Editing Rollo (section)

==Rollo's Role in Norman Conversion to Christianity==
In [[Dudo of Saint-Quentin|Dudo's]] story of Rollo, he had a vision in which he was on a high mountain on a Frankish dwelling, where he washed himself in a stream and rid himself of the diseases with which he was infected. He then saw birds of all kinds gather around the mountain and wash themselves in this stream, which remained together as a whole group and found twigs to build nests. This dream was interpreted to mean that the mountain was the church of Christianity, the diseases of which he rid himself were his sins being washed away and his being born again in the baptism of Christianity. The birds of different types represented the different armies and common people having their sins washed away and communities joined. The nests were the walls of the city to be rebuilt, and all were to bow down to Rollo to serve him. Rollo carried this vision with him throughout his journey to Normandy. Once he arrived and was granted land, he dedicated different sections of land to God, saints, and various churches. He was baptised and spread the word of Christianity to his followers.<ref>Dudo of Saint-Quentin (1998). Christiansen, Eric (ed.). Dudo of St Quentin: History of the Normans. Woodbridge. ISBN 978-0-85115-552-4.</ref>

This account of Rollo's role in Christianity has been long debated by scholars. In his 1752 work [[Micromégas]], [[Voltaire]] wrote that "peaceful Rollo was the only legislator of his time on the Christian continent". Recently, Scholars have said that Rollo's law-making was the cause of the civilization of Normandy, not his actual conversion to Christianity.<ref>Gilduin Davy, The Laws of Rollo as a Primitive Constitution for Normandy: Writing and Rewriting Legal History in France during the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries, The English Historical Review, Volume 138, Issue 594-595, October/December 2023, Pages 1255–1276, https://doi.org/10.1093/ehr/cead178</ref> While it has been supported that Rollo and his companions did get baptized, it has been argued that this conversion was only formal at first and paganism was still practiced.<ref>29</ref>