524 Normandy and the Normans
II (r. 1118–19), but the pope died soon after at CLUNY
and with him Norbert’s license to preach.
Norbert then went to RHEIMSin October 1119 to ask
Gelasius’s successor, Calixtus II (r. 1119–24), to renew
his license. The pope passed him to a bishop of LAON,to
employ in his diocese as the provost of the chapter of
Saint-Martin at Laon. The canons there readily refused to
accept any strict conditions. The bishop then sent him to
the solitude of the valley of Prémontré, between Laon
and Soissons. By the end of 1120, disciples, at least 40
clerics and LAITY, joined him. These clerics chose for their
rule the Rule of Saint AUGUSTINEand made their some-
what irregular professions of the religious life on Christ-
mas night 1121. The Order of Canons Regular of
Prémontré (Premonstratensians) was born. The founda-
tion spread in northern FRANCE,BELGIUM, and GERMANY.
On February 16, 1126, Pope Honorius II (r. 1124–30)
recognized the group’s canonical status according to tra-
ditional forms once established by Augustine.
AS ARCHBISHOP AND CHANCELLORIn 1126 Norbert was elected archbishop of Magdeburg
and chancellor of the empire. As an ardent opponent of
the alienation of church property and a strong supporter
of clerical CELIBACY, he reformed the clergy of this dio-
cese, preached, and began the conversion of the WENDS,
a pagan tribe beyond the Elbe. He took a stand against
investiture, and in the schism that followed the death
of Pope Honorius II, he pushed the emperor Lothair
III (1075–1137) into supporting Pope Innocent II
(r. 1130–43) against a rival antipope, Anacletus II
(r. 1130–38), who was supported by the NORMANSin
ITALY. Both had been elected irregularly on the same day.
On May 30, 1133, Norbert’s pope, Innocent II, entered
Rome and crowned the emperor. Now ill, Norbert
returned to Germany and died a year later at Magdeburg
on June 6, 1134; he was buried in the church of the Pre-
monstratensians there.
Further reading:Cornelius James Kirkfleet, History
of Saint Norbert: Founder of the Norbertine (Premonstraten-
sian) Order, Apostle of the Blessed Sacrament, Archbishop of
Magdeburg(London: B. Herder, 1916).
Normandy and the Normans Normandy has been
defined since the 10th century as the region conceded by
Charles the Simple (879–929) in 911. By the treaty of
Saint-Clair-sur-Epte, the VIKINGS, or Northmen, settled at
ROUENunder the command of ROLLO. By the mid-11th
century, the principality coincided with the ecclesiastical
province of Rouen or roughly the old MEROVINGIAN
kingdom of NEUSTRIA. With the consolidation of such
principality, Normandy acquired a distinct identity
separate from that of the neighboring principalities of
BRITTANY, the Capetian kingdom in PARIS, and the
county of FLANDERS.
The dukes of Normandy and their allied aristocracy
kept their Viking traditions alive, and chronicles even
called them the “pirate princes.” Christianized by the
mid-10th century, these Scandinavian invaders, now
settlers, were strong supporters of the GREGORIAN
REFORM. The dukes William Longsword (r. 932–943),
Richard II (r. 996–1026), and WILLIAM THECONQUEROR
(r. 1035–87) and his wife, Matilda, were moreover
ardent supporters of the monastic life and made numer-
ous rich foundations.GROWTH, WAR, LOYALTY, AND TRADITION
Church reform formed only part of the agenda for con-
structing an extraordinarily stable and expansionist feu-
dal state, even after William’s conquest of ENGLANDin- At the same time there was almost constant war
with all of the country’s neighbors, especially under
angevin king and duke HENRYII. Norman nobles were
not docile subjects, so each ducal succession became a
catalyst for their demands. Many nobles and young men
left for the wars in England, SPAIN, southern ITA LY,
and the CRUSADES. Their ambitions were too confined
within the frontiers of the province, where the power of
the dukes and the resistance of a peasant population
aggressive in defense of their rights hindered any expan-
sion of local seigniorial power.
The county was also rich and economically devel-
oped. Annexed by conquest to Capetian France in 1204
by PHILIPII AUGUSTUS, the duchy was soon the Crown’s
greatest source of revenue. It continued to have strong
and prosperous peasant communities, very ready to
defend their rights against seigniorial and royal exac-
tions. This was due to a strong attachment to customary
rights, a principle of identity in Norman society, which
did survive absorption into the centralized French
Crown. The later Middle Ages saw the long HUNDRED
YEARS’ WARbetween France and England, in which Nor-
mandy suffered frequently from the consequences of the
fighting but never wavered from its loyalty to the
French Crown.
See alsoANJOU; HENRYI, KING OFENGLAND; JOHN
LACKLAND,KING OFENGLAND;NORMANS INITA LY; ORDERIS
VITALIS.
Further reading:Dudo of St. Quentin, History of the
Normans,trans. Eric Christianson (Woodbridge: Boydell
Press, 1998); David Bates, Normandy before 1066(New
York: Longman, 1982); Marjorie Chibnall, The Normans
(Oxford: Blackwell, 2000); R. H. C. Davis, The Normans
and Their Myth(London: Thames and Hudson, 1976).
Normans in Italy During the 11th and 12th cen-
turies, southern ITALYwas militarily, administratively, and
politically conquered and organized under a NORMAN
dynasty. First APULIA and Calabria, then SICILY, came
under a single lordship.