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This is a story about the people who came sailing across the ocean.

It's a story about a long and perilous journey of upheaval,

which came to change populations and influence politics, trade,

culture, religion and entire societies.

It's a story about the Vikings, and how they transformed the world.

For most people, the Vikings are seen only as plunderers and pirates.

But is that the whole truth?

The process of converting Scandinavia to Christianity is a long story.

They were skilled tradesmen, in part because of their ability to travel.

They're going abroad to take what they seek.

In this series we will dig deeper and gain more insight

into who the Vikings really were.

And the truth turns out to be surprising.

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THE LAST JOURNEY OF THE VIKINGS

At the end of the first Viking invasion of France,

the plundered cities began to build walls and fortifications,

making the Viking attacks more difficult.

But despite this, the Viking fleets grew in number,

as more and more people continued to join the voyages to Francia,

hoping to find glory and wealth.

When the Frankish defenses, for a time, became too strong,

the Vikings instead set their sights on England.

At the end of the ninth century, however, the Vikings once again

see their chance to return to Francia.

But this time, they don't go back simply to loot.

It is now that the Vikings decide to become Europeans.

And soon a new duchy, Normandy, will be created.

But how and why did the Vikings become Normans?

In order to answer that,

we have to know more about the Vikings' failed attacks on Francia

in the late ninth century, when Charles the Bald was still king.

THE GOOD LAND

During the 880s, the Carolingians actually managed to re-establish

their power and initiative in their defense

against various Viking raiding groups.

And they begin to refortify their borders and push

these groups back out to the sea.

Charles the Bald, who was the Frankish emperor

and the grandson of Charlemagne,

had repeatedly been forced to pay ransom to the Viking invaders.

But during his reign the Frankish defenses were developed,

with the addition of a cavalry,

as well as fortified bridges along the rivers.

But when we come back to this question of

whether these Viking groups somehow failed during the 880s,

I think we need to, again, think about this notion of whether

there was a concerted kind of Viking strategy.

These groups were still being quite successful in the field,

they were still managing to extract tribute and plunder

out of the Carolingians.

So whether or not any particular

engagement ended in a victory for them,

I think, might be kind of narrowing the focus a little too much here.

But although the Frankish resistance is becoming increasingly structured,

the Vikings once again decide to attack Paris.

And so, another siege of the metropolis is launched.

What happened in 885 and 886 in Paris

isn't necessarily to be considered as a failure for the Vikings.

Paris is indeed besieged for several months,

there are fights between Vikings and Parisians.

And, even if the Vikings can't seize Paris,

they still get an important monetary compensation.

So, actually, Parisians defend themselves against

the Vikings attempts of raid and plundering.

The Vikings hold for several months and eventually accept to retreat

in exchange for monetary compensation coming directly from the King.

On top of it, they're authorised

to sail up the Seine and to plunder Burgundy.

In the months that followed, they plundered the surroundings of Sens.

It seems inconsistent to have the King authorising such a thing,

but it was apparently the understanding they came to.

They didn't manage to seize Paris in the end, that's true,

but they still gained a lot out of it.

While the siege of Paris may have been relieved,

various Viking groups were still being quite successful in the field.

They were still managing to extract tribute from the Franks,

they were still causing quite a lot of damage

in many parts of the kingdom.

So again, I think we need to come back to this idea of

whether there was any concerted strategy in the first place

and think about these groups more on their own terms as

autonomous raiding fleets and armies

operating with their own individual goals.

If we want to consider the question of how and why

the Vikings became European,

we must start by saying that there was no Europe as such at the time.

Scandinavians integrated into a dominant culture on the continent

which was linked to the Anglo-Saxon culture too,

so the North Sea in general.

So they adopted some elements of that culture.

We see that the integration happened mostly when Scandinavians

tried to settle down in regions outside of Scandinavia.

It was often then, through power games and alliances games,

that they accepted new ways of life, but also a new religion.

In Scandinavia, the process may have taken more time,

but we also see, during the 11th century,

that the Scandinavian elites considered they were on par

with the elites in the rest of Europe,

which had the same values and ways to express power,

and used Christianity as well to secure that power.

So that cultural integration process between north and south

happened over several centuries. It didn't happen overnight.

That integration process also took place

in the context of special interests,

so with an often opportunist mindset which allowed the Scandinavians

who wanted to establish themselves politically

in the Anglo-Saxon England or in Normandy to achieve their goal.

