Famous Men of the Middle Ages · Ch. XII, part 2 · Unit 5: Northmen, Danes and Saxons
19. Rollo the Viking and the founding of Normandy
Goal: Your child can tell how Rollo besieged Paris, how Normandy got its name, and explain simply what a vassal and the feudal system were.
You'll need
- The book, open to this chapter
- A map of Europe and the Mediterranean (a free online map or a globe)
- Paper and colored pencils
- Your timeline strip (see the tips at the top)
What's in the book
Chapter XII, sections II and III (died 931 A.D.): Rollo the Walker, too big for any horse, takes Rouen peacefully and besieges Paris for thirteen months until Count Eudes brings the king. In 911 King Charles the Simple gives Rollo the land around Rouen, which is named Normandy, the land of the Northmen. Rollo will not kiss the king's foot himself. The chapter explains vassals, feuds and the Feudal System, and serfs. Rollo hangs robbers and makes Normandy safe; he is the forefather of William the Conqueror.
The lesson, step by step
Set the scene
Find the River Seine and follow it from the sea up to Rouen and on to Paris. Find Normandy on the coast of France.
Read the chapter
Read from section II to the end of the chapter. It begins:
The Vikings had many able chieftains.
Tell it back
Prompts:
- Why was Rollo called the Walker?
- How did the people of Paris defend their city?
- What did Rollo ask for, and what did the king give him?
- What happened when Rollo's man kissed the king's foot?
The feudal system
Draw a simple pyramid together. At the top: the king. Below: Rollo, his vassal. Below Rollo: his leading men, who got land (a feud) for bringing soldiers. At the bottom: the serfs, who did all the work and could not leave the land.
Read this:
The lands granted to vassals in this way were called feuds, and this plan of holding lands was called the Feudal System.
Talk it over
Ask:
- Rollo had been a robber himself, then hanged robbers. Why might a former robber make strict laws?
- Would you rather have been a lord or a serf? Why do you think there were so many more serfs?
Remember it
Read this:
So the king gave him that part of Francia; and ever since it has been called Normandy, the land of the Northmen.
Add "911 Normandy given to Rollo" to the timeline.
Afterwards
Ask your child to explain the feudal pyramid to someone else using the drawing.
Tip
Keep the pyramid drawing. It helps in almost every later chapter, where kings, dukes and barons quarrel over who owes what to whom.
Answers to the book's problems
He was such a giant that no horse could carry him, so he always walked. They built two walls with strong gates and shot arrows and threw rocks, boiling oil and pitch on the attackers. He asked for Rouen and the land around it, to settle there as the king's vassal; the king gave it and it became Normandy. The man pulled the king's foot up to his lips and nearly tipped him off his horse. A former robber knows how much harm robbery does. Lords needed many workers on the land.
Worked out for this site from the scan. If a number in your copy differs, trust the book.