Norman History and Knights

We discuss how Vikings founded the Duchy of Normandy which came to rule England and developed a cavalry force known across Europe. The Normans and their Knights will be an invasion force that appears in the late game of Total War Sage: Thrones of Britannia.
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Facebook: / invictahistory
Twitter: / invictahistory
Documentary Credits:
Research: Invicta
Script: Invicta
Artwork: Osprey Publishing
Game: Total War Saga: Thrones of Britannia
Editing: Invicta
Music: Dreamnote Music
Literary Sources
-Viking Hersir 793-1066 AD by Mark Harrison (Osprey Publishing)
-Saxon, Viking and Norman by Terence Wise (Osprey Publishing)

[@InvictaHistory]

I produced a quick history video on the Normans which make an appearance as a late game invading force in Thrones of Britannia. While not playable on the campaign you can command them in multiplayer. Hope you all didn't mind the more informal approach as I was pressed for time and couldn't develop a fully researched and developed script. Nonetheless this sort of format may be useful for making quick one off videos on the fly in the future so let me know if its something you enjoyed. Also please consider backing my Patreon with a buck or two as it really helps: www.patreon.com/InvictaHistory

[@jonathanhayes3607]

Invicta Early Medieval British Isles is a treasure trove of potential content. Personally it's my favorite area of history. Please keep doing Thrones of Brittania-inspired videos like these, and I say don't be afraid to go beyond pure military history in favor of more sociopolitical or cultural topics. These factions are very very different afterall, and it can help communicate to people playing Thrones of Brittania that they aren't just different regions on the map or different units in battle.

[@Sam-vg1kc]

Great video, what software do you use to make them?

[@ramsaysnow9196]

that map of europ is so inacurate i have to give u a dislake for such a bad choice!

[@InvictaGaming]

This one was done using PowerDirector its a mid tier video editor with simple but easy to use effects. For my higher production value videos I use Adobe AfterEffects

[@gallowglass3764]

No norman campaign? :(

[@AcidTripOk]

Interesting fact: the Frakinsh kingdoms needed a way to quickly react to Viking raids, so they started to employ massive amounts of cavalry, hence, the strong French cavalry tradition.

[@decem_sagittae]

Acid Trip not true at all. The Vikings were not even a real threat, but more of a nuisance to the Franks. It was the Avars and later the Magyars who posed a real threat to them and the reason they developed a stronger cavalry. You can't fight horse archers and lancers with infantry.

[@elbentos7803]

@@decem_sagittae you are partly true : - Avars were a threats but well before viking's raids age as Charlemagne led a successful campaign to destroy their kingdom. - Magyar were a bigger threat, but essentially toward eastern franks, a separate kingdom after 845. Viking raided essentially the western kingdom (whose seacoast was much longer). - countering ummayads raids and attacks was also a factor here.

[@andrewfranciscohughes2481]

@@decem_sagittae "you cant fight horse archers and lancers with infantry" swiss pikemen and English Longbowmen: hold our beers

[@squakrock]

Alexander Probably the most uneducated comment in the thread. “Not a threat” yeah they just would give away part of their country to someone who’s not a threat lmfao.

[@squakrock]

Andrew Francisco Hughes English longbow men lol. More like stakes, mud, high ground ,guerrilla warfare, and more mud.

[@robertoprestigiacomo253]

I'm from Sicily and moved to Denmark. I guess it was a call from my Viking Mother Land, LOL

[@JudazRex]

Velkommen hjem;)

[@mathewtrussell9677]

Watch true romance 😉😂✌️

[@saguntum-iberian-greekkons7014]

Not until you go there with proper Norman Armours and the Banners of the Hautevilles

[@SamuraiKai]

How is it?

[@TripleNpple]

Hey I just reached the same conclusion I'm Sicilian. it's said my family were norman knights I'm planning to visit.

[@crimsonminotaur7662]

Thanks for sharing this. I recently found out that I've descended from Normans. I originally thought I was part Irish, then I found out I'm part French, British, Irish, and even Finnish. And that my mother's maiden name, Lynch, is from a Hiberno-Norman family in Galway, Ireland. So I like this very much. Thanks again!

[@D0RYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY]

its crazy that i know about a lot of this history from playing games like crusader kings. it peaked my interest and i cant get enough. love learning about this time period!

[@corpi8784]

The transition from wiking raider to norman knight/normand heavy cavalry happened as the wikings adapted frankish (aka "french") customs including the use of heavy cavalry and fortfying conquered occupied territory with castles .