After a period of illness,

the Frankish emperor Charles the Bald dies, on October 6, 877.

After his death, the Frankish coastal defenses diminish,

and the Vikings see an opportunity to increase their numbers in Francia.

And now begins a new era,

one where the objective is not only looting. But also integration.

When the Scandinavians established themselves in Europe,

and some of them relocated in the south,

it was natural for them to become full members of society.

They wanted to integrate.

One of the first things they did was learn the language

and convert to the local religion, Christianity in this case.

The Vikings were polytheistic,

which meant that they worshipped several gods.

This religion existed in all Germanic tribes of northern Europe

until it was ushered out by Christianity.

There are a number of reasons why the Vikings are now converting

from their old faith to become Christians.

The Christianisation process happened for a number of reasons

and in a lot of different ways.

I think, when we're looking at

these Viking groups operating on the continent,

there's certainly an element of pragmatism.

The opportunity to engage in trade or to engage in diplomacy

with not only the Carolingians,

but also with the Anglo-Saxon kings in England.

The conversion of Scandinavia to Christianity is a long story.

And a story that lasted several centuries.

In the early eighth century, already, there are the first missions in.

Friesland also having eyes on the Danes.

And throughout the eighth century, there is close contact

between the Christian sphere and the non-Christian sphere in Scandinavia.

It also happens through trade.

Throughout the eighth and ninth centuries

there's contact between merchants,

most likely Christians, coming from the North Sea's trading posts

and Scandinavian merchants.

So, through trade, information is already being transferred

and most likely, there are already conversions of individuals,

merchants deciding by themselves to convert to Christianity

most often in order to be granted access and the right to trade

in the Anglo-Saxon and Frankish cities.

Ultimately, it became difficult to own land and engage in trading

unless you were a Christian.

Certain trading posts existed where people weren't allowed

to trade with heathens.

So the Vikings allowed themselves to be baptised,

but viewed it as a temporary thing.

By doing so they were granted permission to remain

and conduct trade in these places.

As the years went by, it became more important to present yourself

as Christian in order to conduct trade

and partake in the political game.

In historical records we see a surprising number, perhaps,

of quite powerful leaders of raiding fleets accepting baptism

as part of their diplomatic contact with the Carolingian kings

and also in Anglo-Saxon England we see this too.

And this served a number of pragmatic reasons.

It meant that these leaders could be incorporated into the

the Christianised framework of diplomacy and kingship

that existed in Europe at this time.

It allowed the Carolingians and the Anglo-Saxons to deal with

these leaders of these raiding fleets as

legitimate political figures rather than simply as outsiders.

And what this is doing is really integrating

the Scandinavians into this diplomatic network

of Christian Europe.

It was beneficial for them to be allied with the church.

When they originally introduced Christianity to the Vikings,

they portrayed Jesus slightly differently.

Jesus was not seen as the humble servant that turned the other cheek.

Rather he was presented as the strong conqueror

that defeated and christened people from many different lands.

Strength and victory were ideals in their society.

Not so much being humble, sensitive and loving one another.

The Vikings believed in taking care of society's weaker members as well.

Christianity simply didn't present war as the foremost ideal.

But the idea of goodness, taking care of those less fortunate,

existed in both religions.

It is hard to understand how much this era transformed the mindset

of people who converted to Christianity in Scandinavia.

Was it really a change of belief, of the way of looking at things,

or was it more of an acceptance

of new values, new practices,

that mixed up, at least for a given time,

with the ones they already had.

In the beginning of the eighth century

and, especially, in the early ninth century,

conversion to Christianity takes place among individuals.

People decide, in certain circumstances,

to accept a new religion.

In connection with the Frankish expansion to the North,

high classes are more and more interested in Christianity.

They very often seek to facilitate

diplomatic agreements and create alliances.

That same game comes back in the late ninth century

in texts written by a monk named Notker.

He refers to how the Danes would often attend the court

in order to be baptised.

And weren't hiding that their goal was to receive the gifts

that were given with baptism.

Of course, Notker laughs at the Danes and their poorly hidden intentions.

Their lack of sincerity during this process must be quite exaggerated.

But there must be some element of truth as well;

Converting to Christianity, going through baptism,

aren't done out of sincere devotion or belief in a single god.

