Finally, we dispel some of the Clan Lasse myths for anyone who wishes to research Lasse history further. Were the Lacys Norman or Franks? Was Lasse the ancient name of the de Lacys? Was the village of Lassy in Calvados there long before the de Lacy Family? An in-depth look at the de Lacy origin
Ninth-century Norway was comprised of many small kingdoms crowded upon the Western and Southern Scandinavian Coast with constant feuds and bitter fighting between Clans (Tribes) for fishing or farming land. The primary food source was fish from the Fiord inlets or the open sea. The Norse people became adept fishermen tackling the stormy Norwegian Seas. From their mastery of the waters came a whole new era: the development of the Longboat.
King Harald Fairhair (Haraldr Hálfdanarson) Born 850 Died 933. First King of Norway from 875 to 930. Following bitter fighting over land, safe harbours and the best fishing areas. War-torn Norway in 872AD found peace following the crowning of King Harald Fairhead as the first high King to rule over all of Norway. Over the next two years, he developed his plan to improve Norway. Then, in 875AD, he called together his chief Jarl’s.
King Harald Fairhair (Haraldr Hálfdanarson) Born 850 Died 933. First King of Norway from 875 to 930. Following bitter fighting over land, safe harbours and the best fishing areas. War-torn Norway in 872AD found peace following the crowning of King Harald Fairhead as the first high King to rule over all of Norway. Over the next two years, he developed his plan to improve Norway. Then, in 875AD, he called together his chief Jarl’s.
A Jarl was an aristocrat of Norweigan society, a title gained from power. Some were even past kings. If there was wealth at the time, the Jarls held most of it. They had been the first to realise that the longboat could be a weapon of war. To them, wealth came not from Norweigan land but from the trading of Silver and Slaves, and their Longboats could take them to find both. A single foray to a European coast and home again could be worth more to the Jarl and his men than all the farming and fishing for a whole year. A Jarl offered protection and security to the smaller clans who swore allegiance to him within his controlled region.
The next level of Norweigan medieval society comprised the vast majority of Norsemen who belonged to the middle class, known as the Karls. These people were freemen and landowners. They were farmers, fishermen and craftsmen. Extended Karl families tended to band together, forming a local clan that lived in clusters of two or more longhouses supplemented by barns and workshops. Karl clans were not necessarily rooted in one area like the Scottish clans that followed them four hundred years later. Just like the Jarls, but still, under their patronage, there were more prominent Karl clans down to occupiers of one or two longhouses.
The lowest level of Norway's society was the þræll (Thrall) made up of slaves and bondsmen. If a Norseman of any class could not pay his debts, he was obliged to become a bondsman and to work for another man until the debt was paid. The three different classes were not nearly as rigid as in other parts of Europe at that time. Mechanisms existed so that a person could move from one class to another. There existed poorer Jarls and richer Karls. I know of no history as to where Karl Lasse was placed between the first two classes other than he. and his clan owed allegiance to Jarl Gaange Rolf. c. 860–c. 930 AD Known as Rollo so-called ‘the Ganger’ as he was a giant of a man. Too tall to ride the small mountain horses of the region. Rollo walked or ran into battle
Lasse A medieval Scandinavian name reaching back to the 2nd-century known right across Scandinavia including Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Iceland and the far northern coastal Germanic people of Europe. Together with the name Lars, it derives from Laurentius a Latin given name or surname meaning 'From Laurentum (a city near Rome), or “Laurelled” derived from the Old Greek word Lavrenti meaning “bright one, shining one“. The modern-day derivative of Laurentius is Laurence.
With the creation of Normandy, Rollo set aside pockets of land for his own family and then, as promised, divided the remainder between his faithful followers, The Lacy family had been granted 200 sq miles of land (128,000 acres) to be held by the Norman law of Parage, the area known as Lassy, also known as the Lacicu Latius estates in Calvados. It linked Vire with Lassy, which is only 20 km away, well within the land grant—on receiving their lands the descendants and extended family of Karl Lasse also followed the pattern of taking Frankish brides, adapting to the rules of the Catholic church to become prosperous Norman landowners. Their prosperity gained them further estates in and around Normandy. By the fourth generation, we have arrived at Hugh de Laci, now Lord of Lassy—Father of our two de Lacy brothers.
The research used to collect this version of the de Lacy family's early origins follows the most accepted history. Credible knowledge was hard to find before the tenth century. It was often vague, leading to facts relating beyond royal or papal records being only monastery hearsay or folklore. In this environment, it is not surprising that historians or researchers will sometimes offer alternative origins.