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William Longsword (French: Guillaume Longue-Épée, Old Norman: Williame d e l o n E s p ee, Latin: Willermus Longa Spata, Old Norse: Vilhjálmr Langasp jó t ; c . 8 9 3 - 17 December 942) was the second ruler of Normandy, from 9 2 7 u n t i l his assassination in 942.
He is sometimes referred to as a "duke of Normandy", though the title d u k e ( d u x) did not come into common usage until the 11th century.[2] Lon g s w o r d was known at the time as count (Latin comes) of Rouen. Flodoard- a l w a y s detailed about titles-consistently referred to both Rollo and hi s s o n W i l liam as principes (chieftains) of the Normans. There are no co nt e m p o rary accounts of William's byname, 'Longsword', either; it appear s f i r s t i n later eleventh-century sources.
Birth
William Longsword was born "overseas" to the Viking Rollo (while he was s t i l l a p a gan) and his wife more danico (a kind of non-Christian marriag e ) , P o p pa of Bayeux. Poppa's parentage is uncertain. Dudo of Saint-Quen t i n i n h i s panegyric of the Norman dukes describes her as the daughter o f a C o u n t B erengar, the dominant prince of that region. In the 11th-cen tury A n n a l es Rotomagenses (Annals of Rouen), she is called the daughter o f G u y , C o unt of Senlis, otherwise unknown to history. According to the L o n g s w ord's planctus, William was baptized a Christian probably at the s a m e t i m e as his father, which Orderic Vitalis stated was in 912, by Fra n c o , A r chbishop of Rouen. William is not an Old Norse forename, and he m u s t h a v e been renamed as part of this process.
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Abt 900 - 942 (42 years)