It is rather done in expediency. Only as long as there is something to win.

This also brings the question of the way we see

conversion into a new religion.

Indeed, on one side,

there obviously is a social aspect

to any change of religion,

but there is also a very personal

aspect concerning someone's faith.

From an archaeological point of view,

it is very difficult to rebuild the way people were thinking

during the Viking Age.

This also applies to written sources since, very often,

texts from that era refer to political events,

baptism as a ceremony,

as a political and social event,

but not really to more spiritual thoughts of those affected.

It's likely many journeyed south and allowed themselves to be baptised,

but when they travelled home,

they returned to the old ways and the old Gods.

We have found necklaces and amulets that could be

both the hammer of Thor and a cross, depending on how you wear it.

There were casts for making both the hammer of Thor and crosses.

This indicates that the line between the two religions

was blurred for the Scandinavians.

As Christianity and the Church spread its influence,

they brought with them new social rules and women in particular

were affected by this.

They weren't allowed to practise crafts.

It was considered inappropriate.

And it had to be done under supervision by a man.

They required a male guardian of sorts.

Prior to the spread of Christianity,

women had the opportunity both farm to their own land

and rule over themselves as well as practising various crafts,

such as ceramics, cloth making or baking.

Especially when larger cities emerged

where they could make a living practising their craft.

The judicial system also changed.

Women weren't allowed to inherit and they lost their say in marriages.

The church also encouraged girls and widows to join monasteries.

And when they did, they were encouraged to donate

their worldly possessions to the church.

With this, their role in society was weakened.

Women were not allowed to be strong.

She couldn't hold a position of power or be an independent woman

who made her own choices; Instead other people had to do it for her.

Women always played a fundamental part,

but the value of their contribution was diminished.

Their contribution wasn't worth as much.

They were meant to cook, and raise the children.

This wasn't as important as the role of men,

being out in the world in various ways.

This view emerged with the spread of Christianity.

I think today, that the idea of giving up ones religion and accepting

a new set of beliefs would be a huge thing for an individual to take on,

and certainly for at least some people during the Viking age,

I think that must have been very much the same.

At the same time, I think it's important to acknowledge that

the pre-Christian belief systems of Scandinavia

during the Viking age,

they didn't conform to any kind of religious doctrine.

This was not a religion in the sense that we would today understand it,

but more a kind of belief system,

a way of seeing the world and interacting

with the world around you.

And in that sense, if you have a polytheistic outlook

on religious beliefs, you have many gods,

and in addition to those you have a whole range of spirits

and supernatural creatures that live in the world around you,

and you interact with these on a daily basis,

then the idea of taking on another deity as part of this

may not have been as outlandish or as traumatic as we might think.

There is an acknowledgement of other beliefs and maybe there was

some way that these could be integrated

into people's existing belief systems rather than replacing them directly.

In the late ninth century and early 10th century,

as more and more Viking groups in Francia learn the language

and convert from paganism to Christianity,

they start to naturally integrate into Frankish society.

And as more Vikings are integrated,

they also become a significant and dangerous power to be reckoned with.

In the late ninth century, Vikings had been present in Normandy

and the Channel for several decades.

They had already settled in a more or less permanent way

in different areas

of Brittany and around the Seine's estuary in Normandy.

For the Frankish emperor,

it became important to have good diplomatic relations

with the Vikings and their leaders.

And in 911 an experienced Viking chief steps forward.

What we see at this time as part of diplomatic negotiation,

a Viking leader who we know in the historical record as Rollo

is granted a swathe of territory in what is now Normandy.

Rollo had already taken part

in several Viking incursions on the Seine, and for several years.

He was well known to the Frankish authorities.

In this environment, where on one side,

Viking incursions are taken up again in the 880s to 890s.

They are a threat to the area, a real one.

And, on the other side, the fact that several groups of Vikings

are already settled more or less permanently in different areas.

The Scandinavians are already quite present

and they are starting to be not only a permanent threat,

but quite an annoying one.

It's with this background that the leader, Rollo, comes to an agreement

with the King to gain control over territories in Normandy

in order to remedy

a more or less already existing situation

of the Seine's estuary and thus access to Paris

and to the richest areas in the Kingdom.

This is the context that allows Rollo to get the first territories

of what will later become Normandy.

This agreement with Rollo is a clear way for the Frankish power

to control him and make him an ally.

