THE NORTHMEN AND THE NORMANS TO 1066 A.D. [1]
138. SCANDINAVIA AND THE NORTHMEN
A NEW SERIES OF MIGRATIONS
From the East we return once more to the West, from Asia to Europe, from
Arabia to Scandinavia. We have now to deal with the raids and settlements
of the Norsemen or Northmen. Like the Arabs the Northmen quitted a sterile
peninsula and went forth to find better homes in distant lands. Their
invasions, beginning toward the close of the eighth century, lasted about
three hundred years.
A TEUTONIC MOVEMENT
The Northmen belonged to the Teutonic family of peoples. They were kinsmen
of the Germans, the Anglo-Saxons, and the Dutch. Their migrations may be
regarded, therefore, as the last wave of that great Teutonic movement
which in earlier times had inundated western Europe and overwhelmed the
Roman Empire.
SCANDINAVIA
The Northmen lived, as their descendants still live, in Denmark, Sweden,
and Norway. The name Scandinavia is sometimes applied to all three
countries, but more commonly it is restricted to the peninsula comprising
Sweden and Norway.
[Illustration: SWEDISH ROCK CARVING
Shows a man plowing.]
SWEDEN
Sweden, with the exception of the northern highlands, is mostly a level
region, watered by copious streams, dotted with many lakes, and sinking
down gradually to the Baltic Sea and the Gulf of Bothnia. The fact that
Sweden faces these inland waters determined the course of her development
as a nation. She never has had any aspirations to become a great oceanic
power. Her whole historic life has centered about the Baltic.
[Illustration: A RUNIC STONE
A stone, twelve feet high and six feet wide, in the churchyard of Rok,
Ostergotland, Sweden. The runic inscription, which contains more than 760
letters, is the longest known.]
NORWAY
Norway, in contrast to Sweden, faces the Atlantic. The country is little
more than a strip of rugged seacoast reaching northward to well within the
Arctic Circle. Were it not for the influence of the "Gulf Stream drift,"
much of Norway would be a frozen waste for the greater part of the year.
Vast forests of fir, pine, and birch still cover the greater part of the
country, and the land which can be used for farming and grazing does not
exceed eleven per cent of the entire area. But Norway, like Greece, [2]
has an extent of shore-line out of all proportion to its superficial area.
So numerous are the fiords, or inlets of the sea, that the total length of
the coast approximates twelve thousand miles. Slight wonder that the
Vikings, [3] as they called themselves, should feel the lure of the ocean
and should put forth their frail barks upon the "pathway of the swans" in
search of booty and adventure.
PREHISTORIC TIMES IN SCANDINAVIA
The Swedes and Norwegians, together with their kinsmen, the Danes,
probably settled in Scandinavia long before the beginning of the Christian
era. During the earlier part of the prehistoric period the inhabitants
were still in the Stone Age, but the use of bronze, and then of iron, was
gradually introduced. Excavations in ancient grave mounds have revealed
implements of the finest polished stone, beautiful bronze swords, and
coats of iron ring mail, besides gold and silver ornaments which may have
been imported from southern Europe. The ancient Scandinavians have left to
us curious records of the past in their picture writing chiseled on the
flat surface of rocks. The objects represented include boats with as many
as thirty men in them, horses drawing two-wheeled carts, spans of oxen,
farmers engaged in ploughing, and warriors on horseback. By the close of
the prehistoric period the northern peoples were also familiar with a form
of the Greek alphabet (the "runes" [4]) and with the art of writing.
139. THE VIKING AGE
DAWN OF HISTORY IN SCANDINAVIA
The Viking Age, with which historic times begin in northern Europe,
extends from about 800 A.D. to the introduction of Christianity in the
tenth and eleventh centuries. This was the period when the Northmen, or
Vikings, realizing that the sea offered the quickest road to wealth and
conquest, began to make long voyages to foreign lands. In part they went
as traders and exchanged the furs, wool, and fish of Scandinavia for the
clothing, ornaments, and other articles of luxury found in neighboring
countries. But it was no far cry from merchant to freebooter, and, in
fact, expeditions for the sake of plunder seem to have been even more
popular with the Northmen than peaceful commerce.
THE NORTHMEN AS SAILORS
Whether the Northmen engaged in trade or in warfare, good ships and good
seamanship were indispensable to them. They became the boldest sailors of
the early Middle Ages. No longer hugging the coast, as timid mariners had
always done before them, the Northmen pushed out into the uncharted main
and steered their course only by observation of the sun and stars. In this
way the Northmen were led to make those remarkable explorations in the
Atlantic Ocean and the polar seas which added so greatly to geographical
knowledge.
SHIPS OF THE NORTHMEN
It was not uncommon for a Viking chieftain, after his days of sea-roving
had ended, to be buried in his ship, over which a grave chamber, covered
with earth, would be erected. The discovery of several of these burial
ships enables us to form a good idea of Viking vessels. The largest of
them might reach a length of seventy feet and hold as many as one hundred
and twenty men. A fleet of the Northmen, carrying several thousand
warriors, mail-clad and armed with spears, swords, and battle-axes, was
indeed formidable. During this period the Northmen were the masters of the
sea, as far as western Europe was concerned. This fact largely explains
their successful campaigns.
