Editing Normandy (section)

===Viking raids and foundation of the Norman state===
[[Vikings]] started to raid along the river Seine during the middle of the 9th century. As early as 841, a Viking fleet appeared at the mouth of the Seine, the principal route by which they entered the kingdom.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Neveux|first1=Francois|title=The Normans: The conquests that changed the face of Europe|date=3 June 2008|isbn=978-0-7624-3371-1|pages=48|publisher=Running Press }}</ref> After attacking and destroying monasteries, including one at [[Jumièges]], they took advantage of the power vacuum created by the disintegration of [[Charlemagne]]'s empire to take Northern France. The [[Duchy of Normandy|fiefdom of Normandy]] was created for the Viking leader ''Hrólfr'', known in [[Medieval Latin]] as ''Rollo''. Rollo had [[Siege of Paris (885–886)|besieged Paris]] but in 911 entered [[vassal]]age to the king of the [[Western Francia|West Franks]], [[Charles the Simple]], through the [[Treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte]]. In exchange for his [[Homage (feudal)|homage]] and [[fealty]], Rollo legally gained the territory that he and his Viking allies had previously conquered. The name "Normandy" reflects Rollo's Viking ("[[Norsemen|Norseman]]") origins.

The descendants of ''Rollo'' and his followers created an aristocracy that step by step adopted the local [[Gallo-Romance languages|Gallo-Romance language]], intermarried with the area's native Gallo-Frankish inhabitants, and adopted Christianity. Nevertheless, the first generations of Scandinavian and Anglo-Scandinavian settlers brought slaves, mainly from the [[British Isles]], and often turned the women into ''[[Concubine|frilla]]'', a Scandinavian tradition which became known as ''[[More danico|more Danico]]'', medieval Latin meaning "Danish marriage". The first counts of Rouen and the dukes of Normandy had concubines too. While very little archeological excavations about the Vikings were done in Normandy, the [[Norman toponymy]] retains a large Scandinavian and Anglo-Scandinavian heritage, due to a constant use of [[Old Norse]] during four or five generations in certain parts of Normandy.

They then became the [[Normans]] – a [[Norman language|Norman French]]-speaking mixture of Norsemen and indigenous Gallo-Franks.

[[File:Bayeux Tapestry scene23 Harold sacramentum fecit Willelmo duci.jpg|thumb|[[Bayeux Tapestry]] (Scene 23): [[Harold Godwinson|Harold II]] swearing oath on holy relics to [[William the Conqueror]]]]
Rollo's descendant [[William the Conqueror|William]] became king of England in 1066 after defeating [[Harold Godwinson]], the last of the [[History of Anglo-Saxon England|Anglo-Saxon kings]], at the [[Battle of Hastings]], while retaining the [[fiefdom]] of Normandy for himself and his descendants.