Rollo "Stoutheart" Ragnvaldsson (846-932) was Jarl of Normandy (Count of Rouen) from 911 to 927, preceding William I Longsword. The son of Jarl Rognvald Eysteinsson of Nidaros and Orkneyar and a former member of Eivor Wolf-Kissed's Raven Clan, he was granted the Duchy of Normandy by King Charles the Simple of West Francia in 911, and the region of Normandy took its name from Rollo's "Northmen" (Norwegian vikings). In exchange for an end to his brigandage and for his fealty to the Frankish king, Rollo was granted a large amount of land in northern France in which he settled his raiders, who were gradually assimilated as Frenchmen, developing a unique Franco-Norse culture, the Normans. Rollo died in 932 at the age of 86, having fathered a line of Norman rulers known as the House of Normandy.
Biography[]
Rollo Ragnvaldsson was born in Nidaros, Norway in 860, the son of Jarl Rognvald Eysteinsson of Nidaros and Orkneyar and the brother of Hallad Rognvaldsson, Torf-Einarr, and Thorir. As a young man, Rollo became an adventurous seafarer who voyaged to Francia and England alike during his teenage years, starting an affair with the Frankish noblewoman Estrid of Essex after she and her husband, Ealdorman Birstan of Essex, hired him to "kidnap" her back to her home country to end their acrimonious marriage. However, Rollo had fallen in love with Estrid, so he was ultimately unable to say goodbye, leaving her in Essex.
By 875 AD, Rollo and his lieutenants Gerhild and Lork were operating from a small camp in Essex. When Rollo went into Colchester one day to visit the brothel, he was nearly arrested by West Saxon soldiers, but he was rescued by Eivor Wolf-Kissed, who escorted him back to his camp and found that Gerhild and Lork had been arrested by Rollo's other lieutenant, Ake, from being absent from the ambush which killed the rest of Rollo's men. With Eivor's help, Rollo deduced that Gerhild was the traitor, and he proceeded to execute her with his hammer. Eivor then helped Rollo rescue his captive warriors from Walton-on-the-Naze, and, in gratitude, Rollo agreed to help Eivor stage another "kidnapping" of Estrid; by then, Rollo had gotten over her. They launched a raid on Colchester amid the Lammas festival, kidnapping Estrid. Rollo and his ship crew were forced to wait at Wulfaswic until the weather in the English Channel calmed, leading to a rescue party sent by King Alfred the Great attacking them in the Battle of Wulfaswic. Lork was killed in the ensuing battle, but Eivor returned from Colchester and helped Rollo and his men fight off the Saxons, allowing for Rollo and Estrid to set out for Francia. Before Rollo left, however, Eivor told him that he would always be welcome at his settlement of Ravensthorpe (in present-day Northamptonshire) if he ever wanted to come back.
Sure enough, Rollo decided to join the Raven Clan as one of Eivor's jomsvikings, serving aboard his longship and taking part in adventures across England. He accompanied Eivor on his raid on Flamborough in Northern England on 1 January 876, one of his first battles as part of Eivor's clan. He went on to serve as one of his chief lieutenants, later fighting in the raid on Reading in Hampshire in late 877 AD.
On his father's death in 895 AD, Rollo became a jarl himself; by that time, he had left Eivor's service and begun to forge a saga of his own. He made himself independent of King Harald Fairhair and raided Scotland, Ireland, England, and Flanders before settling in the valley of the lower Seine in France, securing a permanent foothold on Frankish soil after raiding West Francia down the Seine. Rollo agreed to end his brigandage and defend France from other vikings in return for King Charles the Simple granting him the County of Rouen in 911; the land that the Northmen settled in became known as "Normandy" as a result. Rollo remained loyal to Charles even after his deposition, and he defeated and killed the usurper Robert I of France at Soissons on 15 June 923. Rollo himself died in 932 at the age of 86, and his son William I Longsword succeeded him as Jarl of Normandy.
Gallery[]
| Duke of Normandy | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by: N/A |
911 - 928 | Succeeded by: William I Longsword |