Rollo of Normandy holds a particular fascination for me as an example of somebody
who left virtually no trace on the historical record, and yet around whom a vast
body of legend arose during the two centuries after his own. This is no doubt
due to the retroactive magnitude of his accomplishments; although the Rollonid
Principality upon Rollo’s death must have seemed ephemeral, within a century
it had become Normandy, and the origin of so great a nation needed to be explained
in terms of the greatness of its founder. Thus, “our” Rollo was born;
not an unrepentant pagan adventurer who somehow managed to gain sway over the
Viking population of a Frankish city, but a noble Christian (more or less) who
single-handedly built a Frankish principality.
Google searches for Rollo
turn up astonishing numbers of pages, most of which are the genealogies of people
claiming Rollo as an ancestor. What little information about Rollo that is contained
on many of these pages is fanciful at best, taking the later legends as gospel
truth. Frustrated by the lack of good sources for accurate information about Rollo
derived from contemporary historical records, I decided to build this site as
a starting point. It contains scholarly essays on Rollo as historical and literary
figure; a brief bibliography of primary and secondary sources for Rollo; links
to other sites that deal with Rollo in a relatively substantive manner; and, for
fun, a section on Rollo of Fargo.
Any feedback is heartily encouraged, and
scholars of early Normandy with an interest in Rollo are encouraged to submit
material for this site. I will gladly run anything that meets normal academic
standards, whether it fits my view of Rollo or not. I also would consider a page
of criticisms of my views as expressed in these pages. All correspondence may
be addressed to rob@mnmicro.net .
I hope you
enjoy my Rollo pages!
The history of Rollo —
Essays on the historical Rollo
Rollo of Fargo
— The amazing and utterly true saga of Rollo’s journey to North Dakota
Rollo
bibliography — Primary and secondary materials for the life and posterity
of Rollo
Rollo links — Links to Rollo sites
on the internet
Roman de Rou — Information
on a new translation and edition of the 12th-century epic poem on Rollo and his
descendants
Rob home