HERALDRY

The Vikings: Norwegians and Normans

Let’s move away from the Mediterranean. In the far North, after many battles, a certain Harald Fairhair managed to take control of all of Norway: he was its king from 872 to 930.

In France, in 911, Rollo, the son of one of his vassals (Ragnvald, Count of Møre), signed the Treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte with the King of France and Lotharingia, Charles III the Simple: the Duchy of Normandy was born.

The Kievan Rus’ and 500 Years of Europe

During those years, the Scandinavian peoples did not limit themselves to occupying northern France: they merged with the Eastern Slavs of what is now Ukraine, Poland, Moldova, Belarus, Russia, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia; they created the monarchical entity known as the Kievan Rus’, ruled by a Grand Prince.

Let’s pause for a moment. We have summarized 500 years in just a few lines: from the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 to the foundation of the Duchy of Normandy in 911. Great Britain and Germany will be discussed shortly, don’t worry.

What have we learned that is essential—or at least important—for heraldry, the discipline concerned with a system of emblems that emerged around 1150? Quite a lot, at least regarding their bearers.

We now know that barbarian kings arose from the ashes of the Roman Empire and that their own peoples acclaimed them as kings. We also know that in Eastern Europe, for example, some of them were called Grand Princes. Furthermore, we have seen that Europe had dukes, though not all were of the same nature. While the Duchy of Normandy was created by the King of France, the Duchy of Spoleto was incorporated into the Kingdom of the Franksonly after Charlemagne’s victory over the Lombard Kingdom (775–776). At times, the term duke is even synonymous with prince. We won’t discuss barons now—we will have that pleasure another time. Let’s continue our reflection. We mentioned that Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne as Imperator Augustus (800): it was the Pope who had the authority to crown an emperor. However, the other European emperor, the ruler of the Eastern Roman Empire, governed by virtue of being the Emperor of Rome—he had not been crowned by a pope.

The Duchies… and Germany

I’m sorry, but we must talk about Germany. Let’s avoid excessive detail for now; it is enough to know that the oldest duchies (älteres Stammesfürstentum) were already vassals of the Merovingian monarchs (the first Frankish dynasty), long before Charlemagne, and were absorbed into the Kingdom of the Franks between the 7th and 8th centuries. Other duchies, however, were the result of Charlemagne’s conquests.

We have a problem—let’s face it honestly: the first “German” duchies were actually regna ruled by tribal leaders; the amusing and at the same time dramatic issue is that their leaders were called duces (singular: dux). Are you beginning to understand the reason for such confusion? Not every prince is the son of a king, and not all dukes are equal. Charlemagne himself realized this issue and decided to impose some order. We thank him for that—we will dedicate a specific article to the topic.

The simple hierarchy baron, count, marquis, duke, grand duke, prince, king, and emperor—from the lowest rank to the highest—is not entirely incorrect, but the subject is complex: it is not absolute, and it is always better to verify and explore further.

Let’s leave the analysis behind and continue our story—we are getting closer to the birth of heraldry, don’t worry.