Allegedly Richard I of Normandy was given a Viking burial on a hilltop above Fécamp, in view of the sea, but the body was later brought inside the church, and now he lies beside his son. (Photo: Patricia Bracewell)

On 29 February, a Norwegian led research team opened a tomb in Normandy containing two dukes, descendants of the Viking chieftain Rollo. If the Old Norse Kings’ Sagas are accurate, Rollo is identical to Ganger-Hrolf from Møre in Western Norway, and the British Royal Family originates from a Norwegian Viking.

Rollo (ca. 860-932 AD) is known as the founder and first ruler of the Viking principality that soon became known as Normandy, Count of Rouen and third great-grandfather to William the Conqueror, forefather to the British royals.

In January, French authorities and the Catholic Church of France granted the Norwegian application to open the tomb of Rollo’s grandson and great-grandson, Richard I “the Fearless” (933-996 AD) and his son Richard II “the Good” (963-1026 AD) inside the Abbey Church of the Holy Trinity in Fécamp, Normandy.

Professor Emeritus at the University of Oslo, Per Holck and Andaine Seguin Orlando at the Center for Geogenetics at the University of Copenhagen are studying bones from the opened tomb inside the Abbey Church of the Holy Trinity. (Photo: Samlerhuset)

When the tomb was opened, researchers found among other bones a lower jaw with eight teeth in the grave of Richard I, important in terms of finding traces of DNA. Now, five teeth are shipped to the University of Oslo and the DNA Laboratory at the Center for Geogenetics in Copenhagen for analysis.

Danish or Norwegian?

The name “Rollo” probably stems from the Old Norse name Hrólf (Rolv). In the Icelandic sagas he has got the nickname Ganger-Hrólf (English: “Walking Rolv”) because he was so big that he always had to go on foot, implying that the Viking horses were too small to carry him.

Rollo was the leader of the great army of Normans that in the early 900s conquered the area at the mouth of the river Seine in France. Later, the area was extended to the “Nordic” Duchy of Normandy through the Treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte in 911.

The Old Nose Kings’ Sagas, an important part of Norwegian and Icelandic history, claim that Rollo and Ganger-Hrólf are one and the same person, while Danish historians argue that he was originally Danish.

We will hopefully get the answer this fall when Norwegian and French authorities present the results from the analysis.

One thing is for sure: The current British Royal Family exists thanks to Norse pagan warriors.

Text by: Thor Lanesskog, ThorNews

Source: Norwegian research portal forskning.no

Categories: Culture, History, Vikings