[@tadejpogacharo3963]

What you forgot to talk about is the fact that the rulers were from vikings descent, but most of their army was composed of "ethnic" french from normandy, that's how they adapted so fast their military ( cavalry etc...)

[@alcoolamus4208]

Yeah and that would be helpful today for the "réimmigration prioritaire" ;)

[@Askethanoras]

lost me when you said from ''vikings descent'' as vikings was more or less a job then a people..

[@HaggisOfDeath]

Doubtful. I lived in Normandy for a short while and the people there to this day look significantly different to those in the rest of France. Lots of blondes. It's pretty similar to how the English in many of the Northern counties look significantly different to those of the Southern. Obviously there has been a fair amount of mixing over the years, but even today you can see that the people there have a lot of Nordic in them, and as such I would imagine that the vast majority of them back then were of Viking descent.

[@alister2228]

`There are a fair bit of blondes in France as well. The Franks themselves were originally a Germanic tribe. The Normans mixed very fast in the local population.

[@alister2228]

Actually, I read a while back that most of the perculiar pronounciation comes from Gaulish and not a Germanic language. BTW, my main point was that the Vikings were not the first Blondes in France. I've also been to Normandy a few times and wasn't struck by "how tall and blond they were". Then again I'm part Scottish and measure 1m98, I wouldn't notice these things.

[@Peter-uu2qg]

Haven't begun the video yet, but that is so cool how you re-crated a scene from the bayeux tapestry with total war assets :)

[@ChrisCVW]

I started writing out about their inheritance practices and then you got to it! Really comes out as one of their key sources of strength driving both their stability and their expansionism.

[@InvictaGaming]

although I did not get it 100% right since a lot of people have pointed out that younger sons could in fact inherit but only what the father had gained through conquest I believe

[@scottwalraven8706]

This video is perfectly timed! Reading Jack Ludlow’s “Warriors” right now, awesome video man.

[@tboi5826]

Godamn Norman’s get out of my lands reee

[@DoomTrooper90]

Give back Sicily to the true inheritors of Rome, you filthy Norman Barbarians, REEEE

[@KerboDrive]

kek byzaboos get rekt

[@DoomTrooper90]

Hey, how do you make a Venetian Blind? You invite him to the Kommenine Court!

[@coletiffany1220]

Sicily could not catch a break. You had Greeks, then Romans, Goths, Greeks again, Muslims, Normans, Germans, French, Spanish, French again, then finally back to Italy.

[@cheesetown777]

But maaaaaaam (Cartman voice)

[@Narjoso]

I quote Cambridge Medieval History: By the end of the reign of Richard I (year 996) the descendants of the original Norse settlers had become not only Christians but in all essentials Frenchmen. They had adopted the French language, French legal ideas, and French social customs, and had practically become merged with the Frankish orGallic population among whom they lived. (…)

[@g-rexsaurus794]

That's not fully true, they were still special in of themselves.

[@Narjoso]

what do you mean? Of course, all regions have different culture if you look at normandy, bretagne, langeudoc, toulouse, they are all french but have regional difference in culture, but it's the same for regions in England and Britain, or in Sweden where I live, But the biggest problem is that english people tend to have francophobia and they do not like the idea or accept the fact that not only where England invaded but also conquered by the french in 1066 with a big cultural impact that is present even today.

[@JJtoutcourt]

french language was not really existing at that time

[@mrkitcatt2119]

@@Narjoso by a man that had viking ancestors

[@chance2413]

@@JJtoutcourt well, it was a very base version of (old) French, but apparently, the Norman's merged Norse and that old French, to have their own dialect. Which, in turn, influenced the Modern english language, which comes from old English (Anglo-Saxon, and probably some Danish) merged with Norman French.

[@emperordemetrius3832]

pls do a video about the BYZANTINE ARMY of BASIL II

[@navneethballal9427]

The blind one?

[@vikingbear1487]

great stuff - I heard the Norman knights were using stirrups when no one else they fought were. The stirrup gave power to their charge which made them feared throughout Europe.

[@Justin-pe9cl]

Not true at all, others used stirrups WAY before the Normans.

[@gabba1gabba1hey]

NOTE: Normandy is NOT a playable faction in in the campaign. :(

[@JuiceStainded]

Mcface Give modders time, I'm sure we'll see them playable in some form soon.

