This is a very simplified explanation of a long and complex history, but the core idea is accurate. The Normans weren’t originally French in the way people think. They emerged from Viking settlers who were granted land in what became Normandy in the early 900s. Over time, they adopted the local language, religion, and customs, but their ruling elite traced back to Norse origins. So when William the Conqueror invaded England in 1066, it wasn’t a modern French nation invading another modern nation