“We have believed the Normans' view of themselves for too long”

JUDITH A GREEN talks to David Musgrove about her new book, which takes readers far beyond the familiar story of 1066, and provides a richer understanding of the Normans’ complex place in the wider history of Europe

- JUDITH A GREEN

PROFILE

Judith A Green is emeritus professor of medieval history at the University of Edinburgh. Her previous books include The Aristocracy of Norman England (Cambridge University Press, 1997), and Henry l: King of England and Duke of Normandy (Cambridge University Press, 2006)

David Musgrove: To quote from your introduction, This book is concerned chiefly with the Normans' explosive rise to power, their establishment in Normandy, and their 11th-century conquests. Can you briefly chart that story for us?

Judith Green: The Duchy of Normandy originated with a group of Vikings led by a man called Rou or Rollo. They were granted land in the Seine Valley by Charles the Simple, king of the west Franks, in the year 911. This was originally part of Charlemagne’s empire; he had been king of the Franks, king of the Lombards and the first emperor of what became known as the Holy Roman Empire, ruling over a huge swathe of territory in Europe. But after his death in 814, over time Charlemagne’s territory was divided into the lands of the west Franks (from whom came the kingdom of France), the east Franks (from whom came the Germans and the kingdom of Germany) and Middle Frankia.

In the 10th century, there was a bitter power struggle in northern France. The Normans made a strategic decision to ally with the people who became the Capetian kings of France. That helped them to stabilise their position. The Normans were jockeying with Bretons, other Viking groups and Franks, but Rollo and his descendants fought off those others. So a strong, cohesive duchy emerged in Normandy by around the year 1000.