Siege of Paris (845)
Siege of Paris (November 25, 885 AD- October 886 AD) | |||||||
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Part of the Viking expansion | |||||||
A Viking siege of Paris, 19th-century portrayal note: The ramparts here depicted did not exist in 845. | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Vikings (mainly Danes) | West Francia | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Reginherus (possibly Ragnar 'Lodbrok' Sigurdsson) | Charles the Bald | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
120 ships, with at least 4,000 men | Unknown |
The siege of Paris of 845 was the culmination of a
The Frankish king Charles the Bald assembled a smaller army in response but after the Vikings defeated one division, comprising half of the army, the remaining forces retreated. The Vikings reached Paris at the end of the month, during Easter. They plundered and occupied the city, withdrawing after Charles the Bald paid a ransom of 7,000 French livres [2,570 kg (83,000 ozt)] in gold and silver.
Background
The
Invasion and siege
In March 845,
The Vikings arrived in Paris on Easter Sunday, 29 March,
Considering the Vikings' earlier loss of land to Charles, the substantial payment may also have been regarded as some form of compensation to the Viking leader and the invasion itself as an act of revenge.[9] This was the first of a total of thirteen payments of so-called danegeld to Viking raiders by the Franks[1] (the term is not expressly known to have been used at this point).[12] While agreeing to withdraw from Paris, the Viking army pillaged several sites along the coast on the return voyage, including the Abbey of Saint Bertin.[8]
Although Charles had been criticised severely for granting the large ransom payment to the Vikings, he had other more critical issues to deal with at the same time, including disputes with his brothers, regional revolts and disgruntled nobles, as well as pressure from abroad. Since he would have trouble trusting his own counts to assemble and lead troops to defeat the large Viking force militarily, paying them off instead would buy Charles time, and possibly peace from further Viking raids—at least in the near future.[12]
Aftermath
The same year, a Viking fleet sacked Hamburg,[3][5] which had been elevated to an archbishopric by Pope Gregory IV in 831 on the initiative of Louis the Pious to oversee the Saxon territory and to support the introduction of Christianity to Scandinavia.[3] In response, the Frankish king Louis the German sent a diplomatic mission, headed by Count Cobbo (one of two court counts), to the court of Horik, demanding that the Danish king submit to Frankish overlordship and pay reparations for the invasion. Horik eventually agreed to the terms and requested a peace treaty with Louis, while also promising to return the treasure and captives from the raid. Horik most likely wanted to secure the border with Saxony as he faced a conflict with King Olof of Sweden and domestic struggles. By the treaty, Louis demanded Horik's obedience, which was further secured by Horik regularly sending embassies and gifts to Louis and his suspension of support to Viking raiders.[3]
Although many Vikings had died in the plague during the siege of Paris, Ragnar lived to return home to King Horik. According to a story originating from a member of Cobbo's embassy, Ragnar, having attacked the
The synod of Paris was forced to convene at Meaux because of the siege, but it relocated to Paris after the siege was lifted.[14]
References
- ^ a b c d e f Kohn 2006, p. 588.
- ^ Jones 2001, p. 210.
- ^ a b c d Goldberg 2006, p. 134.
- ^ Goldberg 2006, pp. 133–134.
- ^ a b c d e f g Jones 2001, p. 212.
- ^ Sawyer 2001, p. 39.
- ^ Sprague 2007, p. 225.
- ^ a b c d e f Duckett 1988, p. 181.
- ^ a b c d Sawyer 2001, p. 40.
- ^ Mawer 1922, p. 330.
- ^ According to a contemporary source, Annales Bertiniani, the sum was 7,000 French livres (Ogg 1908, p. 166). One "livre d'estelin" or "livre de Charlemagne", the mass standard used in France from c. 800 to c. 1350, is equivalent to 367.1 g (Zupko 1990, p. 346). Converted, 7,000 livres equals 2570 kg (7000 × .3671=2569.7).
- ^ a b Jones 2001, p. 213.
- ^ a b c d Hoops & Beck 2002, p. 90.
- ^ Michael E. Moore (2011), A Sacred Kingdom: Bishops and the Rise of Frankish Kingship, 300–850, Catholic University of America Press, pp. 362–363.
Sources
- Duckett, Eleanor S (1988). Carolingian Portraits: A Study in the Ninth Century. University of Michigan. ISBN 978-0-472-06157-0.
- Goldberg, Eric Joseph (2006). Struggle for Empire: Kingship and Conflict Under Louis the German, 817–876. Cornell University. ISBN 978-0-8014-3890-5.
- Hoops, Johanne; Beck, Heinrich (2002). Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde (in German). Vol. 20. Walter de Gruyter. ISBN 978-3-11-017164-8.
- Jones, Gwyn (2001). A History of the Vikings. Oxford University. ISBN 978-0-19-280134-0.
- Kohn, George C (2006). Dictionary of Wars. Infobase. ISBN 978-1-4381-2916-7.
- OCLC 489937746.
- Ogg, FA (1908). A source book of mediæval history: documents illustrative of European life and institutions from the German invasion to the renaissance. American Book Co. OCLC 774441936.
- Sawyer, PH (2001). Illustrated History of the Vikings. Oxford University. ISBN 978-0-19-285434-6.
- Sprague, Martina (2007). Norse warfare: The Unconventional Battle Strategies of the Ancient Vikings. Hippocrene. ISBN 978-0-7818-1176-7.
- Zupko, Ronald Edward (1990). Revolution in Measurement: Western European Weights and Measures Since the Age of Science. Vol. 186. American Philosophical Society. ISBN 978-0-87169-186-6.