[@nickdalzell7610]

I bet its dlc

[@elfarlaur]

Because Normandy itself is not on the game map. They invade kind of like the Mongols in MTW 2

[@batak6868]

Mcface just play medieval II Total War

[@armincal9834]

aint no Normans in MTW 2, only the kingdom of France

[@user-vh6gs7kn8o]

Yep love the format great video

[@thecrusaderhistorian9820]

Wow! Normans are awesome! Thank you for the video!

[@ivanstrydom8417]

You are by far the best Historical sight on youtube. No Propaganda. Brilliant work sir.

[@cosmobilling9699]

Long live the Duchy of Apulia held by the Norman family of de Hauteville!

[@vainwarlord8361]

A quick note: Not sure about the normans specifically, but in general the scandinavian aproach to inheritance was not neccessarily Patrelinear Primogeniture (the practice of having the oldest son always inherit the entire estate), but rather a less law-bound "free" system in which the family patriarch could distribute the inheritance as he wished among his offspring (even amongst "ätteledda" adopted children). It is true that the most common result of this system was that the oldest son was the most likely to gain the whole estate, not in small part due to the dificulty with dividing single-household estates before the medieval "tegskifte" (have no good translation for this, but essentially the large agricultural shift in Europe from single household-farming to village collectives with communal grounds and advanced crop rotation system). There are several documented cases in which family patriarchs divides his estate, or gives it solely to a woman, even though this was again, pretty uncommon.

[@thnkng]

I don't exactly know how inheritance worked in Normandy, but I do know that William I adopted primogeniture for England because he divided the English Earldoms into much smaller Norman Shires. England originally used Gavelkind, so all land was split between the sons of its previous owner. However with land being much smaller due to the land reforms Primogeniture (specifically male) was adopted so that land wouldn't keep splitting and splitting and splitting until 4 sons owned a field each.

[@haknoo1981]

This was pretty cool. Have you thought of doing a video on one of the Norman princess that forged one of their own kingdoms in depth? It somewhat correlates with crusaders establishing their own kingdoms.

[@saguntum-iberian-greekkons7014]

Im a Normanophile, TELL ME!

[@Justin-pe9cl]

One of HER own kingdoms.

[@tonyweaver2353]

Are the Normans a playable faction or just a late game threat like the Huns or Chaos?

[@nondorian]

Troy Baker would be great to be playable but considering the featured main factions I'd say they would be a DLC of some sort but hopefully I'm wrong :)

[@InvictaHistory]

They are only playable in multiplayer

[@haroldgodwinsonshouldhavew3875]

and single player custom battle ?

[@EndOfSmallSanctuary97]

I'm sure there'll be a mod to make them a playable faction in the campaign, unless CA have become even stricter with their modding tools.

[@tonyweaver2353]

Darn I wanted to play as the early knights in history. Its cool though, was disappointed they didn't include northern france in the new campaign map. Like in the show Vikings where Rollo actually became the first great French Viking king, and his heir grew up to conquer and invade Britain.

[@brianfuller7691]

Normans were a combination of French already there (Normandy) and the Vikings. Their culture and the formidable military reputation reflects both influences. An important fact was that Normans had considerable automomy. My mum was Norman and she would speak of both influences. In 1204 France under Philip II would conquer Normandy and many Normans not already in England went. They essentially became English or French.

[@saguntum-iberian-greekkons7014]

Are you from Normandie?

[@vesavius]

The Normans were absolute madlads... What they achieved was crazy.

[@siegfried.7649]

Whoa! Awesome video, Invicta! It was really effective in conveying all the necessary knowledge about the Normans and their style of warfare. The only thing I would add is a little bit more depth to what their equipment and tactics were like. But other than that, great video. I hope you get to do more of these in the future. :)

[@InvictaHistory]

Siegfried. Typically I like to go into way more depth and have more time to prepare a scripted message. This time around however I hadnt planned to do this episode in advance but still wanted to get something out for the Thrones embargo lifting thus the rushed production.

[@siegfried.7649]

All the same, I'm happy to say you made a great job with this video. Congrats on that! Keep up the good work!

[@mountaindew7190]

Liked it. Lots of good tidbits of knowledge in there. Keep up the casual short ones.

[@FirstLast_Nba]

That was very informative for such a short video, well done.

[@robbiemify]

and at least 75% inaccurate !!!