[Illustration: A VIKING SHIP
The Gokstad vessel is of oak, twenty-eight feet long and sixteen feet
broad in the center. It has seats for sixteen pairs of rowers, a mast for
a single sail, and a rudder on the right or starboard side. The gunwale
was decorated with a series of shields, painted alternately black and
gold. This ship, which probably dates from about 900 A.D., was found on
the shore of Christiania Fiord. A still larger ship, of about the same
date, was taken in 1904 A.D. from the grave of a Norwegian queen at
Oseberg. With the queen had been buried a four-wheeled wagon, three
sleighs, three beds, two chests, a chair, a large loom, and various
kitchen utensils, in fact everything needed for her comfort in the other
world.]
THE SAGAS
A very important source of information for the Viking Age consists of the
writings called sagas. [5] These narratives are in prose, but they were
based, in many instances, on the songs which the minstrels (_skalds_) sang
to appreciative audiences assembled at the banqueting board of a Viking
chieftain. It was not until the twelfth and thirteenth centuries that the
sagas were committed to writing. This was done chiefly in Iceland, and so
it happens that we must look to that distant island for the beginnings of
Scandinavian literature.
SUBJECT MATTER OF THE SAGAS
The sagas belong to different classes. The oldest of them relate the deeds
of Viking heroes and their families. Others deal with the lives of
Norwegian kings. Some of the most important sagas describe the
explorations and settlements of the Northmen and hence possess
considerable value as historical records.
THE NORTHMEN AS SEEN IN THE SAGAS
The sagas throw much light on the character of the Northmen. Love of
adventure and contempt for the quiet joys of home comes out in the
description of Viking chiefs, who "never sought refuge under a roof nor
emptied their drinking-horns by a hearth." An immense love of fighting
breathes in the accounts of Viking warriors, "who are glad when they have
hopes of a battle; they will leap up in hot haste and ply the oars,
snapping the oar-thongs and cracking the tholes." The undaunted spirit of
Viking sailors, braving the storms of the northern ocean, expresses itself
in their sea songs: "The force of the tempest assists the arms of our
oarsmen; the hurricane is our servant, it drives us whithersoever we wish
to go." The sagas also reveal other characteristics of the Northmen: a
cruelty and faithlessness which made them a terror to their foes; an
almost barbaric love of gay clothing and ornament; a strong sense of
public order, giving rise to an elaborate legal system; and even a feeling
for the romantic beauty of their northern home, with its snow-clad
mountains, dark forests of pine, sparkling waterfalls, and deep, blue
fiords.
EDDAIC POEMS
It is to the Viking Age also that we owe the composition of the poems
going by the name of the _Elder Edda_. These poems, as well as the prose
sagas, were collected and arranged in Iceland during the later Middle
Ages. The _Elder Edda_ is a storehouse of old Norse mythology. It forms
our chief source of knowledge concerning Scandinavian heathenism before
the introduction of Christianity.
140. SCANDINAVIAN HEATHENISM
THE GOD ODIN
The religion of the Northmen bore a close resemblance to that of the other
Teutonic peoples. The leading deity was Odin (German _Woden_), whose
exploits are celebrated in many of the songs of the _Elder Edda_. Odin was
represented as a tall, gray-bearded chieftain, carrying a shield and a
spear which never missed its mark. Though a god of battle, Odin was also a
lover of wisdom. He discovered the runes which gave him secret knowledge
of all things. Legend told how Odin killed a mighty giant, whose body was
cut into pieces to form the world: the earth was his flesh, the water his
blood, the rocks his bones, and the heavens his skull. Having created the
world and peopled it with human beings, Odin retired to the sacred city of
Asgard, where he reigned in company with his children.
THE GOD THOR
Enthroned beside Odin sat his oldest son, Thor (German _Thunor_), god of
thunder and lightning. His weapon, the thunderbolt, was imagined as a
hammer, and was especially used by him to protect gods and men against the
giants. The hammer, when thrown, returned to his hand of its own accord.
Thor also possessed a belt of strength, which, when girded about him,
doubled his power.
THOR'S DEEDS OF STRENGTH
Many stories were told of Thor's adventures, when visiting Jötunheim, the
abode of the giants. In a drinking-match he tried to drain a horn of
liquor, not knowing that one end of the horn reached the sea, which was
appreciably lowered by the god's huge draughts. He sought to lift from the
ground a large, gray cat, but struggle as he might, could raise only one
of the animal's feet. What Thor took for a cat, however, was really the
Midgard serpent, which, with its tail in its mouth, encircled the earth.
In the last trial of strength Thor wrestled with an old woman, and after a
violent contest was thrown down upon one knee. But the hag was in truth
relentless old age, who sooner or later lays low all men.