This will have enormous consequences...

The agreement was formalised in 911. We haven't found this document,

but it is referred to in different sources from 918.

And the purpose of this, primarily from the Carolingian perspective,

is to establish a strong, powerful adversary in a region where

where he's become almost a protector of the Carolingian Kingdom,

because their job, essentially, in holding this territory,

is to stop other potential incursions from taking place.

It has its merits to position capable warriors

by the mouth of the river Seine.

This ensured they were prepared for potential hostile invasions.

In addition, by granting them this land they eliminated

the probability of further Viking raids.

It was still a possibility, but having local Norsemen

living there, they might have negotiated and discussed things

with the locals before they took up arms.

Very quickly it seems that the territory of Normandy grows

as more land is granted and this area, this new Scandinavian enclave,

starts to expand quite rapidly.

And a part of this we see an acculturation into Frankish society.

Not only the adoption of Christianity which is an ongoing process,

but also a move towards a more Frankish way of life.

Quite quickly, I think, within a number of years,

we're not gonna be seeing, or hearing rather, Scandinavian languages spoken

in the Normandy region.

We're gonna see a disappearance of Scandinavian custom

and the emergence of what really looks like a Frankish territory.

They rapidly adapted Christian graves and culture.

It didn't take long for them to become fully fledged Frenchmen.

From brief excursions, to staying over the winter...

and to eventually be granted their own share of the land...

within the span of roughly 150 years

meant that the Norsemen had an established presence in Francia.

The early winters in Francia granted the Vikings

enough social attachment to establish diplomatic relations

and discussions on warfare and common enemies

that, in turn, strengthened their presence in Francia.

I think trying to put a single determining factor on why these

processes of acculturation take place is quite difficult.

In one sense, I think there's an element of pragmatism here.

If you're going to be establishing yourself within a new landscape

and among a new society, there has to be a degree of integration

to ensure peaceful coexistence.

At the same time I also think this is natural.

As people come together and coexist and

communicate and learn from each other,

there's going to be an exchange of culture and an exchange of ideas.

And I think, in that sense, that this is a process that

can't necessarily be quantified or put into a box:

This is why it happened.

Over time, this is something that would naturally take place

as we see in the continuing evolution of Normandy

to what it becomes in the 11th century.

When we think that Normandy was established as a political territory

based on Scandinavian colonisation,

it can seem surprising that on an archaeological level

we have almost zero material evidence of that Scandinavian presence.

One of the possible explanations is that

the integration of the Scandinavians happened very quickly

through those marriage alliances.

And very quickly they adopted a way of life close to that

of the Frankish populations who used to live there beforehand.

So we don't notice in an obvious way in archaeology

that Scandinavian presence.

Rollo's reign of Normandy lasted until 928,

he is believed to have died in 930, at the age of 70.

Rollo's offspring and his followers became known as The Normans.

There was periodic fighting between Rollo's children,

grandchildren and the French King.

But by the end of the 10th century, the region saw a return to stability

when the great grandson of Rollo married

a woman who moved there.

And they created a peaceful society that catered to

both the Norsemen and the Europeans that already lived there.

The union of Gunnor, the daughter of a rich family in West Normandy,

and Rollo's grandson, Richard I of Normandy,

proved to be one of the most important

political marriages in the region.

She ruled the land following her husband's passing

as their son was still young.

She left her imprint on the area and managed to collaborate with

the Scandinavian people

and countries, as well as the rest of Francia.

The attempt to stabilise relationships between

Scandinavian elite warriors settling in Normandy and Frankish authorities

includes marriages that also play an important part.

Within personal alliances,

risk of conflict among members of a family

is theoretically diminished.

In practice, it is often far from true,

but it is done to limit conflicts.

In those marriages,

women play a major part.

Not in an obvious or active way,

they don't decide who they are getting married to,

they are mostly arranged marriages, things are decided for them,

but through these marriages they manage to establish

some kind of authority of obvious importance in politics.

Their part, as is the case for Gunnor and many others is,

on one hand to have some influence on political stakes,

and on the other hand to make sure their children

will have access to power and inheritance.

One of the main things at stake for elite women in Normandy

is to make sure their children have access to the rights

and inheritance that should be theirs.

I mean, of course these kind of marriages would have strengthened

political and personal bonds between very powerful families

and across borders.

