Rorik of Dorestad
Rorik of Dorestad | |
---|---|
King of Friesland | |
In office 841–873 | |
Personal details | |
Born | around 800 Denmark |
Died | 882 |
Rorik (
Family
He had a brother named Harald.
Early life
Harald the younger had been exiled from Denmark and had raided Frisia for several years. He had entered an alliance with Lothair I who was involved in conflict against Louis the Pious, his father. Frisia was part of Louis' lands and the raids were meant to weaken him. By 841, Louis was dead and Lothair was able to grant Harald and Rorik several parts of Friesland. His goal at the time was to establish the military presence of his loyalists in Frisia, securing it against his siblings and political rivals Louis the German and Charles the Bald.[2][3] The two Norsemen used islands as a main base of operations, the seat of Rorik being the island of Wieringen, while Harald operated from the island of Walcheren, and they also ruled Dorestad at this time.
In the early 840s, Frisia seemed to attract fewer raids than in the previous decade. Viking raiders were turning their attention to West Francia and Anglo-Saxon England. In 843, Lothair, Louis and Charles signed the Treaty of Verdun, settling their territorial disputes. Lothair previously needed Rorik and Harald to defend Frisia from external threats. With the seeming elimination of such threats, the two Vikings may have outlived their usefulness to their overlord. In about 844, both "fell into disgrace". They were accused of treason and imprisoned. The chronicles of the time report doubt on the accusation. Rorik would later manage to escape. Harald probably died while a prisoner.[2]
According to an 850 entry of the
Ruler of Dorestad
After Rorik and his cousin
Expedition to Denmark
According to an 857 entry in the
Questions on loyalty
An 863 entry of the Annales Bertiniani reports "In January Danes sailed up the Rhine towards
The rumour of Rorik's apparent disloyalty induced
Coupland finds the contents of the letters particularly revealing. Rorik had apparently been granted control over Dorestad twice and well before his conversion to Christianity in the early 860s. Hincmar and Hunger having to convince Rorik not to give refuge to a declared enemy of
Later rule
In 867 there was a local revolt by the Cokingi and Rorik was driven out of Frisia. The Annales Bertiniani report that Lothair II "summoned up the host throughout his realm to the defense of the fatherland, as he explained, against the Norsemen, for he expected, that Hrørek, whom the local people, the new name for them is Cokings, had driven out of Frisia, would return bringing some Danes to help him."[17] Coupland notes that the identity of the Cokingi is uncertain. Also uncertain is the nature of this loss of power by Rorik. Rorik could have lost control of only part of his realm or to have resumed control rather quickly. Because he is next mentioned in 870, still in Frisia.[18]
On 8 August 869, Lothair II died. Lotharingia was claimed by his uncles, Louis the German and Charles the Bald. In 870, the two came to an agreement with the Treaty of Meerssen which divided Lotharingia among them. The Annales Bertiniani report that Charles the Bald "went to the palace of Nijmegen to hold discussions with the Norseman Hrørek, whom he bound to himself by a treaty."[19] Coupland considers the talks were between a ruler and a "leading local figure" of a newly annexed area. Charles secured his loyalty and recognition of his sovereignty, Rorik kept control of his region. The same type of agreement Lothair I and Lothair II had with him.[20]
Charles and Rorik seem to have restarted negotiations in 872, according to two separate entries of the Annales Bertiniani: "On 20 January he [Charles the Bald] left Compendio and went to the monastery of [name missing in surviving manuscripts] to hold talks with the Norsemen Hrørek and Hróðulfr." ... "In October he [Charles the Bald] came by boat down the
In 873, Rorik swore allegiance to Louis, and that is the last that is heard of him. The Annales Xantenses report: "Likewise came to him [Louis] Hrørek, the gall of Christianity, nevertheless many hostages were put back in the ships and he became subject of the king and was bound by an oath to keep a firm loyalty."[22] Coupland notes that Rorik held lands in both sides of the current border between the realms of Charles and Louis. Which would mean he owed loyalty to both of them. Leaving him in an "unenviable position".[18]
Death
Rorik died before 882 when his lands were given to
Coupland considers Rorik "the most powerful and influential of all the Danes drawn into the Carolingian milieu" of the 9th century. He notes how four Carolingian monarchs (Lothair I, Lothair II, Charles the Bald, Louis the German) accepted his presence in Frisia and his continued service as their vassal. Little criticism against him was recorded in the Frankish chronicles of his time. Even Hincmar did not outright accuse him and expected him to accept penance like a good Christian, which indicated the Franks had ceased thinking of him as a foreign element to their realm, regarding Rorik as one of their own. The historian also notes that there are only two recorded raids of his area in twenty-three known years of rule, a record of his effectiveness in defense in an era of turbulence.[25]
Rorik and Rurik
Numerous scholars identified Rorik with
The first identification to this effect was made by Hermann Hollmann in 1816.
