If You Let Them Trivia Quiz

Answer: Scandinavian

The English name Norman is actually derived from the French "Normans" or "Normanz", which came from the Old Low Franconian word "Nortmann" or "Northman". The name originally came from medieval Latin "Nortmanni", which means men of the North. It is not known if the Normans originally came from Denmark, Sweden, or Norway, but they were a group of Vikings or Scandinavians. Like other groups of Vikings, they were looking for wealth and better land when they made their arrangement with the king.

Different groups of Vikings had been attacking the area; when the king made his famous deal with the Normans, they had just unsuccessfully laid siege to Chartres, a town that had been already raided by Vikings in 858. The Normans had to convert to Christianity, promise to be loyal, and protect the land from attacks by other groups of Vikings. They intermarried with the people who were already living in the area, adopted local customs, and they stayed!

Answer: Northern France

When they were originally offered Flanders, the Normans held fast to the idea that the land they were given had to be decent farmland. The Treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte gave the Normans the area of land in northern France along the English Channel that was located between the Epte River and the Atlantic Ocean.

It also gave them Brittany, an independent area that the king had not been able to conquer. Over time, more land was added to Normandy, and more settlers from the North arrived.

Answer: Rollo

Rollo was the leader of the unsuccessful siege of Chartres in 911. He negotiated the Treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte with King Charles III, who is also known as Charles the Simple, and became the first Norman leader of Normandy. As different groups of Vikings were constantly attacking monasteries and other areas of France and had already made settlements there, Rollo's help was desperately needed.

There is a story, "Historia Normannorum", written by Dudo, who said that before the Treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte could be ratified, Charles wanted Rollo to kiss his foot to prove his loyalty, which Rollo adamantly refused to do. Instead, he sent one of his men, who kissed the King's lifted foot and then caused him to fall.

Very little is known about Rollo's life before he came to Normandy, but he is considered to be the founder of the House of Normandy and his descendants ruled the area for two hundred years.

Answer: Duke

Richard II, the great-grandson of Rollo, was the first to use the title "dux Normannorum" or Duke of the Normans. The title Duke was used because the older title, Count, was being given to other members of the family, which meant that the overall leader of the group had to take a higher title. After the Norman conquest of England, the King of England also had the title Duke of Normandy until the English gave up their claim to the area in the 1259 Treaty of Paris. The French, however, continued to use the title Duke of Normandy, many times giving it to the heir apparent, until the French Revolution.

By the way, Richard II was the Duke of Normandy from 996-1026. His title was later passed on to his more famous grandson, William, and Richard's efforts to arrange a political marriage for his sister, Emma, gave William a right to lay claim to the throne of England.

Answer: Robert I

Robert was not married to William's mother, Herleva, hence the unflattering nickname for his son, William the Bastard. The story is that Robert noticed Herleva while she was working to dye garments and ordered that she be brought to him through the back door. She refused, and Robert agreed that she could enter on horseback through the front gate. After that she was recognized as Robert's concubine.

Robert choose William as his heir before leaving on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem; he died on the return trip home, and William became Duke of Normandy when he was about eight years old.

Answer: William I

William, who is called William I in the House of Normandy, believed that he had a claim to the English throne as he was a distant cousin to King Edward the Confessor, who had no children. He said that Edward had promised the throne to him in 1051, however, on his deathbed Edward named the powerful English nobleman, Harold Godwinson, as his successor in January 1066.

By September of the same year, William had invaded England, and a month later Harold was killed at the Battle of Hastings. He was crowned King of England on Christmas Day, 1066.

Answer: New religion

Of course, the people had been converted to Christianity during Roman times, however, the next invaders, the Anglo-Saxons, had largely replaced it with their own religious beliefs. Efforts to reconvert the people had been made by the Roman Catholic Church, beginning in 597, when the pope sent Augustine to England. He walked to Canterbury after landing in Kent and became the first Archbishop of Canterbury. While William I did reform the Church, the people had already been practicing Christians for quite some time. In fact, the wealth of the monasteries had been attracting Viking raiders to the area before the Norman conquest.

William I did introduce a new style of feudalism, where, instead of giving their primary loyalty to the lord who gave them their fief, vassals had to take the Salisbury Oath, which promised their main allegiance to the king. Feudalism in England, therefore, was not as strong as it was on the continent.

Norman architects designed castles, as well as cathedrals, and their style, a combination of Roman and Gothic, influenced English builders for a long time to come. Their language became the court language, as well as the language used by the upper class.

Answer: Henry I

Henry I made a huge impact in England by revising the system of royal justice. Rather than giving all the power to decide cases to the feudal lords, he sent traveling judges to hear cases in rural areas. This further reduced the power of the feudal lords and, over time, would make it easier for the King of England to centralize his power.

Henry I's grandson, Henry II, continued with judicial reforms during his reign, establishing the concept of common law, law that was common to everyone in England, that was carried out by royal courts, and two types of juries to hear and decide cases.

Answer: Matilda

Matilda was the daughter of Henry I, who became his heir when her only legitimate brother died. Her cousin, Stephen, however, claimed the throne of England. She traveled to England to take the throne by force, and even though she captured Stephen, she was never able to win enough popularity to be crowned Queen. Instead, she was called the Lady of the English for a short time until Stephen again ruled.

Don't let the title she is given - Empress Matilda - fool you! It has nothing to do with her short time in England. At one time she was married to the Holy Roman Emperor and, as his wife, that was her title.

Matilda's son did eventually become Henry II and rule England as King; he is not, however, considered to be a Norman king, but rather a member of the House of Plantagenet. Her cousin, Stephen, is considered to be the last member of the House of Normandy.

Answer: False

While it is true that the Normans settled in areas of France, England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland, those Stormin' Normans weren't happy with just staying in northern Europe. Does the tower in the picture resemble the Tower of London? Yes! But it is located at Andrano, on the east coast of Sicily.

The Normans established the Kingdom of Sicily in 1130, which further branched out to establish settlements in North Africa. They also became involved in religious disputes on the Iberian Peninsula, after which they were awarded territories in Portugal and Spain.