Rollo was a Viking who became the first ruler of Normandy, a region in northern France. He emerged as the outstanding warrior among the Norsemen who had secured a permanent foothold on Frankish soil in the valley of the lower Seine. After the Siege of Chartres in 911, Charles the Simple, the king of West Francia, gifted them lands between the mouth of the Seine and what is now Rouen in exchange for Rollo agreeing to end his brigandage, swearing allegiance to him, religious conversion and a pledge to defend the Seine's estuary from Viking raiders.
Robert the Magnificent was the duke of Normandy from 1027 until his death in 1035.
In the Middle Ages, the Duke of Normandy was the ruler of the Duchy of Normandy in north-western France. The duchy arose out of a grant of land to the Viking leader Rollo by the French king Charles III in 911. In 924 and again in 933, Normandy was expanded by royal grant. Rollo's male-line descendants continued to rule it down to 1135. In 1202 the French king Philip II declared Normandy a forfeited fief and by 1204 his army had conquered it. It remained a French royal province thereafter, still called the Duchy of Normandy, but only occasionally granted to a duke of the royal house as an apanage.
Richard II, called the Good, was the duke of Normandy from 996 until 1026.
Alan III of Rennes was Count of Rennes and duke of Brittany, by right of succession from 1008 to his death.
Richard I, also known as Richard the Fearless, was the count of Rouen from 942 to 996. Dudo of Saint-Quentin, whom Richard commissioned to write the "De moribus et actis primorum Normanniae ducum", called him a dux. However, this use of the word may have been in the context of Richard's renowned leadership in war, and not as a reference to a title of nobility. Richard either introduced feudalism into Normandy or he greatly expanded it. By the end of his reign, the most important Norman landholders held their lands in feudal tenure.
Geoffrey II, called Martel, was Count of Anjou from 1040 to 1060 and Count of Vendôme from 1032 to 1056. He was the son of Fulk the Black. He was bellicose and fought against William VII, Duke of Aquitaine, Theobald I, Count of Blois, and William, Duke of Normandy. During his twenty-year reign he especially had to face the ambitions of the Bishop of Le Mans, Gervais de Château-du-Loir, but he was able to maintain his authority over the County of Maine. Even before the death of his father in 1040, he had extended his power up to the Saintonge, where he founded the Abbey aux Dames. Geoffrey Martel and his wife Agnes also founded the Abbaye de la Trinité at Vendôme. The first mention of Geoffrey in the Gesta Normannorum Ducum reads: "Geoffrey, count of the Angevins, nicknamed Martel, a treacherous man in every respect, frequently inflicted assaults and intolerable pressure on his neighbors."
Gesta Normannorum Ducum is a chronicle originally created by the monk William of Jumièges just before 1060. In 1070 William I had William of Jumièges extend the work to detail his rights to the throne of England. In later times, Orderic Vitalis and Robert of Torigni, extended the volumes to include history up until Henry I.
Guy I of Ponthieu was born sometime in the mid-to late 1020s and died 13 October 1100. He succeeded his brother Enguerrand as Count of Ponthieu.
Mortemer is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region in northern France.
William of Talou, Count of Talou was a powerful member of the Norman ducal family who exerted his influence during the early reign of William the Conqueror Duke of Normandy.
Robert II or Robert the Dane, Archbishop of Rouen, and Count of Évreux was a powerful and influential prelate, and a family member of and supporter of five dukes of Normandy.
William of Jumièges was a contemporary of the events of 1066, and one of the earliest writers on the subject of the Norman conquest of England. He is himself a shadowy figure, only known by his dedicatory letter to William the Conqueror as a monk of Jumièges. Since he also mentions that he was an eyewitness of some events from the reign of Duke Richard III (1026-7), it seems reasonable to assume that he was born some time about the year 1000. He probably entered the monastery during the first quarter of the eleventh century and received his education from Thierry de Mathonville. According to Orderic Vitalis, William's nickname was "Calculus". The meaning behind this nickname is unknown. His death, after 1070, is unrecorded. He was a Norman writing from a Norman point of view. Although only a monk with evidently no military training, he wrote with pride in the accomplishments of his people.
William Longsword was the second ruler of Normandy, from 927 until his assassination in 942.
Anslech or Anslec de Bricquebec played a major political role in the first days of the duchy of Normandy, though the sources on him are rather opaque.
Geoffrey of Brionne, also called Godfrey was Count of Eu and Brionne in the late tenth and early eleventh centuries.
Papia of Envermeu, also called Poppa of Envermeu, was the second consort of Richard II, Duke of Normandy.
Sprota was the name of a Breton captive who William I, Duke of Normandy took as a wife in the Viking fashion and by her had a son, Richard I, Duke of Normandy. After the death of her husband William, she became the wife of Esperleng and mother of Rodulf of Ivry.
Ralph de Gacé Seigneur de Gacé and other estates in Normandy, was a member of the House of Normandy who played a significant role during the minority of William the Conqueror.
Hamon Dentatus was a Norman baron who was killed while rebelling with other Norman barons against William II, Duke of Normandy at the Battle of Val-ès-Dunes. The epithet "Dentatus" or "Dens" was probably given to Hamon because he was born with teeth. Little is known about Hamon's life.
