Who are the Normans?
The word Normand derives from the translation into French of the Latin Nortmannus, itself derived from the Nordic languages and meaning man of the North. At the time, it designated the Vikings, “those who docked”, i.e. the fringe of the Scandinavian population engaged in military expeditions or territorial expansion, on the coasts of the English Channel and the Atlantic. Before 910, Normandy did not exist, as it was called Neustria. Normandy only became such when the Vikings, henceforth known as “Normans”, were entrusted with the Duchy of Normandy by the King of France himself in 911, at the Traité de Saint-Clair-sur-Epte.