[@firstcenturion7539]

Awesome, video. I'm a history teacher and a avid gamer. I love the your use of total war games, and historical maps. Wish I had the time and aptitude to make videos like these. I'm definitely going to be using it in my classroom.

[@TheReedable]

Yes! More Norman's! My ancestor was the cousin to William the conqueror. Also, I have lineage to De Clare family. The start of which was from the illegitimate child of Richard the fearless... just wanted to tel someone lol

[@juanzulu1318]

LOL yes sure.

[@VRichardsn]

Oakley, this free-flowing narration style sounds much better than the usual scripted ones (which is really my only complaint about the series, which is otherwise *superb* ). Try and do that for the next "Moments in History"!

[@diegomarquez4340]

8:54 a norman noblemen talking to his guidance counselor 😂

[@jonathanduplantis1403]

So concise yet detailed

[@richtofenillingroth641]

Very interesting. I love the history of the Normans.

[@kerbjesus]

loved it

[@TripleNpple]

As a Sicilian the story goes we were norman Knights i find it really amazing 👏 also im glad i have a sense of where my beginnings reside.

[@alcoolamus4208]

I love you videos and especially the historical ones like this. I also want to thank you because I'm Norman and it's nice to see more and more people sharing our history because of Thrones of Britannia But recently I've seen a lot of English-speaking people saying the Normans were either French speaking the Viking language or Vikings speaking French. Can we agree on the fact most of the Normans were French speaking "Langue d'Oil" (basically the ancestor of French) and not a kind of Nordic language ? I'm trying to settle a debate I had on several comment sections on YT lol

[@sulphuric_glue4468]

The Normans are essentially Norse immigrants, but they spoke French. Some of the population were native French but many Normans were directly descended from Norsemen, and a lot of northern France, especially Normandy (but not Brittany) is genetically Germanic to begin with.

[@Pwatypus]

As far as I know, the norman nobility had viking ancestors but they spoke norman french, and so did most of the local population, but because of the scandinavian settlers who came to Normandy they had a few loanwords and there probably was a dialect difference between the very frenchified norman rulers, the local populace and the descendants of settlers, although the majority probably spoke norman french like you said.

[@iainclark8695]

Hi Norman.

[@alcoolamus4208]

I mean, the Norman leaders were Norsemen but the peasants and most of the population were actually the local French people living here. Guillaume le Conquérant (William the Conqueror as he's named here) was the grand-grand-grand-grandson of Rollo (and a legitimated bastard in addition), and had nothing to share with the Viking culture. He only spoke Langue d'Oil and some Latine like most of the Frankish nobles. It's very unlikely that the Norman invasion army of 1066 was composed of Vikings speaking French or French speaking Viking The Neustrie was indeed genetically Germanic at first like any Frankish region ;)

[@Pwatypus]

Norse culture did have strong influence though, William was called a bastard because until his father norman lords kept the norse practice of having multiple wives, which is why he was seen as a bastard by outsiders but he could inherit his father's possessions, if the normans kept practising a tradition that was seen as very immoral by their neighbours, maybe they kept doing other things.

[@alenthomas9871]

I love this format!!! Please do more videos like this. Cheers from canada

[@kapitankapital6580]

It's very important to also remember that the development of the knight also led to the development of the castle. As anybody who played Attila will know, cavalry can dominate an open field battle, especially against the primarily untrained levy troops of the era, but come unstuck when they have to attack a fortification, so small, defendable fortresses (castles) became a necessity for any lord who wanted to defend his land. The Normans brought the tradition of the castle to England with them, and one of the ways in which the Norman nobility solidified their power was through the construction of castles. The most famous Norman castle is of course the Tower of London, started by William the Conqueror, which was the first stone castle in Britain.

[@kapitankapital6580]

Not entirely true. A burh was a walled town or port, often rebuilding the walls of old Roman settlements. Many of the burhs actually remain modern English boroughs (from which they got the name). A castle on the other hand was a much smaller fortification designed specifically so that a very small garrison could hold out against a much larger force. Although the purpose of the castle changed over time so that they became larger and more liveable as time went on, that was their original purpose. As you highlighted, the castle is very much caught up in the class system, control over a castle meant control over the surrounding areas. The combination of the castle and the knight allowed for the feudal system whereby a very small minority of wealthy people could control large amounts of territory and population, as the population was unable to effectively defeat knights in battle, and it would only take a small group of men, sometimes as few as 50, to defend a castle against a huge revolt until reinforcements arrived. Obviously with the development of professional armies the knight died off and it became possible only for the state as a whole to field an effective army, which led to the collapse of the feudal system and the growth of the modern nation state as we know it today, but that is beyond the scope of this discussion. In short, Burhs or other defended towns have existed for most of history, however the castle is a very distinct historical phenomenon unique to the medieval period, and it was something that the Normans brought to England.

