The
Normans (
Norman:
Nourmands; ; ) were the people who in the 10th and 11th centuries gave their name to
Normandy, a region in
France. They were descended from
Norse ("Norman" comes from "
Norseman") raiders and
pirates from
Denmark,
Iceland and
Norway who, under their leader
Rollo, agreed to swear
fealty to
King Charles III of
West Francia. Through generations of assimilation and mixing with the native
Frankish and
Roman-Gaulish populations, their descendants would gradually merge with the
Carolingian-based cultures of West Francia. The distinct cultural and
ethnic identity of the Normans emerged initially in the first half of the 10th century, and it continued to evolve over the succeeding centuries.
