Numismatic and History Discussion Forums > History and Archeology

Norman history

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Jochen:
At the begin of the 15th century even the Canary Islands were conquered by the Normans under Jean de Bethencourt and Gaifer de la Salle. About 100 years a Norman kingdom existed there until the Catholic kings Ferdinand II and Isabella I ceased it.

One of the biggest Norman trading places was Haithabu, near Sleswig/Germany.This place is digged out. Their houses in the first time were built by turned over ships as roofs. The found items you can see in the Haithabu museum in Sleswig. Haithabu was built c. AD 770 and destroyed AD 1050 during a battle between the Norwegian king Harald Hardrada and Sweyn II. Around AD 1000 it has about 1500 inhabitants and was the biggest city in the Baltic Sea area.

Best regards

LordBest:
From an Anglo historical perspective you have to seperate Normans and Vikings (both Norsemen). Both the vikings and the Normans were in conflict with the Byzantine empire, it was the Normans who conquered Sicily and areas of southern Italy, the Normans being the Norse who settled in Normandy early on and became nominal subjects of the French king.
                                                 LordBest. 8)

Bacchus:
As I remember the "French" king who granted the settlement there (the Treaty of Saint Clair sur Epte) had the unfortunate title of "Charles the Simple".

-:Bacchus:-

Ecgþeow:
thank you all.  Does anyone have a map of Norman Settlement?
thanks.
~Zach

PeterD:
It's as LordBest says.

This is a brief paragraph on the Normans in Sicily:

"In 1061 the Normans, under Robert Guiscard and his brother Roger I of Sicily, began the conquest of Sicily which was occupied by the Saracens, completing it in 1091. In 1127 Roger II, Count of Sicily, was recognized as Duke of Apulia and Calabria, and in 1130 he assumed the title of King of Sicily. The domain of Roger II was sometimes called the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, or the Two Sicilies, because the southern part of the Italian mainland was known as "Sicily on this side of Cape Faro"."

These were, of course, Normans from Normandy and the conquest of Sicily began before the conquest of England in 1066.

As someone whose home town is Hastings (the famous battle actually took place a few miles to the north), I have often wondered why the Normans who were supposed to be basically Norsemen or Vikings seem to have come across as completely French, especially the language which so comprehensively changed "English".

The Normans were also famous as mercenaries. For anyone interested in their exploits in Byzantium, I recommend the novels of Alfred Duggan, such as "Count Bohemond" and "The Lady for Ransom", which although fiction, stick closely to the known facts.

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