Most people living in Normandy were not descended from Vikings. Following Rollo's appointment as Duke there was no mass-migration of Scandinavians. It was primarily the elite that were descendants of the original Viking invaders, and they very often intermarried with French nobility to form alliances and entrench their power.

Arguably however, these elite retained some aspects of Scandinavian culture, and their ventures abroad can be seen in the wider context of later Viking activity. Sarah Davis-Secord (Sicily and the Medieval Mediterranean) refers to a "lure of profit and adventure" which drove the Normans to Sicily for instance. Like the Vikings, they were prominent as seafarers and mercenaries. Graham Loud in The Age of Robert Guiscard argues that the Normans were present in Italy as mercenaries before the events described in either the Salerno or Gargano traditional accounts of the Norman arrival. From minor military positions in the armies of Salerno, the Normans rose to power, possibly with the help of Papal intervention, and established the Kingdom of Sicily. This mirrors contemporary Scandinavian activities - The Byzantine Varangian Guard for example established for themselves a strong position within Byzantine society. Harald Hardrada served with them before becoming King of Norway. This "lure" could even be applied to Norman ventures in the British Isles, the most obvious example being the adventures of Richard de Clare (Strongbow) in Ireland. So it could be said that Norman warriors and elites continued some parts of Viking culture.