[@alexispommier2012]

thy for the info, never saw the social "oppression" dimension of the castle

[@robertblake6028]

So I'm studying history for my GCSEs and even though this isn't directly or at all related to the Edexcel spec, it was really useful. Thank you.

[@oderisiarrigoni9645]

Nice video. But you forget to speak about the stirrup. That is one of the most important reason why the Normans had one of the best army in Europe in that period.

[@InvictaGaming]

I'll likely address that if I do a video specifically on Norman knights. I think it also wasn't something that had yet been adopted in the years leading to the Battle of Hastings but I could be wrong.

[@oderisiarrigoni9645]

Simply look at the bayeux tapestry, that shows the story of the Norman's conquest of England and the battle of Hastings in 1066. You'll see easily the stirrup in the in the Norman Knights figures.

[@DarthBalrogTV]

I'm absolutely agree. Where are the stirrup in the gameplay? I can't see them. The stirrup was SO important in the Middle Ages that we can consider it a real revolution of the military and social life. For the stirrup the Norman army defeated the Anglo-Saxon army at the Battle of Hastings.

[@Dejawolfs]

another reason why mounted combat wasn't really popular with vikings was simply because norwegian terrain isn't very conducive to such combat. very little steppe, a lot of mountains and forests.

[@strider7273]

I really liked this "casual" format of vid.

[@xe2594]

Mercenarying” themselves.. not a word.

[@theechoholic]

More of this, put a bit more detail in it. Like 15m instead of 10 and i would be more than happy to watch all of it. Keep it up Invicta .

[@mz.6109]

I am a descendant of Rollo aka Rolo the walker and William the Conqueror so thank you greatly for this video about my folk.☺

[@kebman]

I was surprised to find Norman fortresses in Southern Italy when I did some research on the area. I asked an Italian friend about it, and he told me that, "Yeah, even to this day, every once in a while, people there will bear tall and blonde children."

[@Justin-pe9cl]

As if only Scandinavians are tall and blond. 🤦‍♂️

[@kebman]

@@Justin-pe9cl What are you talking about? We are tall and blonde. And we brought those genes to other places in the world, such as Sicily.

[@ilo3456]

The thing I learned a few years ago was that my family on my father's side actually can be tracked down to the Normans, and most specifically to the ones which went in the conquest of England, they became the Earls of Derby, but they lost the title by raising their banner against the king, they lost that title, then I know of them being nobility in Scotland and moving to Iberia to help with the Reconquest of Iberia, and from there I am not really sure how they reached Mexico, but I actually figured that all out by my last name, they were once upon a time blacksmiths, it is an occupational surname. It is awesome to be able to track one's family so far back

[@bandos6450]

That's badass! I can trace my ancestry all the way back to the Normans as well. My great ancestor was a knight that helped William conquer England in 1066 and was rewarded the estate of Cothelstone Manor

[@mysticonthehill]

I think you're taking the Normans being Vikings way too literally. Vikings would have been relatively few in Normandy. The cavalry tradition was indigenous among the Bretons and other northern French which according to one theory may have originated among auxiliary roman soldiers such as the Alanni and Sarmatians.

[@InvictaHistory]

I should have clarified that they did not replace the local population which was still there. That being said I do think there was a fair amount of immigration from Scandinavia into the area though it wouldn't be fair to call these Vikings.

[@spottyskunk1898]

Norman inheritance and the effect it played on the children of nobility sort of sets the mold for some medieval stereotypes like "You have 3 sons - the first to follow you, the second to follow the wars, and the third to follow the monks".

[@mindhistorydocumentary]

The Normans were basically the medieval multitaskers-they conquered England, built castles, and somehow managed to invent fancy dining manners all in one go!

[@gavinlittle9376]

Invictas turning Brit "bugger off"

[@Kapuist1]

I think what would be really nice is more historical explanations of the era surrounding Thrones of Britannia. I know a thing or two about the main conflict between the Saxons and Danes, but know next to nothing about what's going on in Scotland, Ireland, etc.

