A dynamic, aggressive people, the initial success of the “Nortmanni” or “Northmen” derived from their combination of mercantile, navigational and technical skills which found particular expression in their longships which enabled them to sail up rivers and raid or trade with coastal settlements. From these military origins derived a social model which seemed the perfection of feudalism. Total power rested in the hands of the king, then of his dukes and knights, and so down the pyramid of his vassal lords who owed everything to him. This hierarchical structure was supported by general obedience to the law, an effective system of justice and of ecclesiastical and secular administration, and the disciplined attitude to money-values and accounting which has left us the remarkable…
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Citation: Clark, Robert. "Expansion of the Normans". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 17 November 2005 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=1639, accessed 23 November 2024.]