MYTH OF BALDER
Most beautiful and best beloved of the Scandinavian divinities was Odin's
son, Balder. He was represented as a gentle deity of innocence and
righteousness. As long as he lived, evil could gain no real control in the
world and the power of the gods would remain unshaken. To preserve Balder
from all danger his mother Frigga required everything on earth to swear
never to harm her son. Only a single plant, the mistletoe, did not take
the oath. Then the traitor Loki gathered the mistletoe and came to an
assembly where the gods were hurling all kinds of missiles at Balder, to
show that nothing could hurt him. Loki asked the blind Höder to throw the
plant at Balder. Höder did so, and Balder fell dead. The gods tried to
recover him from Hel, the gloomy underworld, but Hel demanded as his
ransom a tear from every living creature. Gods, men, and even things
inanimate wept for Balder, except one cruel giantess--Loki in disguise--
who would not give a single tear. She said, "Neither living nor dead was
Balder of any use to me. Let Hel keep what it has."
"TWILIGHT OF THE GODS"
Disasters followed Balder's death. An immense fire burned up the world and
the human race. The giants invaded Asgard and slaughtered its inhabitants.
Odin fell a victim to the mighty wolf Fenris. Thor, having killed the
Midgard serpent, was suffocated with the venom which the dying monster
cast over him. The end of all things arrived. This was the catastrophe
which had been predicted of old--the "Twilight of the Gods."
VALHALLA
Besides the conception of Hel, the Northmen also framed the idea of
Valhalla, [6] the abode to which Odin received the souls of those who had
died, not ingloriously in their beds, but on the field of battle. A troop
of divine maidens, the Valkyries, [7] rode through the air on Odin's
service to determine the issue of battles and to select brave warriors for
Valhalla. There on the broad plains they fought with one another by day,
but at evening the slayer and the slain returned to Odin's hall to feast
mightily on boar's flesh and drink deep draughts of mead.
SUPERNATURAL BEINGS
As with most heathen religions that of the Northmen was full of terrors.
Their lively imagination peopled the world with many strange figures.
Fiends and monsters inhabited the marshes, giants lived in the dark
forest, evil spirits haunted all solitary places, and ghosts stalked over
the land by night. The use of charms and spells to guard against such
creatures passed over into Christian times. Their memory also survives in
folk tales, which are full of allusions to giants, dwarfs, goblins, and
other supernatural beings.
CHRISTIANIZATION OF THE NORTHMEN
Christianity first gained a foothold in Denmark through the work of Roman
Catholic missionaries sent out by Charlemagne's son, Louis the Pious. [8]
Two centuries elapsed before the Danes were completely converted. From
Denmark the new faith spread to Sweden. Norway owed its conversion largely
to the crusading work of King Olaf (1016-1029 A.D.), whose zeal for
Christianity won him the title of Olaf the Saint. The Norwegians carried
Christianity to Iceland, where it supplanted the old heathenism in the
year 1000 A.D. With the general adoption of the Christian religion in
Scandinavian lands, the Viking Age drew to an end.
[Illustration: NORSE METAL WORK (Museum, Copenhagen)
A door from a church in Iceland; date, tenth or eleventh century. The iron
knob is inlaid with silver. The slaying of a dragon is represented above
and below is shown the Midgard serpent.]
141. THE NORTHMEN IN THE WEST
CAUSES OF THE VIKING MOVEMENT
The Northmen were still heathen when they set forth on their expeditions
of plunder and conquest. Doubtless the principal cause of this Viking
movement is to be sought in the same hunger for land which prompted the
Germanic invasions and, in fact, has led to colonial expansion in all
ages. By the ninth century Scandinavia could no longer support its rapidly
growing population, and enforced emigration was the natural consequence.
The political condition of Scandinavia at this time also helps to explain
the Viking expansion. Denmark and Norway had now become strong kingdoms,
whose rulers forced all who would not submit to their sway to leave the
country. Thus it resulted that the numbers of the emigrants were swelled
by exiles, outlaws, and other adventurers who turned to the sea in hope of
gain.
RAIDS OF THE NORTHMEN
The Northmen started out as pirates and fell on the coasts of England,
France, and Germany. In their shallow boats they also found it easy to
ascend the rivers and reach places lying far inland. The Northmen directed
their attacks especially against the churches and monasteries, which were
full of treasure and less easily defended than fortified towns. Their
raids inspired such great terror that a special prayer was inserted in the
church services: "From the fury of the Northmen, good Lord, deliver us."
THE NORTHMEN IN IRELAND, SCOTLAND, AND THE ISLANDS
At first the incursions of the Northmen took place only in summer, but
before long they began to winter in the lands which they visited. Year by
year their fleets became larger, and their attacks changed from mere
forays of pirates to well-organized expeditions of conquest and
colonization. Early in the ninth century we find them making permanent
settlements in Ireland, and for a time bringing a considerable part of
that country under their control. The first cities on Irish soil,
including Dublin and Limerick, were founded by the Northmen. Almost
simultaneously with the attacks on Ireland came those on the western coast
of Scotland. In the course of their westward expeditions the Northmen had
already discovered the Faroe Islands, the Orkneys, the Shetlands and the
Hebrides. These barren and inhospitable islands received large numbers of
Norse immigrants and long remained under Scandinavian control.
[Illustration: Map, DISCOVERIES OF THE NORTHMEN IN THE WEST]
THE NORTHMEN IN ICELAND
The Northmen soon discovered Iceland, where Irish monks had previously
settled. Colonization began in 874 A.D. [9] One of the most valuable of
the sagas--the "Book of the Land-taking"--describes the emigration to the
island and enumerates the Viking chiefs who took part in the movement.
