Numerous mediaeval Latin chronicles tell of the belligerent Norsemen. They conducted lightning raids and nothing to them seemed sacrosanct. As such texts were mainly written in monasteries, constituting our most important written sources, they shape our image of the Vikings to this day. But in addition, there were also other Scandinavians travelling in Western Europe who were traders or even settlers. Even prior to the arrival of Rollo and his men, Rouen had been a trading centre, and even after the establishment of Normandy there was continued mobility from and to the North. Because of the speedy integration of the Norsemen as permanent settlers, few archaeological traces of the “Vikings” are extant. Most of these are river finds or evidence of structural destruction.
Discovered in the Seine near Rouen, 2nd half of the 9th c./Beginning of the 10th c.
Rouen, Musée des Antiquités, Inv. 1804.12.1 (1); Inv. 1804.13 (2); Inv. R.89.1 (3); Inv. R.89.1 (4)
These weapons were discovered by chance during dredging works of the Seine near Rouen (1882–1884). Together with similar weapon finds, they testify to Viking raids in the region in the 9th century. Battle axes were typical weapons of the Vikings, while swords were widely used throughout all of Europe. The broken sword (1) was probably lost by a Viking.
The long sword with a semicircular pommel (2) was made by a Carolingian armourer. It can therefore not be assigned with certainty to a Viking or a local Frankish fighter, because Vikings also valued and used Carolingian weapons.
Pîtres (Eure), 2nd half of 9th c.
Copper alloy, gold plated
Rouen, Musée des Antiquités, Inv. 1251
Oval brooches with detailed animal ornamentation were mass-produced in Scandinavia during the Viking Age. This pair, however, represents the only find of this kind outside Scandinavia on the European continent. They probably were found in the grave of a Viking woman. Their discovery show that Scandinavian women also travelled and perhaps traded in the region that is now Normandy. For Christians, a burial with jewellery was unusual in the 9th century, so the deceased woman was not of Christian faith.
Prüm, 1084
Parchment
Trier, Wissenschaftliche Bibliothek, HS 1286/43 8°, fol. 41
Regino’s chronicle is an important source on Frankish history for the 9th and the early 10th centuries. As Abbot of Prüm, Regino witnessed a raid by the nortmanni first-hand, as he calls them, in 822. He impressively describes the violence with which the plunderers proceeded: “... they struck [the peasants] down and slaughtered them as if they were unreasonable cattle, not people. [...] When the [Northmen] departed, the fire, which burned in various buildings, consumed the monastery, because there was no one left to extinguish it.” Experiences such as this influenced the image of the Northemen for a long time.