all the other Indian Languages like Telugu, Kannada, Marathi, Gujarathi, Punjabi, Hindi, Bengali, Oriya and Assameese are derived from Sanskrit. Even in Tamil country, the Pallavas were Iranians ( Sanskrit) and it is said that Raja Raja Chozhan used Sanskrit as well for his proclamations. All over India, the learned classes were proficient in Sanskrit. right from the days of Magadha Empire ( 400 BC ) to very recent times , 1700 AD! It was the English Education system, that broke the back of Sanskrit learning! A tragedy!
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Just as Sanskrit was the language of scriptures, science and literature of India for well over, 2200 years, Latin was the language of the Roman Empire from very early times such as 200 BC.
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The South had extensive trade with the Romans but much earlier, the North West of India had intellectual contact with the more cultured Greek! through Iran. and Persian Empire.
We may have read about the attempted invasion of Greece by Persia and the War of Troy.
and how the Greeks repulsed the attack and humbled the Persian army.
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The Greek poet Homer wrote ILIAD on these incidents. way back in 1000 BC!
( Jawaharlal Nehru has written beautiful chapters about the Greeks in Glimpses of World History).
It has been a favourite theme of English writers as well.
Shakespeare wrote 'TROILUS AND CRESSIDA', with majestic poetic prose!
improving on Chaucer's version .
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To cement his kingship, William created a new Norman aristocracy. Castles were built to protect the new nobles and flaunt their power.
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He built castles along the Welsh border and in 1072, reached a truce with Scotland’s King Malcom III who agreed to recognise William as his lord.
In 1075, he quashed the last serious revolt by English nobles and marriages between French-speaking Normans and Anglo-Saxons become common, beginning a melding of cultures still evident in the English language of today.
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William’s next project was an unparalleled undertaking in medieval history – a vast survey of all the land and holdings in England.
An incredible display of Norman efficiency, the country-wide survey was finished in six months. It records the transfer of power from the old Anglo-Saxon elite to the Normans - now only 5% of land was in English hands. His motives are unclear, but it’s thought Domesday was a way of legitimising William’s kingship while also enabling him to collect taxes more effectively in order to fund his wars. Whatever its purpose, nothing of its kind and scale would be produced again until the 19th Century.
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Who were the Norman rulers after William the Conqueror?
can read at
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