Iceland soon became almost a second Norway in language, literature, and
customs. It remains to-day an outpost of Scandinavian civilization.
THE NORTHMEN IN GREENLAND
The first settlement of Greenland was the work of an Icelander, Eric the
Red, who reached the island toward the end of the tenth century. He called
the country Greenland, not because it was green, but because, as he said,
"there is nothing like a good name to attract settlers." Intercourse
between Greenland and Iceland was often dangerous, and at times was
entirely interrupted by ice. Leif Ericsson, the son of Eric the Red,
established a new route of commerce and travel by sailing from Greenland
to Norway by way of the Hebrides. This was the first voyage made directly
across the Atlantic. Norway and Greenland continued to enjoy a flourishing
trade for several centuries. After the connection with Norway had been
severed, the Greenlanders joined the Eskimos and mingled with that
primitive people.
THE NORTHMEN IN AMERICA
Two of the sagas give accounts of a voyage which Leif Ericsson about 1000
A.D. made to regions lying southward from Greenland. In the sagas they are
called Helluland (stone-land), Markland (wood-land), and Vinland. Just
what part of the coast of North America these countries occupied is an
unsolved problem. Leif Ericsson and the Greenlanders who followed him seem
to have reached at least the shores of Labrador, Newfoundland, and Nova
Scotia. They may have gone even farther southward, for the sagas describe
regions where the climate was mild enough for wild vines and wild wheat to
grow. The Northmen, however, did not follow up their explorations by
lasting settlements. Before long all memory of the far western lands faded
from the minds of men. The curtain fell on the New World, not again to
rise until the time of Columbus and Cabot.
142. THE NORTHMEN IN THE EAST
ARCTIC EXPLORATIONS OF THE NORTHMEN
In the Viking movement westward across the Atlantic the Norwegians took
the leading part. They also sailed far northward, rounding the North Cape
and reaching the mouth of the Dwina River in the White Sea. Viking
sailors, therefore, have the credit for undertaking the first voyages of
exploration into the Arctic.
THE NORTHMEN IN FINLAND
The Swedes, on account of their geographical position, were naturally the
most active in expeditions to eastern lands. At a very early date they
crossed the Gulf of Bothnia and paid frequent visits to Finland. Its rude
inhabitants, the Finns, were related in language, and doubtless in blood
also, to the Huns, Magyars, and other Asiatic peoples. Sweden ruled
Finland throughout the Middle Ages. Russia obtained control of the country
during the eighteenth century, but Swedish influence has made it largely
Scandinavian in civilization.
THE NORTHMEN IN RUSSIA
The activities of the Swedes also led them to establish settlements on the
southern shore of the Baltic and far inland along the waterways leading
into Russia. An old Russian chronicler declares that in 862 A.D. the Slavs
sent an embassy to the Swedes, whom they called "Rus," saying, "Our
country is large and rich, but there is no order in it; come and rule over
us." The Swedes were not slow to accept the invitation. Their leader,
Ruric, established a dynasty which reigned in Russia for more than seven
hundred years. [10]
NOVGOROD AND KIEV
The first Russian state centered in the city of Novgorod, near Lake Ilmen,
where Ruric built a strong fortress. [11] Novgorod during the Middle Ages
was an important station on the trade route between Constantinople and the
Baltic. Some of Ruric's followers, passing southward along the Dnieper
River, took possession of the small town of Kiev. It subsequently became
the capital of the Scandinavian possessions in Russia.
SCANDINAVIAN INFLUENCE IN RUSSIA
The Northmen in Russia maintained close intercourse with their mother
country for about two centuries. During this period they did much to open
up northeastern Europe to the forces of civilization and progress.
Colonies were founded, cities were built, commerce was fostered, and a
stable government was established. Russia under the sway of the Northmen
became for the first time a truly European state.
THE NORTHMEN AND THE ROMAN EMPIRE IN THE EAST
Having penetrated the wilds of Russia, it was comparatively easy for the
Northmen to sail down the Russian rivers to the Black Sea and thence to
Constantinople. Some of them went as raiders and several times devastated
the neighborhood of Constantinople, until bought off by the payment of
tribute. [12] Many Northmen also joined the bodyguard of the eastern
emperor and saw service under his standard in different parts of the
Mediterranean.
CHRISTIANITY IN RUSSIA, 988 A.D.
During the reign of Vladimir, a descendant of Ruric, the Christian
religion gained its first foothold in Russia. We are told that Vladimir,
having made up his mind to embrace a new faith, sent commissioners to Rome
and Constantinople, and also to the adherents of Islam and Judaism. His
envoys reported in favor of the Greek Church, for their barbarian
imagination had been so impressed by the majesty of the ceremonies
performed in Sancta Sophia that "they did not know whether they were on
earth or in heaven." Vladimir accepted their report, ordered the idols of
Kiev to be thrown into the Dnieper, and had himself and his people
baptized according to the rites of the Greek Church. At the same time he
married a sister of the reigning emperor at Constantinople.
