Siege of Paris (885–886)

Although the Vikings had attacked parts of Francia previously, they reached Paris for the first time in 845, eventually sacking the city. They attacked Paris three more times in the 860s, leaving only when they had acquired sufficient loot or bribes.[3] In 864, by the Edict of Pistres, bridges were ordered built across the Seine at Pîtres and in Paris, where two were built, one on each side of the Île de la Cité, which served admirably in the siege of 885. The chief ruler in the region around Paris (the Île-de-France) was the duke of Francia (also the Count of Paris), who controlled the lands between the Seine and Loire. Originally this was Robert the Strong, margrave of Neustria and missus dominicus for the Loire Valley. He began fortifying the capital and fought the Norsemen continuously until his death in battle against them at Brissarthe. His son Odo succeeded him, but royal power declined. Paris continued to be fortified due to local, rather than royal, initiative.[4]

West Francia suffered under a series of short-reigning kings after the death of Charles the Bald in 877. This situation prevailed until 884 when Charles the Fat, already King of Germany and Italy, became king, raising hopes of reunification of Charlemagne's empire.[3] While it was thought that the Franks had gained an upper hand against the Vikings after the victory of Louis III at the Battle of Saucourt in 881, in 885, a year after the succession of Charles, the Vikings launched their largest attack on Paris.[5][3]

Vikings under Sigfred and Sinric[6] sailed towards West Francia again in 885, having raided the north-eastern parts of the country before. Sigfred demanded a bribe from Charles, but was refused, and promptly led 700 ships up the Seine, carrying perhaps as many as 30,000[3] or 40,000 men.[7] The number, the largest ever recorded for a Viking fleet in contemporary sources, originates from Abbo Cernuus. Although an eyewitness, there is general agreement among historians that Abbo's numbers are "a gross exaggeration,"[8] with Abbo being "in a class of his own as an exaggerator."[9] Historian C. W. Previté-Orton has instead put the number of ships at 300,[10] and John Norris at "some 300."[11] Although the Franks tried to block the Vikings from sailing up the Seine, the Vikings eventually managed to reach Paris.[5] Paris at this time was a town on an island, known today as Île de la Cité. Its strategic importance came from the ability to block ships' passage with its two low-lying footbridges, one of wood and one of stone. Not even the shallow Viking ships could pass Paris because of the bridges.[3] Odo, Count of Paris prepared for the arrival of the Vikings by fortifying the bridgehead with two towers guarding each bridge. He was low on men, having no more than 200 men-at-arms available (also according to Abbo Cernuus),[12] but led a joint defence with Gozlin, Bishop of Paris[5] (the first "fighting bishop" in medieval literature),[13] and had the aid of his brother, Robert, two counts and a marquis.[14]

The barques of the Vikings

The Vikings arrived in Paris on 24[15][16] or 25[17] November 885, initially asking for tribute from the Franks. When this was denied, they began a siege. On 26 November the Vikings attacked the northeast tower with ballistae, mangonels, and catapults. They were repulsed by a mixture of hot wax and pitch. All Viking attacks that day were repulsed, and during the night the Parisians constructed another storey on the tower.[17][18] On 27 November the Viking attack included mining, battering rams, and fire, but to no avail. Bishop Gozlin entered the fray with a bow and an axe. He planted a cross on the outer defences and exhorted the people. His brother Ebles also joined the fighting.[17] The Vikings withdrew after the failed initial attacks and built a camp on the right side of the riverbank, using stone as construction material. While preparing for new attacks, the Vikings also started constructing additional siege engines.[19] In a renewed assault, they shot a thousand grenades against the city, sent a ship for the bridge, and made a land attack with three groups. The forces surrounded the bridgehead tower, possibly mainly aiming to bring down the river obstacle. While they tried setting fire to the bridge, they also attacked the city itself with siege engines.[19]

Map of Paris in the 9th century (on Île de la Cité)

For two months the Vikings maintained the siege, making trenches and provisioning themselves off the land. In January 886 they tried to fill the river shallows with debris, plant matter, and the bodies of dead animals and dead prisoners to try to get around the tower. They continued this for two days. On the third day, they set three ships alight and guided them towards the wooden bridge. The burning ships sank before they could set the bridge on fire, but the wooden construction was nonetheless weakened.[17][18] On 6 February, rains caused the debris-filled river to overflow and the bridge supports to give way. The bridge gone, the northeast tower was now isolated with only twelve defenders inside. The Vikings asked the twelve to surrender, but they refused and were all subsequently killed.[17]

