Richard I of Normandy

Count of Rouen

Richard I (28 August 932 – 20 November 996), also known as Richard the Fearless (French: Richard Sans-Peur;Old Norse: Jarl Rikard), was the count of Rouen from 942 to 996.

Dudo of Saint-Quentin, whom Richard commissioned to write the "De moribus et actis primorum Normanniae ducum" (Latin, "On the Customs and Deeds of the First Dukes of Normandy"), called him a dux.

However, this use of the word may have been in the context of Richard's renowned leadership in war, and not as a reference to a title of nobility.

Richard either introduced feudalism into Normandy or he greatly expanded it.By the end of his reign, the most important Norman landholders held their lands in feudal tenure.