WhoEVER he was, he cave us a terrific candy !
Posted on 03/03/2016 8:11:39 AM PST by Eurotwit
Norwegian researches opened a tomb containing the remains of descendants of Viking leader Rollo in Normandy, France on Monday with the aim of putting an end to a centuries-long debate: was Rollo Danish or Norwegian?
Norwegian researchers opened a tomb containing the remains of descendants of Viking leader Rollo in Normandy, France on Monday with the aim of putting an end to a centuries-long debate: was Rollo Danish or Norwegian?
“We have worked on investigating this for about seven years, so to finally obtain material that we can test for DNA is huge,” historian Sturla Ellingvåg told NTB.
Rollo was the founder and first ruler of Normandy, the Count of Rouen and the great-great-great grandfather of William the Conqueror, the first Norman King of England. While Norwegian-Icelandic history holds that Rollo is the same man also known as Ganger Hrólf and hails from Norway, some Danish historians claim that Rollo is from Denmark.
In January, French officials granted a Norwegian application to open the tomb of Rollo’s grandson and great-grandson, Richard I of Normandy (also known as Richard the Fearless) and Richard II, also called Richard the Good.
When researchers opened the tomb, a sarcophagus in the floor of a Fécamp monastery, on Monday they found Richard the Good’s lower jaw with eight teeth. A DNA analysis is likely to be completed by the autumn and will be presented in cooperation with the French authorities.
“Finding teeth is key, because DNA can be found there even after this many years. Two forensic experts from Norway and Denmark took five teeth that will now be sent to the University of Oslo and the Centre for GeoGenetics at the University of Copenhagen for analysis,” Ole Bjørn Fausa, the founder of one of the project’s sponsors, the Samlerhuset Group, said.
Only when the analysis is complete will Danish and Norwegian historians be able to settle their conflicting claims on Rollo.
Fausa said that Fécamp sarcophagus at first glance looked like it was only large enough to hold the remains of a toddler.
“When they were buried in the floor, it was a matter of space. The most important thing was to preserve the skeleton. We don’t know for certain how it was done in this case, but it was common to either cut the bodies into pieces or boil them so the meat would come off the bones. Thus, the sarcophagus needn’t be any longer than a femur, the longest bone in the body,” he said.
He described the atmosphere surrounding Monday’s opening as an amazing experience.
“As far as we know, this is only the second time since the war that a king’s tomb has been opened in France. Just to be a part of it and find the skeletons in there was exciting and unreal at the same time,” he said.
Fausa said that if Rollo is confirmed to be Ganger Hrólf, it will have great historical significance.
“If the British royal family originates from the northern part of Western Norway, it will change the perception that the Norwegian royal family is relatively young with origins from the British and Danish royal houses,” he said.
BTW. In many sagas Ragnar Lothbrok is the ancestor kings of all the Scandinavian royal houses.
WhoEVER he was, he cave us a terrific candy !
No! He was Muslim, you infidel dogs!!!
;^)
Since Vikings is against the 30th or so debate of the season, Ragnar and Rollo will beat out Donald and Ted for my time.
And a gay transexual black woman :p
“Richard I of Normandy (also known as Richard the Fearless) and Richard II, also called Richard the Good.”
If I ever get to be a king, that’s what I’d like to be put after my name: the fearless and the good.
(Can’t think of any current rulers who’d fit those descriptions...)
Is Norwegian DNA so different from Danish DNA that they will be able to resolve the question?
8^)
Is this Rollo his brother?
I think I heard on the X-Files that he had alien DNA
There was a 12th-century Count of Flanders named Charles the Good. He was murdered.
Norwegian kings had a lot of “odd” monickers.
Of course you had tough guys like Erick “Trump” Bloodaxe.
But, we also had a fair shair of oddballs.
We had Halfdan the black. I suppose he must have been the viking Obama
Magnus Barefoot AND mAGNUS THE bLIND.
Beat me to it...! He was a candy bar!
I bet the percentage of Americans with Rollo in their family lines is very high. I know he’s in my family tree.
Ragnar’s brother in the tv series. As we just are seeing he becomes the founder of Normandy and ancestor of William the Conquerer.
Rollo did exist.
If Ragnar did exist, he probably existed a century earlier.
I believe Ragnar is not long for this world. Historically, he died at the hands of the English earl, the one he's been negotiating with. So there's some historical validity there too.
But frankly (!), I think that series is overdone and politically correct. Someone really should just cut Loki's throat and throw his corpse in a fjord.
Yep.
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