[@EBK_150MaccWorld]

I was wondering if you could do a history of like Norman knights , French knights and English knights and tell the difference and stuff

[@Pertinax193A.D.]

Jonathan Jeffreys norman nights became french knights

[@EBK_150MaccWorld]

Ahhhhhh see i didnt know that

[@Melodeath00]

There wasn't really any big difference between the Knights in different Kingdoms and areas in Europe. The Normans didn't have any special secret tactic that made them stand out form all the other Knights. They were simply... better at it.

[@NorthernXY]

Love your maps.

[@noah8690]

Small errors here, the king of england did not owe feilty to france as kings of england but they did as the occupants of the position duke of normandie, and the Normans did not create the angevine empire, the french plantagenet dynasty did, which replaced the Normans on the english throne after the anarchy, otherwise great

[@noah8690]

Oh and Norman inheritance law states that the eldest gets what the father in turn inherited while what the father conquered can be passed down freely among the other children. Check the example after william the conquerers death

[@eduardofreitas8336]

So the plantagenet are french?? Lol history is weird man.

[@orpheonkatakrosmortarchoft4332]

Basically one of William the Conqueror descendant (I think it was a his grandson) only had a daughter and she married the duke of Anjou who was French and became king of England and duke of Normandy at the death of his stepfather.

[@noah8690]

Solignox his third son Henry I had a son and a daughter, but the son, William died at sea. The daughter, empress Matilda married Geoffrey count of anjou (not duke) and while mathilda never became king her son by Geoffrey count of anjou would, named Henry II at his succesion. He would marry Eleanor of aquitaine and thus create what we call the angevine empire. Thus Henry of Anjou or Henry II was gives anjou from his plantagenet father, England and normandie from his De Normandie mother (that was the dynasty name i believe) and he gained the duchy of aquitaine by the right of his wife

[@noah8690]

Eduardo Freitas its better to think of the english kings of this period as french nobles holding the english crown rather than english kings holding french fiefdoms , they often held court in France and most spoke some pseudo Norman-english or more commonly among the plantagenet, french, the first kings to actually use english as their main language were the lancastrians. For example richard lionheart never spoke english and held court in Angier

[@jamescardwell2986]

I found this extremely interesting as in doing my Ancestry I have traced it back to Norman’s The color of my family’s shield and sir coat was Green with a white rearing charger (Hoarse). Two of my Grandfathers were at Hastings and survived the Battle, one was given holdings in Wiltshire whilst the other was a sell sword ( mercenary) who later allied with Mary Queen of Scott’s. The Viking that I’m related to was a Eric the Stout. There was also a few things about Eric the Red in the notes. Again thank you.

[@mrkitcatt2119]

I got Erik the red people that first settled Iceland the birka shield maiden and the vikings buried at Oxford

[@raygipson8896]

This was an awesome video bro. 👍

[@davidhughes8357]

Yes it was fun. Thank you Sire.

[@artios162]

So in the 100 years war, the English whose are French descendants going to war with the French who are the original French that settled the land for the land the French taken from the Norman who are Viking got land from the old French king and now turn themselves into the king of England. It is a civil war basically.

[@CaptainInvisible1]

Horacious Barelian It was more a matter of two dynasties fighting over claims on the same land.

[@europeanbourgeois8223]

Make no mistake, the 100YW wasn’t a civil war. It was England attacking France and the French knew it. The French hated the English so much that they called the Bretons, Flemish and Germans that joined in on the raids all Englishmen. Edward III’s French mother signed the Edinburgh-Northampton treaty with Scotland that was known in England as “the great national shame” because it was obviously Edward’s mother supporting France’s ally Scotland because the Auld alliance....Edward III saw how hurt his country men were and he arrested his mother, executed her lover, then he united his nobility and restarted the war with Wales and Scotland to regain national pride....it was defiantly English kings taking the French throne and the French king even changed his coat of arms to prove a point.

[@TheHiddenStudios]

I'd say a pretty big factor in the execution of Mortimer and the banishment of Edward III's mother was also the fact they were responsible for his father's death lmao

[@jackstod]

As a descendent my family tree back then the house of France Capetians and the Angevin dynasty were related so yes family dispute the French peasants and the English were basically killed for my line arguments. both France and English were peasants to both sides of my family I am not sorry I cant change it haha!!

[@IronWarrior86]

Yes, bascially two rival French dynasties fighting over the control of France. One being settled in England since taking control over the land in 1066.