IMPORTANCE OF THE CONVERSION OF RUSSIA
Vladimir's decision to adopt the Greek form of Christianity is justly
regarded as one of the formative influences in Russian history. It meant
that the Slavs were to come under the religious influence of
Constantinople, instead of under that of Rome. Furthermore, it meant that
Byzantine civilization, then incomparably superior to the rude culture of
the western peoples, would henceforth gain an entrance into Russia. The
country profited by this rich civilization and during the early part of
the Middle Ages took a foremost place in Europe.
CHARLEMAGNE AND THE NORTHMEN
No part of western Europe suffered more severely from the Northmen than
France. They first appeared on the French coast toward the end of
Charlemagne's reign. A well-known legend relates that the emperor, from
window of his palace once saw the dark sails of the Vikings and wept at
the thought of the misery which these daring pirates would some day
inflict upon his realm.
THE NORTHMEN IN FRANCE
After Charlemagne's death the wars of his grandsons left the empire
defenseless, and the Northmen in consequence redoubled their attacks. They
sailed far up the Seine, the Loire, and the Garonne to plunder and murder.
Paris, then a small but important city, lay in the path of the invaders
and more than once suffered at their hands. The destruction by the
Northmen of many monasteries was a loss to civilization, for the monastic
establishments at this time were the chief centers of learning and
culture. [13]
THE NORTHMEN IN GERMANY
The heavy hand of the Northmen also descended on Germany. The rivers
Scheldt, Meuse, Rhine, and Elbe enabled them to proceed at will into the
heart of the country. Liège, Cologne, Strassburg, Hamburg, and other great
Frankish cities fell before them. Viking raiders even plundered Aachen and
stabled their horses in the church which Charlemagne had built there. [14]
Thus the ancient homeland of the Franks was laid completely waste.
ROLLO AND THE GRANT OF NORMANDY, 911 A.D.
The history of the Northmen in France began in 911 A.D., when the
Carolingian king granted to a Viking chieftain, Rollo, dominion over the
region about the lower Seine. Rollo on his part agreed to accept
Christianity and to acknowledge the French ruler as his lord. It is said,
however, that he would not kneel and kiss the king's foot as a mark of
homage, and that the follower who performed the unwelcome duty did it so
awkwardly as to overturn the king, to the great amusement of the assembled
Northmen. The story illustrates the Viking sense of independence.
DUCHY OF NORMANDY
The district ceded to Rollo developed into what in later times was known
as the duchy of Normandy. Its Scandinavian settlers, henceforth called
Normans, [15] soon became French in language and culture. It was amazing
to see how quickly the descendants of wild sea-rovers put off their
heathen ways and made their new home a Christian land, noted for its
churches, monasteries, and schools. Normandy remained practically
independent till the beginning of the thirteenth century, when a French
king added it to his possessions. [16]
THE NORMANS AND HUGH CAPET, 987 A.D.
The Normans helped to found the medieval French monarchy. During the tenth
century the old Carolingian line of rulers, which had already died out in
Germany and Italy, [17] came also to an end in France. A new dynasty was
then founded by a nobleman named Hugh Capet, who secured the aid of the
powerful Norman dukes in his efforts to gain the throne. The accession of
Hugh Capet took place in 987 A.D. His descendants reigned over France for
almost exactly eight hundred years. [18]
* * * * *
144. CONQUEST OF ENGLAND BY THE DANES; ALFRED THE GREAT
ENGLAND OVERRUN BY THE DANES
Even before Egbert of Wessex succeeded in uniting all the Anglo-Saxon
kingdoms, [19] bands of Vikings, chiefly from Denmark, had made occasional
forays on the English coast. Egbert kept the Danes at bay, but he died in
839 A.D., and from that time the real invasion of England began. The Danes
came over in large numbers, made permanent settlements, and soon
controlled all England north of the Thames.
[Illustration: ALFRED THE GREAT
A lofty bronze statue by H. Thorneycraft set up at Winchester Alfred's
ancient capital. It was dedicated in 1901 A.D. on the thousandth
anniversary of his death. The inscription reads:
"Alfred found learning dead,
And he restored it,
Education neglected
And he revived it,
The laws powerless
And he gave them force,
The Church debased,
And he raised it,
The land ravaged by a fearful enemy
From which he delivered it."]
KING ALFRED AND THE DANES
Wessex before long experienced the full force of the Danish attack. The
country at this time was ruled by Alfred, the grandson of Egbert. Alfred
came to the throne in 871 A.D., when he was only about twenty-three years
old. In spite of his youth, he showed himself the right sort of leader for
the hard-pressed West Saxons. For several years fortune favored the Danes.
Then the tide turned. Issuing from the marshes of Somersetshire, where he
had rallied his dispirited troops, Alfred suddenly fell on the enemy and
gained a signal success. The beaten Danes agreed to make peace and to
accept the religion of their conquerors.
THE DANELAW
Alfred's victory did not end the war. Indeed, almost to the end of his
reign, the heroic king had to face the Vikings, but he always drove them
off and even recovered some of the territory north of the Thames. The
English and Danes finally agreed to a treaty dividing the country between
them. The eastern part of England, where the invaders were firmly
established, came to be called the Danelaw, because here the Danish, and
not the Anglo-Saxon, law prevailed. In the Danelaw the Danes have left
memorials of themselves in local names [20] and in the bold, adventurous
character of the inhabitants.
