[Teaser] Units of History: Norman Knights

Here's a portion of the script for the next Units of History video on the Norman Knights. Enjoy!

Origins

The region that would one day become known as Normandy lay approximately within the bounds of the old province of Rouen in France, and was populated mostly by the descendants of the Gallo-Romans from the days of the Roman Empire, as well as a some Franks from the times of the Germanic invasions. As for the people who would one day call themselves “Normans” and take this region as their home, their origins lay further away, in distant Scandinavia and the Viking raiders that began to descend upon Rouen in the early 9th century AD. Drawn by the prospect of rich loot, slaves, and glory, these fierce Norse warriors launched several bloody raids upon the shores of France, which would drastically escalate around the 840s AD. In 845, a large Viking army with as many as 120 ships, and possibly led by the famed Ragnar Lothbrok, laid siege to and sacked the great city of Paris, forcing King Charles the Bald to pay a massive sum of silver to end their destructive campaign.

This was, however, far from the end of Scandinavian involvement in the region, and after raiding for many decades they began to establish permanent settlements near the end of the 9th century AD. At first glance, this may appear to have merely been setting the stage for future conflicts between Viking raiders and the Frankish kings, but history was to take a very different turn in 911 AD. Rather than continue to oppose these fierce Northmen by force of arms, King Charles III instead struck a deal with the Scandinavian leader Rollo and his settlers in the Seine valley. The treaty of Saint Clair-sur-Epte granted Rollo official recognition of his rule of Normandy, in exchange for his baptism and conversion to Christianity and an obligation to provide military assistance to Charles. He thus became the first Duke of Normandy. The treaty with Charles did not, however, lead to the smooth transition of a large realm over to Rollo, and instead the early decades of Norman history were dominated by efforts to unite Normandy and its various fractious peoples under a single banner. By 923 AD, Rollo had successfully consolidated his rule over all of the Scandinavian settlers in western Normandy, and his son and successor William Longsword would expand Norman control to around the bounds of the old church province of Rouen in 933 AD.

Like their Viking ancestors, the Normans would develop a reputation as skilled warriors, and none more so than their knights. These were warriors swearing fealty to the various magnates of Normandy, and many were settled on their lands as household knights, while other more prominent warriors even lived on their own estates, and in times of war were expected to supply their lord with troops of their own, depending on their wealth. It would be these mounted fighters, tied by oath and land to their lords and the Duke of Normandy, who would become the most recognizable and feared element of the Norman armies.

Equipment

Let us now examine how these soldiers were equipped. For defensive equipment the most common form of body armor was a mail hauberk that was often knee-length, which was worn over a padded garment, as well as a mail hood and iron helmet. The latter was usually of a conical type that often included a nose guard, and was sometimes upgraded with a visor, though in some cases the Normans used shorter, round-topped helmets. During the 12th century, flat-topped “great helms” also became gradually more common, until they became commonplace in the 13th century. Each knight was also equipped with a shield that featured an iron boss in the middle, the most common and iconic for the Normans being the kite-shaped version, at least until the early 13th century.

For weapons, each knight was equipped with a lance about eight feet in length with a triangular iron head, which was effective in both overarm and couched stances, and could even be thrown if needs be. In addition, each knight was also equipped with a sword, which was double-edged and especially effective at hacking and slashing. It is also possible that some knights were equipped with maces, which would have been more effective against heavily armored opponents. In contrast to their riders, Norman warhorses were notably “plain”, and beyond their saddles and stirrups went into battle unarmored.

Organization

Unfortunately, when it comes to Norman unit organization, we have fewer details. The basic fighting unit of a knight was the conroi, which usually numbered between 20 and 30 men, though some units may have been as large as 50. This was then further subdivided into smaller units of five or ten men. Conroi were identified by their own banner or gonfanon, mounted on the lance of one of the knights. The command hierarchy of these units is not entirely clear, but it appears that overall command rested with a captain, while the smaller subunits were lead by constables. While the precise details of Norman unit organization may unfortunately elude us, it is clear enough that they were a well-structured force with a solid command and control system, which no doubt explains much of their efficiency.