Скачать или смотреть Rollo the Walker: From Viking Raider to Normandy's Founder

Rollo the Walker, the Viking giant who couldn't ride a horse, shocked his brethren by betraying them. In a cunning move, he struck a deal with the Frankish king for land and power, becoming the first ruler of Normandy. Rollo's ruthless pragmatism and ambition paved the way for his descendants, like William the Conqueror, to shape European history. While legends claim Rollo was too massive for a horse, this detail is likely an embellishment from later sagas with no contemporary evidence to support it. His nickname, "the Walker," may have simply referred to his notable height. Similarly, the idea of him "betraying" his Viking kin is a dramatic interpretation. His agreement with the Frankish King Charles III, the Treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte in 911 CE, was a pragmatic alliance common among successful Viking leaders of the era who sought to trade raiding for landed power and stability. Rollo's true, lasting legacy wasn't his mythical size or supposed treachery, but the founding of a powerful dynasty in Normandy that would eventually produce William the Conqueror, who invaded England in 1066.