The Vikings left a force around Paris, but many ventured further to pillage Le Mans, Chartres,[17] Evreux and into the Loire.[18] Odo successfully slipped some men through Norse lines to go to Italy and plead with Charles to come to their aid. Henry, Count of Saxony, Charles' chief man in Germany, marched to Paris.[17] Weakened by marching during the winter, Henry's soldiers made only one abortive attack in February before retreating.[18] The besieged forces sallied forth to obtain supplies. The morale of the besiegers was low and Sigfred asked for sixty pounds of silver. He left the siege in April. Another Viking leader, Rollo, stayed behind with his men.[17] In May, disease began to spread in the Parisian ranks and Gozlin died. Odo then slipped through Viking-controlled territory to petition Charles for support; Charles consented. Odo fought his way back into Paris and Charles and Henry of Saxony marched northward.[17] According to Joshua J. Mark, "at some point in 886 CE, Odo returned with the armies of Charles the Fat. He fought his way through the Viking forces and into the city with his men; the Vikings in quick pursuit. Odo organized an immediate defence and the Danes were again driven back to their ships "[20] Henry died, however, after he fell into the Viking ditches, where he was captured and killed.[21]

That summer, the Vikings made a final attempt to take the city but were repulsed. The imperial army arrived in October and scattered the Vikings. Charles encircled Rollo and his army and set up a camp at Montmartre. However, Charles had no intention of fighting. He allowed the Vikings to sail up the Seine to ravage Burgundy, which was in revolt.[17] When the Vikings withdrew from France the next spring, he gave them 700 livres (pounds) of silver as promised,[22][23] amounting to approximately 257 kg.[24]

The Parisians and Odo refused to let the Vikings down the Seine and the invaders had to drag their boats overland to the Marne to leave the country. When Charles died in 888, the French elected Odo as their king. Odo's brother and son of Robert the Strong, Robert I of France, was later elected king as well, in opposition to the Carolingian Charles the Simple.[22] Throughout the 9th century, the Robertians, descendants of Robert the Strong, held the crown and remained leading figures in West Francia. However, their rulership was highly fragmented as their authority was challenged by minor countships and castellanies. The princelings of West Francia elected Robert I's grandson, Hugh Capet, king in 987.[25]

The Viking invasion as well as further persistent raidings of the city destroyed much of the urban infrastructure on the Left Bank, which eventually converted to agricultural use, while the Right Bank were mostly sparred from pillaging, with subsequent development favoring the Right Bank.[25]

• Abbo Cernuus (N. Dass ed.) (2007). Viking Attacks on Paris: The Bella Parisiacae Urbis of Abbo of Saint-Germain-des-Prés. Peeters Publishers. ISBN 978-9-0429-1916-7.
• Bradbury, Jim (1992). The Medieval siege. Boydell & Brewer. ISBN 978-0851153124.
• Bradbury, Jim (2004). "The" Routledge Companion to Medieval Warfare. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-4152-2126-9.
• Brooks, Nicholas (2000). Communities and Warfare: 700-1400. Hambledon Press. ISBN 978-1-8528-5155-2.
• Davis, Paul K. (2001). Besieged: 100 Great Sieges from Jericho to Sarajevo. New York: Oxford University. ISBN 0-19-521930-9.
• Hodgkin, Robert Howard (1959). A History of the Anglo-Saxons. Vol. 2. Oxford University.
• Hooper, Nicholas A.; Bennet, Matthew (1996). The Cambridge Illustrated Atlas of Warfare: The Middle Ages, 768-1487. Cambridge University. ISBN 978-0521440493.
• Kohn, George C (2006). Dictionary of Wars. Infobase. ISBN 978-0-8160-4157-2.
• Logan, F. Donald (1991). The Vikings in history. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-4150-8396-6.
• MacLean, Simon (2003). Kingship and Politics in the Late Ninth Century: Charles the Fat and the end of the Carolingian Empire. Cambridge University. ISBN 0-521-81945-8.
• Norris, John (2007). Medieval siege warfare. Tempus. ISBN 978-0-7524-3592-3.
• Previté-Orton, C. W. (1955). The Shorter Cambridge Medieval History. CUP Archive.
• Sheppard, Si (2022). The Viking Siege of Paris: Longships raid the Seine, AD 885–86. Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1472845696.
• Tucker, Spencer C. (2009). A Global Chronology of Conflict: From the Ancient World to the Modern Middle East. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 9781851096725.
• Zupko, Ronald Edward (1990), Revolution in Measurement: Western European Weights and Measures Since the Age of Science, vol. 186, American Philosophical Society, ISBN 978-0-8716-9186-6