Such an identification is not conclusive, and does not appear to have support from the majority of scholars.[31] Yet there are a number of prominent Russian academics, such as A. N. Kirpichnikov, Boris Rybakov, Dmitry Machinsky, and Igor Dubov, who have supported this identification to some extent.[32][33][34]
See also
- Scylding (dynasty)
- Rurik Dynasty
- Shum Gora
- Rikiwulf
- Godfrid, Duke of Frisia
References
- ^ Roberts, Wilmer Lynn (1963). Roman and Frankish Government in the Low Countries, 57 B.C. - 925 A.D. University of California. p. 247.
- ^ a b c d Luit van der Tuuk, "The Danish role in the decay of Dorestad" Archived 12 November 2013 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Simon Coupland, "Carolingian Coinage and the Vikings" (2007), pages 95-96
- ^ Norsemen in the Low Countries: Extracts from the Annales Fuldenses, 850 entry
- ^ Norsemen in the Low Countries: Extracts from the Annales Bertiniani, 850 entry Archived 14 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Norsemen in the Low Countries: Extracts from the Annales Xantenses, 850 entry Archived 14 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Simon Coupland, "Carolingian Coinage and the Vikings" (2007), page 96
- ^ Norsemen in the Low Countries: Extracts from the Annales Bertiniani, 855 entry Archived 14 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Simon Coupland, "Carolingian Coinage and the Vikings" (2007), pages 96–97
- ^ Norsemen in the Low Countries: Extracts from the Annales Fuldenses, 857 entry
- ^ a b Simon Coupland, "Carolingian Coinage and the Vikings" (2007), page 97
- ^ Norsemen in the Low Countries: Extracts from the Annales Bertiniani, 857 entry Archived 14 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Norsemen in the Low Countries: Extracts from the Annales Bertiniani, 863 entry Archived 14 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Simon Coupland, "Carolingian Coinage and the Vikings" (2007), page 98
- ^ Norsemen in the Low Countries:Letters of Hincmar Archived 14 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Simon Coupland, "Carolingian Coinage and the Vikings" (2007), pages 98-99
- ^ Norsemen in the Low Countries: Extracts from the Annales Bertiniani, 867 entry Archived 14 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b c Simon Coupland, "Carolingian Coinage and the Vikings" (2007), pages 99
- ^ Norsemen in the Low Countries: Extracts from the Annales Bertiniani, 870 entry Archived 14 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Simon Coupland, "Carolingian Coinage and the Vikings" (2007), page 99
- ^ Norsemen in the Low Countries: Extracts from the Annales Bertiniani, 872 entry Archived 14 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b Norsemen in the Low Countries: Extracts from the Annales Xantenses, 873 entry Archived 14 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Cardinale, Hyginus Eugene. 1976. The Holy See and the International Order. Maclean-Hunter Press. p. 133.
- ^ Norsemen in the Low Countries: Extracts from the Annales Bertiniani, 882 entry Archived 14 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Simon Coupland, "Carolingian Coinage and the Vikings" (2007), page 100
- ^ Hermann Friedrich Hollmann, Rustringen, die ursprüngliche Heimath des ersten russischen Grossfürsten Ruriks und seiner Brüder. Bremen, 1816
- ^ (Russian) Крузе Ф.О. (1836). "О происхождении Рюрика" (1) (Журнал министерства народного просвещения ed.): 43–73.
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(help) - ^ F. Kruse (1836), Über die Herkunft des alten Russischen Fürstengeschlechtes aus Jütland. Memoires de la societé des Antiquaires du Nord, p. 321
- ^ Friedrich Carl Hermann KRUSE, Russische Alterthümer. Erster (Zweiter) Bericht über die Haupt-resultate der im Jahre 1843 gestifteten. Centralsammlung vaterländischer Alterthümer an der Universität zu Dorpat. 1845
- ^ (Russian) Беляев, Николай Тимофеевич (1929). "Рорик Ютландский и Рюрик начальной летописи. // Belyaev, N. T. (1929). Riurik Iutlandskii i Riurik Nachal'noi letopisi [Rurik of Jutland and Rurik of the Primary Chronicle]" (3) (Seminarium Kondakoviamm ed.). Prague: 215–270.
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(help) - Alexander Nazarenko, Lexikon des Mittelalters. VII. – Munich, 1995, pp. 880, 1026.
- ^ Kuzmin A. V. The role of genealogical research in the study of ancient Rus // Ancient Rus. Questions of medieval studies. – 2002. – No 2 (8). – P. 55.
- ^ Rybakov B. A. Kievan Rus and Russian principalities of the XII—XIII centuries. – M.: Nauka, 1982. – P. 299.
- ^ Kirpichnikov A. N. Skazanie o vocation varyagov. Analysis and possibilities of the source // First Scandinavian readings. – SPb., 1997. – P. 7-18.
- Encyclopedia: Grote Winkler Prins
- Website about the Vikings in the Netherlands
- Simon Coupland (1998), "From poachers to gamekeepers: Scandinavian warlords and Carolingian kings", Early Medieval Europe, 7: 85–114, S2CID 161148239