Norman Soldiers, 11th Century

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Fragment from 11th century French manuscript showing boatload of Norman soldiers on choppy sea. They carry painted shields and long spears. The Viking raids and invasions of the 9th and 10th century led to Scandinavian settlement in many parts of Europe. One of these places was north-western France, in the area now known as Normandy. This name literally means the 'land of the Northmen'. By the middle of the 11th century Normandy was one of the most powerful states in Christendom. Desire for conquest, in conjunction with limited available land led many Normans to pursue military goals abroad: to Spain to fight the Moors; to Byzantium to fight the Turks; to Sicily in 1061 to fight the Saracens; and of course to England in 1066.

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Size: 2620px × 3480px
Photo credit: © Photo Researchers / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: 11th, ages, art, artwork, bastard, boat, century, conqueror, conquest, drawing, french, historic, historical, history, illustration, king, land, long, manuscript, maritime, medieval, middle, military, nautical, navigation, norman, normans, northmen, painted, shields, soldiers, spears, war, warfare, warship, weapon, weaponry, weapons, william