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Rollo The Viking Factsheet

Rollo was a Viking chieftain who seized the French city of Rouen in 876 and continued raiding the region. In 911, he agreed to convert to Christianity and pledged fealty to the King of France, Charles the Simple, in exchange for being granted the Duchy of Normandy. Rollo established Rouen as the capital and helped resist further Viking invasions. His descendants, who adopted French culture, included William the Conqueror, making the current British royal family descended from Rollo.

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105 views2 pages

Rollo The Viking Factsheet

Rollo was a Viking chieftain who seized the French city of Rouen in 876 and continued raiding the region. In 911, he agreed to convert to Christianity and pledged fealty to the King of France, Charles the Simple, in exchange for being granted the Duchy of Normandy. Rollo established Rouen as the capital and helped resist further Viking invasions. His descendants, who adopted French culture, included William the Conqueror, making the current British royal family descended from Rollo.

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Martin Mears
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Rollo the Walker Factsheet

One of the most historically significant Viking raiders was a chieftain known as Rollo. The
name Rollo is believed to be a Latinisation of the Norse name Hrólfr. Rollo’s nickname was
Göngu-Hrólfr, earning Hrólfr Walker. Historians believe that he acquired this nickname
because he was so large and physically imposing that he was too big to ride on a horse, as
Viking horses were very small by modern standards. In English, Rollo would be called ‘Rolf
the Walker’.

Little is known about Rollo’s early life. Medieval sources differ on whether he was from
Denmark or Norway, while some Irish and Icelandic sources suggest that his father was Ketill
Flatnose, King of the Isles of Scotland.

Rollo came to prominence in 876, when he seized the French city of Rouen. A French army
failed to dislodge Rollo’s Vikings, and eventually agreed that the Vikings could keep a small
territory along the coast. Rollo continued his raiding, however, sacking the town of Bayeux
and capturing Poppa, the daughter of a local French nobleman, to take as his wife.

Image – Statue of Rollo in Falaise, France -


https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/85/Rollo_statue_in_falaise.JPG
/1200px-Rollo_statue_in_falaise.JPG

Image – Statue of Rollo’s first wife Poppa -


https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/39/Statue_de_Poppa_de_Bayeux.jpg

Rollo was only one of several Viking chieftains who seized lands along the coast of northern
France, but he was regarded as the leader of these various Viking groups. In 885 CE, he led
these Vikings inland by sailing up the River Seine in 300 ships to lay siege to Paris. At this
time, Paris was a town on an island in the Seine, and was strategically important because its
bridges across the river blocked ships from sailing further up the Seine. Rollo demanded a
tribute from the Parisians in exchange for not sacking the town, and when this demand was
refused he started a siege. This was a very uncharacteristic Viking battle, as it took place far
inland, was drawn out over several months, and involved catapults and battering rams. The
Vikings even tried filling in the river Seine with dirt, gravel, trees, and dead animals to attack
the city. The Parisians were eventually saved by the arrival of the Holy Roman Emperor,
Charles the Fat, who surrounded the Viking camp. Rather than fighting, however, Charles
offered Rollo 267 kilograms of silver if he abandoned the siege and sailed down the Seine to
raid the region of Burgundy, which was in revolt against Charles. Rollo accepted the offer,
and took his men to raid and pillage Burgundy.

Image – depiction of the siege of Paris -


http://historywallcharts.eu/resources/uploads/thumbs/_DSF1002-Edit__685x0__.jpg

Rollo continued to live in northern France with his men after the unsuccessful siege of Paris.
In 911 CE he agreed a pact with the new King of France, Charles the Simple. Rollo agreed to
be baptised and convert to Christianity, to pledge fealty to Charles, and to defend northern
France from attack, including by other Vikings. In exchange, Charles granted a large stretch
of northern France to “the Normans of the Seine … Rollo and his associates”, which became
known as the Duchy of Normandy, and made Rollo ‘Duke of Normandy’. Some accounts say
that part of this agreement involved Rollo marrying Charles’ daughter Gisla, who would
have been five years old in 911. Rollo settled in the town of Rouen, which he established as
the capital of Normandy. Rollo was given additional lands in 923 in recognition of his service
in resisting a Viking invasion that year, and then died some time between 928 and 933.

Rollo was succeeded as Duke of Normandy by his son, William Longsword. Under William
and William’s son, Richard the Fearless, Normandy became the most united, powerful, and
formidable principality of France. The Normans assimilated rapidly into French culture,
abandoning most elements of their older Viking culture. Some Norse influence remained,
however. For example, Norman Law was a unique blend of Roman, French, and Viking law,
and elements of it still exist in the legal systems of the channel islands, the islands such as
Jersey that lie between England and France. Indeed, the tiny island of Sark continued to
officially be a feudal state under Norman Law until 2008. Rollo’s great, great, grandson,
William the Conqueror, would eventually become the King of England in 1066. The current
English Royal Family are therefore distantly descended from Rollo the Walker.

Rollo was one of the most significant Viking leaders. His life supports the view that finding
new, fertile lands to settle was the main reason for Viking raiding.

Image of Sark, the last state to live under Viking-derived Norman feudal law -
http://www.visitguernsey.com/sites/visitguernsey/files/styles/ripple_tourism_wysiwyg_full
/public/sark.jpg?itok=yXc7K5_X

Questions:
1) What do you think was Rollo’s most significant achievement?
2) Why do you think Rollo and his Viking settlers were willoing to abandon their Norse
culture and assimilate into French culture?
3) Why was Rollo a significant individual in Viking history?
4) Why do you think Charles the Fat allowed Rollo to leave Paris rather than killing him?
5) What can historians learn about the Vikings from the life of Rollo?
6) Conduct your own research to find another significant individual in Viking history
(examples could include Rurik, Harald I of Norway, Erik the Red, Leif Eriksson, Thorfinn
Karlsefni, Ingólfr Arnarson, Björn Ironside, Olaf Tryggvason, Harald Hardrada, Sweyn
Forkbeard, Cnut, Freydis Eriksdottir, and Margret the Adroit). Outline their life, career, and
achievements, identify the sources of information about the person, and evaluate their
significance as an individual in the Viking Age.

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