The Normans: knights and banners
So did you see the first episode of The Normans last night? Good wasn't it? Admittedly, my knowledge of this period is pretty much summed up by the phrase '1066 and all that'. Though there was an excited moment in the last 15 minutes where I could be heard exclaiming "Stamford Bridge! Stamford Bridge - I know about that! There was a huge Viking on a bridge killing Saxons for fun and then, um, there wasn't."Anyway, I learnt lots of things last night. That the Normans were really Vikings living the high life in France and, most strikingly, that King Rollo was real and not just a . A huge Viking, in fact, who walked everywhere because he was too large to ride a horse. That's the kind of fact that is guaranteed to stick in your head. As is the fact that, until he arrived in Sussex and claimed a more flattering soubriquet for posterity, William the Conqueror was known as William the Bastard.
Watching the tale of his conquest with an eye on objects, the one that I wish we had for the site was the Papal banner delivered to William on the eve of his invasion. There is an object that could tell the story of the power of the medieval church and the way even powerful rulers would jockey for position in the eyes of the Pope. I guess the banner no longer exists - indeed there seems to be a .
Talking of jockeys, the programme reminded me of how terrifying the sight of a knight charging on horseback must have been. I didn't know that it was the Normans who had first mastered the tactics of these medieval tanks. Some Norman cavalry armour would be another great object to tell the story of the invasion. I'm not clear how heavily armoured they were though. We've got an example of much later Elizabethan armour on the site, but the mounted figures stitched out on the Bayeux Tapestry seem more lightly dressed.
If you enjoyed the programme, I suggest you also take a look at Inside the Medieval Mind, which was repeated last night on 91Èȱ¬Ìý Four. There's more on knights and the church, including how Pope Urban II sparked the First Crusade. I was particularly captured by the incredible tombs of crusaders at in London (home of the Knights Templar) with their beautifully carved, recumbent knights, eyes open waiting for their resurrection. I'm wondering if we could persuade them to put a couple on the site? Perhaps I should pop round one afternoon.
- For more on the Normans and Norman objects see our Normans page. Or find out more about the season of programmes on 91Èȱ¬ Two and 91Èȱ¬ Four.
- Take a look at Hands on History for activity packs and information about Norman walks.
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Comment number 1.
At 9th Aug 2010, U14560718 wrote:This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the house rules. Explain.
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Comment number 2.
At 9th Aug 2010, Steve - Iver wrote:I watched the first episode, and being a history buff myself, I really enjoyed it. Dan Snow's Norman Walks was a perfectly timed introduction to the Normans, as both looked at the events of, and leading up to 1066 and Hastings.
I have a particular interest in the Normans, in that my family (historically, of course, not present) were part of Williams men. I know of that through the lineage of my family name, although I've never traced it back directly, but know as much from researching the name.
I remember being taught about the Normans at school, and that Viking link has always been there in my head, but I didn't know, or at least don't remember, the how and why they were from Viking stock. Now I have that answer.
We shouldn't feel invaded by the Normans, in my opinion. Going back to that period in the history of this land is really an invasion on Anglo Saxon land, rather than English land, per ce. In fact, we ARE Normans, Vikings, Celts and Anglo Saxons - a mixed bag by any measure. The only true Brits, in this sense, are the ancient Britons who mostly ended their time in what is now North Wales and were subsequently banished by the Romans. I might be simplifying it a bit there but that's how I generally see it. The rest of us are a hotchpotch of the above, and that is reflected nicely in our language, above all.
I'm looking forward to the next episodes very much. It seems to be a part of our culture and history that is put to one side, behind the Romans, the Anglo-Saxons and so forth. We owe our Norman ancestors so much in terms of our culture and language, the names of our towns and cities, family names and much more.
The Vikings, and later, the Normans, were the old age proponents of our European Union, albeit in a rather more brutish guise at times. That said, they were not all warriors, but that's what they get remembered for.
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Comment number 3.
At 14th Aug 2010, Roger wrote:Paul Sargeant: you stated that-the Normans were really Vikings living the high life in France.
Their ancestors were Vikings, by the time they conquered England nearly two hundred years later they had fully mixed in with the native French and so they were no longer Vikings. William the conquerer`s mother was of French stock. Also his father had a lot of French blood as well running through his veins. His great grandmother was a French women from Brittany.So rearly they were Norman-French.who indirectly made this country what it is today.
which is to my mind a jolly good thing!
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Comment number 4.
At 19th Aug 2010, Haesten wrote:The Normans did not consider themselves to be French.
My only complaint on the programs is, when quoting a contemporary/near source, name the source.
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Comment number 5.
At 19th Aug 2010, Paul Sargeant wrote:Roger - Fair point. But a large part of that first programme in the series was about where the Normans appeared from, so I was talking about the early Normans - Rollo and his gang. I guess I could have swapped that 'really' for 'originally' to be a little clearer.
Hope everyone has enjoyed the Norman season. And do try and catch Inside the Medieval Mind while it's still on iPlayer. Devils, saints, daemons and witches - it's got it all.
Paul
AHOW blog editor
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