[Illustration: Map, ENGLAND UNDER ALFRED THE GREAT]
CIVILIZING ACTIVITIES OF ALFRED
It was a well-nigh ruined country which Alfred had now to rule over and
build up again. His work of restoration invites comparison with that of
Charlemagne. Alfred's first care was to organize a fighting force always
ready at his call to repel invasion. He also created an efficient fleet,
which patrolled the coast and engaged the Vikings on their own element. He
had the laws of the Anglo-Saxons collected and reduced to writing, taking
pains at the same time to see that justice was done between man and man.
He did much to rebuild the ruined churches and monasteries. Alfred labored
with especial diligence to revive education among the English folk. His
court at Winchester became a literary center where learned men wrote and
taught. The king himself mastered Latin, in order that he might translate
Latin books into the English tongue. So great were Alfred's services in
this direction that he has been called "the father of English prose."
[Illustration: ALFRED'S JEWEL (Ashmolean Museum, Oxford)
A jewel of blue enamel inclosed in a setting of gold, with the words
around it "Alfred had me wrought." Found at Athelney in the seventeenth
century.]
ALFRED'S CHARACTER
Alfred alone of English rulers bears the title of "the Great." He well
deserves it, not only for what he did but for what he was. Through the
mists of ten centuries his figure still looms large. It is the figure of a
brave, patient, and modest man, who wore himself out in the service of his
people. The oft-quoted words which he added to one of his translations
form a fitting epitaph to this noble king: "My wish was to live worthily
as long as I lived, and after my life to leave to them that should come
after, my memory in good works." His wish has been fulfilled.
FROM ALFRED TO THE NORMAN CONQUEST, 901-1066 A.D.
About seventy-five years after Alfred's death the Danes renewed their
invasions. It then became necessary to buy them off with an annual tribute
called the Danegeld. Early in the eleventh century Canute, the son of a
Danish king, succeeded in establishing himself on the English throne
(1016-1035 A.D.). His dynasty did not last long, however, and at length
the old West-Saxon line was restored in the person of Edward the Confessor
(or "the Saint"). Edward had spent most of his early life in Normandy, and
on coming to England brought with him a large following of Normans, whom
he placed in high positions. During his reign (1042-1066 A.D.) Norman
nobles and churchmen gained a foothold in England, thus preparing the way
for the Norman conquest of the country.
145. NORMAN CONQUEST OF ENGLAND; WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR
HAROLD AND WILLIAM
Edward the Confessor having left no direct heirs, the choice of his
successor fell lawfully upon the Witenagemot, [21] as the national
assembly of noblemen and higher clergy was called. This body chose as
king, Harold, earl of Wessex, the leading man in England. Harold's right
to the succession was disputed by William, duke of Normandy, who declared
that the crown had been promised to him by his cousin, the Confessor.
William also asserted that Harold had once sworn a solemn oath, over a
chest of sacred relics, to support his claim to the throne on Edward's
death. When word came of Harold's election, William wrathfully denounced
him as a usurper and began to prepare a fleet and an army for the invasion
of England.
WILLIAM'S PREPARATIONS
Normandy under Duke William had become a powerful, well-organized state.
Norman knights, attracted by promises of wide lands and rich booty, if
they should conquer, formed the core of William's forces. Adventurers from
every part of France, and even from Spain and Italy, also entered his
service. The pope blessed the enterprise and sent to William a ring
containing a hair from St. Peter's head and a consecrated banner. When all
was ready in the late fall of 1066 A.D., a large fleet, bearing five or
six thousand archers, foot soldiers, and horsemen, crossed the Channel and
landed in England.
[Illustration: A SCENE FROM THE BAYEUX TAPESTRY (Museum of Bayeux,
Normandy)
The Bayeux Tapestry, which almost certainly belongs to the time of the
Norman Conquest, is a strip of coarse linen cloth, about 230 feet long by
20 inches wide, embroidered in worsted thread of eight different colors.
There are seventy-two scenes picturing various events in the history of
the Norman Conquest. The illustration given above represents an attack of
Norman cavalry on the English shield wall at the battle of Hastings.]
BATTLE OF HASTINGS, 1066 A.D.
William at first met no resistance. Harold was far away in the north
fighting against the Norwegians, who had seized the opportunity to make
another descent on the English coast. Harold defeated them decisively and
then hurried southward to face his new foe. The two armies met near
Hastings on the road to London. All day they fought. The stout English
infantry, behind their wall of shields, threw back one charge after
another of the Norman knights. Again and again the duke rallied his men
and led them where the foe was thickest. A cry arose that he was slain. "I
live," shouted William, tearing off his helmet that all might see his
face, "and by God's help will conquer yet." At last, with the approach of
evening, Harold was killed by an arrow; his household guard died about
him; and the rest of the English took to flight. William pitched his camp
on the field of victory, and "sat down to eat and drink among the dead."
