About the lecture

In this module, we trace the creation of Normandy from the earliest Viking raids on the British Isles, focusing in particular on the creation of Danelaw in northern England after the Battle of Edington (AD 878) and the Treaty of St-Clair-sur-Epte (AD 911) in which the king of West Francia, Charles the Simple, gave land to the Viking leader Rollo, who would later be seen by some historians as the first Duke of Normandy.

About the lecturer

Dr Benjamin Pohl joined the University of Bristol in 2015 as a Lecturer in Medieval History c.1000-1400.

Benjamin received his PhD from the University of Bamberg. Prior to his appointment at Bristol, he held research fellowships at the Universities of Bamberg, Cambridge and Ghent. He is also a fellow of the Humboldt Foundation, as well as a research associate of Emmanuel College, Cambridge. His main research interests are in Norman and Anglo-Norman history, with a special focus on manuscript studies, book history, historical writing and cultural memory. Benjamin has published widely on medieval Normandy and England, including numerous articles and his monograph Dudo of Saint-Quentin’s Historia Normannorum: Tradition, Innovation and Memory (Boydell/York Medieval Press, 2015). He is currently preparing his new monograph on Abbot-historians in medieval Europe (c.1000-1200): Monastic leadership between codex and career.