A Norman New Year!

Just jokes my friend!

 

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LOL, always water off a duck's back.

 

The best bit about WtheC I know

"A further indignity occurred when the corpse was lowered into the tomb. The corpse was too large for the space, and when attendants forced the body into the tomb it burst, spreading a disgusting odour throughout the church."

 

While I love the Richard coin, let me clarify a few things - If we're talking direct descendants of the Conqueror, I don't think Richard can count. To get to Richard's kingship, the throne went from William, to his son William II, William's third son Henry I, who died without a male heir, leading to the anarchy and his daughter Matilda claiming the throne. Matilda eventually won it for her son Henry II, who is the father of Richard. Henry was originally the Count of Anjou, who claimed the Duchy of Normandy from his mother, and the kingship (both of which he had to fight to win). So, Henry started the Angevin line, and while a Duke of Normandy, is not really considered Norman

Also be careful of attributing greatness to the Normans - they are an interesting people who had a great pride in themselves, which lead to many books written about their greatness. A good book to explain the Norman perception is by R.H.C. Davies, The Normans and their Myth

 

Now I'm gonna have to bite my tongue! I'll just say it's hard to argue legality when you have successfully slain your rival claimant...

 

@FitzNigel
I remember listening to a history podcast of the English were the author/narrator was talking about how Henry I left his brother, William II, to die of his wounds in the woods, while he fled to the royal treasury. He said, humorously, that it was "quite hard to like these damn Normans"
My kind of folks

 

Agreed. It is all perspective.

 

I think Henry was a bit bitter about having only been left money as his inheritance instead of land. He did well for himself though...

And please take my recent posts as with a tongue firmly in cheek. I'm just enjoying having a thread talking about the subject I love!

 

Weren't the Normans the main villains in Robin Hood? I can't remember, its been decades since I've read that story.

 

Depends on what version you read - the classic Robin Hood tale is set during the time a Richard was captured after the third crusade and a John was raising his ransom. The original stories come from the thirteenth century during the reign of Henry III

 

Interesting, thanks.

 

@FitzNigel
I read somewhere that aside from England, the Normans were very tolerant of the people they conquered. Ex~Southern Italy.
Any truth to that statement?

 

I believe the differences stem from the circumstances between the conquests - England was purely political with the Norman Duke believing he was the rightful heir to the kingdom, and the Saxons rebelling against their lord. Southern Italy was more of an infiltration of a few random Normans. When they were able to take advantage of the situation for their own gain they were ruthless, but more willing to conform to the native structures of government in Southern Italy, rather than the dramatic changes the normans in England made. Antioch is, of course, a wholly different matter (Crusades, etc.).

 

I think I'll start collecting Norman coins, along with my late Eastern Roman trachy's, to supplement my Siliquae collection.
Here is a coin of an Emperor who took on the Sicilian Normans and won.
Emperor Alexius I Komenenos
Billion Trachy
1081-1118 CE
2.61 grams


Here is a great article on Norman coins, very interesting indeed!
http://www.academia.edu/6114798/Kings_and_Coins_V_-_The_Normans_in_Europe

Surprisingly even after the Norman Kingdom of Sicily was founded the Romans still used Norman mercenaries, often to great effect. I always admired how the Romans never discriminated against entire ethnic groups and let merit based people of all cultures into the Empire.

 

Is that a Turk standing next to two Normans? I had no idea that the Byzantines used Turks for mercenaries.

 

@The Big Bad Wolf
Yes that's a Seljuk Turk mercenary.
Here is an even better story:
Emperor John II Komenenos's best friend was a Turk, confusingly named John, who helped lead the Roman army against the Crusader states and his fellow Turkmen.

 

I'd love to collect Normans - they're pricey though! The Richard coins are usually the nicest of the bunch. Most of the Norman coins are pretty rough

 

@FitzNigel Good point! It's probably best just to stick to the Italian coinage from the Normans until I get out of University!