Contents:
1. New Information on Benjamin and the Normans
1. New Information on Benjamin and the Normans
{some of this information will be repeated later when we reach Benjamin in
our series on Tribal characteristics
which we are sending out to our list as a separate series}
Part of the tribe of Benjamin remained with Judah and is now to be found
amongst the present-day Jews.
The Jews are primarily composed of the tribes of Judah, Benjamin, and Levi
with many from Simeon, Menasseh, and Ephraim and potions of the other tribes.
Judah, Benjamin, and Levi are the tribes that comprise "Judah" in the
Biblical sense and these are the tribes that the Books of Ezra and Nehemiah
list in the census of those who retained from Babylon.
Even so, portions of these tribes also went with the northern Ten Tribes
and were assimilated amongst them.
We have identified part of the Celtic Belgae and the Normans with Benjamin.

Below are extracts from an article on The Normans by Richard Hooker  we
took from a web site:
Following the extract we continue with points of our own regarding the
identity of the Normans:

The Normans by Richard Hooker
         <<In 911, a group of Scandinavian raiders under the leadership of
Rollo sailed up the Seine and forced the French king to cede French
territory. The price the king asked was that Rollo become a subject of the
king and swear loyalty. This he did, and the Norsemen settled a very small
area in the north of France. Rollo, however, considered himself to be an
independent ruler and aggressively set about increasing the territory under
his control. This constant expansion of territory would become the hallmark
of the Norman experience in history.

Normandy was in name a duchy of France, but the Norman dukes ruled the area
as if it were an independent kingdom with little interference from the
French king. By the eleventh century, the duchy of Normandy had become one
of the most powerful regions in western Europe. There were, however, even
more promising times aheadin 1066, the Norman duke, William the Bastard,
conquered the English forces of Harold Godwinson and became king of
England. Norman culture and political structure would cross the channel and
dramatically change English culture and history.

The Scandinavians who settled Normandy very quickly adopted the religion,
customs, and language of the surrounding French populations. Rollo
converted to Catholicism, but the adoption of French culture and language
did not immediately alter the social structure of the Norman lords. From
911 until 980, the history of the Normans is one of constant blood-feuds
and territorial battles, a history similar to that played out in early
Scandinavia, the Danelaw in England, and Iceland.

Around 980, however, the Normans began to develop a unique set of
institutions that would catapult them into the front-rank of European power
and cultural influence. The most significant event in early Norman history
was the placing of Hugh Capet on the throne of France. The Capetians only
gained the throne through the help of the Normans and in gratitude, they
allowed the Normans to operate independently.

Once free from monarchical intrusion, the Norman dukes began to solidify an
administrative system over their territories. This system became the model
for subsequent medieval government: the feudal system. The Normans faced
sporadic resistance from nobility within their domains. To counter this
nobility, the Norman lords made clergy, who were largely drawn from the
nobility, as their vassals since the monastic and church lands were on
lands owned by the duke. All the knights resident on church and monastic
lands the dukes forced into military loyalty. They used this core of
vassals and knights to overcome the nobility which were forced to enter
into feudal obligations to the duke.

The word, "feudal," comes from the word, "feud." A feudal obligation, then,
was essentially built off of clan or tribal protection. For the early
tribal Scandinavians, the only way to enforce law was through clan
protection and blood-feuds. Should a crime be committed against a member of
the clan, it was the job of the entire clan to either seek retribution or
enforce a penalty. It was on this ground that the dukes of Normandy built
their feudal system. Under this system, lay nobility were allowed to
control a certain amount of territory. They were required, however, to
enter into oaths to the duke; these oaths required their military service
should the duke require it.

The feudal system allowed the Norman dukes to control a vast amount of
territory independently of the Capetian kings. It gave the dukes large
military resources guaranteed through a network of loyalties. From
Normandy, the feudal system spread rapidly first to Italy and then
Francewith Duke William II, the Bastard, this new and powerful form of
government would cross the channel to England.

As with the Scandinavian settlers of Iceland, the Normans did not stay put
in Normandy. With a growing scarcity of land in the eleventh century, some
Norman lords migrated to Italy where they carved out their own independent
Norman duchies. Italy had remained a largely non-urbanized and backward
country after it had been devestated by Justinian's attempt to retake the
western empire at the beginning of the sixth century. The establishment of
Norman duchies and the feudal system in Italy was the primary reason for
the recovery of Italy in the later middle ages.

