Another part of France is called Normandy. The Normans and the
Bretons were very different peoples, as different as the Britons
and the English. But the Normans conquered part of Brittany, and
a close relationship grew up between the two peoples. Conan,
Duke of Brittany, and William, Duke of Normandy, were related to
each other, and in a manner the Bretons owned the Duke of
Normandy as overlord.

Now you know that in 1066 the great Duke William came sailing
over the sea to conquer England, and with him came more soldiers
from Brittany than from any other land. Perhaps the songs of the
minstrels had kept alive in the hearts of the Bretons a memory of
their island home. Perhaps that made them glad to come to help
to drive out the hated Saxons. At any rate come they did, and
brought with them their minstrel tales.

And soon through all the land the Norman power spread. And
whether they first heard them in Armorica or in wild Wales, the
Norman minstrels took the old Welsh stories and made them their
own. And the best of all the tales were told of Arthur and his
knights.

Doubtless the Normans added much to these stories. For although
they were not good at inventing anything, they were very good at
taking what others had invented and making it better. And the
English, too, as Norman power grew, clung more and more to the
memory of the past. They forgot the difference between British
and English, and in their thoughts Arthur grew to be a national
hero, a hero who had loved his country, and who was not Norman.