Quick Takes: Normandy

  Why is Normandy called Normandy? I thought it had something to do with the Vikings, so why isn’t it called Vikandy? Normandy is called Normandy because of the Normans. No, seriously, it is. But you are on the right track with this name business. Briefly, the story is this: This region in the northern part of France was conquered by the Franks in the fifth century. By the ninth century, the fearsome Vikings from Scandinavia, AKA Norsemen, had appeared on the scene, wreaking havoc all over the place. They were very busy and very talented at finding waterways to use as entry points all over Europe. In fact, they even managed to sail into Russia, these “russers” or rowers, thus giving the place the name we call it today. In northern France, some of these Norsemen settled down, which they did not always do in those areas they chose to pillage. They apparently liked the feel of the place, plus they understood that it occupied an advantageous location. The Franks were hardly in a position to eject them, since the descendents of Charlemagne had, by the year 900, found it difficult to maintain their sovereignty. So, bowing to the inevitable, in 911 Charles III (Charles the Simple) signed the treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte with Rollon, the Norse leader, and voila, the area became Normandie. A bit over a hundred years later, one of Rollon’s decendants, William the Bastard, managed to cross over into England, transform himself into William the Conqueror, and start an ongoing rivalry between the two countries. Which, albeit in different forms, continues unto this very day.