Treaty of Rouen (991) facts for kids
The Treaty of Rouen was an important agreement. It was made between King Æthelred II of England and Richard I, the Duke of Normandy. This treaty is known from a letter written in the name of Pope John XV. The agreement was finished on March 1, 991. It is seen as one of the first treaties in European history where a third party, like the Pope, helped solve a problem between two rulers. This is called arbitration.
What Was the Treaty About?
A letter from Pope John XV explains the treaty. It says the Pope heard about problems between King Æthelred and Duke Richard. So, he sent his special helper, Bishop Leo of Trevi, to fix their relationship.
Bishop Leo arrived in England on Christmas Day, 990. He gave the Pope's letter to King Æthelred. After talking with his trusted advisors, King Æthelred agreed to make peace with Duke Richard. He promised this peace would last for all future English rulers.
After his decision, King Æthelred sent his own messengers with the Pope's helper to Normandy. When Duke Richard heard the Pope's message and King Æthelred's promise of peace, he also agreed. He promised that peace would continue for all future generations of Norman rulers.
The main rules of this peace agreement were:
- If either leader or their people caused trouble for the other, they had to make up for it.
- The peace would last forever and be confirmed by oaths from both sides.
- Neither leader could take in enemies or people from the other's land without permission.
Why Was This Treaty Needed?
The Pope's letter says he stepped in because of fighting between the English king and the Duke of Normandy. However, it does not clearly say what caused the trouble. Historians have different ideas about what the problem was.
One popular idea is that Duke Richard was letting Vikings use his ports. From the 980s, England started to suffer from new Viking attacks. This began soon after Æthelred became king, when he was only about eleven years old. Some historians believe the treaty's rule about not taking in enemies meant stopping the Normans from helping Vikings. The Normans themselves had Scandinavian roots. Many at the Norman court might have still understood the Viking language. So, the Pope might have wanted to remind Duke Richard not to help pagans who were attacking fellow Christians.
However, another historian, Jenny Benham, disagrees. She points out that much of the evidence about Vikings using Norman ports came after this treaty. She thinks the treaty was more likely about stopping each side from hiding their own country's enemies, like people who had been sent away. There is proof that people were exiled during King Æthelred's rule. For example, a powerful leader named Ælfric Cild was exiled in 985. Also, King Æthelred became king after his brother was murdered. This suggests he might have had political enemies in England. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, a historical record, does not mention Vikings in Normandy until the year 1000. It says the Viking fleet went to Richard II's kingdom then. This makes it less likely that Richard I was helping Viking raiders before the treaty.
What Happened After the Treaty?
The peace treaty was one of King Æthelred's most successful agreements. But this success did not last long. After Richard I died in 996, his son Richard II became the new Duke. Relations between England and Normandy became difficult again.
Around 1059, a writer named William of Jumièges wrote about an English attack in Normandy around 1002. This happened not long after the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle said the Viking fleet arrived in Normandy in 1000. The Normans letting Vikings into their land in 1000 was a clear break of the Treaty of Rouen. Perhaps Richard II did not feel he had to follow his father's agreements. The English attack on Normandy around 1002 was probably a response to this. To fix things again, new talks began between the English king and the new Duke of Normandy. These talks led to the marriage of the Duke's sister, Emma, to King Æthelred in 1002.
