Back to Rollo and Poppa....

I first mentioned my 35 x Great Grandfather Rollo Rolf in this blog ..... Introduction to Rollo "Duke of Normandy" .......... and the confusing union of "more danico" of which he had with his wife/mistress/concubine Poppa de Bayeux.

Poppa de Bayeux, was the "captured" wife of Rollo.  She was (thought to be) the daughter of a count named Berenger, captured at Bayeux by Rollo in 885 or 889.  Speculation claims her as the daughter of Berengar II of Neustria.

(from Wikipedia) Poppa of Bayeux was the mistress or wife^[1] (perhaps by more danico)^[2] of Norman conqueror Rollo. She was the mother of William I, Duke of Normandy, and Gerloc. Chronicler Dudo of Saint-Quentin relates that she was the daughter of a count named Berenger, captured at Bayeux by Rollo in 885 or 889. This has led to speculation that she was the daughter of Berengar II of Neustria. A statue of Poppa stands at Place de Gaulle in Bayeux.

ROLLO ROLF STATUE
French: translation to English:  
WE REMAIN MASTERS AND LORDS - 25 July 885

Statue of Rollo in Rouen. There are two bronze replicas of this statue : one at Ålesund (Norway) and the other one at Fargo, North Dakota

Now, Rollo has some questionable linage also, as I stated in the last blog about him.   To make things more simple and less long winded ....  this is the short version.

Rollo Rolf was baptized Robert.   He is sometimes called "Robert I" to make it "less confusing" with his descendants.  HOWEVER; his Great-Great Grandson is also known as "Robert I" so in serious less confusing fashion, I will just call him Rollo.

Rollo was of Norwegian and Danish descent.  He was a Norse Nobleman.   He is also known to be the founder and first ruler of the Viking principality.

There are two versions of this linage ...

Denmark claims Rollo was the son of a King of Denmark.  This King had two sons, Rollo and Gurim. Upon the death of said King, Rollo was expelled and his brother Gurim was killed.

Norway fights that his name is Ganger Hrolf "Hrolf the Walker" ...  the son of Rognvald Eysteinsson, Earl of More, in western Norway.  Hrolf found "foul" of the Norwegian King, Harald Fairhair, and became Jarl in Norway.  The nickname "the Walker" or "Ganger" in Norse, came from being so big that no horse could carry him.

I already talked about Poppa ...  Rollo had another wife.  He next married Gisela, daughter of Charles III "the Simple," King of France. They had no children.

14th century depiction of the marriage of Rollo and Gisela (2nd wife or first wife with Poppa as mistress)

This bit of information came from HERE ....

Rollo, also called Rolf or Rou, French Rollon, Old Norse Hrólfr   (born c. 860—died c. 932), Scandinavian rover who founded the duchy of Normandy.

According to later Scandinavian sagas, Rollo, making himself independent of King Harald I of Norway, sailed off to raid Scotland, England, Flanders, and France on pirating expeditions. Early in the 10th century, Rollo’s Danish army attacked France, and he established himself in an area along the Seine River. Charles III the Simple of France held off his siege of Paris, defeated him near Chartres, and negotiated the treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte, giving him the part of Neustria that came to be called Normandy; Rollo in return agreed to end his brigandage. He gave his son, William I Longsword, governance of the dukedom (927) before his death. Rollo was baptized in 912 but is said to have died a pagan.

And this came from HERE ....

Vikings in France: 9th - 12th century

As elsewhere in northwest Europe, Viking raids on the coast of France gradually evolve into settlement. During the last decades of the 9th century, Danes are in possession of the territory round the lower reaches of the Seine. Early in the 10th century they are joined by a Norwegian who has already distinguished himself adventuring in Scotland and Ireland. His name is Hrölfr. He is known in western history as Rollo the Ganger.

Rollo becomes leader of the Seine Vikings and by 911 he is strong enough to besiege the French city of Chartres. The siege ends when the Frankish king, Charles III, agrees at St. Clair-sur-Epte to grant Rollo feudal rights over the territory round Rouen.

The Viking word for a Scandinavian is Northman, which in medieval French becomesNormand. Rollo the Viking and his successors, rapidly expanding their territory beyond his original feudal grant, are known therefore as Normans. Their dukedom, in its larger boundaries, becomes and remains Normandy.

Rollo's descendants rule Normandy for two centuries, until the male line dies out in 1135 with the death ofHenry I. Meanwhile they have become keen Christians (Rollo is baptized, though his son William I is the first Norman duke fully committed to the religion). But they lose nothing of their Viking restlessness, which finds expression inadventures outside Normandy.

Read more:http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?ParagraphID=eic#ixzz2giiUwQMo

And this from HERE ....

Raids along the Seine[edit]

In 885, Rollo was one of the lesser leaders of the Viking fleet which besieged Paris under Sigfred. Legend has it that an emissary was sent by the king to find the chieftain and negotiate terms. When he asked for this information, the Vikings replied that they were all chieftains in their own right. In 886, when Sigfred retreated in return for tribute, Rollo stayed behind and was eventually bought off and sent to harry Burgundy.^[a]

Later, he returned to the Seine with his followers (known as Danes, or Norsemen). He invaded the area of northern France now known as Normandy. In 911 the Vikings under Rollo again launched an attack on Paris before laying siege toChartres. The Bishop of Chartres, Joseaume, appealed for help, which were answered by Robert, Marquis of Neustria, Richard, Duke of Burgundy and Manasses, Count of Dijon. On 20 July 911, at the Battle of Chartres, Frank forces defeated Rollo despite the absence of many French barons and also the absence of the French King Charles the Simple.^[4]

The Principality of Normandy[edit]In the Treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte (911) with King Charles, Rollo pledged feudal allegiance to the king, changed his name to the Frankish version, and converted to Christianity, probably with the baptismal name Robert.^[5] In return, King Charles granted Rollo land between the Epte and the sea as well as parts of Brittany ^[b] and according to Dudo of St. Quentin, the hand of the King's daughter, Gisela, although this marriage and Gisela herself are unknown to Frankish sources. He was also the titular ruler of Normandy, centered around the city of Rouen. There exists some argument among historians as to whether Rollo was a "duke" (dux) or whether his position was equivalent to that of a "count" under Charlemagne.

According to legend, when required to kiss the foot of King Charles, as a condition of the treaty, he refused to perform so great a humiliation, and when Charles extended his foot to Rollo, Rollo ordered one of his warriors to do so in his place. His warrior then lifted Charles' foot up to his mouth causing the king to fall to the ground.^[6]

After 911, Rollo stayed true to his word of defending the shores of the Seine river in accordance to the Treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte. However, he also continued attacks on Flanders.

After Charles was deposed by Robert I in 922, Rollo considered his oath to the King of France at an end. It started a period of expansion westwards. Negotiations with French barons ended with Rollo being given Le Mans and Bayeux and continued with the seizure of Bessin in 924. The following year saw the Normans attack Picardy.

Rollo began to divide the land between the Epte and Risle rivers among his chieftains and settled there with a de facto capital in Rouen. Eventually^[when?] Rollo's men intermarried with the local women, and became more settled as Normans.^{[clarification needed]}

He is buried here ....  at Rouen Cathedral ....

Grave of Rollo of Normandy, duke of Normandy, at the cathedral of Rouen, Seine-Maritime

Maps

Rouen