The
Normans were the people who gave their names to
Normandy, a
region in northern
France. They were the descendants of the original
Viking
conquerors of the territory and the native population of mostly
Frankish and
Gallo-Roman stock. Their identity first emerged in the first half of the
tenth century and gradually evolved over the succeeding centuries until they
disappeared as an ethnic group in the early
thirteenth century. The name "Normans" is derived from "Northmen"
or "Norsemen",
after the Vikings from
Scandinavia who founded Normandy (Northmannia in its original
Latin).
They played a major political, military, and cultural role in medieval Europe
and even the Near East. They were famed for the martial spirit and for their
Christian piety. They quickly adopted the
Romance language of the land they settled in, their dialect becoming known
as
Norman, an important literary language.
The
Duchy of Normandy which they formed by treaty with the French crown was one
of the great large fiefs of medieval France. The Normans are famed both for
their culture, such as their unique
Romanesque architecture and their musical traditions, as well as for the
military accomplishments and innovations. Norman adventurers established a
kingdom in
Sicily and southern Italy by conquest and a Norman expedition on behalf of
their duke led to the
Norman Conquest of England. Norman influence spread from these new centres
to the
Crusader States in the Near East and to
Scotland
and Wales in
Great
Britain, and to
Ireland.
In Russian historiography, the term "Norman" is often used for the
Varangians,
as for example in the term "Normanist
theory". In French historiography, too, the term is often applied to the
various Viking groups which raided France in the ninth century before settling
down to found Normandy.
The Battle of the Standard, sometimes called the Battle of Northallerton, in
which English forces repelled a Scottish army, took place on 22 August 1138 on
Cowton Moor near Northallerton in Yorkshire. The English were led by Archbishop
Thurstan of York, who had gathered local militia and baronial armies from
Yorkshire and the north Midlands. They arrayed themselves round a chariot
carrying the consecrated banners of St Peter of York, St John of Beverley, St
Wilfrid of Ripon and St Cuthbert of Durham, it was this standard bearing chariot
that gave the battle its name. The Scottish army were led by King David I of
Scotland.
David had entered England in support of his niece, Matilda, who was viewed as
the rightful heiress to the English throne usurped by King Stephen. With Stephen
fighting rebel barons in the south, the Scottish armies had already taken
Cumberland and Northumberland, the city of Carlisle and the royal castle at
Bamburgh. Finding the English in a defensive position on a hill, David elected
to force a battle counting on his superior numbers. Repeated attacks by native
Scots failed, taking withering casualties from the English archers, and a
subsequent attack by mounted knights met initial success but fell back due to
lack of infantry support. The battle ended when David's reserve deserted,
forcing him to retreat. The English elected not to pursue, and the Scots
apparently recovered in sufficient order to besiege and capture Wark castle.
David later retired to Carlisle and negotiated peace.
Henry I had arranged his inheritance to pass to his daughter Matilda, but this
was opposed by many of the English and Norman magnates and barons, because of
her marriage to Geoffrey V, count of Anjou. Instead Stephen, younger brother of
Theobald, count of Blois, seized the throne. David however had been the first
lay person to take the oath to uphold the succession of Matilda in 1127, and
when Stephen was crowned on December 22, David decided to make war. After two
months of campaigning in northern England, a peace treaty was agreed with King
Stephen. When the winter of 1136-37 was over, however, David once again invaded
England, though and a truce was quickly agreed until November. When November
fell, David demanded that Stephen hand over the whole of the old earldom of
Northumberland. Stephen's predictable refusal led to David's third invasion,
this time in January 1138.
The battle soon got underway. Henry of Huntingdon tells us that "the Scots cried
out the warcry of their fathers - and the shout rose even to the skies -
Albanaich, Albanaich!" and charged the massed Anglo-Norman line. The cry,
meaning "Men of Scotland", had been used by the Scots at the battle of Corbridge
in 908.
Ailred described the same charge, saying that the first line
"after their custom gave vent thrice to a yell of horrible sound, and attacked
the southerns in such an onslaught that they compelled the first spearmen to
forsake their post; but they were driven off again by the strength of the
knights, and [the spearmen] recovered their courage and strength against the
foe. And when the frailty of the Scottish lances was mocked by the denseness of
iron and wood they drew their swords and attempted to contend at close quarters"
As the Scots were engaging in this close combat, Ailred tells us that the
English archers began to fire on the Scottish line, causing extreme disarray and
loss of life. The suicidal bravery and endurance of the Galwegians, and the lack
of Norman-style armour which Máel Ísu and the Scots had allegedly been so
boastful of, was mocked by Ailred:
"like a hedgehog with its quill, so would you see a Galwegian bristling all
round with arrows, and none theless brandishing his sword, and in blind madness
rushing forward now smite a foe, now lash the air with useless stokes".
Despite this attack, the battle continued. Ailred tells us the force of David's
son Henry managed to route its opponents. According to Henry of Huntingdon,
though, the battle turned when the "chief of the men of Lothian", probably
Gospatric II, earl of Lothian, was struck by an arrow. The men of Lothian
apparently fled first; and after a while, Ailred tells us the Galwegians
followed suit when Domnall and Ulgric, two of their captains, were slain.
John of Hexham tells us that the battle lasted three hours.
After the battle, David and his surviving notables retired to Carlisle. Although
the result was a defeat, it was not by any means a decisive nor even devastating
defeat. David retained the bulk of his army and thus the power to go on the
offensive again. The siege of Wark, for instance, which had been going on since
January, continued to go on until it was captured in November. David continued
to occupy Cumberland and much of Northumberland. On September 26 Cardinal
Alberic, bishop of Ostia, arrived at Carlisle where David had called together
his kingdom's nobles, abbots and bishops. Alberic was there to investigate the
controversy over the issue of the bishop of Glasgow's allegiance or
non-allegiance to the archbishop of York. However, Alberic also played a role as
peace-broker. With Alberic acting as a go-between, David agreed to a six week
truce which excluded the siege of Wark. Negotiations between David and Stephen
continued over the winter months, but on April 9 David and Stephen's wife
Matilda of Boulogne met each other at Durham and agreed a settlement. David's
son Henry was given the earldom of Northumberland and was restored to the
earldom of Huntingdon and lordship of Doncaster; David himself was allowed to
keep Carlisle and Cumberland. However, King Stephen was to retain possession of
the strategically vital castles of Bamburgh and Newcastle, and Prince Henry was
to perform homage for his English lands, while David himself was to promise to
"remain loyal" to Stephen at all times. The last conditions aside, this
effectively fulfilled all of David's war aims. Thus, despite the surprising
victory of the outnumbered English army in North Yorkshire, the series of
invasions that David led into England since the death of his patron Henry at the
end of 1135 had resulted in a significantly expanded kingdom. David, moreover,
was no longer in practice a sub-king. So if King Henry's life and reign had
brought David all his fortune, Henry's death had brought David even more.
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