[@StefanSu91]

Hey Invicta, I'm working on something and these videos really help me out. Haven't gone through all your videos yet but can you also cover the Samurai, Ashigaru, and everything you do?

[@benmiller3358]

Good summation. A salient point (or two) that wasn't mentioned,... Norse troops and later Anglo Saxons as well, did use horses but only as transport. They were never recorded as having used them offensively in battle. Secondly, the other major shift in tactics was the Norman use of rapid to deploy, pre-built, motte and bailey fortifications. Prior to 1066 most fortifications in Britain were walled towns designed to protect the whole populace, not just a noble and his small retinue of soldiers.

[@Alvarin_IL]

Neat one! Wouldn't mind more of these!

[@franpozi]

love the format

[@emZee1994]

I'm a Montenegrin, DNA tests showed that my paternal ancestor was a Norman Viking. The map at 3:07 shows how they settled there in 1075CE. Really cool stuff

[@tibsky1396]

The Plantagenêts had some links with the Normans, but were essentially Angevins at the origins.

[@yuripantyhose4973]

7:50 this was called Odelsretten and didn't really stop until 1926.

[@noaliungman5329]

Great video! Can’t wait to play thrones of Britannia

[@Pointillax]

There's an old saying from that time in french "marin comme un Normand", "as sailer as a Norman", making fun of the fact that Normans adopted and blended so quickly with the uses of their new land that they became poor sailers when their ancestors were those masters of navigation. Also fun to see the arms of house De Hauteville, kings of Sicilly. They're loosely related to Guillaume le Conquérant. I'm not completely sure but Hollville, my name, is said to be related to those guys, at least their home town.

[@LordDeren85]

great vid thanks keep em coming

[@marloyorkrodriguez9975]

I'm interested in the Normans despite being just a blip on northern France they became founders of royal houses in Europe even today majority of the royal houses in Europe is descended from this northmen who became French

[@orpheonkatakrosmortarchoft4332]

Not really, William dynasty died off two générations later and were replaced by the Plantagenets.

[@marloyorkrodriguez9975]

Plantagenet also descended through William through his daughter or granddaughter

[@Pertinax193A.D.]

Marlo York Rodriguez yea every tenth european is a descendant of William the great so...

[@orpheonkatakrosmortarchoft4332]

Yeah but according to dynastic rule they are not of the same dynasty.

[@marloyorkrodriguez9975]

Still they are descended from the same person

[@haradaeirneralendaer6874]

One thing that was SO very important is that the Normans had stirrup technology on their horses saddles, something even the Romans did not have. These came west with the Avar invasion of the Carpathian basin. This allowed them to perform couched lancing, essentially becoming the some of the earliest effective 'heavy cavalry' in Europe. This is something total-war games often get wrong, with it being highly unlikely that earlier cavalry was ever engaged in charges or lancing. Shooting, throwing javelins, and transport were the realistic earlier uses of horses in war before the stirrup and treed-saddle. Am am disappointed therefore, to see that the in-game models don't have stirrups! haha ;;)

[@InvictaGaming]

If I do a video specifically on the Norman Knights I'll definitely have to include this key bit of information. Though I think the use of the couched lance was a later development and not one in place yet at the battle of hastings.

[@felixantoine9874]

Very nice work !

[@harleykidd7910]

This video explains my ancestry, thank you!

[@Tomcattube1]

Very good, thanks!

[@normancomeau371]

My blood line goes back to this race of hard headed and determined folk. Acadians in Canada were from Normandy. Not being affraid of the British, they were deported after Napoleon capitulated.

[@rw54]

In 1066 William the Bastard a.k.a. Duke William of Normandy was later known as William the Conqueror. Should he happened to either over hear or have reported to him that someone made unkind remarks about his mother he would immediately have their hands cut off.

[@merckxcharles9719]

Thx for sharing love your vids

[@rexbartuzik2440]

So the problem with cavalry with the 10th century Norse was the ships had problems housing horses until the 11th century. The knarrs were used to load on horses which is difficult. Eventually horses could be loaded on for the Crusades under decks efficiently with caulking the bulkheads and making almost a drawbridge.

[@BobSmith-dk8nw]

Primogeniture was the Eldest Son inheriting everything. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primogeniture The way I recall it working - The Eldest Inherited the Father's station The Second Son went into the priesthood The Third Son became a mercenary. Something like that. I could have the 2nd and 3rd reversed. .