William
The turning point in European history, however, was the Norman invasion of
England in 1066. England had seen Scandinavian invasions before; these
invasions and the subsequent emigrations had carved out an entire Danish
kingdom in the north of England, the Danelaw. When the Norman descendants
of Scandinavian raiders returned in the eleventh century, they gained
control over Anglo-Saxon England and would eventually be responsible for
English supremacy over most of Britain.

The man responsible had been born to the Duke of Normandy before that Duke
had married; he would be called William the Bastard and his claim to the
duchy was tenuous at best. For all that, however, he would effectively rule
the duchy for fifty years (1035-1087).

It was under William that the feudal system attained its final form. He
completed the process of making the lay nobility vassals and perfected the
form of military service they would provide. Each vassal would provide a
certain number of knights or horsementhe number was determined by the
amount of land that had been granted to them. The tenants-in-chief of the
various lands could not build castles without permission; this allowed
William to prevent untrustworthy nobility from having defenses against the
duke. Finally, while the tenants-in-chief had almost complete control over
their lands and the revenues from those lands, the administration of law
and the collection of taxes was in part controlled by an official of the
duke, the viscount. However, many of the nobility that were vassals of the
duke had made knights and others sub-vassals under themselves. So while the
nobility owed loyalty to William, the sub-vassals owed their loyalty to the
various nobility. Under William, however, all sub-vassals became vassals of
the duke. The network of loyalties always snaked back to the powerful
figure of the dukeshould their be a conflict between a nobleman and the
duke, the sub-vassals of the nobleman were required to run to the side of
the duke.

This system of government, an elaborate and adminstrative extension of the
older logic of clan protection, allowed William to assemble a military of
over one thousand knights quite possibly the largest military force in
Europe in the eleventh century. After securing the peace in Normandy
through the elaboration of feudal government, William began to look across
the channel in the 1050's and hatched his schemes to seize English
territory and the Anglo-Saxon monarchy.

England, though larger, wealthier, and more progressed than Normandy, was
administratively the contrary of the small duchy. While the Normans had
concentrated power and resources, the Anglo-Saxons had allowed their
monarchy to decline. The country was divided into a myriad of earldoms
which were run as more or less independent kingdoms. Individual earls
controlled not only their lands, but royal revenues, law, and privileges.

William claimed the throne of England based on a promise given him by the
Edward the Confessor, the Anglo-Saxon king. Having been captured by the
Normans and then ransomed, Edward, according to Norman propaganda, promised
to William the throne of England when he passed away. Needless to say, the
throne of England was not granted to William on Edward's death, but instead
fell to Harold Godwinson.

William used this insult as a pretext to invade England. However, Harold
had also to deal with a Norwegian claim to the throne and a subsequent
invasion. He successfully held back that invasion, but as soon as he was
finished, William landed in England. William faced an Anglo-Saxon army that
had just fought an invading Norwegian and had been marched south to meet
him. This, combined with the incredibly superior military concentration of
the Norman forces, allowed William to easily defeat the Anglo-Saxons and
kill Harold. The Anglo-Saxon period in England effectively came to an end,
but the importation of Norman culture and government would open up a
radically new and dynamic tangent in English history.

When William took the crown, his first order of business was to break the
power of the Anglo-Saxon earls who were the real powers in England, not the
king. The history of William's reign in England, and that of his
predecessors, would be to develop the feudal system into a full-out
political monarchy. That is the history of medieval England, a history that
coincides with a gradual dissemination of a common European culture and
society.
Richard Hooker
 

Yair Davidiy on behalf of "Brit-Am" continues:
 From the above we see that the Normans had a tendency to emphasize the
feudal system and "aristocratic" qualities.
Commentators say that this was an aspect of the tribe of Benjamin.
Saul the first King of Israel belonged to Benjamin.
Mical, the daughter of Saul, was married to David. Mical criticised David
for not acting in a manner that she considered to befit his royal station:
[2-Samuel 6:16] AND AS THE ARK OF THE LORD CAME INTO THE CITY OF DAVID,
MICHAL SAUL'S DAUGHTER LOOKED THROUGH A WINDOW, AND SAW KING DAVID LEAPING
AND DANCING BEFORE THE LORD; AND SHE DESPISED HIM IN HER HEART.

