The normans were descended from the viking raiders that settled in northern france norman comes from the medieval latin quotnorthmannorsemanquot meaning viking the normans invaded england in 1066 and defeated the anglo saxons at the battle of hastings the norman quotnasalquot helmet was based on earlier viking helmet designs and could be worn over a chainmail coif or with chainmail aventail to protect the neck the nasal bar was designed to protect the face but meant that knights wer