Die Normannen

The Normans were not Vikings, although they descended from them. In a furious development, they established a medieval model state within a century: Christian, chivalrous, centrally and efficiently administered, promoting the current scholarship of their time. They gained the greatest fame through their military successes, which allowed them to gain control over England, Southern Italy, and a region in the Middle East from Normandy in the 11th and 12th centuries. Despite their victories, they integrated and assimilated so thoroughly into the conquered lands that only their glorious origin from Scandinavia defined their identity – a heritage that is still celebrated in Normandy today. What remains is their myth – the myth of the most successful conquerors of the Middle Ages, whose traces and impacts are still present today.