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It was mentioned that Professor Levi Roach is the author of this book. The book's title was used to support the podcast's discussion of the Normans and their influence across Europe.
Professor Levi Roach is the author of Empires of the Normans.
— Episode: The Normans
Episode: The Normans
It was mentioned that Professor Levi Roach is the author of this book. The book's title was used to support the podcast's discussion of the Normans and their influence across Europe.
Professor Levi Roach is the author of Empires of the Normans.
So the very name Normans comes from the medieval Northmen. And so this is a generic designation in the 8th and 9th centuries for Scandinavian freebooters who are coming across mainland Europe looking for cheap plunder, but also often for trading opportunities.
And what happens is that as the Vikings become more present in Europe and start making their influence felt in more manners, one way of dealing with Viking attacks comes to be to settle them in your own kingdom.
And so typically to set a thief to catch a thief. So the idea is if you have a Viking problem, get Viking allies. Give them a piece of your land, typically coastal land, so they'll have a vested interest in the future and keeping other Viking groups from attacking you.
And that's precisely what happens in the case of the group that we eventually come to know as the Normans.