In addition to this I think there would have been also financial gain

for one or both parties, but also a chance to, again,

for these people to increase their power through these relationships.

And these marriages greatly facilitate the establishment of

what would hope to be stable dynasties of rule and in that sense

these marriages legitimise

the future rule of the children born of those unions.

During the 10th century, the kingdoms grew.

They controlled larger areas of land,

which meant they had access to bigger pools of resources.

They were also better educated and taught diplomacy,

how to negotiate

and to read and write in order to administrate their kingdoms.

They also kept books for taxes.

Much of this was likely done by the women, the queens,

that took care of their own families as well as their descendants.

Even though Christianity reduced the status of women,

some of them actually gained more

power through these political marriages.

I think it goes without saying that women have always been prominent

in matters of politics and religion,

we just don't always read about them in the texts,

which are quite heavily biased towards

describing the lives of Kings, essentially.

But as we move into this period, women do

hold an increasingly powerful role in dynastic politics,

as people from which you have royal dynasties and bloodlines.

They become, diplomatically as well, very important people

through marriages between families,

in an effort to strengthen political ties and establish bonds,

both between families and across territorial borders as well.

In addition to this, women held many important roles

within the ecclesiastical hierarchy and as members of

higher status families contributed to the strong relationship

that secular rulers had with the church and greatly facilitated this.

It also seems that women are becoming increasingly active in

aspects of political leadership and playing key roles in the formation

of alliances and relationships between powerful families.

They were at the seat of power. If their men left,

travelled abroad or they were widowed, they were given

complete autonomy over their Kingdoms.

They could negotiate favourable marriages for their children,

or taxes, they held the Kingdom in their hands.

This meant these women were crucial for the exercise

of power in those days.

An important step in the creation of wealth and power

is to arrange suitable marriages where the possessions of a man

and a woman were combined.

And this isn't something that the man or woman have much say in.

Rather it is up to their families, their advisers,

that negotiate and discuss matters such as the size of the dowry,

what possessions will be part of the marriage,

which becomes a very official union of these two individuals.

They become symbols for the creation of alliances

within the sphere of power that they live.

This creates a strong bond between groups,

that everyone involved is keen to maintain.

This leads to an increased wealth for the families

and hopefully greater stability in their countries.

The greater the alliance, the more power it creates,

and hopefully it will keep war at bay.

So it isn't just about the families involved

and that they try to gather more power,

rather it's about entire countries and populations.

And it's a lot of responsibility being put on these individuals

that often were quite young when they wed.

They didn't have a say in the matter.

What matters is that they have children to ensure

the survival of the family and the union of their lineages.

But kings and queens can become widows or widowers,

then new alliances must be formed.

The King should not be unwed when the possibility

to strengthen an alliance with a new territory or family exists.

Instead new marriages are arranged.

If we try to imagine Cnut the Great and Queen Emma's court,

it's far from being easy.

First, there is an important element to remember.

For both of them, it wasn't their first marriage.

Cnut had been married in the past to Ælfgifu who was Anglo-Saxon.

He had been present in England

for several years already when he married Emma.

Regarding Emma, she had been married to King Edward the Confessor.

So she had already been an Anglo-Saxon queen for several years.

On one side, we have Cnut's Danish origins and on the other,

we have Emma's Norman origins.

On a cultural point of view, we could expect a blending marked

with Danish and Norman cultures, so largely Frankish,

as well as the Anglo-Saxon culture.

In reality, I think it was more like a synthesis of all of this

and that the elites' way of life was generally not associated with

a culture or a region in particular,

but rather was common to most elites in north western Europe

in the early 11th century.

The reason why the Vikings chose to integrate into Frankish culture

and became Europeans was the great advantages that came along with it.

Only Christian Europeans could own land in Normandy.

And owning land was far more important than simply owning gold.

Land meant real power, which gave the Vikings influence

over the political landscape in Normandy.

After a time of Viking integration,

many members of the Norman as well as the English royal courts

now have their origins in Scandinavia.

There is a large degree of cultural mixing at the various courts,

which creates tension between the royal houses.

As we have seen, this tension can be reconciled through marriage,

however this led to sibling rivalry and family feuds

over claims to the crown.

And this would soon result in a decisive conclusion

and lead to one of the most famous battles in European history.

Subtitles: Lily Ray www.plint.com

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