Waching daily Jun 2 2018

Salut, this is Alan.

Today, as you can see,

I am at Saint Clair sur Epte,

a little town at the border between Normandy and Isle of France.

This village, which is not specially worth seeing

because of its medieval vestiges,

especially if we consider all what we have in that region,

has nevertheless an extraordinary place in the fate of France :

Here, on the banks of the river Epte,

in 911

a treaty of peace was signed

by the king of France Charles III, called Charles the Simple

and a leader of a gang of plunderers

who's been ravaginf France for decades :

I mean the Vikings.

In this place, at Saint Clair sur Epte,

Normandy was born in 911.

In fact, to be honest, we don't know the terms of the treaty

which didn't reach us.

But we know most of it

thanks to an historian of the 11th century

Dudon de Saint Quentin.

Forst, and it is the most important,

Charles the Simple, King of France,,

grants all the territory

between the river Epte, behind me,and the sea.

Then, the viking leader, Rollo,

must get himself baptized.

That is common, at this time, we can even say it is a classic :

Clovis had to go through this.

And then he has to pay tribute to the king.

Which, as we will see, is not that simple.

Then, he must help to protect the kingdom,

including against his viking fellows

Who would be tempted to continue the raids

over the country of France.

This act is really exceptional.

Not much because a king gives

some of his land to get peace,

it was already made in England

when the king Alfred the Great

gave a large part of eastern England

which then passed under Danish domination

making the Danelaw,

the land under Danish law.

As for the diverse and varied ransoms

they are unfortunately common practice

And it is moreover what will contribute to ruin the kingdom.

No, what is really unexpected

is that a viking leader

proclaims himself supreme leader of all the clans

and of all the vikings on the territory

And moreover, that he agrees to humble himself

by paying tribute to the king of France.

OK. Concerning the humiliation,

he was supposed to kneel down, kiss the foot of the king of France...

In fact, he will refuse categorically ;

He will appoint one of his companions to do it instead of himself ;

by the way, that companion will not sttop to kneel down,

he will take the king's foot, will carry it to his lips

which will throw the King of France off balance

and make him fall

in the laughter and the mockeries of the assembly,

Well, The treaty will be validated and after all it is all that matters.

Rollo is not the first viking leader to land on the coast of France

and most of all, he is not the only one..

Born approximately between 850 and 860,

he grew up during the prosperous period, if I dare to say,

of the great viking raids

and of the settling of trading posts

Almost everywhere in Europe and in the world

Don't forget that we may have in mind this common image of a plunderer viking,

most of all, they are merchants

who travel all over the world, form Asia to America

settling trading posts

and selling valuables

not always acquired very legally, that's right,

such as furs, weapons,

pieces of jewelry

actually pillaged,

a little bit the hard way, here and there.

Around year 900, Neustria

I mean, to speak simple, that part of the carolingian Empire

which covers more or less current France,

has been ruined.

With the plunders and the ransoms

paid to avoid the plunders,

the Carolingian empire showed itself more or less incapable

to kick out the Vikings

and even more of to annihilate them,

In fact, basically, the scandinavian world is rather peaceful,

living on farming and crafts

as almost everywhere at that time.

The Vikings, as we know them today,

are not really representative of their own civilization.

Tey are rather the uncontrollable part of it.

Young adventurers to whom the business gave some ideas

when they saw the wealthyness

and the relative weakness of the countries they approach.

From business to plunder, temptation was too strong.

Rollo, of Danish or Norwegian origin, we do not know very well,

is a member of these wild ones

who fetch glory and fortune

in the style of the Scandinavian and Icelandic sagas

made of rivalries, vendettas, fights

moreover more or less honorable.

He lands in 876 on the banks of the river Seine

after travelling accross the worls the weapons in the hand

probably travelling then Norway,

the Scottish islands, the Orkneys, the Shetlands, maybe Hebrides,

England, of course,

but also on the continent Flanders, the Frieze...

When he lands on the French territory,

he does not settle down friendly in Normandy

until we propose him duke's title.

He begins by plundering Jumièges,

seizes Bayeux, participates to the siege of Paris, too.

I pass on his robberies and plunders

it would take too long ans has not much interest

But we are far from the image that Dudon de Saint Quentin precisely wants to give,

to glorify the lineage of the dukes of Normandy.

We are far from the image of a friendly and protective leader

when he lands on the Frenck territory.

If he managed to federate all the viking clans,

it is first of all because he estblished himself as a war chief.

But he also managed to deal with the Franks

enough to understand the way their society work

and use it to his own advantage.

Then, during the siege of Bayeux,

he kills the count of Bayeux

and marries his daughter, Poppa...

Uh... when I say « marries », I mean the viking way...

it means that according to the Christian Church, some years later,

she will be considered a concubine and the marriage will not be accepted.

But it gives him enough legitimacy with the Franks

to make him deal with them

as if he was the heir of a long lineage of counts

of Bayeux, in this case, of dukes of Normandy, in thge future.

But Rollo endures a huge defeat,

in Chartres, probably in july 911.

It is obliged to withdraw, most probably on Rouen

which is used ad headquarters.

At that moment, the Franks take the initiative

to propose a truce to Rollo,

arguing that without it,

Rollo would be forced to a stupid endless war

against the Franks and the king of France.

In fact, the vikings are ready to hear such a proposal.

The lands which are proposed to them are rich, fertile,

and they who always looked for the integration on the lands they occupied

can live there in peace.

Ultimately, after some tough negotiating

the two armies, viking and frank

meet on both sides of the Epte.

The negociations will continue until the very last moment,

and even when the camp is settled,

we can see couriers

crossing the Epte in one direction then in the other one to adjust the last details.

But finally the king of France will give in to the last requirements

and Rollo will accept to sign the treaty:

The Normandy is born !

The stake of what happened here, in that little village of the French Vexin

exceeds what we can imagine.

It is of course the ending of the plunders

and the domestication, in a certain way,

of the raiders from the North,

but most of all, it means the creation of a duchy

which will become one the most important from France.

It is from there that descendant of Rollon in the fifth generation

will sail out to conquer England

certain William, who will be called The Conqueror

and then, all the tumultuous relationship, let's says,

between France and England for the next centuries.

Extracts of the Tapestry of Rollo courtesy of Pr.Jean Renaud and the association "La tapisserie de Rollon" (Bayeux) who I deeply thank.

To know more about it, please visit: http://www.tapisseriederollon.com/en/