Baron Sir Stephen Grandchamp

I, Stephen Grandchamp... a Christian knight in fealty to the duke of Normandy, in this the year of our Lord 1009. I come from Viking ancestors that settled here on the coast of Normandy in the 800's, and accepted Christ, in exchange for land and title. They acted as a buffer between the Franks and their many enemies. In my youth, my father received formal title to the barony that we had defended for so long, and with this new found wealth, I was sent to Paris to be educated.

I was squired to a Frisian master, to earn my passage of arms. I fought beside him across France for several years and in 981, I returned home at news of my fathers passing to take control of my Estate. I was knighted, and swore fealty to the Duke of Normany. As the millenium has passed, many of the wild rumors and fears proved unfounded. Our Dutchy is secure. We are in close contact with the Saxons in England and now have enclaves in Italy at the very threshold of the holy land.