[2-Samuel 6:20] THEN DAVID RETURNED TO BLESS HIS HOUSEHOLD. AND MICHAL THE
DAUGHTER OF SAUL CAME OUT TO MEET DAVID, AND SAID, HOW GLORIOUS WAS THE
KING OF ISRAEL TO DAY, WHO UNCOVERED HIMSELF TO DAY IN THE EYES OF THE
HANDMAIDS OF HIS SERVANTS, AS ONE OF THE VAIN FELLOWS SHAMELESSLY
UNCOVERETH HIMSELF!

[2-Samuel 6:21] AND DAVID SAID UNTO MICHAL, IT WAS BEFORE THE LORD, WHICH
CHOSE ME BEFORE THY FATHER, AND BEFORE ALL HIS HOUSE, TO APPOINT ME RULER
OVER THE PEOPLE OF THE LORD, OVER  ISRAEL: THEREFORE WILL I PLAY BEFORE THE
LORD.

[2-Samuel 6:2 AND I WILL YET BE MORE VILE THAN THUS, AND WILL BE BASE IN
MINE OWN SIGHT: AND OF THE MAIDSERVANTS WHICH THOU HAST SPOKEN OF, OF THEM
SHALL I BE HAD IN HONOUR.

Michal was acting as befitted the House of her father and her tribe of
Benjamin.
The symbol of Benjamin was a wolf.
We traced Benjamin to Dacia (present-day Rumania) where they used the wolf
symbol
and from there to North Germany whence they moved into Denmark and Norway
and from there moved
onwards to Normandy in France and from there they conquered England in 1066.
William the Conqueror used the wolf as his symbol and it is depicted on the
Bayeux Tapestry that his wife, Matilda,
wove in his honor.
When William died, one of his sons Robert became Duke of Normandy and
another, William Rufus (1087-1100), became king of England. Robert, led a
Crusade to the Holy land. Before going on Crusade, Robert reportedly was
responsible for attacks against the Jews. William Rufus of England, forced
his brother Robert to give up control of Normandy and be on his way. When
William Rufus was assassinated Robert received Normandy back.
  William Rufus
  <<Rufus (William II ) on his accession to the throne in 1087 favoured the
Jews so much that he summoned a convocation where English Bishops and
Jewish Rabbis met in a religious controversy. William II held a strong
dislike of monks and swore by St. Lukes face (his favourite oath) that if
the Rabbis won the argument he would take the Jewish faith. History, alas,
does not record who won the argument! Rufus was a profligate spender and
soon exhausted the Treasury coffers. He then turned to the Jews, to whom he
gave patronage and protection and with the help of their money he built
Westminster Hall - his one lasting monument. During his reign the Jews
became so powerful in Oxford that they had three college halls, Lombard,
Moses and Jacob. They even taught Christians in their Synagogue. The
involvement of Jews in matters of finance, with little or no competition,
made them extremely wealthy>> see The Jewish Connection on the Web.

William Rufus against incredible opposition created a powerful realm and
began to heal the rift between Norman and Saxon. Rufus is condemned  for
supporting the Jews; for taking money from the Church, and for a lose
lifestyle. He was also praised for being strong, fearless, and a defender
of his people. He never broke his word. He was murdered by Norman traitors
in co-ordination with Continental rulers.
The Normans established their rule over England and strengthened the feudal
system.
Henry V (1413-1422) represents the  height of Norman power in England, even
though by that time both
Royalty and the nobles had absorbed other elements. The language,
institutions, traditions,
physical ancestry, and mind set of the ruling powers at that time were
still basically Norman.
King Henry V adopted the motto "Dieu et mon droit" (French for  "God and my
right') .
Only with the Welshman Henry VII (1457-1509) and the Tudor monarchs did
England really become
English.
The motto "Dieu et mon droit" still appears below the shield on the Royal
Coat of Arms of the monarchs of Britain.
 

The Book of Genesis tells us of the birth of Benjamin:
[Genesis 35:18] AND IT CAME TO PASS, AS HER SOUL WAS IN DEPARTING, (FOR SHE
DIED) THAT SHE CALLED HIS NAME BENONI: BUT HIS FATHER CALLED HIM BENJAMIN.
<<HIS FATHER CALLED HIM BENJAMIN>>: In  Hebrew "Binyamin" or
"Bin-yamin" meaning "son of my right hand", or "expression of my right hand".
The motto of the British monarchs adopted in Norman times  "God and my right"
could be understood to mean "God and Benjamin"!
 

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