[Illustration: Map, DOMINIONS OF WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR]
WILLIAM BECOMES KING
The battle of Hastings settled the fate of England. Following up his
victory with relentless energy, William pressed on to London. That city,
now practically the capital of the country, opened its gates to him. The
Witenagemot, meeting in London offered the throne to William. On Christmas
Day, 1066 A.D., in Westminster Abbey the duke of Normandy was crowned king
of England.
WILLIAM'S PERSONALITY
What manner of man was William the Conqueror? Tall of stature, endowed
with tremendous strength, and brave even to desperation, he seemed an
embodiment of the old viking spirit. "No knight under heaven," men said
truly, "was William's peer." A savage temper and a harsh, forbidding
countenance made him a terror even to his closest followers. "So stern and
wrathful was he," wrote an English chronicler, "that none durst do
anything against his will." Though William never shrank from force or
fraud, from bloodshed or oppression, to carry out his ends, he yet showed
himself throughout his reign a patron of learning, a sincere supporter of
the Church, and a statesman of remarkable insight. He has left a lasting
impress on English history.
146. RESULTS OF THE NORMAN CONQUEST
NORMAN ELEMENT IN THE ENGLISH PEOPLE
The coming of the Normans to England formed the third and last installment
of the Teutonic invasion. Norman merchants and artisans followed Norman
soldiers and settled particularly in the southern and eastern parts of the
island. They seem to have emigrated in considerable numbers and doubtless
added an important element to the English population. The Normans thus
completed the work of the Anglo-Saxons and Danes in making England a
Teutonic country.
NORMAN ELEMENT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
It must be remembered, however, that the Normans in Normandy had received
a considerable intermixture of French blood and had learned to speak a
form of the French language (Norman-French). In England Norman-French
naturally was used by the upper and ruling classes--by the court, the
nobility, and the clergy. The English held fast to their own homely
language, but could not fail to pick up many French expressions, as they
mingled with their conquerors in churches, markets, and other places of
public resort. It took about three hundred years for French words and
phrases to soak thoroughly into their speech. The result was a very large
addition to the vocabulary of English. [22]
UNION OF ENGLAND AND NORMANDY
Until the Norman Conquest England, because of its insular position, had
remained out of touch with Continental Europe. William the Conqueror and
his immediate successors were, however, not only rulers of England, but
also dukes of Normandy and subjects of the French kings. Hence, the union
of England with Normandy brought it at once into the full current of
European affairs. The country became for a time almost a part of France
and profited by the more advanced civilization which had arisen on French
soil. The nobility, the higher clergy, and the officers of government were
Normans. The architects of the castles and churches, the lawyers, and the
men of letters came from Normandy. Even the commercial and industrial
classes were largely recruited from across the Channel.
ENGLAND AND THE PAPACY
The Norman Conquest much increased the pope's authority over England. The
English Church, as has been shown, [23] was the child of Rome, but during
the Anglo-Saxon period it had become more independent of the Papacy than
the churches on the Continent. William the Conqueror, whose invasion of
England took place with the pope's approval, repaid his obligation by
bringing the country into closer dependence on the Roman pontiff.
FUSION OF ENGLISH AND NORMAN
Although the Normans settled in England as conquerors, yet after all they
were near kinsmen of the English and did not long keep separate from them.
In Normandy a century and a half had been enough to turn the Northmen into
Frenchmen. So in England, at the end of a like period, the Normans became
Englishmen. Some of the qualities that have helped to make the modern
English a great people--their love of the sea and fondness for adventure,
their vigor, self-reliance, and unconquerable spirit--are doubtless
derived in good part from the Normans.
147. NORMAN CONQUEST OF SOUTHERN ITALY AND SICILY
NORMAN EXPANSION SOUTHWARD
The conquest of England, judged by its results, proved to be the most
important undertaking of the Normans. But during this same eleventh
century they found another field in which to display their energy and
daring. They turned southward to the Mediterranean and created a Norman
state in Italy and Sicily.
CONQUESTS OF ROBERT GUISCARD
The unsettled condition of Italy [24] gave the Normans an opportunity for
interference in the affairs of the country. The founding of Norman power
there was largely the work of a noble named Robert Guiscard ("the
Crafty"), a man almost as celebrated as William the Conqueror. He had set
out from his home in Normandy with only a single follower, but his valor
and shrewdness soon brought him to the front. Robert united the scattered
bands of Normans in Italy, who were fighting for pay or plunder, and
wrested from the Roman Empire in the East its last territories in the
peninsula. Before his death (1085 A.D.) most of southern Italy had passed
under Norman rule.
ROGER GUISCARD'S CONQUESTS
Robert's brother, Roger, crossed the strait of Messina and began the
subjugation of Sicily, then a Moslem possession. Its recovery from the
hands of "infidels" was considered by the Normans a work both pleasing to
God and profitable to themselves. By the close of the eleventh century
they had finally established their rule in the island.
KINGDOM OF THE TWO SICILIES
The conquests of the Normans in southern Italy and Sicily were united into
a single state, which came to be known as the kingdom of the Two Sicilies.
The Normans governed it for only about one hundred and fifty years, but
under other rulers it lasted until the middle of the nineteenth century,
when the present kingdom of Italy came into existence.
