A Heritage Far from Negligible' Examine this view of the duchy Duke William Inherited.
Tackling the question with regards to William's heritage is very dangerous for any historian to undertake. The Vikings who initially settled within the Carolinian kingdom were illiterate and left no written account of there own, what we do have, or what many historians have considered of useful value (many discount the works of writers such as Dudo) is very vague. This has therefore created many conflicting views surrounding the duchy that William inherited, and evidently its importance in relation to the future achievements of this great conqueror. What I write therefore is a combination of views placed down by various respected historians and some of my own personal views, in an attempt to explain the importance or indeed the unimportance of the duchy of Normandy.
I think firstly we must look at Normandy itself; in fact the mere existence of a Norman Duchy, irrelevant of the size, was as far as I can make out a remarkable feat.
The fact that no Norman settlement or mention of such a thing had existed prior to the 10th century, adds stimulus to the importance of the heritage of Normandy. William commanding such a vast expanse and wealth had technically only come about within 1 century, in his lifetime alone, had it not been for the expansionist ideals of his forefathers, would not have been able to do what he did.
The origins of a Norman territory stem from the Viking Invasions that occurred within the 9th and 10th centuries. The Vikings pushed forward into the coastal regions of the Frankish Kingdom, in an attempt to secure peace a treaty was signed between Rollo (Williams great, great, great grandfather) and Charles the Simple (King of western Franks), namely...