The Normans

The Normans or Northmen had their origin with those Vikings who settled around the mouth of the Seine in 911 led by a chief called Rollo. Gradually they assimilated to the local culture and became Dukes of Normandy with names like Richard, Robert and William. But Normandy alone was not enough for these enterprising people. Some, like Duke William, set their sights on the conquest of England in 1066. Around the same time other families were heading south into Italy. In Sicily in particular they established a brilliant court fusing, Norman cultural norms with those of Byzantine Greeks and Arab Muslims.

 This course examines the period of their advance and expansion from roughly 900-1150.