NORMAN CULTURE IN THE SOUTH
The kingdom of the Two Sicilies was well-governed, rich, and strong. Art
and learning flourished in the cities of Naples, Salerno, and Palermo.
Southern Italy and Sicily under the Normans became a meeting-point of
Byzantine and Arabic civilization. The Norman kingdom formed an important
channel through which the wisdom of the East flowed to the North and to
the West.
148. THE NORMANS IN EUROPEAN HISTORY
NORMAN FACULTY OF ADAPTATION
The conquests of the Normans in England, Italy, and Sicily were effected
after they had become a Christian and a French-speaking people. In these
lands they were the armed missionaries of a civilization not their own.
The Normans, indeed, invented little and borrowed much. But, like the
Arabs, they were more than simple imitators. In language, literature, art,
religion, and law what they took from others they improved and then spread
abroad throughout their settlements.
ASSIMILATION OF THE NORMANS
It seems at first sight remarkable that a people who occupied so much of
western Europe should have passed away. Normans as Normans no longer
exist. They lost themselves in the kingdoms which they founded and among
the peoples whom they subdued. Their rapid assimilation was chiefly the
consequence of their small numbers: outside of Normandy they were too few
long to maintain their identity.
NORMAL INFLUENCE
If the Normans themselves soon disappeared, their influence was more
lasting. Their mission, it has been well said, was to be leaders and
energizers of society--"the little leaven that leaveneth the whole lump."
The peoples of medieval Europe owed much to the courage and martial
spirit, the genius for government, and the reverence for law, of the
Normans. In one of the most significant movements of the Middle Ages--the
crusades--they took a prominent part. Hence we shall meet them again.
STUDIES
1. What events are associated with the following dates: 988 A.D.; 862
A.D.; 1066 A.D.; 1000 A.D.; and 987 A.D.?
2. What was the origin of the geographical names Russia, Greenland,
Finland, and Normandy?
3. Mention some of the striking physical contrasts between the Arabian and
Scandinavian peninsulas.
4. Why has the Baltic Sea been called a "secondary Mediterranean"?
5. How does it happen that the gulf of Finland is often frozen over in
winter, while even the northernmost of the Norse fiords remain open?
6. Why is an acquaintance with Scandinavian mythology, literature, and
history especially desirable for English-speaking peoples?
7. What is meant by the "berserker's rage"?
8. What names of our weekdays are derived from the names of Scandinavian
deities?
9. Compare the Arab and Scandinavian conceptions of the future state of
departed warriors.
10. What is meant by "sea-power"? What people possessed it during the
ninth and tenth centuries?
11. Compare the invasions of the Northmen with those of the Germans as to
(a) causes, (b) area covered, and (c) results.
12. What was the significance of the fact that the Northmen were not
Christians at the time when they began their expeditions?
13. Show how the voyages of the Northmen vastly increased geographical
knowledge.
14. Show that the Russian people have received from Constantinople their
writing, religion, and art.
15. Mention three conquests of England by foreign peoples before 1066 A.D.
Give for each conquest the results and the approximate date.
16. On the map, page 405, trace the boundary line between Alfred's
possessions and those of the Danes.
17. Compare Alfred and Charlemagne as civilizing kings.
18. Compare Alfred's cession of the Danelaw with the cession of Normandy
to Rollo.
19. Why is Hastings included among "decisive" battles?
20. "We English are not ourselves but somebody else." Comment on this
statement.
21. What is meant by the "Norman graft upon the sturdy Saxon tree"?
22. What settlements of the Northmen most influenced European history?
23. Compare the Norman faculty of adaptation with that of the Arabs.
FOOTNOTES
[1] Webster, _Readings in Medieval and Modern History_, chapter vii, "The
Saga of a Viking"; chapter viii, "Alfred the Great"; chapter ix, "William
the Conqueror and the Normans in England."
[2] See page 67.
[3] The word perhaps comes from the old Norse _vik_, a bay, and means "one
who dwells by a bay or fiord." Another meaning assigned to Viking is
"warrior."
[4] See the illustration, page 240.
[5] The word is derived from old Norse _segya_, "to say"; compare German
_sagen_.
[6] "Hall of the slain."
[7] "Choosers of the slain."
[8] See page 312.
[9] The Icelanders in 1874 A.D. celebrated the thousandth anniversary of
the Scandinavian settlement of their island.
[10] Russia in 1862 A.D. celebrated the millenary of her foundation by
Ruric.
[11] The Norse word for "fort" is preserved in the gorod of Novgorod.
[12] See page 335.
[13] See page 358.
[14] See the illustration, page 310.
[15] "Norman" is a softened form of "Northman."
[16] In 1911 A.D. Normandy celebrated in the ancient capital of Rouen the
thousandth anniversary of its existence.
[17] See pages 315, 317.
[18] The abolition of the French monarchy dates from 1792 A.D., when Louis
XVI was deposed from the throne.
[19] See page 320.
[20] The east of England contains more than six hundred names of towns
ending in _by_ (Danish "town"), compare _by-law_, originally a law for a
special town.
[21] "Meeting of wise men." The word _gemot_ or _moot_ was used for any
kind of formal meeting.
[22] See page 556.
[23] See page 325.
[24] See page 317.