[@waragainstmyself1159]

This is awesome! subbed

[@spudmonky]

5:34 someone painstakingly painted that horses asshole to be perfect. Someone took time on that specific part. That's crazy

[@KristinkaAranova]

It was me

[@Commie62]

I give it a 5 out of 5. Keep up the good work.

[@J0krswy1d]

Any chance you're a CK2/3 fan? Also, if I hadn't of subscribed on the video I did, I would have on this one. I really like this time period in history and that was very well done.

[@brianfuller5868]

Very good video.

[@tauceti8341]

keep going dude! these new vids/content are abs killer. Big ups! Can't wait for what instore, always gets me so hyped when another one of these vids are released. Yeeeeeoooow! Esketit!

[@diddyread]

This was great!

[@EmreCanKorkmaz]

6:31 tying them up onto the saddles while they were in a forced sleep and cracking the whip as soon as they wake up in rage That's how. :)

[@Usammityduzntafraidofanythin]

I think the reason the treaty of San Cler Dulet (sp?), happened was because the norse had already occupied that area. They'd been raiding for awhile, but since the late 9th century, they'd already conquered the area 'unofficially' (by the standard of however official things could be in medieval times) and were fostering all sorts of further raids. The treaty was there as a buffer against further raids. I'm guessing there was a lot of backstabbing - probably some norse that wanted to keep raiding would get killed or evicted by those that wanted to settle and protect the land. That's how the treaty goes forth. Unlikely that there was collective head nodding, which is the only part of Vikings that I liked concerning Rollo's story arc (though I think more vikings would have joined him). 1:40 - What's that picture from? Seems sorta period. 7:35 - Those horses are small. Look at how much the rider's feet and stirrups go below the belly. Probably not used in the way the knights of the crusades would use them (somehow, those horses came along just 30 years after Hastings; I guess that's an old mystery).

[@conorfennell8475]

6:45 Scandinavians didn't really ride horses. They had stout short like mountain horses which were primarily used as pack animals or plow animals. Its not just that they didn't use them they didn't have them really

[@erenoz2910]

I always thought the Vikings and Normans were fierce barbarians but apparently, they were basically traders and sailors trying to get by in a tough, military-based age.

[@thewhat531]

Vikings had a - for the time - very democratic society. The pre-Christian Scandinavians had rights for women, who could own land and even ask for a divorce.

[@amandafranks5108]

Still waiting on part 2 evolution of the roman legions. Your most requested video

[@ralphreal4039]

love the video dude fucking awsome!!

[@stipicaradic]

The Normans were badass!

[@InvictaHistory]

they have a very impressive track record to be sure

[@gallowglass3764]

Luke Koziol how?

[@europeanbourgeois8223]

+Luke Koziol The Normans did ruin England but to be fair, Henry I did publicly condemn his father and brother and said he was going to make England a better place and even married an English princess. After that the kings of England steadily improved with shaky bits.

[@darthveatay]

zangg you should have seen what they did at the battle of Cerami. Just a few hundred men against tens thousands of saracens. And the Normans still pulled out a victory. Or the battle of Civitate, again outnumbered. But lead personally by Robert Guiscard the Normans broke the Italian coalition army with a charge Robert Guiscard was the father of Bohemond of Antioch a future crusader

[@lazios]

Darth Vitiate Italian coalition army? Saracens not "italians"; the Pope asked to normans (who defeated the byzantines in southern Italy) to invade Sicily also and get her back to the christians. So (Sicily medieval history) byzantines, after saracens and then normans; with Frederick II started the Swabian-Norman story followed by Anjou (french), Aragonese (spanish).. etc.

[@cyrusthegreat1893]

Well done!

[@okgreat3509]

As Mitterrand said : "England is just a french colony which turned wrong "

[@kristofnagy3248]

I actually can't wait to get this game.

[@johnbeechy]

Norman's inheritance Tradition is very similar to Abraham's decision in regards to his two sons... the 2nd one had to leave town, so there be no constant fighting over the Right of ownership of Home. first Born male takes that right by first come.. // thx4upload

[@takudzwan6990]

You gave me a heart burn when you where talking about rollo

[@rananashy2587]

nice and smart for some people

[@NYCfrankie]

The kingdom of Sicily the reason there are blue eyed and blonde hair Sicilians I'm half sicilian half neapolitan and the genetic mixture in Sicily today is crazy