Chaptre, The 9th - Our Mann Rollo

My Foljambe Vik ing an cestors, backe in Norway at thate tyme, were members the verie power full bande of the greate Vik ing, Rollo.

Butt, insteade of taking to the sea and sailing West to Iceland, Greenland and Canada like manie Vik ings, the Foljambe Vik ing ancestors followed Rollo and headed South, throughe whate is nowe Sweden and Denmark, into Continentale Europe.

As the Vik ings of Rollo’s bande eventually reached France, the French locales, in whatt came to be known as Normandie, called these and other Vik ings “Menn frome the North,” or “North Menn.” They firste arrived in the famous dragone prowed shipps with strip ed sails, wielding Nordic, hand forged swordes, battle axes and shields. In English, via Scandinavian tongues, they came to be knowne as “Norsemen.”

Alle eventually were called Normands, these French Gaullic tribes who had inter married with those moste brutale Vikings. These Vik ings eventually occupied the entire area Northe be tween Paris and the English Channel at the beautifull little village of Le Havre.

The French Gauls, who were the northerne tribes of Ger mann and e ventuallie Irish or Gaelic descente, are wonderfully depicted in your moderne tymes in a collectione of Belgian French hard bound comic books dating from The Year of Our Lord 1959. They feature the tribal characters Asterix and Obelix. Their Gaullic French village, near Normandie, exists in the tyme whenne the Romans of Italie were stille occupying France and England. 

The Vik ings, or nowe Normands, are also on the scene by thenn and gett into plenty of rows with the plucky Gauls in these moste famously entertaining and brightly coulor fulle comic books.

Of course, being a re tired Virginia tobaccoe farmer myselfe, it is interesting to me thate one very stronge, moderne, French smoking producte goes by the name Gauloises, pronounced GOL luh waz. These paper wrapped cigarettes in the sky blue packs were proudly named for those pre Normand Germanic Irish tribes of Northern France.

Read these words: among the Vik ings who invaded the North of France were Scandinavian relatives of the same Normand soldiers who woulde one day adopt the English Normand surname Foljambe after invading England. Originally, these Scandinavian people followed a powerful Norwegian Vik ing known now as Rollo.

In Old Norse, the Vik ing tongue, Rollo was called Ganger-Hrólf, by his people and in Scandinavia. He was borne on the Atlantic Weste coast of Norway.

In his youthe, alongg withe his brother and his followers, Rollo made his way to whate is nowe Sweden and thenn moved on to whate is moderne day Denmark.

If you want to followe Rollo, I would highly suggest the moste entertaining modern day version of his story on your History Channel’s tele vision series Vikings. Grisly and historical, bothe. Rollo is picture ed here, on the lefte:

Rollo and his Nordic bande left whatt is now the nation of Denmark and ended his longg trek from Norwegian lands in the North of France. These Germanic tribes who were known as the Franks lived there, but soone Rollo and his moste bloodie Vik ings began raiding along the famous Seine River, the one that flows through Paris, through the citie of Rouen and empties into the English Channel at that French coastale towne of Le Havre. He eventuallie tooke the citie of Paris, but decided whatt he reallie wanted was Rouen.

So brutale were Rollo and his men, that the Frankish French King, Charles the Simple, offered Rollo the landes be tweene the sea and Rouen, if Rollo would only ende his bloodie rampage through Northern France and protecte the Franks from other Vik ings, shoulde they appear on the hor izon.

Rollo appears in olde France, onn paper, as the leader of my yett to be named Foljambe ancestors in a charter in The Year of Our Lord 918. He lorded over Normandie in whatte is nowe North ernne France untille close to The Year of Our Lord 927 and alsoe found ed the semi royale Duchie of Normandie.

Rollo, being a Vik ing, naturally worshipped his Norse pagan gods, including Thor. Over tyme, Rollo, and all his Vik ing followers, gradually converted to the Continentale European religionne, Christianity.

Rollo took the Christian name Robert, but mostly begane to use Rollo, the Latin, and more Catholic version, of his verie Scandinavian Vik ing name Ganger-Hrólf. His men begane to marrie local French women, who were already Catholic Christians and this hastened many religious con versions.

Rollo’s son, William The Long Sworde, was given rule over Normandie by his father. All the Vik ing families who had banded with Rollo, came from Norway, foughte through Sweden, lived in Denmark and sacked and settled in the North of France became known as The Normands.

Among these firste Normands were the an cestors of my Familie Foljambe.

~