1. The Normans
By Maciej Stec

2. Who Were the Normans
The Normans came from Scandinavia and Jutland Peninsula
They were ancestors of the Vikings
They used their own alphabet known as runes
They were good sailors
They were great ship builders
They were sea traders
They were also pirates and robbers

3. Why Did The Normans Travel?
Scandinavia was overcrowded
There were too many forests and mountain ranges and not enough fields to grow crops
They wanted to loot richer parts of Europe
Clans were fighting for land and the defeated ones had to leave Scandinavia
They wanted to run away from the cruel kings of Scandinavia

4. Norman Ships The Norman ships were called Drakkars
They were about 21 metres long and 5 metres wide
They were propelled by oars and sails
Their top speed was about 10 knots
Norman’s ships had low draft and they could easily land on a beach or sail up a river
They could not carry heavy load and sail too far away from the shore

5. Normans Conquest Map

6. Norman’s Conquests
In the year 896 under the rule of Rollon, they settled by the river Seine
Charles III The Simple, the king of France could not get rid of the Normans
In 911 Charles allowed them to stay in exchange of conversion to Christianity
They were granted several counties which are today known as Normandy

7. Norman’s Conquests
The Normans arrived in Britain around the same time they settled in France
They started to conquer Britain using bases on the islands they have taken earlier
Poorly armed British militia could not resist them
In 878 AD they signed a pact with King Alfred of Wessex and created their own county Danelaw
Because of arguments among themselves the Normans were driven out of Britain in 954 AD
After some time the Normans reunited and after the Battle of Hastings in 1066 they started to rule the whole Britain

8. The Normans invade Ireland
Around 100 years after the Battle of Hastings, the Normans came to Ireland in 1169 during the reign of King Henry II
It was not an invasion, they came to help the Irish kings fight amongst themselves
The true invasion started in the year 1170 when Richard de Clare, 2nd Earl of Pembroke (a.k.a Strongbow) came to Ireland with a powerful army
Dublin became the Norman capital city in the year 1177
After a while Strongbow married to daughter of Diarmait Mac Murchada and became king of Leinster
At the same time Norman soldiers started to settle in Ireland and marrying into Irish families